Faith and College
Are you about to leave for college? Is your child about to leave for college? I'm sure there are numerous questions, practical and/or theoretical. The staff of RUF would like to assist you any way we can. Are you anxious about this time of transition from home to campus? It helps to remember that the college years are a transitional time, temporary by definition. The goal of RUF's ministry is to love students and pastor them during this time of growth and transition. When life is changing, it is important to be connected to Christ and to His Church. The Church offers the benefit of community (relationships, opportunities for service, a place to love and to be loved, acceptance) to the student. We want students to develop healthy relationships as they fulfill their calling as students.
What are some things that may frighten or unnerve you just a little?
I believe at the root of just about every issue that may face a student is the issue of authority. Every authority structure you have respected up to this point may be challenged by doubt and skepticism in the classroom. In general, authority (God and religious belief, parents and family expectations,) may be questioned as it relates to your life's meaning, your purpose or your calling. The crisis of authority is very old. It did not take long for Adam and Eve to question the right of the Creator, Himself, to put boundaries on them. Many students come to the campus understanding that the lack of discipline and defined boundaries in their own families has proven to be destructive.
The crisis of authority is very old. It did not take long for Adam and Eve to question the right of the Creator, Himself, to put boundaries on them. Many students come to the campus understanding that the lack of discipline and defined boundaries in their own families has proven to be destructive.
The influx of different religious and philosophical views converging on the college campus produces doubts in many students' minds about appropriate authority structures. Significant confusion and struggle is a normal adjustment to diversity. RUF wants to help you wrestle with and think through the confusion and point you to the authority of scripture. We can have confidence in God's truth about Jesus, his life, death, and resurrection.
Maybe just thinking about the intellectual and cultural environment you are about to go into is a little scary. Hard questions about morality, why people suffer and why evil things happen seem to be endless. An encouraging point: As doubts, questions and fears arise we realize these "why" questions are not new. We can't let ourselves think they are new or different now than they have been in the past. Doing so could tempt us to think that the Bible is not equipped to address these issues. We believe the gospel (that Jesus died to make us right with God and has promised never to leave us or forsake us, even into eternity) goes right to the heart of those struggles and addresses them head-on. This belief that the work of Jesus was sufficient to satisfy God's requirement for perfection gives us the courage to say, "There is truth ... ," and gives us the love to engage those who disagree.
We would love for RUF to give you the basis, and the safe place, for long relational conversations about the hard things in life, conversations that span months or even years.
You may be one of the "convinced" (or the parent of a student you believe to be convinced of the truth of the gospel) who wants to lovingly engage others in these conversations about the unshakeable truth of scripture. Or you, or your child, may be "unconvinced" about the truth of scripture. Either way, please check us out. Sit down with a campus minister, intern or staff member and talk about your struggles and questions.
Rod Mays
Coordinator
Rod Mays has served as the national Coordinator of Reformed University Ministries for 9 years. Prior to becoming the Coordinator, he served as senior pastor of Presbyterian Churches in West Virginia, Mississippi and South Carolina. Rod and his wife, Debra, live in Greenville, South Carolina and have a married daughter, Morgan Elizabeth (Meg) Benthall.
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