Advice for Parents of University Students

By Mike Armstrong

This month, I am about to start my forty-ninth straight fall semester on a college campus—my forty-fourth as a campus minister at the University of Arkansas. The start of a new academic year is always an exciting time. But for some who are sending their children to a university, it can also be intimidating and more than a little frightening. For many, the university has a dark and sinister reputation. “Statistics” are shared on the high percentage of Christian students who lose their faith while attending a university. Stories are told of professors who attack Christian faith and belittle those who believe.

It is true that many students will face questions, temptations, and opposition that will challenge their faith. The sources of the obstacles vary: A new level of freedom away from direct parental oversight; living among far more diversity of experience, thought, and religious belief; their faith and commitment are not placed correctly; or just because sin and evil are real. But these things are also true of high school graduates that move into the military, a trade school, or the work force.

My experience is that the university campus is not to be feared. I often tell parents that there is a great opportunity for spiritual growth and development. Here are some ways to help make that a reality.

Embrace a Positive Expectation

Christian students attending a university will have opportunities to study the Bible, share their faith, serve their community, and take part in the church’s global mission. If a student’s faith is important to them and they are willing to get involved in Christian life on campus, they can leave the university firmly grounded in their faith, confident in what they believe and how to articulate it, equipped to lead in the church for the rest of their lives, and prepared to be influences for the Kingdom of God wherever he leads them.

Attending a university should be something they embrace as an opportunity to grow as Christians and be involved in the mission of Christ. Begin to pray with expectation for your student’s growth as a Christian while they attend the university.

Build a Solid Foundation

To make the most of the spiritual opportunities that a university can provide, parents can help establish a firm foundation on which this spiritual life can be built. One thing that is vital is to make sure the student’s commitment to Jesus is “transferable”—that it goes with them to the university. It is not uncommon for students who were leaders in the youth group and active in the church to attend a university and never get involved in Christian life there. Their commitment is often to their home church or youth group or is tied to their parents’ faith. Without these, their spiritual interest wains. Often, the first spiritual decision a teenager makes on their own is what they will do when they arrive on a university campus. Help your student understand that their commitment to Jesus doesn’t stay at home but goes with them to the university.

A second piece of a firm foundation is to teach them the skills and convictions they need to feed themselves spiritually: How to study the Bible, how to pray, and other important spiritual disciplines.

Another important step is to make the effort to connect students with Christians and Christian groups at the university before they arrive. The number one factor in a student’s spiritual health and growth is the community with which they become a part. It can either lead them closer to Christ or further away. Therefore, reach out to campus ministries and local churches for information on their activities. Invest in an early trip to campus to meet with ministry staff and students and to jumpstart those connections.

Cast a Missional Vision

As Christian disciples, all that we do is to be seen from the perspective of Jesus’ purpose in the world (Colossians 3:17, 23). It is vital that students do not see these years as just a time to gain academic knowledge or prepare for a career, but as a time to invest in the Kingdom of God and things of eternal value. A few ways that “missional living” on a university campus is practiced are:

• Christian students should look at their academic pursuits through spiritual eyes. They don’t have to be fearful of what they hear in a classroom, but they do need to be wise and discerning. All truth finds it source in God. Students can learn to evaluate what they hear in the classroom through the lens of Scripture, asking themselves what the subject matter teaches them about people, our world, or the mind of God.
• Students will find themselves in communities across campus: Residence halls, apartment complexes, teams, fraternities or sororities, the band, classes, jobs, and more. Christians should find ways to fill these spheres of influence with the presence of Jesus, being salt and light in the places that God has put them as they pursue their education.
• Every year, over one million students from other countries come to study at U.S. universities, many from nations where the chance to hear about Jesus is rare. If Christian students make efforts to build friendships with the international students around them, these relationships can often build bridges for the Gospel. Students will often have to step outside of their comfort zones to initiate these friendships, but the results can be both personally and spiritually rewarding.

Over the years, I have watched God change the lives of hundreds of students from around the world – transforming their lives and equipping them to be spiritual leaders in the church and in the world. The university campus is the environment that he has used to do that. And he will continue to do that as students learn to seek him, commit to his Body, and be a part of his mission as a part of their university experience.

Mike Armstrong is the campus minister for Christ on Campus at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas.