Top 10 Issues College Students Face

There's so much that makes up the college experience... so many opportunities, so many potential pitfalls.  

How well do we assist students in navigating the waters of the college years?

Maybe before we can accurately answer this question we must first ask, "what are the big issues that our students are dealing with?"  If we've not taken the time to answer this question than we must ask ourselves, "how relevant is our ministry?"

I've been working with college students for the last 13 years of my life.  I know there are plenty of you out there who have been working with college students longer than I have (so I hope you'll chime in down in the comments section), or have experienced ministry with college students in different contexts than I have (so your insight will be crucial as well), but here are the top 10 issues I see college students facing today - issues that MUST influence how we 'do ministry.'

Top 10 Issues:

What Message Are You Sending?

Do you know what message your ministry is communicating to others?  
Does it accurately represent you?  
Your thoughts?  
Your beliefs?  
Do your students reflect this message?  
Do they communicate it with what they say and do?

What we communicate through our ministry says a lot about the kind/s of people that are going to find their way into it.

As I continue to be a student of God's Word, it seems to me that the welcome mat into community with God was extended to ALL - in some way, shape or form - and this, I believe, should inform our ministry.  
His call to love our neighbor as ourselves  is said to be 'just like' the call to love Him with ALL of our heart, mind, soul and strength.  No where does He exclude anyone/s - based on anything - we only read of people excluding themselves based on the choices they make, or are unwilling to make.


As you think about your ministry context, do you extend the welcome mat to:

Just 1 Question

I still remember it like it was yesterday... but it happened nearly 13 years ago.


I was a senior in college, and out to lunch with my campus pastor, just days before I was to interview for my first campus ministry position.


We had spent some time catching up on our spring break experiences and were waiting for our food to arrive when his questions turned to my upcoming interview:


"So, are you ready for this interview?"


"I guess," I said, "I've never had a phone interview before... so how hard could it be?"


"Well, if it were me, I would just have one question for you..."


I stared back at him.


"Seriously," I said, "just one?"


"Yep, just one question..."


"OK," I said, "I'll bite... what's your one question?"

How SEXy is your College Ministry?

I'm not sure what exactly you were expecting to find here... but I'm glad you made it!

Statistics tell us that college students are inundated with sexually explicit images, media items, thoughts, experiences and addictions.

I'm convinced that sexually related vices are one of the biggest stumbling blocks to college students experiencing a dynamic and fully engaged relationship with Jesus. The guilt, shame and lack of grace towards themselves becomes too deep a pit for them to believe they can ever escape.

And the worst thing...

We don't know how to help them.

At least that's what the vast majority of our ministries, conversations and programs tell them.

We have not done a good job, as The Church and/or as Jesus-filled ministries and leaders, of creating safe spaces for our students to express what they're thinking, feeling, experiencing, etc. And if we have, we've not done a good job of communicating that to students.

For the first time in my 12+ years of ministry with college students, I helped to put on a week of spiritual emphasis designed to help students explore the links between sex, sexuality and faith.

We brought in some great folks, with powerful stories, that God used to help begin some important conversations on our campus. We talked about things that most Christians feel like they cannot talk to anyone about (and most ministries choose to ignore)... like: pornography, masturbation, premarital sex, what do healthy relationships even look like, how far is too far, arranged marriages, shame, guilt, grace, healing, etc., etc., etc....

And in my almost 5 years at this university, this week of emphasis was the most widely and consistently attended of anything our office has put on... and I would dare say it would rival just about any other series of programs that have ever been provided on our campus.

We're still trying figure out the level/s of impact this week had (and continues to have) on our students... but if there's one thing I learned over the course of this powerful week it's this...

If you're not talking with your students about sex with your college students... YOU NEED TO BE!

And the great folks who helped us through sharing their stories and asking some important questions were:

• Anne Jackson
• Mike Foster
• Michael Johnson
• Micah Weedman

I am forever grateful for these folks and the conversations they started...

I'm grateful for the work God is doing in our students lives and the healing and freedom that students are beginning to experience...

And I'm excited about how God will use the ministries of these individuals, and the ministries of folks just like them, in the future to help sick people get well and enslaved people become free!