Collegiate students, I believe, desire growth in all areas of their lives. The problem is many choose to postpone dealing with how to grow in those areas until they are faced with having to grow up. Most students delay dealing with the responsibilities of life as long as they can so that they can do whatever feel best to them instead of making decisions around the commitments they have made. They know that making committed decisions means being self-sacrificing in a way they are not willing to do at the moment.
One of the areas that I believe students need help growing in is being comfortable in making mature decisions. Many times students want to fit in with the collegiate atmosphere or culture so as not to be alone and/or left out. They know if they make specific choices like studying over partying, not drinking over drinking, etc. they will be excluded.
Another example would be that in today’s culture the “thing to do” is to be noncommittal. Therefore, students who have normally engaged in consistent responsibility chose to not commit since that is what everyone else is doing in life. I thoroughly believe those student long to be committed, but they feel or view that if they do then they will be the target of jokes, labeling, and loneliness.
I also see the other side of some students where they need to learn how to balance their time and activities. Just as many students do not commit, many of them over commit to numerous activities and responsibilities in a way that they become irresponsible. They lack enthusiasm and focus in their activities and work because they are constantly trying to figure out how to balance and complete the numerous tasks they have taken on in life. The result is they develop into machines that “just get it done” with weak results and life change.
Obviously, both mind and heart sets impact students relationship with Christ if they have one. Christ is just another activity or something I do on the side. He is a piece of my life, but not a saturation. He is an inconvenience in life until He is conveniently needed or desire due to difficult life circumstances.
Though these are only two aspects, many areas exist where student need help in personal growth. The question becomes then how do we help them as spiritual leaders in their lives. I see many different ways leaders can assist these students. I believe it begins with us personally (what is our heart condition, Philippians 1:19 -30). We have to exemplify a life of continual growth and personal maturity in Christ. We display an example and how we live truly impacts how students will live their lives. Another way is being involved in their lives. Being engaged in students lives by being their as they make decisions to offer Godly wisdom, love, experience and encouragement is critical. Students maybe limited or be blinded to other options they may have as a part of the decision making process.
Also, introducing them to resources that can help them grow and allow them to wrestle personally with those convictions or concepts. This challenges students to understand why and take responsibility for their thoughts and choices. Many times we spoon feed them with answers or rules of life and as a result we see lives that are not changed but a continuous cycle of irresponsibility or bad choices are created.
A student’s faith journey will be impacted and influence by many different people and choices. Students will encounter numerous people at college including professor, organizational leaders, peers, bosses, co-workers, etc. that they will develop relationships with throughout college. These individuals that they encounter will be the people that are most active in their lives because they have a daily relationship with them. Student tend to draw near and seek advice from those that they interact with most consistently. These will be the individuals that influence student choices during college and after. Choices like what college to attend, what to friends to have, where to live, what activities to participate in, which clubs or organizations to be a part of, whether to attend church, what church they attend, what do I believe, to be a commuter or residential student, and many more.
So, how can we gain influence in students lives to begin helping them? After looking at the four sub-culture of college life, I believe influence will come from being involved consistently in the areas they are interested in as a collegiate experience. Understanding how they live their lives and their philosophy towards the collegiate experience will better equip us to know the individual person and their mind set. By genuinely loving these students with Christ, hopefully they will begin to trust us especially when it comes to making these life changing decisions leading to a gain influence in their lives.