There’s a long, hot summer ahead, but for parents who are sending a child off to college for the first time, these weeks will fly by. There will be so many conversations you will want to have with your rising freshman, but sometimes it’s hard to know how to get those conversations started. That’s why we wanted to share four articles that will hopefully open the door for a good chat.
The first two come to us from Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) pastor Sammy Rhodes, who leads this excellent campus ministry at the university of South Carolina. A veteran of college ministry, Rhodes wrote these two piece for Desiring God:
The first, College Doesn’t Change Your Heart, It Reveals It, is an excellent reminder to students that no matter what they think they are seeking at college, their hearts will be restless and broken until they find rest and wholeness in Jesus. No sorority bid, acceptance into an exclusive singing group, affirmation from an admired professor, or date with a dream girl will ever fill the gaping need of our bottomless hearts. Those things didn’t suffice in high school and — surprise!– they won’t work in college either.
The second, Six Things Every Freshman Needs to Know, says some things that every parent wants their freshman to hear. Rhodes recommends how a new student can grow in Christian character during the college years, and his advice is both spiritual and practical.
And from TGC, we have these two gems:
Graduate, Think About Your Purpose, Not Your Plan by Sara Barrett. Barrett writes, “Every graduate is standing at the place where numerous paths converge—talents, passions, and resources in hand. At that crossroads, we have a decision to make: Take the road that promises the greatest earthly return? Or evaluate our choices with the priority of God’s kingdom?”
Finally, if you have to choose just one of these to share with your student, you might consider Kevin DeYoung’s Baccalaureate address to a private Christian school in Charlotte, NC: The Most Important Decision You’re Probably Not Thinking About. I think you will agree with Deyoung: “Of all the decisions you’ll face this year, the most important one may be whether you get up and go to church on the very first Sunday when no one is there to make sure that you go to church.”
