by Teddy Yu

Hello, my name is Teddy Yu and God has richly blessed me and many others with the joy of serving on college staff and to intimately witness God at work in the lives of the collegians here at Lighthouse. College life is a critical time where many young men and women live away from family and begin to make many independent and important decisions. It is during this time that many decide a career path, develop lifelong habits, and even pursue a potential spouse. But more importantly, college ministry presents the unique opportunity to minister to many young men and women while they are ready and willing to listen to the Gospel. For it is during this time that they are in the process of forming convictions on matters of life and faith that will guide them through the rest of their lives.

So just as there is joy before the angels of God over each sinner that repents (Luke 15:10), it is our great joy to witness, by God’s grace, steady spiritual growth in the lives of each of the beloved collegians. It is a blessing to be used by God to encourage the collegians by being involved in their lives on a personal basis with weekly small groups, individual meet-ups, or even unexpected and sometimes late-night emergency phone calls. Even simple gestures of kindness such as providing a simple meal or chatting in the hallway at church or writing a quick encouragement note or praying faithfully for them can go a long way in encouraging the collegians. And while it can be humbling and intimidating at times, do not underestimate the influence of your counsel, teaching, and example of holiness, whether in a formal or informal role, to either build up or tear down the faith of the collegians.

These personal relationships with the collegians make it all the sweeter to witness the spectacle of God’s powerful grace in their lives as they: hear the Gospel and respond in faithful repentance, grow in conviction of sin and submission to Christ, publicly identify themselves with Christ through baptism, commit to membership at Lighthouse, delight more in the faithful teaching of the Word, serve with humility, etc. And just as Paul rejoiced at proven of faith (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3; 1 Peter 1:6-7) so too do we rejoice as the collegians bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and continue to run hard in the worship of God after graduation. And especially for those who choose to stay in San Diego after graduation, it is a rich blessing to serve as co-laborers of Christ to bring glory to God together. It is to this end that we in the college ministry strive so that God would, by His grace, work in the hearts of the collegians to bring Him glory in all that they do.

Press on in the faith with perseverance collegians!