by Henry Shieh

The sweetness and love of fellowship is something that I am thankful for the most, whenever I’m with believers. People are constantly encouraged, comforted, loved during times of fellowship. But should fellowship be our top priority? It is biblical, but is it the only thing that sustains our faith? Sometimes I act like fellowship is the necessary and sufficient feature of my faith and if I don’t have it, I’ll be lonely and nothing else will be important. I tend to think that I’m alone, excluded, out of the loop, unloved etc…

God has blessed me with the opportunity to live with believers and non-believers on campus, but none of whom are part of Lighthouse. Many Lighthouse collegians live on another part of campus which is “further”(I use quotes because it’s actually not that far) and I don’t get the opportunity to spend as much time as I would like with them. Sometimes I play the victim, have sinful/judgmental thoughts, have a “woe is me” mentality, and say “my life is so difficult because I’m so far away from others.” I’m constantly complaining to God that I am alone.

There’s a giant problem with that complaint; who am I really putting my trust in? Am I truly with my whole heart putting my trust in God? Or man?

Don’t get me wrong, having fellowship with one another is important, but relying on fellowship is not the same as trusting on God. One could say, “Of course I’m trusting in God, but I need fellowship!”

Oh really?

We’re called to put our faith in God and not man. I’m not saying you cannot trust in man, I am saying that you must trust God with everything you’ve got because He is the greatest source of comfort, and He can bear all of the burdens. God is the rock that we must build our house on. He can withstand everything. If we trust man, we are like the foolish man who builds his house upon the sand. Just one storm and the foundation is a goner.

This sense of loneliness is just the result of pitying one’s self and is not true! Feeling lonely and that no one loves you is just a result of a selfish heart. Why must everyone in the whole world flock to my needs? I hope this encourages those who feel lonely because the fact of the matter is, you aren’t. God is sufficient and He is all that you need. What you need is different from what you want.

Whenever you feel that you’re alone and that there is no love in your life, I challenge you to ask yourself this: who are you putting your trust in? Is it in God who is faithful and unchanging, and who  has/is/always will love you?

Or is it man?

by Hansol An

The world wants you to think that you need a lot of things. In fact, that’s the point of advertising – to get you to think you need what you didn’t know previously existed. Advertisers want you to believe you need what they’re selling. In the US alone, companies spent $165 billion last year to get you to buy stuff, most of which you don’t need. But it goes beyond material possessions. Philosophies and ideas are constantly being promoted to you as necessities. The world will tell you that you need much more than some ancient religious book and its antiquated scribblings. And if you insist on taking any of it to heart, you should at least supplement it with modern science or new interpretations or insight from today’s great minds.

But that’s not what God intended or teaches us through His revelation. We find our confidence in the one who was and is and is to come, and in the book He gave us. In the beginning was God. In the beginning was God’s word. It became flesh and dwelt among us. These are profound truths that deserve deep examination beyond the brief discussion in this article. But even those of us who profess to know the depths of these truths can sometimes find it difficult to rely on them alone. We are so easily influenced by the weakness of our flesh and find confidence in the lies of the world that we lose sight of God’s steadfastness.

There are those who say they follow Christ and assume the mantle of teacher in churches, but don’t teach what has been revealed in scripture. Is it easy to stay true to the orthodox doctrine of the Bible? Of course not. God told us as much in 2 Timothy 4:3. We should expect that people will come to promote their own agendas and pander to the emerging trends in society. There are so many popular teachers and ideas out there that people gather for themselves. People will anoint those that tell them what they want to hear.

As Christians, we are called to be different; to find confidence, not in ourselves or the opinions of men, but in the One true God. He gave us everything we need to persevere, including His Spirit. The Holy Spirit brought us to saving faith and continues to save us. He gave us the thoughts and desires of our Lord through the inspired pages of the Bible so that we could be sure about what God wants us to know. He gave us His Word so that we can test every idea, philosophy and human wisdom against it. If some new remarkable idea doesn’t measure up to what scripture says, then we know it’s not that remarkable.

This is where we find our confidence. And ultimately, this is why we have assurance. Because we know that the God we worship is trustworthy, and thus, so is His word. Not only that, He gave us the Holy Spirit to give us the strength we need to endure in this life.

1 John 2:26-27 says, “But the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in Him.”

Everything we need, He has already provided.

vs.

by Nancy Rodriguez

Last year, I had the opportunity to attend to the College Life Retreat and I was once again blessed to attend to this year. I remember feeling thrilled to attend to last year’s because it was my first time attending a retreat, ever. Last year, I had so much fun with the skits that we came up with in a short amount of time and later had to perform, with the sermons, with the delicious food and in the end we had a nice treat – snow! It was my first time seeing snow fall and it was so incredibly white! Due to the snow we had our annual games indoors. This year, I was hoping it would snow again simply to avoid the outdoor games because I was a little apprehensive as to what expect. I remember someone mentioning that they used “fish guts” two years ago, and I was not looking forward for that. But if it came to that, I would have been a good sport about it, I think.

I also enjoyed how everyone was a good sport about the Blue vs. Red team competition. Everyone is so high-spirited and is ready to represent their colors but in a manner that ultimately glorifies God (nothing prideful but all for laughs and fellowship). This year I was once again placed on the blue team and I was so thankful because in all honesty, my wardrobe consists of all blue and absolutely no red.

The skits had to incorporate the theme, an object and another theme provided by the captains (who, by the way, were so incredibly encouraging). The outcome of the skits was just so creative and amazing; they never fail to amuse me. I just love how everyone is just so encouraging throughout the process and incredibly patient. I know it can be overwhelming when trying to figure out what the skit will be within your group and who is going to be doing what, but in the end everyone is just so unbelievably considerate of one another.

I was delighted to hear that this year’s theme was “The Young Adult Dilemma” because being a young adult, there are a lot of gray areas in this stage of life (e.g. job, relationships, and the roles of men and women, etc.). Some things that were taught were relatively new ideas and made me reevaluate my view of the role of men and women. I must admit that the messages were difficult to swallow because growing up to a non-Christian home, I was taught quite the contrary. I was taught to fend for myself and to be independent. But in the time that I have been attending LBC, those ideas have been fading away because the teaching there is straight from the Bible, which makes it easier to understand and abide in those roles.

But one of the things I really enjoy about retreats is that you are surrounded by believers and if at any time you have questions about the sermon, or anything else, you can easily ask someone in your small group, staff, or even the pastor teaching. My experience overall was an amazing one because God never fails to reveal to me what I have to work on. I learned so much within just three days and I love how God continues to astonish me with His word and what He has in store for us all. If anything, these sermons made me want to even further my knowledge about the role of women and the want to pursue the principles of the Titus 2 women.

It is always a joy to be surrounded with believers who absolutely love God and are ready to worship Him for an entire weekend, but it doesn’t stop there, even when we return to school, the conversations did not stop. It was just amazing to hear what everyone else gained from the retreat and how they were going to apply it to their lives. Overall living with believers has been a remarkable blessing because, being a relatively new believer, the girls have continually challenged me to be a good witness to others. Retreat for me has been a time where God reveals to me the most and a time to fellowship and get to know other collegians that I may not know.

Photo Gallery

by Stephanie Yu

Serving on College Life these past three years have been a rewarding and humbling experience. Some of the collegians have seen me through the many stages of life: dating, engagement, marriage and now, mommyhood. This ministry is very much a part of the Yu household, and on any given night, we are going to Praise Team practices, bible studies, or meeting up with the collegians; but there was a time before I was cleaning spit-up, washing my second load of onesies of the day, reading children’s books to my two-month-old in obnoxious voices, and wearing the same outfit at home three days in a row.

When Hansol asked me to write this article for College Life, my first thought was of the other new mommies in the ministry and how much our roles have changed since welcoming our new additions. By God’s grace, we’ve been allowed to be witnesses of His good work in the collegians during this formative time in their lives. In years past, we’ve had the privilege and challenge of leading small groups and building relationships with these younger sisters on a weekly basis. But now, we are answering God’s call to us as mothers and young wives to “love our husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to our own husbands” (Titus 2:4-5) and learning how to keep that a priority while we juggle our desires to be committed to the church body and specifically how to continue to be an edifying part of the College Life ministry.

This year, we’ve started Staff Mom groups within College Life – an accountability group of other small group leaders facilitated by a designated Staff Mom, of which I am one! The goal is to provide a place for small group leaders to keep each other accountable, where we can also talk about other things going on in our lives or trade ideas for small group activities, but foremost to pray for one another. Small group leading is no small business or easy task! They are presented with opportunities to keep collegians accountable with issues ranging from keeping daily QT’s consistent, to struggles with purity, and conflict resolution.

It is an incredible blessing, but it makes the truth that God oftentimes uses broken vessels and jars of clay to fulfill His godly purposes so much more poignant. We are indeed poor and needy (Psalm 86) and need prayer to remind us that there is none like Him and none who accomplish good works like Him; it’s an important ministry to pray for one another & be reminded that the ultimate good has already been accomplished.

The official ministry of the Staff Mom ends there. Upon arriving at church on Friday nights, some of the new mommies drive their strollers and Boppy pillows straight into the nursing room where we spend a good chunk of time during bible study. We emerge from our cushy lair just in time to make it for the discussion groups at the tail end of the night. Beyond that designated 20-30 minutes we’re given to talk to the ladies regarding the message (currently a series on “Collegians Have Issues”), we have the potential to have little to no actual interaction with the collegians for the rest of the week!

Paul David Tripp says in his book “A Quest for More”: “In a fallen world, there is a powerful pressure to constrict your life to the shape and size of your life.”

Given our current stage of life, it’d be easy to excuse our absence or lack of participation on a rough night or a baby’s need to sleep, etc. And rightfully so; our greatest ministry right now is to be at home taking care of our children so that our husbands are freed up to serve the church. But God also provides ways for us to do much more.

Paul Tripp in his book, “Relationships: A Mess Worth Making,” says, “We enter relationships for personal pleasure, self-actualization, and fun. We want low personal cost and high self-defined returns. But God wants high personal cost and high God-defined returns.”

Being a mommy and serving in a vibrant ministry provides us with a unique opportunity to bring the (even) younger ladies into our home to spend time with us so they can see how God is teaching us to be workers of the home and to share in the joys and hazards of baby care – hearing our children coo and seeing them smile, at the same time smelling their diapers and risking poo-poo blow-outs and projectile vomit. And while we juggle baby in one hand and a cup of tea in another, we are also so blessed to be able to share in the lives of the collegians.

By Richard Shin

Hi, collegian. I’ll get straight to the point: the world has been tricking us. It throws at us a vast array of reasons for us to be prideful. It’s not only the eclecticism that we should recognize, but the slyness and depth of the message as well. It is neatly packaged for us which is what’s so deceiving. Here is just a small sampling of how this message is presented:

• TV shows like American Idol and America’s Got Talent that put the spotlight (literally) on one person or one group. And even if it’s for a brief moment, I’m sure we’ve all imagined and secretly wished to be in the contestants’ shoes.
• Movies of triumph like Rudy and Scarface that glorify the power of the will and its rewards.
• Internet-powered tools like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and blogs that let us share our talents, thoughts, opinions and much more, in hopes of being noticed.
• Sports communities that imply talent, skill, and hard work matter more than character.
• Music whose lyrics focus around how I feel and what I want that influence how we think.
• The “Customer is King” mentality that seems to permeate our thoughts when we make purchases or eat at restaurants, as if we deserved the best treatment.
• Online resources that impart much knowledge, which often only puffs up.

When these things enter our lives, oftentimes some form of pride ensues. We become more willful; we covet the lifestyle of the rich and famous; we want to be noticed by those around us; we become proud in what we know; we try to show others that we’re “all that.” Simply put, these thoughts and actions are all signs of pride, evidence that we have forsaken the primary purpose in God’s gifts: glorifying God.

These things are not inherently bad. In fact, I would categorize them as “neutral.” In the right context, we can enjoy and use the things above. But like all of God’s gifts, they can be abused. The scary thing is we’ve become indifferent to the abuse.

Let me be real with you. We don’t have a fighting chance – we never did. We might have been deceived into thinking that we did (a la examples above), but we’ve fallen for a lie (Rom. 1:25). But don’t think we were sitting helpless like a baby; we are at fault for believing this lie. Let me explain.

We are prideful by nature. We weren’t created this way, but when Adam and Eve decided to question God’s holiness and authority in Genesis 3, they exhibited pride. They thought they were better than they were and decided to step away from what was right, namely God’s law. And because we were all born of Adam and Eve, the prideful tendencies and desires passed on from one generation to the next.

No one born of Adam is an exception; we all think we’re better than we are (Rom. 3:23). We love thinking about ourselves. We love remembering about how great we are, or could be. Because of this natural tendency, we take advantage of every opportunity to be prideful that’s presented before us. And with access to the world at our fingertips, how easy has it become to find more reasons to be prideful? It almost seems hopeless, doesn’t it?

But there’s an answer: we need to lean on Jesus Christ.

You see, Jesus was the only person who has overcome that cultural influence, ever. How did he do this? By singularly focusing on his mission to glorify the Father (John 4:34, 6:38, 8:29). If we truly believe in Romans 11:36, then we have to believe that even neutral activities can glorify God. Here are a few ways we can do this while not being influenced by the world:

1. Meditate upon the life of Jesus and the gospel. Spiritual growth is a process of becoming more like Jesus (Rom. 8:29). That means from the moment of conversion to the last breath you take, you will have an uncountable number of ways to glorify God. What you can do is remember that Jesus was sent to do the will of his Father. Reflect upon the humility he displayed when being born of man. Imagine the restraint he must have shown when he was being tempted. Dwell upon his showing love and truth, grace and mercy hand-in-hand to everyone whom he ministered. Mimic the dependence he showed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Emulate the discipline he must have shown when carrying his cross. Remember the sense of duty he must have felt when being nailed to that cross. Imagine the sense of satisfaction and anticipation he must have felt when he said, “It is finished,” ready to be received by his Father saying, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
2. Take active measures to examine our own hearts. We can check ourselves with biblical truths and principles like

• Looking out for the interest of others (Phil. 2:4)
• Not leaning on our own understanding (Jer. 17:9; Prov. 3:5-6)
• Being mindful of what we say and do (Mark 7:21-23; Titus 2:7-8)
• Not coveting what we don’t have (Ex. 20:17) because we are content with what God has given us (Heb. 13:5-6)

3. Pray. For example, we can glorify God by praying while watching the next episode of The Voice. We can. Before we watch it, pray “God, allow me to watch this and marvel at the gifts you grant. Allow me to not be judgmental of those who don’t perform as well. Guard my heart so that I don’t become jealous of the people who do. If they don’t already, please allow them to use those gifts to honor you. I pray others watching be shown a glimpse of your creativity and greatness, and that you would lead them to worship you alone.”

Now I want you to know that while these neutral activites can be used to glorify God, it doesn’t mean it’s always wise to partake in these activities. There will be times when watching that football game or perusing that website will need to take a backseat for other activities to take priority. But what I’m saying is that when you actually do pursue these endeavors, there is a God-glorifying way to do them.

Collegians, we need to draw from that well. Our effectiveness to be the salt and light in this world is not founded upon ourselves, but in God. And He is the only way we will be able to eradicate pride from our lives. When the world presents opportunities for you to think better of yourself, and you truly desire to fight pride, remember that God will always see you through. If you truly believe that Jesus died for you and your sins, then he died for your inflated sense of self-worth as well.

As we go through the series of “Collegians Have Issues,” let us remember that God is the only one that is worthy to be glorified. This decision to actively glorify God in everything we see, hear, and feel is not one of those decide-once-and-be-done-with-it types; it’s a deny-yourself-and-pick-up-your-cross-daily type. You have to commit every day that you will breathe and live to glorify God in everything that you do.

by Hansol An

If you want to see what is important in this country at any given point, a cursory examination of its college and universities can be a great place to start. Colleges and universities have always been avant-garde and are often a concentrated reflection of society’s ills, concerns, and aspirations. Historically they have been at the cusp of political and social change. They are also often associated with the latest trends and fads. It’s no secret that most colleges encourage the exploration of free thinking and exploration without the restrictions of their parents’ and the outside world’s imposed moral restrictions. This ‘freedom’ can sometimes lead to stereotypical sinful excesses and debauchery associated with collegians. To hear of sinful antics on a college campus is not uncommon, but is typically limited to the coed population. Most hold university leaders and administrators in high esteem because of the stature their positions afford. As children we are taught to respect and trust those who teach us. Such indoctrination stays with us into college even when most other convictions are tossed aside. Events of recent weeks have challenged such thinking and have once again brought the occurrences on a university campus into the living rooms of an entire country.

Pennsylvania State University’s flagship campus at University Park is highly regarded for its academics, but is better known for it’s athletic achievements, particularly those of the very visible football program. If you don’t follow college football, Penn State is well known for having a successful football program for decades, reaching it’s zenith in the 80’s when they won two National Championships. The team is synonymous with Joe Paterno, their head coach for a record 45+ years. He also holds the record for most victories by a coach in the highest level of collegiate football (409; no other coach has reached 400), most bowl game victories (24) and more. His team flourished during his tenure and for the most part he seemed to do it the right way, avoiding many of the scandals that plagued other major college programs. In the eyes of the Penn State faithful he was an icon. That all changed this year when one of his long time assistants, Jerry Sandusky, was arrested and charged with numerous sex crimes against young boys from 1994 though 2009. Some incidences reportedly occurred during his time as an assistant under Paterno. Allegedly, in 2002, Joe Paterno was told about an incident of abuse involving Sandusky and a 10-year-old boy in a school facility. According to a grand jury report, Paterno reported what he heard to his direct supervisor, fulfilling his legal obligation. However, he has been severely criticized for not following-up and reporting it directly to the police when it appeared that the school’s administration did not. Subsequently, he was fired.

Sandusky’s alleged deviance has been widely reported by the media due to its sensational nature and continued to gain interest when it became apparent that high ranking administrators tried to hide the allegations for the sake of the school’s reputation. As so often has been the case, events on a university campus have reverberated throughout America leaving many to question where the moral fiber of this country has gone. I don’t think that the most shocking part is that a pedophile abused so many innocent boys; pedophiles have been around for a long time. The most shocking part is that it happened, over such a long time period, at such a high profile university, while many well respected men in positions of authority did nothing to bring such evil to light.

Events like these cause people to wonder what is happening to our society. To some it seems as if society is getting worse and worse with each passing year but it wasn’t that long ago that the Catholic church went through a similar scandal involving its priests and young boys. People seem to forget too quickly and ignore the truth contained in the Bible. The Word tells us that we should not be so surprised. The truth of man’s condition is described throughout its pages. Jesus himself said, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness…” (Mark 7:21-22). The early church needed only to look around them and see the Roman Empire to witness the depths of human depravity. Before that you could look to Sodom and Gomorrah who were so sinful that God had to smite them. When God has to smite whole towns due to their sinfulness you know that there had to be some serious corruption. The people of Noah’s time were so corrupt that God decided to wipe them all out, except Noah and his family, and start over new. Depravity in society is nothing new. A wise man once asserted, “There is nothing new under the sun.”

The world does not recognize it’s own degeneracy. But believers should not forget that they are also capable of the same level of immorality. Psalm 14:2-3 states, “The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” The word for “all,” in the Hebrew means, ALL. When we loose sight of our dependence on God and become arrogant in our own righteousness, we are in danger of falling into sin. “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom,” (Proverbs 11:2). Even David, a man after God’s own heart, fell into serious sin when he became complacent in his walk and inattentive to his own potential for sinfulness. He committed adultery and murder. Are we “common Christians” any less capable of serious sin than King David? I’m not saying pedophilia is a common sin that people struggle with but I do believe that our hearts are wicked and capable of serious sin. God’s grace is all we can depend on and we must depend on it daily, hourly, moment-by-moment in order to persevere in our walks. We have to maintain our testimonies if we want to be light and salt to our campuses and in turn, the world.

by Hansol An

It’s common for collegians to “church shop” during the first part of the school year. They try on one church, then the next, then the next. Presumably this happens until they find one that meets all their needs. To a certain extent that’s understandable. A reasonable amount of research should be conducted to find a church. That’s definitely important; ending up at a bad church can stunt your spiritual growth, lead you astray or worse. But don’t be content to shop indefinitely, looking for the perfect church that meets all your criteria. No church, including Lighthouse Bible Church, is perfect but there are characteristics that a “good” church should have.

A good church should preach the gospel, make disciples and replicate both, often. It should have qualified leadership as defined by the Bible and not human standards. And without a doubt, a good church needs to practice church discipline. These and other qualities were discussed in more detail by Pastor Patrick Cho a few weeks ago in a Sunday Sermon entitled “Commitments of a God-honoring Church – Part 2.”

But often times the exercise turns out to be less about due diligence and more about finding a church that offers the most for the shopper. Deep consideration is given to the style of worship, the friendliness of the people, the relative age of the congregation, the personality of the preacher, the service times, the dating prospects…we could go on and on. The point is: searching for a church can become self-centered. At first, none of these qualities seem like inappropriate considerations but when examined closely these considerations reveal a selfishness that should have no place in a believer or a church. Re-worded into question form one might ask:

• “Do I like the music?”
• “Are the people nice to me?”
• “Can I relate to these people?”
• “Does the preacher keep me engaged and make me laugh?”
• “Is the service at a convenient time?”
• “Will I find someone to love me?”

All of these questions center around self. Christ told us that the greatest commandments are to love God and to love people (Matt 22:34-40). Of all the things he commanded of us, those are the two most important! Should they not apply when we are looking for a church? Shouldn’t we be asking “Will this church help me love God and love people?”

It’s already November and hopefully you have found a home here at Lighthouse. If not, what’s the hold up? Maybe LBC isn’t the right fit but you need to find a good church. When you read the Bible, particularly the New Testament, it’s pretty clear to see that the Christian life was not meant to be lived out in a vacuum. How would you practice all the “one another” statements? Hebrews 10:25 tells us that we should not neglect meeting together. Church is the vehicle that God uses to reach a lost and dying world. Don’t stand by on the sidelines. Read their doctrinal statements (that might eliminate some churches real fast). But some churches say all the right things so see if they live it out as well. Then commit to a good church and start investing in the people there. Ironically, in the end you’ll probably get more than you give.

If you want to learn more about what a good (or healthy) church looks like, visit 9marks.org. There you’ll find plenty of helpful resources and information about what to look for in a good church.

by Peter Park

College. What a blessing from God. As I look back at my college years, God has taught me more about Himself and how He works through the lives of His people to accomplish His will. Perhaps the most precious truth that God has taught me over the past 3 years, and is continuing to remind me everyday, is the glorious gospel.

For some reason, the truth of the Gospel, told to its entirety, has never been presented to me where I was challenged by the reality of it. Growing up, all I knew the message to be was that Jesus died on the cross for my sins so that I didn’t have to go to hell when I die. However, coming to LBC, I was challenged to think through our sinful condition and how much it separates us from a holy God who cannot tolerate unrighteousness because of His perfect character. I was challenged to consider not only to make a decision, but to commit myself as a disciple that would be willing to give up everything in order to follow Jesus Christ as Lord (Matthew 10:34-39). This made the gospel message, no longer just a pleasant, convenient message that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. But to follow requires dying to oneself’s former ways and living in perfect submission to the One that has died and was raised on our behalf (Galatians 2:20). The gospel has become so much more precious to me and has become the center-point of my faith, the lens that I see the world through, and the only means through which I can truly rejoice out of a genuine sense of love and praise for our Savior. It is because of the gospel now that I am able to fervently pray, passionately worship in spirit and truth, tirelessly love others, cheerfully serve in ministry, joyfully obey my parents and church leaders, and diligently study knowing that all glory goes to God (Romans 11:36).

I am excited to see another year of what God will do through our ministry. As a collegian approaching the end of my college career, I am looking forward to investing into the younger collegians to make disciples of Christ so that I may be salt and light to a lost and dying world (Matthew 5:13-16) and live for my Lord and master who has commissioned me to make disciples of all nations.

by Hansol An

Why We Do It

As a ministry of LBC, College Life inherently has the same Mission as the rest of the church: to make disciples of Christ. No matter what other goals or objectives a campus ministry has, nothing else should take precedence over that. Fellowship with other collegians, having fun, and even accumulating Biblical knowledge fall short of the most important thing a campus ministry does: foster the true spiritual growth of each member. Even small groups are offered primarily to provide accountability and guidance which aid spiritual maturity, not as an exclusive club for good times. Does that mean we can’t have fun? Of course not. I think College Life has the most fun of all the affinity groups! But when it gets down to it, what it really needs to accomplish over a fast-paced school year, is spiritual growth.

All the reports (from the small group leaders) would seem to indicate that the ministry seems to have been successful. Of course this is not to say that every individual that came in contact with College Life became the next Jonathan Edwards. But the majority of the students have shown growth, evident through their lives. AW Pink once said that “Growth is silent and at the time imperceptible to our senses, though later it is evident.” Basically, it’s difficult to quantify, but the way a person talk, acts, and makes decisions over time is the fruit that gives evidence of a person’s growth and faith. Even through casual interaction I could see that many of the College Lifers were showing maturity in May that they didn’t have in September.

This is why we do it. This is why the staff works tirelessly to invest our time, energy and resources into those we have been called to lead. Not to deter any potential staffers in the future, but Peter Lim described it well – it’s a sprint for nine months! But at the end of the year, when it’s time to take an account of what was accomplished, we look to growth as our unperceivable measuring stick; not attendance or fun activities or anything else.

We can’t see it but we can see it. And when we see it, it’s all worth it. Quote me on that.

Changes This Year

For those of you who actually read this, you get a sneak peek at some changes for this year. First, we will be meeting at church on Fridays nights at 7pm. This will allow us to have more flexibility, activities, food and a full praise band. If we want to hangout after bible study, play ping pong and eat, we can. Also we got us a shuttle! Well it’s not just for College Life but still…

by Hansol An

Editor’s Note: This was supposed to be posted on June 30th, but I posted the Single’s Update by mistake.  So the collegians will be getting this as a reminder halfway through their summer instead of at the beginning of it.

“Summer break” is a term that has a very positive connotation for most people. And why wouldn’t it? No school, playing all day and virtually no responsibilities. What’s not to like if you’re a kid? But now you’re 18, 19, 20 or 21 years old. By now your summer break will look a bit different, right? You’re old enough to vote now and fight for your country if you want. You’re no longer legally bound to your parents’ authority. You’re an “adult” now. So then, shouldn’t your summer break be more than just about having fun?

If this were the first century, in Israel or another part of the Roman Empire, a college age kid would likely be married by now. In that culture, ladies were often married at 13 or 14 years old. Mary, the mother of Christ, was probably 14 or 15 when she was carrying the Savior of the World. Guys were usually given a bit more time to prepare for that responsibility. The average age for marriage was around 18 for men. It was highly discouraged for men to be single past 20, even to the point that some Jews considered it sinful. By 19 the average man was a father for the first time. Think about that for a second. How many collegians can even fathom being a parent at 19, let alone 14?

Today’s society will tell collegians that they are still kids. And in certain ways that’s true because this society allows young people to extend the responsibility to become mature until much later in life. “You’re still in school.” Marriage? “There’s always time for that. There’s a lot to experience first.” Children? “Whoa now, that’s way later. Maybe when you’re too old to have fun.” Even in the church, this type of thinking is prevalent. Would it be difficult to find a 30 year old man playing video games for hours each day? To put that in perspective, remember that Jesus was about that age when he started his ministry.

In all honestly, it took me a while grow up. Post-college life for me during the week was pretty simple. I went to work, came home, hung out with my roommates, played a lot of Halo with my roommates, went to sleep late and started it all over again the next day. I’m only being slightly facetious. Sure I did maintain involvement in church activities on the weekends but I could look back on some weeks and think, “I accomplished zero.” It is sad to think about the lack of maturity I exhibited. As Paul warned the Ephesians, I was foolish and not “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” But thank God, I was challenged by those around me and what I was learning at church to grow up. Eventually I took that to heart and started making changes to that end. Not that I’m there yet, but it’s something I continue to strive after.

The point is this: You can be a responsible adult at 18. The vast majority of human history and societies around the globe would attest to that truth. Relative youth was no excuse for Timothy to be less than a mature man. Paul instructed him to, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” You might be young but even the young can be an example for others to learn from. You have the gift of time (time to learn God’s Word; time to grow closer to the Lord; time to invest in people). Use it to become an adult.