Riv’s Heart for the New Students at MSU

[intro]Every year, thousands of new students start college at MSU or LCC. The transition to college creates new opportunities and new challenges. [/intro]

The Opportunities

A new opportunity is the opportunity to for students to feel the reality of owning decisions and worldviews. Up to this point in their life, they’ve functioned under the decision-making and worldview of their parents. Now they are forced, by necessity, to make life decisions for themselves. This is both an opportunity and a challenge.

A tremendous opportunity exists on campus for the gospel. When young people embrace Jesus, often this is a decision that affects the trajectory of their entire life. We have often likened the college years to be like a spiritual greenhouse, ideal conditions for growth and development in their walk with Jesus. The maturing and the shaping of hearts and minds puts college students in a place to become leaders who will be influencers all over the world for Jesus. That is the opportunity!

The Challenges

The challenges that exist on campus are many – the struggle to find a community, the transition, potential loneliness, and temptations at every turn, like binge drinking and casual sexual encounters. Then there’s the challenge to your faith if you come to campus as a Christ follower – opposition to Biblical worldviews in many classes and majors.

Stepping in with Riv

The opportunities and challenges should cause us at Riverview to lift up incoming freshmen in prayer. Pray that many find good connections with other Christian groups on campus. Pray that the students and staff in the MSU Venue would boldly connect with new (and old) students at events like Sparticipation and other Welcome Week events. Pray that the gospel goes out strongly all over MSU and LCC.

God has consistently used young people to turn the world upside down with the gospel. And because of that we should expect young people to experience opposition from the evil one.

If you have a desire to connect and help with the MSU Venue’s mission of reaching college students, contact me ([email protected]) and I’d love to give you some pathways of how you can make a difference!