Oklahoma) ✠ University Lutheran Chapel, Minneapolis, MN (University of Minnesota) ✠ University Lutheran Church and Student Center, Champaign, IL (University of Illinois) ✠ University Lutheran Church, Bloomington, IN (Indiana University) ✠ Zion Lutheran Church, Alva, OK (NW Oklahoma State University) ✠ Zion Lutheran Church, Morris, MN (University of Minnesota–Morris)
✠ All Saints Lutheran Church, Slippery Rock, PA (Slippery Rock State University) ✠ Christ Lutheran Church, Superior, WI (University of Wisconsin–Superior) ✠ Christ the King Lutheran Chapel, Mt. Pleasant, MI (Central Michigan University) ✠ Concordia Lutheran Church, Louisville, KY (University of Louisville)
The College
Choice
By Rev. Marcus Zill
Freedom—it’s a wonderful thing. When you first walk on a college campus, you’ll discover you have a lot of freedom. There’s no doubt that college is an exciting time. Packing up everything you own in the back of your parents’ SUV, pushing it into an elevator in an overflowing shopping cart, and trying to squeeze it all into a small dorm room along with the stuff of a total stranger who you will be living with for the next nine months is quite the experience. It can be extremely exhilarating and terribly frightening all at once. For perhaps the first time, you’ll be spending an extended period of time away from friends, family, church—everything that’s given your life some stability. There’s a great energy that comes from this collegiate freedom, but with that freedom comes great responsibility. Responsibility means making good choices and college is a time for just that as well. You will likely make many life changing decisions during your college years: • • • •
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What do I want to do with my life? What career choice best suits me? Who will I end up marrying? Where will I end up living?
Yes, college often answers these questions.These years are the bridge.You’ve left behind being a kid, and you’re crossing over to being a productive adult. But while all types of decisions are made during your collegiate years, the most important is actually made long before you even eat your first meal in the cafeteria— namely where you will go to school! Long before you walk through the campus quad and sit in your first class, you will have to answer the following questions as you deliberate where to go to college.
• • • • • •
Do I want to go to a community college or a four year school? Should I go to a public university or a private (Christian) college? How far away from home should I go? What kinds of programs are available for me there? What can I afford? Is it worth it to load up on student loans in order to go to a better school?
These are certainly enormous considerations in selecting a college to attend. But there is an even more important question to be carefully weighed: where will I go to hear the Gospel and receive Christ’s gifts in the Sacrament for the forgiveness of my sins? It may sound obvious, but unfortunately, it’s common for this to be an afterthought when selecting a college. We want to help reverse this trend and start a new one. We encourage you to make this the number one consideration in choosing a college. It’s no secret that more college students stray away from the faith during college than remain rooted in Christ during these formative years. We don’t want that for any of you! It’s important that you “set your mind on things above” not only before college but also during college and afterward. College is a place where the focus is on earthly things, but we want you to remain rooted on higher things there too. It’s never too early to begin thinking about where you might go to college. It’s also never too early to begin thinking of what schools have faithful churches or campus ministries where you will be well fed during this important time of transition in your life.
, ND (Dickinson State University) ✠ St.Andrew’s Lutheran Church and Campus Center, Laramie,WY (Univ. of Wyoming) ✠ St. Mark Lutheran Church, Conroe,TX (Sam Houston State University) ✠ St. Paul’s Lutheran Chapel, Iowa City, IA (University of Iowa) ✠ Trinity Lutheran Church, Norman, OK (University of
