Connecting with Christian Students on Campus

As a freshman at The University of Texas, I was not excited for college until I met Christian Students on Campus.

A Christian from a non-Christian family, the only thought I had upon coming to UT was that I probably needed some Christian friends. I was pretty cynical about it though, since UT was my last pick for college, and I was hoping that the next four years would excuse themselves quickly. This was still my attitude when I met Lisa and Caitlin at a table outside of the Jester dormitory entrance during the first week of school. Like many people, they were out representing the student organization they belonged to and I added their Christian Students on Campus flier to the growing archive of brochures I kept in my room.

Making Connections with Christian Students on Campus

Feeling lonely and uprooted, however, I did not forget that Christian Students was hosting a welcome dinner on campus that Thursday evening. I reasoned that I had to start somewhere with making friends, and so I nervously showed up – only to discover that Lisa and Caitlin (who were actually on staff with the club) remembered my name. We sat down in a circle of other girls and I felt oddly at home. I had expected to go on feeling like the little bird from “Are you My Mother?” but it was easy to talk with these students who seemed genuinely interested both in me and in the Lord. I exchanged numbers with a few girls I met that evening, and it wasn’t long before we began to invest time in each other and in the Bible.

Bible Studies and Beyond

As a direct result of my blooming friendships, I started to attend weekly Bible studies on campus. Prior to coming to college, I would go through phases where I’d try and read the Bible by myself every day, but I’d usually drop off and forget within the first week. This was the first time I ever read the Bible on a regular basis with companions, and the first time I could remember enjoying it! In my small group, I not only became even closer with my new friends, but I was nourished when they shared their own experiences and points of view.

As my first semester progressed, so did my involvement with Christian Students on Campus. When it came time to go home for Christmas break, Lisa and Caitlin gave me a book to read, both to keep in touch with me, and also to keep me going strong in my walk with the Lord. It was when reading this book, The All-Inclusive Christ, that the Bible first became real and alive to me. I still remember how astounded I was to read that just as God separated the land from the waters on the third day, so was Christ raised from the dead on the third day. This shows that everything in the Bible actually means something, and everything in it points to Jesus. With the help of these sisters, Christ was suddenly viable and accessible in His Word.

Christ and His Body

In all of these ways, the Lord took care of me and captivated my heart freshman year. I came to The University of Texas without any companions, but within a couple of months, I was baking cookies, going on road trips, and reading the Bible with my best friends. I entered into my college years cynical and alone but ended up happier than ever and feeling like I had a very extended family at UT.

Halfway through college now, I am able to say exactly why I felt so cherished and taken care of my freshman year. Of course people invested time and energy in me, and this was an undeniable part of it. But even more so, I was experiencing Jesus Himself through the members of His Body. Drinking coffee and baking cookies with Christian friends was the equivalent of drinking coffee and baking cookies with Jesus. They were His very expression on the UT campus.

I am not sure what I had thought about the Lord prior to coming to UT. Maybe He was a concept, or a philosophy, or a stone wall, high and mighty but impenetrable and distant. But when I became so built up with sisters in the Lord and so immersed in the Bible, the Lord became my central experience at The University of Texas.