Local college students return to class in a few days and as the fall semester begins we

have an email from an incoming freshman named Sharon.

Dear Pastor John, I graduated from high school this summer and I will be moving across the

country to attend college this fall.

It troubles me because I've seen many kids who stopped going to church and gave up their

relationship with God after they moved out and moved on to campus.

You have any advice from me on how to stay close to God despite all the distractions and

temptations that come with campus life?

How do I continue to grow spiritually?

And how do I balance time for school and time with God?

Thank you Pastor John for any advice you would have from me and for other incoming freshmen

this fall.

This is such a good question.

I wish every high school graduate who's heading off to college or university would be

thinking this way and asking this question.

So let me say a word to Sharon and to all of them in the hope of being of some service

to this generation of younger Christians who are heading off to school.

And I'll limit myself to five words of counsel which of course will leave many specifics

unanswered.

But I think these five have the effect of enabling students if they buy them to answer the other

specifics as they arise.

So here we go.

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