Three or four months ago, I stopped into our college minister Jerry's office during my (then) break at 10:30 am, probably with the intention of talking to him for about 5 or 10 minutes about something semi-important.

I ended up staying for the whole hour, and come to think about it, I was probably late for my editing class.

Jerry had just been at an annual college chaplains' conference, so I asked him if there was a topic of conversation that had been popular throughout the weekend.

He talked for quite awhile about a major issue college ministers are currently facing: developing programming/encouraging dialogue amongst students who are in the 18-22(ish) range and have arrived at college with the same basic questions of faith they've had since they were confirmed into church membership.

Lingering questions they've had answered, perhaps, but not in a way that was sufficient for their faith exploration and growth.

He went on talk about the mindset present in a wide array of church communities, a "Q&A" mindset of sorts:

You have a question, we have an answer. (Or, We'll find one.)

Beginnings and ends.

Bringing faith full-circle.

Step-by-step guides.

This, according to Jerry, has sustained some sort of spiritual growth amongst churches, but our generation, "Gen Y," continues to seek more than automatic, easy answers and inactive faith journeys.

"Gen Y" is, I'd say, very unique. If I look around and think about what defines those students here at Muskingum and my friends at other colleges across the country, the questions/thoughts would be like:

How do you know that?

Are you sure?

We'd better look into this.

and...

Is God really like that?!

This is why college students' hearts and minds really amaze and intrigue me. It seems like students want God to matter, make a difference in their whole life. And even if they're not at the point of making a decision for that, they want to see how whole-life integration works in others they know.

This is just really awesome to me.

The ultimate paradox, then, becomes a reality:

As we engage doubt, ask questions, explore new ideas, think, leave our old assumptions behind and approach God in wonder of who He really is, we grow. Even if our own skepticism initially annoys us, we are able to know that seeking God through inquiry really does go hand-in-hand with growth.

So...I like these Web sites a lot, especially because they take time to explore issues relating to life, God, relationships, careers, family...the list goes on. I hope that you too will find them to be reliable and helpful.

explore.

boundless.org
everystudent.com

Keep serving Jesus.

-Jessie