I grew up in a church.

Perhaps you did too.

But at some point, growing up in a church won’t be enough to feed your faith when you finally leave the nest and go off to college. Because being a Christian girl in college is much, much more than simply being a good ‘church’ girl living out a spoon-fed faith.

Ya feel me?

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So what is a Good ‘Church’ Girl Living a Spoon-Fed Faith?

Before we really begin living out more than that spoon-fed faith, sometimes living out faith seems like it is just all about simply going through all the motions…

• Read the Bible daily? Check.
• Prayed for each meal? Check.
• Went to church with ’em parents? Check.
• Was polite, respectful and ‘kind’? Check.
• Never got into trouble at school? Check.

Does this sound familiar?

In between all the hours spent scrolling on Instagram, the days spent trying to fit in with other girls our own age and all that time pursuing after physical beauty, we try and squeeze in a tiny portion of time to do all the things on our checklist that we think make us good ‘church’ girls.

From the outside world, girls like me would have easily been able to live under the guise of a good ‘church’ girl, but in reality, our hearts were so far from it. I tried for the longest time to hide my faults from the world and tried hard striving after perfection. But it was only a matter of time before this flimsy foundation my faith rested upon could no longer be sustained. In another word, I was living out a spoon-fed faith.

Now looking back, one of the main reasons why girls like me who grew up in church struggle so hard with truly seeing the Gospel for what it really is, is because of the depth to which I understood it. It is so easy for girls to live life under the misconception that the Bible is just a ‘rulebook’ that you had to follow in order to obtain salvation or a ‘guidebook’ that helped fixed your problems.

However, when our hearts start to change and we dive deeper into the Word, we begin to see that the Bible is so much more than an old, outdated book of rules, but rather as what it is – a story of grace, mercy and truth of a God who has this indescribable ‘agape’ love for us.

Click the image below to grab your FREE mini eBook designed to help you overcome the 10 signs of a lukewarm Christian! Reflect on it, read it and be reminded of how you should be living H.O.T for Christ!

So what does Being a Christian Girl in College Look Like?

You’ve left the nest.

You’ve spread your wings.

And you’re ready to fly…

Only, you’ll probably hit a window or two and bump into some tree trunks along the way.

If you were anything like me, it was likely that the first time in your life where you really had to find your faith on your own was the moment you left the safety net of your parent’s home. It didn’t matter whether or not you grew up in a Christian home or not, you had to discover the relationship you really had with the One who created you… and had to decide whether it was something that was even worth pursuing.

You had to decide whether going to Sunday morning services would be worth giving up the sleep-ins after a long night of studying and/or would going to Sunday night services be worth giving up that extra hour of hanging out with friends? Would choosing to spend time praying and reading the Bible come over getting wasted on weekends and would you choose to live a ‘set apart’ life that made you different from the regular college crowd?

With your parents no longer being the pioneers of your faith status (regardless of whether you were raised Christian or not), you had to begin making these calls on your life. You had to prioritize what you truly believed to be important. And along the way, out of the comforts and protections of home, you had to begin facing things that challenged you… but with those challenges came growth.

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” — Romans 5:3-5

But now that you are a Christian girl going off to college, what does it actually look like to take a step away from spoon-fed faith to growing your faith as a college girl?

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#1 Begin Planting Your Seeds on a Solid Foundation

Have you ever grown something? Maybe a flower, a wee tomato plant or some pumpkins? Regardless of what you grow, one thing that they all share in common is that no matter what you grow, you need make sure that they are planted in a well-nourished foundation. You have to make sure that you are planting your seeds upon deeper, healthy soil so that the roots will have the right nutrients and space to expand!

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” — Matthew 7:24-27

So ask yourself, are you planting your faith on a healthy, solid foundation that will withstand pressures from the world? Is your heart pushing you in a direction that seeks to glorify the Lord? And what truths is your faith resting upon? Because at the end of the day, if your faith is resting upon shallow, unhealthy soil, it will be impossible for it to really take root and grow.

#2 Being Fed Nourishing Truths

There are many well-meaning Christian preachers out there these days that focus on feel-good messages that are meant to encourage us, make us feel beautiful and loved just the way we are. And I totally agree that every single girl – including you and me! – are Children of the light (Ephesians 5:8), fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) and made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), so you are truly beautiful in His eyes!

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” — Proverbs 27:17

But, that being said, when we continually look to teachings that we like to hear, we will never really have the right nutrients to nurture and feed our faith to really blossom. So, if your desire is to really dive deep and continue on this journey to having this unshakeable faith, it is time to stop solely relying on Christian teachings that solely revolve around feel-good messages, and look to Biblical truths that will lovingly convict you to nurture you!

—> Read: 10 Signs of a Lukewarm Christian (+ FREE eBook!)

Click the image below to grab your FREE mini eBook designed to help you overcome the 10 signs of a lukewarm Christian! Reflect on it, read it and be reminded of how you should be living H.O.T for Christ!

#3 Have a Relationship with the Word

Yes, I read my Bible as a child and a teen, but did I really feel a heart to heart connection with scripture? Definitely not! My list of Bible facts were in my head, but in no way had it reached my heart. And why was that? Well, I just wasn’t genuinely interested in understanding God.

When you have a conversation with someone and you aren’t that interested in what they have to say, do you usually just pretend to smile, nod along and throw in a few ‘u-huhs’ along the way? When we aren’t genuinely interested in listening to God and knowing Him, we can so easily go through the motions of reading the Bible, and leave by the end of it thinking that we have done our part of being a ‘good’ child. But how can our faith deepen when there isn’t a genuine love and interest to truly understand Him?

—> Read: 5 Creative Daily Quiet Time Ideas with God

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” — Isaiah 40:8

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#4 Understanding God > Understanding You

I hate to admit it, but so often we look to the Bible and we look to God to be the answer to all our problems. We are an impatient bunch who just wants a quick solution to all the troubles our life holds. But this isn’t the way God intended for us to have a relationship with Him and His Word.

It is true. God is amazing. But more often than we’d like to admit, we expect to rub the magic lamp and have Him to work as our magic genie that grants us three wishes. However, that isn’t the way God works.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

— Isaiah 55:8-9

When we begin understanding the very nature of God, it becomes so much easier to begin trusting Him. Because trust comes with understanding. The pages of the Bible is filled with the very nature of who our Creator is… and there is a lot of comfort in knowing who our Creator is and trusting that He is far greater than the circumstances that we find ourselves in.

And even if things don’t turn out the way we initially wanted or expected, there is great comfort within the pages of the Bible that reminds us that God can use all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28) and that His ways are always far greater than anything we can imagine.

—> Read: 5 Biblical Truths for Trusting God in Hard Times (+ FREE downloadable devotional)

—> Read: How to Trust God When Bad Things Happen (+ FREE downloadable devotional)

Deeper faith involves needing to switch this mindset of ‘fix my problems God’ to ‘let me understand you God’. The Bible is so much more than just a ‘rulebook’ or a handy ‘guidebook’ that is meant to stop all of life’s problems for us. It is the living, breathing Word of God that was designed so that we could rest in peace knowing who He is.

Like Jesus told Martha, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.” Luke 10:41-42

—> Read: How to Find Your Identity in God (+ FREE downloadable devotional!)

Click the image below to grab your FREE mini eBook designed to help you overcome the 10 signs of a lukewarm Christian! Reflect on it, read it and be reminded of how you should be living H.O.T for Christ!

So, are you ready to stop living out that spoon-fed faith and step out of being just a good ‘church’ girl? Are you ready to grow your faith as a Christian girl in college and begin living the life that He has designed for you?

Did You Like this Blog Post on How to Grow Your Faith Being a Christian Girl in a Secular College?

Here Are Some Other Resources You Might Like…

—> CLICK THE LINK TO READ … 10 Signs of a Lukewarm Christian

–> CLICK THE LINK TO READ … The Truth About Young Adults in Church

—> CLICK THE LINK TO READ … Maclean’s Testimony: More than a Good Church Girl

—> CLICK THE LINK TO READ … How to Find Your Identity in Christ

or browse the blog HERE!

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Before You Go College Girl…

Hope ya enjoyed this lil’ blog post on what being a Christian girl in college really looks like! Living out your faith in a world that only preaches against it isn’t easy. But deeper faith requires a lot of intentional prayer, seeking after God and a humbled heart. It is one that will throw you under strong waves, but through these challenges, God’s love will be poured out into your hearts and give hope. (Romans 5:3-5)

Drop a comment below and let me know — what has being a Christian girl in a secular college been like for you? Let’s start a discussion! Or better yet, bring this discussion to the Girls After Truth Tribe!

—> CLICK HERE to Join the Girl After Truth Facebook Group!

The Girls After Truth tribe is MORE than just a Christian Facebook group for girls (ages 18-35). It is a sisterhood of faith lovin’ girls who JUST WANT to tear down the walls and talk about issues RELEVANT to modern Christian girls today. Join in on the regular Q&A’s and participate in the open discussions we hold after a message with me 🙂 This is a place for the Christian girl who wants to be in a group that points them to Jesus — all while having a ton of fun doing so!

—> CLICK HERE to Join in on the Fun and Be a Part of Girls After Truth Facebook Group!

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