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Welcome to College: A Christ-Follower's Guide for the Journey
This edition replaced by new revised edition
In this engaging guide, Jonathan Morrow encourages students to consider and engage the issues they will face in the dorm, on campus, and in the college classroom. A great gift idea for all high school graduates! College, more than any other experience in a young person's life, helps to determine what kind of person he or she will be in the future. To help the upcoming student, Jonathan Morrow provides this engaging guide packed with advice on all manner of issues, from dating and friends, classes and homework, to avoiding the temptation to just "check out" spiritually while in school. Morrow gives personal advice and anecdotes, draws examples from Scripture, and offers additional resources for further insights. Discussion questions are included for further study.
In this engaging guide, Jonathan Morrow encourages students to consider and engage the issues they will face in the dorm, on campus, and in the college classroom. A great gift idea for all high school graduates! College, more than any other experience in a young person's life, helps to determine what kind of person he or she will be in the future. To help the upcoming student, Jonathan Morrow provides this engaging guide packed with advice on all manner of issues, from dating and friends, classes and homework, to avoiding the temptation to just "check out" spiritually while in school. Morrow gives personal advice and anecdotes, draws examples from Scripture, and offers additional resources for further insights. Discussion questions are included for further study.
384 pages, Paperback
First published February 5, 2008
5 people are currently reading
231 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Morrow
15 books16 followersJonathan Morrow (D.Min) is the founder of Think Christianly. He is the author of Welcome to College: A Christ-follower’s Guide for the Journey, Questioning the Bible: 11 Major Challenges to the Bible’s Authority, Think Christianly: Looking at the Intersection of Faith and Culture, and Is God Just a Human Invention? And Seventeen Other Questions Raised by the New Atheists (with Sean McDowell), and contributed the chapter “Introducing Spiritual Formation” to Foundations of Spiritual Formation: A Community Approach to Becoming Like Christ. Jonathan contributed several articles to the Apologetics Study Bible for Students and has written for Leadership Journal Online (of Christianity Today). He graduated with an M.Div. and an M.A. in philosophy of religion and ethics from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University and served as the equipping pastor for 6 years at Fellowship Bible Church in Murfreesboro, TN. Jonathan is currently the Director of Creative Strategies and Immersion at Impact 360 Institute where he trains high school and college students in Christian worldview, apologetics, and leadership and serves as adjunct faculty with Union University. His books have been featured on shows like Family Life Today, Stand to Reason, Breakpoint, WAY-FM (Mornings with Brant), Frank Pastore, The Janet Mefferd Show, and Apologetics 315. He and his wife have been married for 13 years and have three children. - See more at: http://www.thinkchristianly.org/about...
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 22, 2017
I would call this book a "Guide for Stepping Into the World." I am not a college student, nor do I feel God leading me to attend college, but the information in this book was still applicable to my own life. While there are many chapters on the practical side of juggling life, schedules, and making decisions, a large percentage of this book was spiritual -- how to deal with doubt, how to be aware of satan's tactics, what logical opposition one most likely will face, the list goes on. It was one of the most spiritual-strengthening and encouraging book that I've read in a while.
I loved how he included "passages to explore." He had a lot of Scripture references. On this note, I personally prefer the KJV so I didn't care for his encouragement to try out random versions, based on "what might work for you." That would be my main disclaimer.
Also, I will note that there are chapters about purity. This book was written for older teens and I personally think that it would be wise to wait until you're an older teen, "about to step into the world" to read this.
There were SO many good quotes! Here are a few:
"Will you define freedom as as living any way you want, or will you define it as the opportunity to live how you ought to live?"
"The truth is discovered, not created."
"Truth may be hard to discover, but just because the quest proves difficult doesn't mean the treasure doesn't exist."
"As Christians, we ought to be passionate about knowing the truth because God is passionate about making it known."
"It is better to fall a hundred times and confess it a hundred times than to stay on the ground and call that which is sinful good. (Proverbs 24:16)"
"Remember that being courageous doesn't mean we aren't afraid, it just means we choose to move forward in spite of our fear."
"Before we can determine what implications a particular [Bible] text has for our lives, we must first discover what the text means."
*I received this book from LitFuse Publicity in exchange of my honest review*
I loved how he included "passages to explore." He had a lot of Scripture references. On this note, I personally prefer the KJV so I didn't care for his encouragement to try out random versions, based on "what might work for you." That would be my main disclaimer.
Also, I will note that there are chapters about purity. This book was written for older teens and I personally think that it would be wise to wait until you're an older teen, "about to step into the world" to read this.
There were SO many good quotes! Here are a few:
"Will you define freedom as as living any way you want, or will you define it as the opportunity to live how you ought to live?"
"The truth is discovered, not created."
"Truth may be hard to discover, but just because the quest proves difficult doesn't mean the treasure doesn't exist."
"As Christians, we ought to be passionate about knowing the truth because God is passionate about making it known."
"It is better to fall a hundred times and confess it a hundred times than to stay on the ground and call that which is sinful good. (Proverbs 24:16)"
"Remember that being courageous doesn't mean we aren't afraid, it just means we choose to move forward in spite of our fear."
"Before we can determine what implications a particular [Bible] text has for our lives, we must first discover what the text means."
*I received this book from LitFuse Publicity in exchange of my honest review*
April 5, 2017
I am so impressed with this book! This is the second edition and is completely up to date with the times. Reading Welcome to College has even been beneficial to me as a parent and a Christian. I plan to have my teenage daughter read it soon, too. I’m hoping to work through the book with deep discussions with her as she will be entering college in the near future.
Welcome to College is packed with information, from details of apologetics and facing personal doubts, to day to day struggles that will be faced as these college students enter the “real world” of the college campus, which can sometimes be a hostile place for Christians.
I really liked the way the book was set up. The chapters are each on different topics, and each chapter has multiple sections that are clearly labeled according to the information covered. I also liked the introduction quotes and Bible verses in each chapter, which set the stage for what you will be learning about. And at the end of each chapter, there are bullet points refered to as “The Big Idea” to remind the reader of the main ideas that were just covered.
I am very thankful for this resource and hope to use it (and future versions that are released) for all of my children as they get ready to head to college.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
You can read this review on my blog at:
https://brittreadsfiction.wordpress.c...
Welcome to College is packed with information, from details of apologetics and facing personal doubts, to day to day struggles that will be faced as these college students enter the “real world” of the college campus, which can sometimes be a hostile place for Christians.
I really liked the way the book was set up. The chapters are each on different topics, and each chapter has multiple sections that are clearly labeled according to the information covered. I also liked the introduction quotes and Bible verses in each chapter, which set the stage for what you will be learning about. And at the end of each chapter, there are bullet points refered to as “The Big Idea” to remind the reader of the main ideas that were just covered.
I am very thankful for this resource and hope to use it (and future versions that are released) for all of my children as they get ready to head to college.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
You can read this review on my blog at:
https://brittreadsfiction.wordpress.c...
July 26, 2025
I wish I had this book before I started college! Highly recommend if you are about to enter college, in college, or doing college ministry! It pretty much covers everything you will encounter in college and how to think biblically about it. Loved it!
January 14, 2018
Fantastic book for the college-bound! My review will be posting to Faithful Thinkers in the next couple weeks.
October 19, 2024
As a Christian and someone who works with college students, most of this book I disliked immensely.
The book is addressed to young people going off to college and being away from their parents and youth pastor for the first time. In the first chapter, the author says that college is a time of discernment, where you figure out what you really believe. So far so good, I thought! But then for the rest of the book he proceeds to tell the reader exactly what they should believe.
Over 250 pages of this 325 page book consists of a refresher course in Christian theology, as understood by conservative evangelicals. In this section the author outlines concepts such as biblical inerrancy, the Trinity, only those who believe in Jesus go to heaven, agents of evil in the world, etc. I got the sense that this part of the book is supposed to be a reference section for college students to go back to when they are exposed to any new ideas from non-Christians or the wrong sort of Christians.
He describes the United States as divided into three world views: the pro-science view that refuses to believe anything that can't be proved by the senses, the postmodernist worldview that believes that everything is subjective, and the Christian worldview which believes that the world is evil and in need of redemption. He spends a lot of time going back to the idea of "moral relativism," which he seems to think is a big problem on college campuses. He uses Ted Bundy as his example of what moral relativism will get you, and implies that college students will be encountering similar moral codes out among the heathens.
There is gendered advice, which is about as retrograde as you would expect. He says repeatedly that men and women are equal but different. In the chapter aimed at young men, he says that because women now do much of the same things as men, boys don't know how to grow in maturity. (Insert eye roll.) His description of a real man is someone who is willing to take action and lead. Adam is cited as the Bible's example of what men should avoid becoming, because Adam passively allowed Eve to sin and failed to "lead his wife." In the chapter on women he mostly focuses on telling them to not think about their looks so much, or the non-attractiveness of the men who want to date them, and to please stop wearing pants with words across the butt. Men need to avoid porn and raunchy comedies. Women need to avoid fantasy romances. The Christian way to date is with an eye to marriage, and of course you want to marry someone with the same religious beliefs as you. He suggests limiting yourself to 4-6 dates with someone, with the only physical contact being hand holding and hugs. Then the man needs to lead a discussion on whether they can be supporting partners for each other. Within a few months you should be ready to get engaged. You can kiss before the wedding (only on the mouth) but definitely no sex because that would erode your feelings for each other. In contrast, sex after marriage only increases the affection between spouses.
So all of that is pretty horrible and would have been a one star rating. The second star is for the few chapters that offer what I think is actually pretty good advice for navigating a world full of beliefs that differ from your own. In chapter 25 ("Sticks and Stone") he encourages his readers to not verbally attack people with different beliefs, to be willing to address repeated disagreements but to also let some things go, and to try to speak truthfully but without shouting or belittling and to manage your nonverbal communication as well. In chapter 27 ("Unplugged and Offline") he talks about consuming a variety of content to avoid getting into a filter bubble. In chapter 38 ("Compassionately Engage Your World") he encourages young people to find social movements to support, but to only pass laws to ban the worst evils in society rather than trying to legislate everything. In chapter 39 ("Watching the Movies with Eyes Wide Open") he talks about how you should neither cut yourself completely off of mainstream culture nor immerse yourself completely in it. You should think about how the shows you watch and the books you read are affecting you, but be willing to engage with secular media. There are also a few chapters of practical advice about physical health and alcohol (drink if you are 21, but don't get drunk). At the back of the book there are some pros and cons for attending a Christian college vs attending a secular college, and he treats both as reasonable choices.
In short, the book encourages young evangelicals to keep on believing what they had already been told before college, without questioning it. This is consistent with most of the other books by the same author. There are a few chapters on how to interact with new ideas, but there should have been a lot more. This book came out almost 20 years ago, and I think that the parts that I agree with may now be seen as too liberal to most conservative Christians.
The book is addressed to young people going off to college and being away from their parents and youth pastor for the first time. In the first chapter, the author says that college is a time of discernment, where you figure out what you really believe. So far so good, I thought! But then for the rest of the book he proceeds to tell the reader exactly what they should believe.
Over 250 pages of this 325 page book consists of a refresher course in Christian theology, as understood by conservative evangelicals. In this section the author outlines concepts such as biblical inerrancy, the Trinity, only those who believe in Jesus go to heaven, agents of evil in the world, etc. I got the sense that this part of the book is supposed to be a reference section for college students to go back to when they are exposed to any new ideas from non-Christians or the wrong sort of Christians.
He describes the United States as divided into three world views: the pro-science view that refuses to believe anything that can't be proved by the senses, the postmodernist worldview that believes that everything is subjective, and the Christian worldview which believes that the world is evil and in need of redemption. He spends a lot of time going back to the idea of "moral relativism," which he seems to think is a big problem on college campuses. He uses Ted Bundy as his example of what moral relativism will get you, and implies that college students will be encountering similar moral codes out among the heathens.
There is gendered advice, which is about as retrograde as you would expect. He says repeatedly that men and women are equal but different. In the chapter aimed at young men, he says that because women now do much of the same things as men, boys don't know how to grow in maturity. (Insert eye roll.) His description of a real man is someone who is willing to take action and lead. Adam is cited as the Bible's example of what men should avoid becoming, because Adam passively allowed Eve to sin and failed to "lead his wife." In the chapter on women he mostly focuses on telling them to not think about their looks so much, or the non-attractiveness of the men who want to date them, and to please stop wearing pants with words across the butt. Men need to avoid porn and raunchy comedies. Women need to avoid fantasy romances. The Christian way to date is with an eye to marriage, and of course you want to marry someone with the same religious beliefs as you. He suggests limiting yourself to 4-6 dates with someone, with the only physical contact being hand holding and hugs. Then the man needs to lead a discussion on whether they can be supporting partners for each other. Within a few months you should be ready to get engaged. You can kiss before the wedding (only on the mouth) but definitely no sex because that would erode your feelings for each other. In contrast, sex after marriage only increases the affection between spouses.
So all of that is pretty horrible and would have been a one star rating. The second star is for the few chapters that offer what I think is actually pretty good advice for navigating a world full of beliefs that differ from your own. In chapter 25 ("Sticks and Stone") he encourages his readers to not verbally attack people with different beliefs, to be willing to address repeated disagreements but to also let some things go, and to try to speak truthfully but without shouting or belittling and to manage your nonverbal communication as well. In chapter 27 ("Unplugged and Offline") he talks about consuming a variety of content to avoid getting into a filter bubble. In chapter 38 ("Compassionately Engage Your World") he encourages young people to find social movements to support, but to only pass laws to ban the worst evils in society rather than trying to legislate everything. In chapter 39 ("Watching the Movies with Eyes Wide Open") he talks about how you should neither cut yourself completely off of mainstream culture nor immerse yourself completely in it. You should think about how the shows you watch and the books you read are affecting you, but be willing to engage with secular media. There are also a few chapters of practical advice about physical health and alcohol (drink if you are 21, but don't get drunk). At the back of the book there are some pros and cons for attending a Christian college vs attending a secular college, and he treats both as reasonable choices.
In short, the book encourages young evangelicals to keep on believing what they had already been told before college, without questioning it. This is consistent with most of the other books by the same author. There are a few chapters on how to interact with new ideas, but there should have been a lot more. This book came out almost 20 years ago, and I think that the parts that I agree with may now be seen as too liberal to most conservative Christians.
June 3, 2011
Gregg picked this book out last year for high school graduation gifts. I finally got around to reading it and I like it, too! Easy to use...it has short but concise chapters, each chapter has a short summary, and he recommends that you read the chapters that interest you at the time you need/want to read them so you don't have to feel like you should read it cover to cover.
Loved the practical suggestions in "overcoming syllabus shock" (chapter 27).
Other topics covered include: Tolerance, Moral relativism, the existence of God, do all roads lead to God?, the problem of evil and suffering, science, designed or not designed, can I trust the Bible, how to read the Bible, health, discovering God's will, death, dating, sex, social media, movies, ethics, and more.
Loved the practical suggestions in "overcoming syllabus shock" (chapter 27).
Other topics covered include: Tolerance, Moral relativism, the existence of God, do all roads lead to God?, the problem of evil and suffering, science, designed or not designed, can I trust the Bible, how to read the Bible, health, discovering God's will, death, dating, sex, social media, movies, ethics, and more.
January 25, 2014
It is a good book for college students to read, either before going or after it's started (although might help if read before classes start!!).
March 23, 2017
[Note: This book was provided free of charge by Kregel Book Tours. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]
As someone who has spent a lot of time in the educational system with two graduate degrees and a hefty load of student debt, and someone who reads a fair amount about life in college [1], I was looking forward to this book. And, it should be mentioned, for the most part I enjoyed this book. I have to note, at the outset, that there are a few aspects of this book that I did not enjoy as well. One of the problematic aspects of reading so many books is that one sees that an author has to pay lip service to affirming the Trinity in any book that presumes to be Christian whatsoever, and that definitely had a way of providing a damper on the beginning of this book for me. Fortunately, the material in the book is generally excellent and so the ritual statements the book makes are not overly bothersome. Still, they must be noted, not least because a substantial part of the audience that cares about the books I read would be even more bothered by such things than I am. At any rate, this is a book that takes a while go get into its subjects, and many readers will likely be as puzzled about its pace and structure as I was.
In terms of its contents, this book is fairly long at nearly 400 pages including very extensive endnotes and some worthy books to read (some of them from a pretty heavily Catholic perspective) concerning faith and science and philosophy that I will be attempting to work my way through. The roughly 350 pages of core material include more than 40 chapters that, as might be expected deal with a dazzling array of subjects in very small bite-size chunks and with a consistent format that includes quotes, big ideas, and suggestions for further reading with every chapter. These chapters begin questions of truth and identity and the problem of evil, spend a fair amount of time wrestling with the philosophy of science, and include questions of sexuality, masculinity and femininity, the power of words, death, debt, dating, social justice, and many other topics. While it took a while for me to see where the author was going, eventually I was pleased by the way that the book combines apologetics and more practical life tips. It is quite possible that many readers will skip to those chapters that they are most interested in, as the second half of the book is back-loaded with the sort of obvious material that a Christian college student would likely want to read.
Given that this book pretty obviously would be of interest to college-age audiences, and comes with a great deal of self-effacing humor as well as serious discussion from the author, is this book of worth for anyone else? If anything, this book may be more useful to those who are in a position to counsel or advice young people than it is to young people themselves, unless those young people happen to love reading and enjoy discussions of apologetics and philosophy. To be sure, these are subjects I have always enjoyed and had the book been available to me when I was half my age and embarking on my university education, I would have loved this book then. So, this book, in its second edition, has a fairly wide target audience and gives advice that is probably less conservative than I would have given but in general fair-minded and designed to encourage young people to wrestle with their own belief system and practices and to be just and compassionate but also godly people. There is little fault to find with the advice this book gives, one only wishes the author had been a bit more clear in his opening.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
As someone who has spent a lot of time in the educational system with two graduate degrees and a hefty load of student debt, and someone who reads a fair amount about life in college [1], I was looking forward to this book. And, it should be mentioned, for the most part I enjoyed this book. I have to note, at the outset, that there are a few aspects of this book that I did not enjoy as well. One of the problematic aspects of reading so many books is that one sees that an author has to pay lip service to affirming the Trinity in any book that presumes to be Christian whatsoever, and that definitely had a way of providing a damper on the beginning of this book for me. Fortunately, the material in the book is generally excellent and so the ritual statements the book makes are not overly bothersome. Still, they must be noted, not least because a substantial part of the audience that cares about the books I read would be even more bothered by such things than I am. At any rate, this is a book that takes a while go get into its subjects, and many readers will likely be as puzzled about its pace and structure as I was.
In terms of its contents, this book is fairly long at nearly 400 pages including very extensive endnotes and some worthy books to read (some of them from a pretty heavily Catholic perspective) concerning faith and science and philosophy that I will be attempting to work my way through. The roughly 350 pages of core material include more than 40 chapters that, as might be expected deal with a dazzling array of subjects in very small bite-size chunks and with a consistent format that includes quotes, big ideas, and suggestions for further reading with every chapter. These chapters begin questions of truth and identity and the problem of evil, spend a fair amount of time wrestling with the philosophy of science, and include questions of sexuality, masculinity and femininity, the power of words, death, debt, dating, social justice, and many other topics. While it took a while for me to see where the author was going, eventually I was pleased by the way that the book combines apologetics and more practical life tips. It is quite possible that many readers will skip to those chapters that they are most interested in, as the second half of the book is back-loaded with the sort of obvious material that a Christian college student would likely want to read.
Given that this book pretty obviously would be of interest to college-age audiences, and comes with a great deal of self-effacing humor as well as serious discussion from the author, is this book of worth for anyone else? If anything, this book may be more useful to those who are in a position to counsel or advice young people than it is to young people themselves, unless those young people happen to love reading and enjoy discussions of apologetics and philosophy. To be sure, these are subjects I have always enjoyed and had the book been available to me when I was half my age and embarking on my university education, I would have loved this book then. So, this book, in its second edition, has a fairly wide target audience and gives advice that is probably less conservative than I would have given but in general fair-minded and designed to encourage young people to wrestle with their own belief system and practices and to be just and compassionate but also godly people. There is little fault to find with the advice this book gives, one only wishes the author had been a bit more clear in his opening.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
March 30, 2017
This a good book to have for yourself as a parent and your child to read I highly recommend reading this book especially if you have children going to college but the can also come in handy to have enough even to get yourself and your child/children ready for the future.
I really enjoyed this book it has a lot of great topics. Which includes
Dating,
Time management
Finances,
Relationships,
Sex,
Reliability of the Bible,
Origin of life and scientific philosophy
And Theological topics.
All these topics are all part of life and especially college kids need to learn about. My kids are not even old enough to go to school yet but this is going to come in handy when they graduate high school in the future.
I am glad that there is a book out like this. It will make college a little not so scary to new students.
I was given a ARC of this book from Litfuse to give a honest review. All reviews are 100% mine own.
I really enjoyed this book it has a lot of great topics. Which includes
Dating,
Time management
Finances,
Relationships,
Sex,
Reliability of the Bible,
Origin of life and scientific philosophy
And Theological topics.
All these topics are all part of life and especially college kids need to learn about. My kids are not even old enough to go to school yet but this is going to come in handy when they graduate high school in the future.
I am glad that there is a book out like this. It will make college a little not so scary to new students.
I was given a ARC of this book from Litfuse to give a honest review. All reviews are 100% mine own.
March 31, 2017
Just to clarify, this is the book I read, but it has a different cover and is a new edition. I have a son going to college starting in the fall. He's graduating in just over a month. This comprehensive look at the world is really a must-read for our children who are ready to spread their wings. Heck, this is a great read for anyone wanting to think about their world view & consider apologetics!
I've had two children already go through college, and I wish I would've had this book to go though it with them. The author covered topics I wouldn't think about, but when you look back as a parent wonder how you might've missed it. lol I never really talked to my girls about not getting credit cards because I just figured they wouldn't get one in college. They didn't, but that's beside the point. The point is, Welcome to College will give you and your student a lot of talking points.
At the end of the book, there are questions to discuss for each chapter. I wish I would've gotten the book at the beginning of the year to have journeyed through it during my son's senior year with him. Now that we have it though, my plan is to use it as a study for he and I to do! I highly recommend this book to any parents with kids who are seniors.
*I received this book for review from Litfuse. This is my personal and honest review.*
I've had two children already go through college, and I wish I would've had this book to go though it with them. The author covered topics I wouldn't think about, but when you look back as a parent wonder how you might've missed it. lol I never really talked to my girls about not getting credit cards because I just figured they wouldn't get one in college. They didn't, but that's beside the point. The point is, Welcome to College will give you and your student a lot of talking points.
At the end of the book, there are questions to discuss for each chapter. I wish I would've gotten the book at the beginning of the year to have journeyed through it during my son's senior year with him. Now that we have it though, my plan is to use it as a study for he and I to do! I highly recommend this book to any parents with kids who are seniors.
*I received this book for review from Litfuse. This is my personal and honest review.*
April 5, 2017
Confession: I didn't read Welcome to College straight through; I skipped directly to specific chapters, needing to reassure myself that Morrow and I agreed on key theological components before I kept reading. Thankfully, we did, so I picked the book back up and kept reading in good conscience.
I truly wish I owned this book throughout and even after my college tenure. While blessed to attend private schools for my entire life (thanks, Mom and Dad!), I freely admit I went from one bubble to another. My college alma mater was known as the southern campus of my high school, simply because so many of us went there! This book would have helped me articulate and defend my faith to those who might not believe the same.
Welcome to College encourages readers of any age to truly know their theology. Not just know about it, but truly know it. One of my former pastors always exhorts fellow believers to be thinking Christians, and that is exactly what Morrow's tome prepares the reader to become. The author explains historical timelines that brought us to today, and holds up both past and present thought against the Word of God - our ultimate source of truth.
I appreciate how Morrow breaks out each topic into its own chapter. Skip around to visit the topics most of interest, but make sure to read it all!
Absolutely a keeper, and one that I freely recommend to college-bound students - and even laypeople.
I received a free copy of the book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
I truly wish I owned this book throughout and even after my college tenure. While blessed to attend private schools for my entire life (thanks, Mom and Dad!), I freely admit I went from one bubble to another. My college alma mater was known as the southern campus of my high school, simply because so many of us went there! This book would have helped me articulate and defend my faith to those who might not believe the same.
Welcome to College encourages readers of any age to truly know their theology. Not just know about it, but truly know it. One of my former pastors always exhorts fellow believers to be thinking Christians, and that is exactly what Morrow's tome prepares the reader to become. The author explains historical timelines that brought us to today, and holds up both past and present thought against the Word of God - our ultimate source of truth.
I appreciate how Morrow breaks out each topic into its own chapter. Skip around to visit the topics most of interest, but make sure to read it all!
Absolutely a keeper, and one that I freely recommend to college-bound students - and even laypeople.
I received a free copy of the book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
April 6, 2017
Jonathan Morrow's Welcome to College covers over 40 topics and questions young Christians may face or wonder as they begin to navigate life on their own as they pursue higher education. Though some teens and young adults might balk at reading a 400+ page tome, Morrow's prose is reader-friendly and contains short chapters that allow for reading a few chapters at a time, or even reading out of order, based on topic.
First published in 2008, this timely 2nd edition provides updates such as recently published studies and books for further study, along with newer pop culture references (e.g. the 2016 Captain America: Civil War film is referred to) and social media mentions such as Instagram which didn't even exist nine years ago. The chapters themselves cover both spiritual and philosophical topics such as "What is faith?" or "What is the purpose of the Church?" along with more practical, day-to-day topics such as scheduling, health, or creating a budget. Each chapter takes about 5-10 minutes to read and closes with a brief summary and resources for further reading. There are copious notes, along with an appendix of additional philosophy resources, discussion questions for each chapter, a suggested 1st semester devotional reading plan, and more.
I think this would make a great graduation gift for young Christians looking to engage in the world around them while still keeping rooted in their beliefs. This book will challenge them to think for themselves and analyze what they hear and see, along with living out their faith in a respectful yet confident way.
[Disclosure: I received a copy of this book via Litfuse for review purposes.]
First published in 2008, this timely 2nd edition provides updates such as recently published studies and books for further study, along with newer pop culture references (e.g. the 2016 Captain America: Civil War film is referred to) and social media mentions such as Instagram which didn't even exist nine years ago. The chapters themselves cover both spiritual and philosophical topics such as "What is faith?" or "What is the purpose of the Church?" along with more practical, day-to-day topics such as scheduling, health, or creating a budget. Each chapter takes about 5-10 minutes to read and closes with a brief summary and resources for further reading. There are copious notes, along with an appendix of additional philosophy resources, discussion questions for each chapter, a suggested 1st semester devotional reading plan, and more.
I think this would make a great graduation gift for young Christians looking to engage in the world around them while still keeping rooted in their beliefs. This book will challenge them to think for themselves and analyze what they hear and see, along with living out their faith in a respectful yet confident way.
[Disclosure: I received a copy of this book via Litfuse for review purposes.]
April 6, 2017
I'm not sure who is more afraid of this giant step in life--the college bound student ... or the parents?? What amazing resource this book would've been for my family two years ago when my husband and I walked our daughter into her dorm, kissed her good-bye, and then left her there ... on her own ... our baby. I bawled the entire flight home. I'll be honest I bawled for most of her senior year (not in front of her, mind you, at least not every time).
Author, Jonathan Morrow, offers this book A Christ-Follower's Guide for the Journey to help parents and students alike to navigate the complexity and unknown of college for this generation. And as we prepare to send our second child off to college next year I consider this book a MUST-READ.
Welcome to College covers numerous topics that range from campus life with tips on making the four years of new found freedom successful; their belief in Christ and the questions they will face internally and externally regarding that belief; and how to live for Christ as a college student on a campus--in a culture--that vocally dismisses Christianity.
Mr. Morrow offers an abundance of resources at the end of each section for the student to further study the topic along with a number of Bible verses to support the topic. At the end of the book there are discussion questions, which make this book an ideal choice for youth pastors to offer their students to prepare them for this stage of life. After reading the chapters I believe there are plenty of chapters that parents and student can discuss together but there is also some more difficult topics on theology that will create questions I think might be better answered by someone with a background in theological studies. There were some things I, as an adult, didn't know or quite understand so as a parent I wouldn't want to offer answers I didn't have or were wrong.
Overall, this is a great book to offer students preparing to go to college. My suggestion would be that this book be given to a student a year or two before they are dropped off on the stoop of their dorm and if possible in the church/Sunday school/youth group setting. This is an ideal book to be offered by youth pastors as they shepherd their students into the collegiate world. And let's face it, when your college student is staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the over-priced tomes required by their teachers ... they're not going to add this book to their reading requirement. #truth
***I received a copy of Welcome to College from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
Author, Jonathan Morrow, offers this book A Christ-Follower's Guide for the Journey to help parents and students alike to navigate the complexity and unknown of college for this generation. And as we prepare to send our second child off to college next year I consider this book a MUST-READ.
Welcome to College covers numerous topics that range from campus life with tips on making the four years of new found freedom successful; their belief in Christ and the questions they will face internally and externally regarding that belief; and how to live for Christ as a college student on a campus--in a culture--that vocally dismisses Christianity.
Mr. Morrow offers an abundance of resources at the end of each section for the student to further study the topic along with a number of Bible verses to support the topic. At the end of the book there are discussion questions, which make this book an ideal choice for youth pastors to offer their students to prepare them for this stage of life. After reading the chapters I believe there are plenty of chapters that parents and student can discuss together but there is also some more difficult topics on theology that will create questions I think might be better answered by someone with a background in theological studies. There were some things I, as an adult, didn't know or quite understand so as a parent I wouldn't want to offer answers I didn't have or were wrong.
Overall, this is a great book to offer students preparing to go to college. My suggestion would be that this book be given to a student a year or two before they are dropped off on the stoop of their dorm and if possible in the church/Sunday school/youth group setting. This is an ideal book to be offered by youth pastors as they shepherd their students into the collegiate world. And let's face it, when your college student is staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the over-priced tomes required by their teachers ... they're not going to add this book to their reading requirement. #truth
***I received a copy of Welcome to College from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
April 14, 2017
A must read book for students contemplating and headed to college - as well as for parents of teens. Reading through this book with my teen helped us have some hard conversations using a Biblical worldview. It also is equipping both of us to better defend what we believe, and I believe it will also be of great value to her as she eventually leaves our home and heads to college one day.
This would be a great graduation present for anyone you know!
This would be a great graduation present for anyone you know!
April 15, 2017
I originally loved Welcome To College. Jonathan Morrow did a great job--following the ideas of C. S. Lewis, keeping his material light-hearted and uncomplicated while still including sound doctrine. I adored it.
Unfortunately this changed before I finished the book. Before I made it to page 200, Jonathan made the statement that we (humans) are not sent to hell for not believing in Jesus (Morrow, 116). This is absolutely a bold-faced lie.
It was such a doctrinal blow that I was not able to read further an
Unfortunately this changed before I finished the book. Before I made it to page 200, Jonathan made the statement that we (humans) are not sent to hell for not believing in Jesus (Morrow, 116). This is absolutely a bold-faced lie.
It was such a doctrinal blow that I was not able to read further an
April 22, 2017
I received this book from the Goodreads First Reads in exchange for an honest review....
Although I'm no longer a college student, this book can easily be applied and used in many phases of one's life (the author did a great job in that area). Insightful, inspirational, well written and well put together, it is a great book for anyone, especially those who are entering college or currently in college. Thumbs up!
Although I'm no longer a college student, this book can easily be applied and used in many phases of one's life (the author did a great job in that area). Insightful, inspirational, well written and well put together, it is a great book for anyone, especially those who are entering college or currently in college. Thumbs up!
April 29, 2017
This book will give so must backbone to the new college student who wants to stand strong in their faith as they head into a new life.
Most of the chapters are short reads and I definitely think this book should be taken in small bites so the reader can fully absorb what is being said.
The author brings up a lot of points that will be challenging as our children head off to college and gives some logical reasoning and research of why what we believe as Christians can be believed.
I think this would be the perfect time of year for a senior in high school to start reading this book. Any sooner and they would probably forget all they have been reading. Maybe even start the summer before they leave for school. But you want to have it read at some point, this will give them so much more confidence as they head into the unknown world of “adulting”.
A copy of this book was given to me by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Most of the chapters are short reads and I definitely think this book should be taken in small bites so the reader can fully absorb what is being said.
The author brings up a lot of points that will be challenging as our children head off to college and gives some logical reasoning and research of why what we believe as Christians can be believed.
I think this would be the perfect time of year for a senior in high school to start reading this book. Any sooner and they would probably forget all they have been reading. Maybe even start the summer before they leave for school. But you want to have it read at some point, this will give them so much more confidence as they head into the unknown world of “adulting”.
A copy of this book was given to me by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
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