Three college students—Joshua, Logan, and Mason—share how encountering diverse people and perspectives on campus is deepening and refining their faith. Their story shows what it means to move from inherited belief to personal conviction—to make faith their own.

Making Faith Their Own: Growing Up, Questioning, and Standing Firm

In our recent “Conversation on the Couch,” Chris Rhoades and I sat down with three college students—Joshua, Logan, and Mason—to talk about how their faith is being shaped in this new season of life. What stood out most was a shared theme: college isn’t pulling them away from faith; it’s pushing them to own it.

For Mason, college has become a place to engage in meaningful conversations about theology and the history of religion. He’s learning to listen, to question, and to think deeply about the roots of belief. His professors challenge him—but those challenges are sharpening his understanding of Scripture and strengthening his foundation.

Logan, too, has faced academic environments where the Bible is critiqued as inconsistent or outdated. But instead of being discouraged, he’s found confidence in engaging those discussions with clarity and grace. He’s learned to identify logical inconsistencies in arguments against the faith—growing both intellectually and spiritually.

Joshua’s journey has taken him into community. On campus, he’s explored multiple Christian fellowships and also joined a local church.  He says every group shares the same goal and tries to do the same things to get there, but their interpretations—built by individual experiences—differ. Through it all, he’s discovering that the Body of Christ is vast and beautifully diverse.

Listening to these young men share, I was struck by how they’re approaching their college years—not just as a time for academic growth, but as a season of spiritual formation. They’re asking good questions, learning to discern truth amid differing worldviews, and practicing faith in everyday conversations and decisions.

College can be one of the most formative experiences in a person’s life. It’s where values are tested, beliefs are stretched, and identity is shaped. For Joshua, Logan, and Mason, this process is not about abandoning faith—it’s about maturing it.

Their posture reflects the wisdom of 1 Peter 3:15:

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

This verse captures what these young men are learning to live out—to be ambassadors of Christ in the classroom, on the field, and in conversation. To stand firm, yet humble. To engage the world not with fear, but with grace and conviction.

Their stories remind us that spiritual formation doesn’t stop at graduation—it grows deeper when faith is tested in the real world.

What we see in Joshua, Logan, and Mason is the next generation of disciples—thinking critically, loving deeply, and walking faithfully.

They’re not just studying for degrees.
They’re learning what it means to follow Jesus in the world.