Archive of ‘Christian in College’ category

Do Rom Coms and TikToks Trigger Porn Use?

Try to name three recent movies that did not have a romance story in the plot. Could you do it? I couldn’t. The media feeds us the lie that we need a man to complete us. During seasons of isolation, watching rom coms do not help with our loneliness and actually, can cause us to watch more pornography.

When I was a college student, I struggled with pornography and loneliness in singleness. I can imagine those struggles would be harder for present-day college students to walk through because of the isolation in online classes, remote learning, and working from home. It’s exhausting and triggering. 

As a sophomore, I broke up with my boyfriend and felt extremely lonely. I spent my nights binge-watching Netflix, looking at porn and habitually masturbating, and my days eating ice cream on the couch. None of my coping mechanisms helped with my negative thoughts and feelings. Fed up with my life, I decided to try giving up romantic comedies for a whole month. I quickly learned that not only romantic comedies, but most movies and TV shows, had a romance plotline. And almost all of those plots included sex scenes. 

Why Follow God in College?

Why follow God in college? The transition from high school to college can decide who you are, who you will become, and who you will follow. You must decide now, before you enter college, if you’re going to follow God in college.

With the start of the new semester, many women will leave home and move to a new place to begin their college years. I’m so excited for you all to begin this new journey! When you go to college, big parts of your life will change. You’ll experience more freedom than you had while living at home. With this freedom, you may be challenged in your faith. (more…)

18 Questions to Ask in an Accountability Friendships

Accountability Friendship Following Jesus in this world is tough – we can’t do it alone. Ladies, we need to partner together and hold each other accountable. During my time in college, I made some amazing godly female friends. One of those friends has become my accountability friend. We are separated by countries now, but we still plan intentional time to talk about life. Our intentional Skype dates continue to impact me spiritually. I have experienced first hand the power of accountability friendship and for that reason, I want to encourage you to seek out this relationship. (more…)

10 Step Guide for Transitioning to College

10 Step Guide to Transition to College _ JoyPedrow.com Transitioning from high school to college is a major change. New place to live, new friends, new classes, independence, and freedom. You have the freedom to do anything and be anyone you want. As a college freshman, this freedom first led me to brokenness, but then led me to Jesus. God used my brokenness to lead me to him, so I would finally choose to stop following the world and start following God. (more…)

Are the Mundane Parts of Life Significant to God?

HOW TO GLORIFY GOD THROUGH-1 Earlier in the summer you met the newest JP Ministries mission partners – Nick and Sofia Audas. Nick and Sofia are recent college grads who see the need to reach college students with the gospel. (Click here to read their story). In today’s post, Nick will answer one of our readers questions – “Are the mundane parts of life significant to God?” If you have a question that you would like answered here on the blog, comment below or tweet them to @joypedrow. xoxo Joy (more…)

Why Support College Ministry?

Why Support College Ministry If you are new to the JP Ministries blog, I want to let you in on a secret – I love college ministry. It was through Cru, a college ministry, that I first heard the gospel presented in a way where I could know God personally. I had gone to church all my life, but I did not know that God wanted to know me – me, broken and hurting me.

My freshman year of college my life hit rock bottom. (Read my story here.) God used my depression to show me that I needed Jesus. As a lonely and hurting freshman in college, I began going to Cru. The Cru staff poured into my heart. I am so grateful for Cru and for the life change they bring by sharing the gospel with college students. For that reason, JP Ministries partners monthly with two Cru staff missionaries – Nick and Sofia Audas. (Read their introduction post here.)

Today on the blog, Nick and Sofia are going to share why they are passionate about college ministry. (more…)

Worried You’ll Miss “The One”?

Worried You'll Miss out on the one? Are you worried that you will miss out on God’s plan, specifically by missing out on “The One”?

Guess what – you can not screw up God’s plan for your life.

Early in college, I dated a guy who was a Christian, but was not running after Jesus. I was afraid to break up with him because I thought, “What if I mess up God’s plan? What if this is the guy I’m supposed to marry?” Throughout the relationship, the Holy Spirit kept showing me that I should break up with him. If he was “Mr. Right”, there would not have been so many red flags. (more…)

Introducing Nick and Sofia Audas – The Newest JP Ministry Partners

Cru Ministry Meet the new JP Ministries mission partners – Nick and Sofia Audas. Nick and Sofia are recent college grads who see the need to reach college students with the gospel. Here you can get to know them, find out why they choose to move to NYC, and how to partner with them.

I strongly love, believe in, and support Cru and mission, and that is why JP Ministries is now a monthly partner with Nick and Sofia. This means that we support them financially each month and through prayer as they live on mission in NYC. To stay connected, Nick and Sofia will be sharing a post monthly about how God is using them to further His Kingdom on the college campuses in NYC.

Meet Nick and Sofia Audas

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How to Write Your Testimony

Write your Story

Every Christian has a powerful redemption story. God can and will use your story to bring him glory. Your story is your most powerful resource for sharing the gospel with the people around you. That is why it is so important to write your story in a way that is easy to understand and that explains the gospel. This post will help you do just that.

I’ve heard people say that their story is not powerful because nothing “bad” happened to them. I want to encourage you that every story is powerful. You went from death to life when you accepted Jesus as your Savior. When you made that decision, the power of the Holy Spirit was given to you. This is the same power that resurrected Jesus from death. Now, that power is inside of you, and because of that fact your story can change lives and bring others from death to life.

Every time we tell our stories we give honor and glory to God. Our story is the story of how God rescued us, saved us, redeemed us, and forgave us. Our story is a story of hope. It’s our first person account of how our lives have changed. And retelling of your redemption story reveals God’s character. Sharing our stories glorifies God because we are giving Him the credit and acknowledging His work in our lives.

We have to be ready to give our story at any moment. The Bible tells us – to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15). How can we be prepared? We need to write out our story and practice sharing it. In the moment, it is easy to get jumbled up, flustered, distracted, and off point. This could distract, bore, or confuse the person you are trying to share the gospel with. We have powerful stories, so we want to maximize the potential and give God the glory.

To help you write your story and  to prepare you to share at any time, answer the questions below. Work through each question and then combine them into your story. Add transitions so your story flows. The best stories have conflict, plot, climax, and resolution – your testimony of how Jesus changed your life is no different. (more…)

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