In the intellectual atmosphere on campus, concepts and theories are torn to shreds
and examined for traces of truth. All ideas, at the university, are inspected, digested and tested.
This questioning climate makes it difficult for casually accepted or shallow beliefs to survive.

However, to get deeply involved in this search for the truth can raise some very serious
questions and doubts in your mind. In fact, you will probably begin to question your faith.
A fear which may arise is that you are losing your faith.

So how do you keep your faith and be involved in a search for the truth?
Below are some thoughts and suggestions to enable you to navigate through your university years.

Don't assume that God is not on campus.
God has gone to campus long before you. There are teachers and professors
with a deep Christian faith. The church is present in campus
Christian communities, like the Wesley Foundation. You are not alone!

Remember, you are saved by the love of God! It is the grace of Christ that
makes you acceptable to God. You are not accepted
by God simply by holding the right thoughts. The gratitude of being loved by Christ, moves
us to see, to understand and love God more. With this freedom,
we can think more deeply, and be open to new understandings.

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement and the United Methodist church,
has enabled us to see that head and heart must be linked. It is very important to
use your mind and intellect to see to understand Christ and the will of God.

To keep the faith, means quite simply to trust God. This phrase points us to have
confidence in the presence and strength of God in our lives. It is a relationship
which we have with the living Christ that sustains our faith,
not simply holding the right ideas.

Because the Christian faith is based on a relationship with Christ,
our faith must be lived out in a faith community. Choose friends who will be
supportive of your faith. They may not carbon-copy your beliefs, but they
should be sympathetic to your needs. While you need supportive friends, it does
not mean that you should (or even can) isolate yourself from non-Christians.
You need to be exposed to different types of people and different opinions.
It's what you go to college for. Also, as Christians we are called out into
the world to share our faith. A healthy mix of friendships is important.

It is vital to keeping the faith, and growing your faith, to be
involved in a faith community. The vision of this community calls
us out of our personal problems and needs to bring us into some much larger than ourselves.
The Wesley Foundation at MTSU seeks to be such a faith community
which allows students to grow in their understanding of Christ,
their service to God, and their faith in God's vision.