Archive of ‘College’ category

5 Ways to Make Jesus the Center of Your Story – Engage24

/ Christian in College, College, How to Share Your Faith, Your Story / 4 Comments

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On day. One mission. To tell others about Jesus. I am engaging on 10.14.14, will you? `

The Bible tells us that God wants us to engage with Him and then to engage the world with the gospel of Jesus. There is a movement happening across the world, and I am so excited to be a part of it! Engage24 is a specific time set apart for engaging the world with the good news of Christ.  While Engage24 is intensely focused on a single day of evangelism (10.14.14), the mission is to promote a 24/7 lifestyle of evangelism and engagement with the gospel.

Engage24 is a 24 hour period when college students purposefully engage their campuses with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The goal is to see every believing college student share the Gospel with at least one person that day.

On my campus, the University of South Florida, my campus ministry Cru is taking part in Engage24. We are wearing shirts that say ‘Tell Me Your Story”. The girls below are some of the girls in our ministry who rocked the shirts!

Tell Me Your Story Collage Our hope is that students at USF will see hundreds of students wearing the shirt and then will ask one of us what it is about. Here is our reply, “Today is Engage24, and we want to engage with the students by listening to their story. We would love to listen to your story and hear if God plays any part in it.” (more…)

Only Jesus can heal your heart.

/ Christian in College, Devotional, Healing, Love, Relationship with Jesus, Surrender Life to Jesus / 5 Comments

Only Jesus can heal your heart.

Jesus came to heal the sick and the broken. He came to save the sinner. In one of my classes, this thought came to mind as I heard sad story after sad story from my classmates. (Jesus, will my classmates ever know you?) This does not mean that he supports their actions, but his love for them will never change. Why is this? Because Jesus came to save the broken.

Jesus came to save my classmates, but they lack the realization that they need him. Maybe they think their lives are fine without him. Maybe they think they’re spiritually healthy.

While on earth, Jesus spent most of his time with the lost and broken. In Matthew 9:12-13 (NIV) Jesus states, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Healthy people don’t understand that they are sick, sinful, and in need of a savior. But the sick, they line up outside of the doctor’s office hoping for something to heal the pain. Do you realize that you are sick and in need of a savior? Maybe you are immune to the hurting in your heart. Maybe like my classmates, you think these feelings are a normal part of life. Or maybe you actually think you are healthy. (more…)

Allison Flexer Blog Tour + Giveaway

/ College, Guest Posts / 8 Comments

SingleTruthBanner

Hello friends!

I’m excited today to be a part of the #SingleTruth blog tour and free book giveaway with Allison Flexer. Allison will be guest posting on my blog and listing 3 truths for single women in college. At the end of the post, I’ll be raffling off a free signed copy of her new book, Truth, Lies, and the Single Woman (Beacon Hill Press). Make sure you enter the giveaway and tell your friends!

Out of all the books for single ladies out there, I have to say that this one is my favorite. Allison is honest, relate-able, and spot on with truth. During the week, I will be tweeting some of my favorite quotes from the book and tweeting the giveaway. I hope you take away some encouragement!

xoxo Joy

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Will my classmates ever know Jesus?

/ Christian in College, College, Relationship with Jesus, Surrender Life to Jesus, Your Story / 8 Comments

College Students and Faith. JoyPedrow.com

I walk out of class in a daze. So much sadness. So much pain. Jesus, will these people ever come to know you? Will they ever experience your life change? When will they experience your healing, forgiveness, redemption, grace and love?

This is my last semester of undergrad at the University of South Florida. I’m taking a class called Storytelling, and each week we share personal stories from our lives. During class last week, students shared one sad story after the next. Topics included: abortion, death, getting kicked out of the church, loss of friends, moving, getting arrested, abuse, and more. I was left questioning, God, when will you change their hearts?

In class, I looked around at my classmates and thought how beautiful each person was because God created them in his image. God, shouldn’t that mean you care about them? Yet, they don’t know you at all. Do they want to know you? Do they even have the information that you exist to be able to make this decision?

So many thoughts. So many questions.

Then, I think about how God saved me. What makes me different? Why did God choose me? I’m just like them. I have similar stories of pain and brokenness. I have screwed up just like them. What makes me different than them? (more…)

I am a Female Freshman: The Painful Realities of College

/ Approval, Body Image and Self Worth, Christian in College, College, Relationship with Jesus, Sexual Abuse, Surrender Life to Jesus / 11 Comments

The painful realities of freshman in college. JoyPedrow.com

Pain is running rampant on college campuses across the globe. Still in college, I have seen and experienced the pain. Some women lack an understanding that they have a God in heaven who loves them and created them with a plan and a purpose. Not knowing about God, they turn to the things the world tells them will provide pleasure and satisfaction. For a college freshman, those things include: boys, sex, drinks, a perfect body, and cool friends.

Maybe you live in a bubble and don’t realize this is happening on our college campuses. Please, open your eyes and realize that pain is spreading like a disease. Women are hurting themselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and Jesus is the only one who can provide healing.

I’m sorry for the language, but I want you to read the honesty and pain in her words. This is a poem written by a freshman who is living in the pain:

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25 Fun Weekend Activities for College Students

/ Christian in College, College / 7 Comments

25 Fun

During my freshman year of college, I worried that I wasn’t experiencing college because I wasn’t drinking and partying. What a lie I believed, because college was insanely fun! College may be portrayed as a party scene, but that is not how your college experience has to be. As a Christian in college, you can still have the time of your life!

Here are some ideas on what to do during the weekend! (P.S. Yes, these are all photos of my crazy friends. We have a lot of fun together!)

  • Craft night! This is a favorite in my apartment.

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How can we maintain an authentic relationship with Jesus in college?

/ Christian in College, College, Guest Posts, Relationship with Jesus / 2 Comments

Joy Pedrow Ministries

In college, it is easy to go through the motions and forget why we follow Jesus, but our walks with God do not have to dry out or become fake. We can constantly experience the love of Christ even during the busy days of college. In this series, Christian in College, guest bloggers will answer questions about faith and college. I’m very excited for you to read blogger Plylicia D. Masonheimer’s post answering, “How can we maintain an authentic relationship with Jesus in college?”  (more…)

Can I have non-Christian friends in college?

/ Christian in College, College, The Journey / 2 Comments

Can I have non-Christian friends in college? Yes! Yes, you can. Christians ask, “How can I socialize with people that have different beliefs than me and not be lead astray from God?”

People tell you to be careful not to let non-Christians influence you negatively and say, “Don’t be “un-equally yoked” with a friend.” This can be good advice in some situations, but it can also stop us from loving and befriending others. I have many friends that I love who aren’t walking with God. That doesn’t stop me from loving them or being friends with them.

If we don’t befriend non-Christians, how will they hear about Jesus?

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