By Daniel Green
Junior, University of North Alabama
As a graduating high school senior, it seemed like I had been waiting my entire life to go to college.
Being homeschooled in a small town in southwest Alabama doesn’t provide a whole lot of social interaction for someone who thrives off of community and fellowship.
As graduation day approached and I narrowed my college choices, I finally settled on the University of North Alabama. During my campus tour of UNA, an insurmountable peace came over me that I had not felt on any other college campus.
But even after the decision was made, I had a lingering question: How was I going to live out a life of spiritual maturity in a world that is often sinful?
Finding a church home
When I first got to UNA, my biggest struggle was finding the church that the Lord wanted me to be at during my collegiate years.
I visited many churches throughout that first semester, but it wasn’t until I started asking the Lord for discernment that I found First Baptist Church, Florence.
The people here reminded me of my own family — caring, spiritually mature — and they always want to feed college kids lunch!
Here at First Baptist I would find many answered prayers through the church’s leadership. My music minister, Scott Underwood, gave me the opportunity to serve as part of the worship band on Sundays.
My college minister, Jake Dennison, gave me time every week to be poured into, both in small group discipleship as well as one-on-one.
Praying for discernment to make this church decision was one of the first steps in maturing my faith throughout my college experience.
Baptist Campus Ministries
Freshman year, I met an older student in my academic department, Entertainment Industry. He brought me to Baptist Campus Ministries, which quickly became a magnet for me.
Our Baptist campus minister, Matt Daniels, creates opportunities for students to lead as well as grow as disciples together. I now lead worship on Monday nights for our service that we call “The Big Room.”
I have always known that the Lord blessed me with the gift of music, but I struggled throughout high school to know exactly where He wanted me to use this gift.
Through BCM, the Lord has taught me to continually pray for opportunities and to expect that they will come abundantly on His time.
Christian fraternity
After getting involved at First Baptist and BCM, I started to notice a handful of guys living out their faith in Greek life, which was new to me.
I loved the idea of the camaraderie of a team and the closeness of a band of brothers, so I decided to find out more about Lambda Sigma Phi. If ever there was a group of guys that lived out Proverbs 27:17, I have found them.
Lambda Sig lives by a simple motto: “Love the Brotherhood, Serve others, Praise the King.”
After being a member for three years and now serving as vice president, I can say that this experience the Lord has brought into my life has been the greatest gift in my college experience.
Not only have I been held accountable throughout my walk, but I have also had the chance to be poured into every day by my brothers. In this gift from the Lord, I have learned how to pray and surrender my will to Him, so He can show me things I would have otherwise missed.
Advice for new students
If I could leave my freshman self with any advice, it would be these three things:
- Learn how to seek discernment from the Lord and see what He is already trying to show you.
- Learn how to pray for and expect opportunities, even when it feels as if your avenues are uncertain.
- Learn how to surrender to His will above all other things because what you create for yourself will never amount to the gracious gifts He gives.
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