The Life of a Church

The local church. For so many, this phrase is comforting. Local churches have been around for centuries serving others and giving hope to many. There is great power in a body of believers joining together for a common goal and then setting out to accomplish it together. My freshman year at the University of Alabama I was drawn to join a local church in my new community. The church I chose was Calvary Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa.
For many graduating high school students in America, going off to college is a rite of passage. I was blessed to be one of those students. After I had grabbed my diploma and thrown my hat in the air, the next logical step seemed to be college. When I first came to the University of Alabama, I was shocked at all there was to get involved in. I could not believe how many student groups there were on campus. I felt like the old adage was true for me, the world, or in this case the university, was my oyster. Naturally, like most entering freshmen, I wanted to get involved with groups that mattered and made a difference, not just at the University of Alabama, but in the world. My most important goal was to find a local church home for the next four years, give or take a year.
When my search began, I looked at most every Christian campus ministry there was. There was the BCM (Baptist Campus Ministries), RUF (Reformed University Fellowship), the Navigators, Campus Crusade for Christ, the Wesley Foundation and so many more. Then there were churches. Three stood out to me the most as I was searching. They were TCAT (The Church at Tuscaloosa), pronounced t-cat, Riverwood Presbyterian, and Calvary Baptist. Each church was vastly different than the other and I saw great qualities in all three. The fact that all three possessed aspects of church-life I was looking for made the process of dwindling down to just one a difficult decision. To top it all off, I had never chosen a church home by myself before.
For almost a year at school I struggled with the decision. I knew that I was looking for a church that was welcoming and engaging. I wanted to go somewhere that served the community in a powerful way. One of my biggest desires, however, was to join a congregation that offered a strong community of believers my age. I was looking for a college ministry to be a part of. In the end, this is what I found at Calvary. At Calvary I have found friendships that have encouraged me and challenged me, and I have joined a church family that supports and teaches me. I have never regretted my decision.
My experience is not rare, especially not today. I am only one among thousands of college students looking to belong to a church or campus ministry. Research shows that more and more college students around the United States are searching for religion as they come to college. In the church community we see that there is more of a need for those who want to minister specifically to college students. Because of these rising trends, I wanted to examine the local church through taking a closer look at Calvary, look at what might be causing college students to search for religion more and more, and finally, how churches like Calvary are responding to this raise in interest.