Living for Jesus, Campuses Renewed: Joshua's Story

Joshua’s only focus as he prepared to start college was to do well in school so he could become a successful, wealthy doctor. He thought his plans for his future had no room for extracurriculars. 

But then, even though he grew up in church, he was surprised to learn that there were organizations devoted to living out faith on campus. He attended an activities fair and was immediately drawn to InterVarsity’s diversity, vulnerability, and lack of polish.

“They were awkward,” Joshua said. “I really liked that. They felt like real people.”

One Pivotal Question

As Joshua became more involved in InterVarsity’s community, he quickly pursued becoming a leader.

“I was eager,” he said. “I was arrogant and thought, I have so much to offer you guys.” Joshua had always been a leader in everything he did in high school, but his faith, he realizes in hindsight, was very performative.

One day, Joshua had lunch with his campus minister Peter while they sat on the steps of a campus building.

“Josh, if God told you he didn’t want you to be a doctor, would you give up being pre-med?” Peter asked.

That moment caused Joshua to reevaluate his motivations for everything — money, prestige, approval from his parents. “I needed to be willing to surrender my path to God,” Joshua said.

Renewed Priorities to Renew The Campus

While God didn’t call Joshua give up his pre-med major, he did call him to live his life differently on campus. He began wanting to follow Jesus’ example of serving and loving others outside of the “90-minute slots and InterVarsity structures” he was already committed to. He worked to be a Christ-centered presence to everyone he met on campus.

“Last year, for the first time, left and right I started having conversations about the gospel with random people, friends, classmates, whoever,” Joshua said. “[Before that] I was never secret about being a Christian, but I wasn’t actively trying to tell people about it either.”

Rather than thinking about serving himself, he included God in all his decisions, trying to closely follow where he was taking him. He even obeyed as God called him to live with non-Christian friends so he’d have more opportunities to minister to them.

As he put his faith first, Joshua prioritized reaching others “because there could be someone who needs their life to be changed this year, or someone who needs to meet Jesus.”

Now, Joshua is continuing to be salt and light on campus before heading to med school. “This living a life that’s trying to be an influence for Christ has got to keep going wherever I go next.”