My Biggest Fear for Believers My Age

Author's note: One of the main inspirations for this post was a short sermon from Case Smith, a college ministry leader in Waco that offered a lot of wisdom on the topic.

I am a sophomore at Baylor University, a private Baptist college in the heart of the Bible Belt. Baylor is located in Waco, Texas, a city that offers over 230 churches to choose from, so “a church on every corner” is not an exaggeration.

There is no lack of events put on by these churches: college nights, Bible studies, worship nights, and prayer meetings are all happening nightly across the city.

All of the sermons, all of the worship, all of the groups (which are obviously good things) have left many of my friends burnt out, not knowing what to say no to, and growing weary and tired of their faith.

There is a lot my peers do well

Before diving into what I’m afraid some of my peers are missing in their faith, it is worth noting some of the things that the majority of them do very well. 

A heart for service. I have noticed that so many students are willing to use their valuable time and talents to the benefit of the church. I see people using their talents to play in the worship set at churches both big and small, jumping into kids' ministries, or giving away weekday nights to lead a small group.

Vulnerability. In a world where a “put together” life is celebrated, a lot of the people I am closest with are seeking accountability and being vulnerable with one another. Students have the bravery to raise a hand and say they need help in a room full of people, a feat I did not expect to see nearly as often as I do.

Importantly, there are many people at Baylor choosing to spend their time faithfully rather than going out and trying “the college experience” that is really just propaganda for getting as close as you can to ruining your life without going off the edge.

A persevering faith

Hebrews 11 has been deemed the “Hall of Faith” because of its many verses that begin with “by faith Noah…” or “by faith Abraham…” illustrating how many faithful men and women (imperfectly) obeyed God for their entire lives.

Hebrews 12 begins with “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also…” The point is that we have a faith that is handed down; it is imperfect, but it is perseverant and worth replicating.

The faith that Noah, Abraham, Moses, and many others have passed down is tried and true; it does not need to be modified or adjusted to fit into each person's life. That type of faith has persevered for a reason; it is built on truth and obedience. Faith built on opinions and comfort will always fall away.

“Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

My biggest fear

My biggest fear is that there is a great lack of endurance and perseverance being built in the believers around me (and in me). And the truth is… there is little need for it at Baylor in 2026. It is very affordable to be a Christian for the average student, but later in life it may not be.

“There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness," wrote Eugene Peterson in his book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.

Hebrews 12:3 warns that some will grow weary in their faith and not be able to endure. It is hard to prepare for rejection or opposition at a Christian private school, but someday it will certainly come.

I am afraid that there is a way to fill our lives with religious experience, miss what God has for us, and then try and find what is missing in yet another experience. Corrie Ten Boom puts it bluntly: “If the devil cannot make you bad, he’ll make you busy.”

I see believers jumping from spiritual high to spiritual high but perhaps missing God in the mundane. Unfortunately, a persevering faith usually is not built at another worship night; it's built in the trials, the boredom, the storm.

What’s the cure?

The answer to the issue is, of course… Jesus. “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:1-2). Just as Peter sank while walking on water when he took his gaze off Jesus, we will quickly fall away if we don’t have Jesus at the center, no matter how fast we are running the race.

Often what we need is not another 30-minute sermon or Bible study but to explore the depths of Christ’s heart on our own time. 

“It is impossible for the affectionate heart of Christ to be overcelebrated, made too much of, exaggerated. It cannot be plumbed. But it is easily neglected, forgotten. We draw too little strength from it,” wrote Dane Ortlund in his book Gentle and Lowly.

So what do we draw towards when our faith feels boring? Where do we fix our eyes when we are seeking comfort? The answer must be Jesus. How can we know what perseverance looks like? Yes, Moses and others are great examples, but Jesus did it perfectly, coming down and living joyfully despite suffering.

“Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:3).

I pray that my peers and I can find the peace and joy that exist in a “mundane,” patient, and daily faith. A faith quietly being built to persevere through trials and rejection.