Exclusive Offer from CPYU: 2011 Graduation Bundle from CPYU includes two resources:
Make College Count: A Faithful Guide to Life and Learning by Derek Melleby
and ConGRADulations! Class of 2011 CD/DVD Gift Pack from interlinc
A great gift for graduating high school seniors.
Bulk discount rates available!
1-4 copies –> $24/each
5-9 copies –> $22/each
10+ copies –> $20/each
Make College Count: A Faithful Guide to Life and Learning
Make College Count will help you make the most of your time in college. It encourages you to ask the big questions, like
• Why am I going to college?
• What kind of person do I want to be?
• How do I want my life to influence others?
• With whom will I surround myself?
• What do I believe?
You want your college years to count. This book shows you how to make that a reality.
(Click here to order copies of Make College Count by itself.)
ConGRADulations! Class of 2011
ConGRADulations! is a Music CD, a Media DVD, a Ministry Resource Website and a 48 Page Graphic Gift Book. Your seniors will be encouraged as the songs and videos prepare them for the biggest transition of their young lives. Includes video and written advice from Dave Ramsey, John Bryson, Dr. Stephen Meyer, and more. Brought to you by interlinc.
The College Transition Initiative has been around for almost six years now. It started with a simple question: could CPYU provide resources to students, parents and youth workers to help students make a better transition to college? Although we were concerned with all of the challenges students face, we were mostly motivated by equipping students to live-out their faith in college. For too many students, college is becoming a major stumbling block to a life of Christian faithfulness. Our core conviction has always been that the Christian faith can both survive and thrive during the college years.
On Sunday afternoon at the State Museum in Harrisburg, PA, in partnership with theConnection Ministries, I participated in one of the best college transition events I have seen. At the beginning of my talk I explained to the 300 people in attendance that this was like a dream come true. Students and parents were taking an afternoon to think more deeply about this important transition and they were also surrounded by others who wanted nothing more than to have them make the most of their time in college. Representatives from ten colleges and universities were there along with community organizations and a financial advisor. A big THANK YOU to Dan and Rebecca James of theConnection for their hard work to put all of this together. It was an honor to be a part of it. What a day!
Learn more about theConnection Ministires of Central PA
See more photos from Sunday’s Event
A big THANK YOU to Ty Hogue for putting together my trip to Western, MI! It was a great time. Students, parents and youth workers asked really good questions and were deeply engaged in the material. Thank you, as well, to Bob Crow for setting up a nice little lunch at Calvin College and to the Baker Publishing Group team for their hospitality!
Louis McBride (and his team) at Baker Book House was very kind and sold books at all of the events. This morning on his blog, he posted a few reflections about the book Make College Count. He writes:
“Every year around May we get people in looking for graduation gifts. It’s not May yet but it’s never too soon to have some ideas ready. This year I plan on recommending Derek Melleby’s newest book Make College Count. Not every graduate is going to college. I know that. But for the ones who have their eyes on college this book is a gem. Let me just give you my three selling points which I think makes this a great gift.”
You can read the rest of the review here.
And now it’s time to gear up for the big event at the State Museum in Harrisburg, PA this Sunday at 2:00pm. Can’t wait.
It’s a big week here at CPYU. On Friday evening we have our big fundraising banquet and auction. Three hundred people will join us as we celebrate another year serving God and families through this unique organization. And, we will see who walks away with some great items!
I’m gearing up for my Western Michigan tour! On Monday, March 14, I will be speaking at the Holland Christian High School in the morning and evening. On Tuesday morning, March 15, I will be facilitating a youth worker training event at Kuyper College and Tuesday evening I will be speaking at Corinth Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. I can’t wait. And to finish off the trip, I will be doing a book signing at Baker Book House in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, March 16 at 7:30. This will be my first book signing of my life. I’m a little nervous, as you might imagine. You know, like, will anybody attend and really want a book signed by me? We’ll see. It’s a little surreal to say the least.
So, if you are in the Western Michigan area, here’s the lineup:
March 14: Holland Christian High School, 6:30-9:00pm
March 15: Kuyper College Youth Worker Training, 9:00am-12:00pm
March 15: Corinth Reformed Church, 6:30-9:00pm
March 16: Baker Books House, 7:30pm
What college students should do to make college count:
1. Remember that you are not alone. It’s tempting to think that no one else is experiencing all of the insecurities and emotions you are. But this isn’t true! College is new for everyone and everyone has to navigate all that comes with tons of change in a short amount of time. Take a deep breath and take that next step!
2. Get relationally connected early. The first six weeks are critical. After that people start settling into their groups of friends and form habits. Take advantage of all the free food and visit all of the Christian ministries weekly meetings (Campus Crusade, Intervarsity, RUF etc.) and have the courage to put yourself out there and meet new people. Life is a team sport! (2 Timothy 2:22).
3. Make the most of your summers. Summers are gifts of time that you’ll never have again. At this stage of life, resist the temptation to sprint through college by loading up on summer school or working all of the time. Take at least one or two summers for cultivating a vision for life beyond college and experimenting with some different kinds of experiences/environments to see if they are a good fit as you discover who God has made you to be and what he might be calling you to do. Maximize your summers!
4. With freedom comes responsibility. I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that you will have more freedom than you have ever had before! Bad news? You will have more freedom than you have ever had before! Enjoy your newfound freedom in college—I sure did—but be wise and responsible in your decisions. What you sow now, you reap later.
5. Think Christianly. If you are a Christ-follower then God is calling you to love him with all of you are—including your mind and how you think (Matthew 22:37; Romans 12:2). Resist the temptation to check out intellectually when it comes to your faith. College is a great opportunity to grow in your understanding of what you believe, why you believe it, and why it matters! Ours is to be an integrated devotion to Jesus Christ as we learn from him how to live (Matthew 11:28-30).
Jonathan Morrow is the founder of www.thinkChristianly.org. He is the author of Is God Just a Human Invention?: And Seventeen Other Questions Raised by the New Atheists (with Sean McDowell), Welcome to College: A Christ-follower’s Guide for the Journey and contributed to the Apologetics Study Bible for Students. He graduated with an M.Div. and M.A. in philosophy of religion and ethics from Talbot School of Theology and is currently the equipping pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Murfreesboro, TN.
More college advice.
