About College Life
Who is College Life?
College Life Christian Fellowship is the College Ministry of First Baptist Church of Davis on the UC Davis campus whose aim is to take college-aged people from all spiritual starting points and help them become complete and equipped agents of King Jesus. We are a hospitable, passionate, hilarious, and intellectually-curious group. We believe God loves this world, loves this campus, and loves you – so we fiercely love too.
There are many great christian student groups on campus, and even more Davis Christian fellowships in the surrounding area. We are honored that you have chosen to get to know us a little better.
Completed and Equipped?
So, what does it mean to be a “complete and equipped agent of King Jesus?”
That’s a great question. And the answer hinges on a little Greek word scattered throughout the Scriptures: teleios. It’s a fun word. Go ahead. Say it. **Tel • aye • oss**
Teleios is often translated in the English Bible as “perfect” (Rom 12:2, 1 Cor. 13:10) (Rom 12:2, 1 Cor 13:10). In reality, the word means something more like complete, mature, or equipped(Col. 1:28, Matt. 19:21).
It is related to another Greek word (who knew this was going to be a Greek lesson?!) “telos” which means the hoped-for end, culmination, or goal of a thing. So, the telos of your time in college might be to earn a degree that will land you your dream job. In College Life, we believe that the telos of your life is to live for Jesus—that humans can only live up to their full potential by serving their King.
Looking forwards towards Graduation
So how does our obsession with these little Greek words affect our vision for your time as a college student at College Life? It means we are obsessed with your graduation. By the time you walk across that stage and grab your diploma as a college graduate, we hope you are equipped with more than a Bachelor’s degree— we hope you have become a complete and equipped agent of King Jesus, ready to live a life of faithfulness for God.
We know College Life will be full of joy, laughter, and fun – it’s just who we are. So, much of our energy goes into this mission – to help you become complete and equipped (teleios) people who are ready for a life of faithfulness to King Jesus (your true telos).
This means we want you to know and know the story of the Scriptures. We want you to become comfortable with prayer. We want to introduce you to the joys and the frustrations of the local church. We want to give you opportunities to lead. We want to puzzle together over the big questions. We want to help you cultivate life-long friendships. And we strive to present honest, practical, and inspiring teaching that will mold you into someone more like Jesus.
And Beyond
We want your time in college to be your best years yet. But it is our goal to launch you from college in such a way that the next decades will be even better.
Your college years are a thrilling and formative journey, filled with struggles, accomplishments, and growth. We would be honored if you chose to spend them with us.
-The Staff of College Life (Peter Nittler & Madeline Peterson)
Ready to Meet Us In Person?
Feeling Lonely? You are not alone!
The data is clear — and troubling.
- Loneliness is more than just an unfortunate social experience of the unlucky-isolated. In fact, the former Surgeon General of the United States has called it an epidemic. Those experiencing loneliness experience: worse sleep, altered immune systems, higher levels of stress hormones, decreased cognitive functioning.
- Study after study says that Gen-Z reports the highest levels of loneliness compared to other generations.
This means, if you were to take a walk around the UC Davis campus, chances are a majority of the faces you will see will be the faces of fellow college students suffering under the psychological, social, and physiological damage of loneliness.
It doesn’t have to be this way
At College Life, we know you are an integrated person. You cannot use a scalpel to separate your intellect, your spirit, your emotions, or your relationships. All of these things interact with and affect the others. So, it would stand to reason that if you are not relationally healthy, you will not be spiritually or emotionally healthy, either. By the way, we don’t just think this because it sounds nice, but because Jesus taught us to think this way when he told his followers to love him with their whole heart, soul, and mind.
So as a UC Davis Christian ministry, College Life doesn’t aim to just tackle the “spiritual” stuff. Sure, we take that seriously, but you are a beautiful and complex person who is living in a world that is bent toward your loneliness. Our little student group community aims to be a voice in the wilderness of the university proclaiming, “it doesn’t have to be this way!”
We do this in a variety of ways: by giving ample opportunities to give you the chance to make the best friends of your life, by going on retreats, by eating together, playing together, etc. But also, by showing up for the lonely on campus, you’ll find us passing out flowers as a way of saying, “you’re not alone!”.