1 Peter 3:15-16a "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience..." 

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What does it mean to defend your faith and to understand the reason for having it? Many Christians, at one of the most pivotal and foundation portions of their life as they move to higher education and careers, struggle with this question. That shouldn't scare the believer who struggles. It should be a call to action. ​​

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The goal of the College and Careers ministry at Sequoyah Baptist Tabernacle follows that of the church at large. Discipleship. Our focus is on the believer's foundation in Christ: their relationship to him, understanding of the Bible, prayer life, and Christian worldview. 

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Relationship - God calls us to know him.

Christ is the reason and center for everything. In Genesis, we find we are created by Him and for Him, not out of any need He had, but in an outpouring of his Love and Goodness. Therefore, if Christ is not our focus, we're missing out on our reason for life. But how is Christ to be our focus? God calls us to know him and as with any relationship this is done by listening and speaking.

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The Bible - God calls us to listen.

So, we're to listen, then. How? The Bible is the most important and unique book in the world. Though written by human hands, the Bible contains not our worlds but God's. Through his word, God reveals himself to us and has shown his character. While not written to us, the Bible is indeed written for us, and is beneficial to the believer, 2nd Timothy 3:16-17. We know God by listening to His word. The more we listen, then, and understand through proper interpretation, the closer we grow to Christ.

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Prayer - God calls us to speak to him.

God speaks to the importance of prayer in places like Matthew 26:41, James 5:16, Philippians 4:6, and that's just to name a few. We wouldn't be very good friends if all I did was remotely shake my head in acknowledgement every time you spoke. The same is true with Christ. This relationship He calls us to is not one sided. How, then, are we to pray? Jesus, in Matthew 6:9-13 gives us a descriptive prayer where we acknowledge God and who he is, align ourselves to Him and His kingdom, and ask him for our needs, forgiveness, and protection. 

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The Christian Worldview - God calls us to go.

Think of a worldview as a lens everything in our world passes through. This lens, should it be blue or purple or green, will tint what we see and will therefore change the way we interpret, understand, and view the world. It is our metaphorical 'glasses' that will focus or un-focus our sight. The Christian worldview, then, is one built upon the Truth of scripture and brings into focus the truth about our origin, purpose, relationship to others, etc.