As college students arrived on campus this fall, many have been met with invitations to join a campus ministry. These are wonderful and provide strategic outposts on campus—I serve as a campus pastor with one such ministry. But as I tell the students at our large group gathering each week, if they can only find one hour in their busy schedules, they should go to church on Sunday instead of coming to our events.

God has established one institution for a lifetime of faithfulness and growth in grace: the ministry and fellowship of the local church in its administration of Word and sacrament. As William & Mary student Chloe Folmar reminds us, college is not the time to take a break from the church. Rather, it is the perfect time to enter adulthood in the fellowship of Christ’s body.

Are you a college student? Make it a priority to find a local church home during your years away from home. Do you live and worship near a college campus? Be a church that welcomes and loves your collegiate neighbors. Are you a high schooler (or parent) preparing for a college search? Consider placing a great local church near the top of your priority list.