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Dear

I am so proud of you and your accomplishments in reaching this milestone in your life.

Soon you will enter into the college world. Leaving home will seem more traumatic to your parents than to

you, but traumatic it will be even though you won t understand it that way until a few years later.

First, you are leaving the warmth and love of your home, with all of its oversight, protection and

accountability, to enter into a life of dorm living, lectures, erratic schedules and little accountability.

Not only that, but school, church, home and close Christian friends will give way to unbelieving fraternity

brothers or sorority sisters, roommates, fellow students and, above all, many anti-Christian professors.

There are many things I want to share with you as your pastor and your family s pastor and friend. But

unfortunately, it would literally take me a book to include all that I want to write. So I m sending you

Discover the Power of One, a book I wrote several years ago to encourage Christian young men and

women to stand up for their faith. In its pages, youll learn from the example of a young teenager who

found himself alone in a hostile environment. The book is 30 chapters long, so you can easily finish it in a

month if you read one chapter a day. I will be praying for you as you read it.

I want to share some brief thoughts that I pray you ll take with you to college:

1. Most students, particularly freshmen, tend to stand in awe of a professor and his or her Ph.D.Please dont! Earning a Ph.D. in a secular subject at a prestigious university confirmed to me that

many of these professors, particularly those who are militant in their opposition to the Christian

faith, are not all that bright. They have a very narrow focus in their field and very little knowledge

in other areas. Thats why they tear up anything about God, faith and Christianity without

rigorously examining historical evidences and coming to solid conclusions.

They often are not concerned with the truth particularly truth about God, the universe and

redemption. Most of these academics are very narrow-minded, prejudiced and have no tolerance

for the truth. They pursue only their biased point of view. I m not recommending

disrespectfulness, but a very healthy dose of skepticism.

2. Dont be afraid, intimidated or bamboozled by those who question your faith. As a Christian, youare and will continue to equip yourself with the truth and pursue it, wherever it may take you. For

in the end, I know it will take you to the irrefutable historical evidence of your faith.

Many students fall for what I call mindless Christianity, which says, I don t know if these events

happened or not, but I accept them by faith. The Christian faith is reasonable and based on

proven historical examination of the evidences.

3. Your strength will be manifest and will greatly impact others in ways you wont see immediately.But in time, youll be amazed at how that strength will impact even the very people who try to

pressure you in the wrong direction morally, spiritually or behaviorally. You will be able to assure

them, with confidence, that you are not a prude you simply are confident enough to say no to

certain things.

This type of strength will bring you so many faithful friends who will seek your leadership and find

in you a great role model for their faith. That strength is something they will not only admire in

you, but they will try to emulate it. You will find many who do not want to give in to the peer

pressure in college, but they lack the will to stand up. You will be a tower of strength for them.

That pressure is far greater than high school, and your leadership will be able to impact the livesof countless people even some of your teachers.

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What distinguishes a leader and winner like you from the crowd is the strength of your will and not fearingrejection. Rejection by those who seek to derail your Christian walk should be a badge of honor for you.

Remember this:

You are not and never will be rejected by God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

You are not and never will be rejected by your family.

And you never will be rejected by those who truly and selflessly love you.

You know the Word of God, so Im not going to give you another sermon to take along with you.

(Although, it may be a good idea to watch and listen to sermons online every now and again!)

Suffice it to say that for 2000 years, people have tried to tear the Scriptures apart, yet they all have failed.

Most of them are dead, but the Word of God continues with the power to transform and equip millions of

people around the world.

Other religions kill people if they question the tenants of their faith, but Christianity is so confident in its

Truth that it welcomes every criticism. And that confidence comes from knowing that you have the truth onyour side, and the truth will keep you the free, confident, growing, vibrant and successful leader that you

are and will continue to be.

May God continue to bless you,

Michael Youssef, Ph.D.