5 Books You Should Send Your Student To College With

College is a massive step in the lives of those who have grown up in the local church. One reason is that students begin answering many critical questions for themselves: Why do I believe the Gospel? What should a local church look like? Do I want to live in Christian community? What kind of impact do I want to make in the lives of those around me? Who should I date? How should I date?

A great way you can prepare your student to answer many critical questions rightly is to send them away to college with great books. I would recommend buying these books and others. Also, I'd recommend following up with them about these books. Ask your son or daughter, what are you learning from these books? Are they helpful? What questions do you have about them? Do they raise good questions?

1. Reason for God by Tim Keller - I bought Lee Strobel's book The Case for Christ in high school and referenced it regularly throughout college. It blew my mind that there was a good response to the many questions and doubts raised by friends, professors, and even myself concerning the gospel. There are an overwhelming number of great reasons why we should believe the gospel. Your student needs to be equipped to think through why they believe the gospel. Reason for God is one of the best introductory resources for this.

2. Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris - Many expect your student to do jack squat with their college years, which is a stupid thought. This is especially true of the guys that are being sent off. Many of them believe the lie that it's okay for them to waste their college years playing video games, sleeping with their girlfriend, and working as little as possible.  This book pushes hard against that way of thinking.

3. The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman - It wasn't until towards the end of high school that I really understood that I had a duty to make disciples. I found out about this book as a senior in high school and it blew my mind. Yes, your student is commanded to make disciples (Matt 28:18-20). The Great Commission isn't relevant for college students when they graduate, it's not relevant for them when they reach near perfection, and it's not to be ignored. It's relevant for them right now! This book takes a look at how Jesus made disciples and is very practical for our work in making disciples.

I gave my sister a lot of thick books for her
birthdays... I know I'm weird!

4. ESV Study Bible - I received an NIV Study Bible in high school from my parents (way to go mom and dad!) and it was an incredible tool in my walk with Jesus. Some of my first thoughts when reading this Bible probably were "What the heck? The Bible makes sense!" Yes, I probably even cussed I was so excited about making sense of the Bible (I was a baby Christian and had a long ways to go!). For much of my life I believed the lie that the Bible was an incoherent mess of stories, my study Bible helped put that lie to death. I used this Bible like crazy as a freshman in college and love having it so much!

5. Generous Justice by Tim Keller - I read Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren as a freshman in college and was blown away by the thought that the church can make a huge difference in the world. We as Christians are called to make a difference in our cities and cultures. We are called to serve the poor, seek racial reconciliation, and stop oppression, and we are called to do these things in light of the Gospel. Generous Justice teaches and gives vision towards that end.

6. Ask them "What Christian books would you be interested in reading?" and buy it for them! - Yes, this is number 6 and my post was entitled "5 Books…" But, it's technically not a book but an idea. Let's be honest, college students are poor. A barrier to them buying good books is the cash factor. I donated plasma (from blood) in college to pay for the books I wanted to read because I couldn't afford it with the income I had. Be an advocate for their learning and buy them the books they'd love to read if they had more cash. Don't make them give plasma to buy these books!

Any other good book ideas?