College…it’s a big event – the “most important four years of your life,” if you listen to university preview magazines. Regardless of the validity of that particular statement, it’s a time of growth and change, and that’s why so many people invest so much effort and money into making their college experiences memorable.

Let’s face it, there’s a reason so many of the older generation begin stories with, “When I was in college…”

Given that, it makes sense to think carefully about what to spend one’s time doing, considering the potential that these four – or more – years are rumored to offer. Clubs, sports, trips, and other fabulous options stand ready and waiting to make your college experience one to remember.

One thing that most college-activity pitches like this fail to mention is the option of service projects. After all, students spending Saturdays feeding the homeless doesn’t look as good on a brochure as students partying the weekend away at Laguna Beach. Still, there are numerous reasons to get involved in ministry opportunities on campus – many of which you may not have even considered.

First, exercise. College students, such as myself, spend hours upon hours at the gym; at least, that’s what we tell ourselves at the beginning of each semester. Signing up to work on a service project provides accountability to show up, which means that instead of lying in and bed hitting the snooze button, the day consists of burning calories and helping out the local community. It’s a win-win situation.

Second, relationships. It’s great to meet people through orientation events, beach trips, all-halls and classes, but there’s something especially great about getting to know people in a servanthood context. Not only is it a great opportunity to see who among your friends has their priorities in order, but often it’s a chance to get into some great conversations. After all, one of the best ways to determine how you want to spend your time at school – and the rest of your life – is to talk it out with other people.
Additionally, it’s been statistically proven that meeting your future spouse in an environment where you are working together makes the chances of long-term compatibility much higher. All right, maybe it hasn’t been proven – but it worked for my parents.

On a more serious note, service projects give a chance to look at life from a different lens, particularly during a time when many students focus solely on themselves. Instead of trying to get the best out of your college experience by slacking off as much as possible and consuming ridiculous amounts of coffee, try getting out of your comfort zone a little bit and seeing what that does for you. It might cause you to learn a little bit more about the world and your place in it – which, after all, is supposed to be why higher education exists in the first place.

So, go meet some people outside of your age group. Do some projects, Get messy. Take a cue from the characters in Norton Juster’s “The Phantom Tollbooth”:

“You must never feel badly about making mistakes,” explained Reason quietly, “as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons.”

“But there’s so much to learn,” Milo said with a thoughtful frown.

“Yes, that’s true,” admitted Rhyme; “but it’s just not learning things that’s important. It’s learning what to do with the things you learn and learning why you learn things at all that matters.”