Navigating Oxford University as a Christian: A Student’s Story

“I don’t think you want to drive,” chuckled the lady who had come to pick me up from the Oxford train station.

I stopped, facing the right front door of the car—the side with the steering wheel.

Oh, right.

I should have remembered England’s right-hand-drive cars. I’d been in this country before, including during my travels to backpack around the world documenting Christian students’ university experiences. I would be sharing the key findings from that journey with a group of young people here in Oxford—a stop along the way of a new and current backpacking journey. (Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post announcing the purpose of this adventure!)

Meeting a Local Student

Within 24 hours of arriving in Oxford—during which time I again tried entering the wrong side of the car more times than I’d like to admit—I headed to a local church for the evening’s youth event. There, I met a wonderful group of teens and young adults for a presentation based on my recent book, Prepare to Thrive: A Survival Guide for Christian Students.

What had she experienced as a Christian in this setting—and what advice could she offer other young people?

After the session, a young woman came and introduced herself as a first-year language student at Oxford University. Naturally, my inner researcher perked up at that! What had she experienced as a Christian in this setting—and what advice could she offer other young people? When we spoke again after church the following Sunday, I had the chance to find out.

The Student’s Story

“Thank you so much for being willing to chat,” I said, once we’d seated ourselves on bench outside, near a few planters of nodding tulips. “Can you tell me a bit about your story?”

In answer, the student shared how she’d come to love languages through the influence of her mom.

“She introduced me to Spanish and to German when I was a bit younger, and I just knew it was something I really wanted to study at university,” the student said, adding how learning other languages unlocks unparalleled opportunities for communicating, understanding others, and sharing the gospel.

“That’s great,” I replied. “What challenges have you noticed so far as a Christian student in this environment?”

“I'd say that on some levels it's very similar to pretty much every university in the UK,” she said, proceeding to describe the partying environment that students encounter right from orientation week. “One of the challenges here is how big the drinking culture is. And I think it's heightened by the amount of academic pressure that there is. People will use drinking and partying in order to escape reality, escape the pressure. And everything will incorporate drinking.”

In comparison, events for students who prefer not to party that way are notably limited.

Like my dad always says, ‘People will be tolerant of anything until it comes to Christianity.’ That's exactly what I’ve found at Oxford.

“One of the challenges I’ve found, especially,” the student added, “is how intolerant people who claim to be tolerant are. Like my dad always says, ‘People will be tolerant of anything until it comes to Christianity.’ That's exactly what I’ve found at Oxford.”

These challenges are even more salient thanks to a tight-knit academic environment.

“We have a tutorial system here,” the student explained. “It’s why people want to come to Oxford—why I love Oxford. Rather than only having big lectures, you will also have one-on-one time with your tutor and three to five other people. It's a time where you discuss, and things will obviously get quite intense. In studying literature, especially, there are always going to be things coming up that I don’t agree with, and things to do with Christianity.”

Many of these things, she explained, are unbiblical ideas presented as fact—for instance, the false idea that God’s character changes from being judgmental in the Old Testament to merciful in the New Testament.

“In a situation where it is quite a closed environment and you are expected to share your views,” she said, “it can be difficult to say what you want to say and to express what you believe in a context where your tutor is supposed to be your superior—and supposed to be intellectually superior. When you start expressing your views, you are seen as intellectually inferior.”

“I can see how that would add an extra layer of pressure to conform,” I said. As I described in Prepare to Thrive, the powers of authority and conformity pack a wallop of a persuasive punch, with messages sounding true simply because they’re stated by authority figures in a setting where everyone seems to agree. Christians must be prepared to face these challenges, recognizing that the ultimate authority is not a human figure or a crowd consensus, but the Word of God.

“On the positive side,” I continued, “what have you found encouraging about being a Christian student here?”

“I think something I’ve found is that actions speak volumes,” she replied. “And what you don't do speaks volumes as well.” By staying out of the party scene, for instance, this student had become known as a trustworthy person to whom others could turn for help or advice.

How to Navigate the Challenges

“What would your advice be to another Christian student?” I asked.

I’d say that establishing a routine straightaway is really important, and by routine, I mean making sure that you are always spending time with God at some point in the day.

“I’d say that establishing a routine straightaway is really important,” she answered, “and by routine, I mean making sure that you are always spending time with God at some point in the day. Because with any university, you're under so much pressure and facing so many constant deadlines that it can be so easy to push those [spiritual] things aside—especially when you're sleep-deprived.”

“Totally,” I replied. Students I’d interviewed in multiple other countries had also emphasized the importance of keeping strong spiritual foundations—maintaining a daily personal walk with God fueled through prayer, Scripture, and worship.

“I definitely know that I’m not perfect in that respect yet,” the student continued, “but I’ve always found that I am so much happier, so much more at peace, so much less stressed within my own heart and within my own mind when I know that I have spent time in the morning or in the evening—preferably both—spending time with the Lord and committing things to him in prayer. My mom always says, ‘Fit everything else around your walk with God, rather than fitting your walk with God around everything else.’”

“Amen, great advice,” I said. “It sounds like you had awesome parents!”

“Yes, they’re cool,” she agreed, smiling.

“How do you think churches and families can better prepare and support students?” I asked.

In response, she explained how students need to know other Christians who will be there for them—Christians who can answer questions, offer spiritual advice, and lend a listening ear when life isn’t going so well.

“Students can have [someone] like you were talking about earlier,” she said, referring to part of my presentation where I’d described the value of mentorship, “a mentor who they can go to, to ask those questions. That's really, really helpful.”

Absolutely. Mentorship is a cornerstone of the interpersonal foundations, or strong Christian support network, that I’d heard students around the world say helped them stay strong during their university years.

Along with mentorship, another vital aspect of interpersonal foundations involves staying plugged into a biblical, local church.

“At a church like here,” said the student, indicating the meeting we’d just left, “there is so much going on all the time. And just being able to get involved and go to the services themselves is probably one of greatest helps. On my part, when the week’s been very difficult and there has been so much work, coming here on a Wednesday for Bible study or on a Sunday always puts things completely back into perspective. It realigns my focus, so I feel like my strength is renewed to go and face the next part of the week.”

Global Themes

“That's excellent,” I affirmed. From the importance of consistent time with God to the value of local church and mentorship, this student’s advice confirmed the themes I’d heard students emphasize worldwide—themes I unpack in Prepare to Thrive. Even here at Oxford, a few simple, practical foundation-building tools can help students keep a thriving biblical faith at university and beyond.

Even here at Oxford, a few simple, practical foundation-building tools can help students keep a thriving biblical faith at university and beyond.

God willing, I look forward to sharing these tools with other students and churches as I continue my journey.

That is, if I can remember to get into the right (I mean left) side of the car!