Shower a college student with the love of Jesus.
College students are hungry for authentic friendship and multigenerational community. They benefit from building relationships with people like you who are in different life stages from them. By becoming a , you can provide them with a home-away-from-home, a family-away-from-family, and a friend when they need one most, even if their own family lives locally. You can offer them vital support, encouragement, and even mentorship as they go through one of the most transitional times in their lives.
But it’s not just a one-way street. You’ll benefit from having a college student in your life, too. You might start off thinking you’ll make a difference in their life. While we certainly hope that happens, you might be surprised how God uses them to make a difference in yours—and we hope that happens, too.
What’s next?
After we receive your form, we’ll follow up with you about the next steps in the process. Once approved to become a Philos, it may take us time to pair you with the right student, but when we find a good match, we’ll let you know.
FAQ
Each relationship is different, but they all share the same baseline. As a Philos, you would be committing to:
- Contact your student on a biweekly (every other week) basis
- Pray for your student on a weekly basis
- Relate to your student face-to-face on a monthly basis
That’s what we call relational CPR. Philos commit to this baseline for one year unless the student drops out of the program.
Your BAS friendship may develop into mentorship in life skills, career development, or spiritual growth. You might have the opportunity to share the gospel with your student or help them grow in their relationship with Jesus. Or you might not. Your student may become like an extended family member or a lifelong friend, or you may part ways after the year.
Whatever shape it takes, anything beyond the baseline is up to you and your student.
Philos are asked to sign our Philos Covenant, which outlines the responsibilities and expectations we have for them. The baseline commitment can be summed up in these ways:
- We ask you to commit to doing relational CPR for your student for one year:
- Contact your student on a biweekly (every other week) basis
- Pray for your student on a weekly basis
- Relate to your student face-to-face on a monthly basis
- We ask you to conduct yourself in a way that:
- Models Christ to your student to the best of your ability
- Honors your student and does not discriminate against them
- Protects you, your family, and your student from compromising or potentially harmful situations
If you are approved as a Philos, our Program Coordinator will go over the Covenant with you in more details and answer any questions or concerns you might have.
We have designed BAS to be a year long relationship between student and Philos, after which time both parties will have a chance to re-evaluate. Barring extreme extenuating circumstances, we ask our Philos to commit to their student for one year unless the student drops out of the program.
Yes and no. When students and Philos candidates go through the process of joining the program, we collect info that will help us pair students with a Philos we think they’ll get along with and vice versa. We consider factors such as geography, degree/career field, interests and hobbies, allergies and health considerations, and any specific preferences expressed by both parties. A lot depends on how many students and/or Philos are in the “pool” at a given point in time, so we cannot guarantee it will be a match made in heaven—but we’ll do our best!
If there is a specific student you know that you would like to be paired with, you’ll have an opportunity to request that.
Absolutely! We get it—if you’ve never done something like this before (or even if you have), it may seem daunting. But have no fear; we are here! We’ve created a Philos Handbook to provide the training you need to feel confident and serve as an ongoing reference when you need it.
If you are approved as a Philos, we’ll send you the handbook. You can go through it on your own and let us know if you have questions, or our Program Coordinator can walk through it with you.
Plus, our Program Coordinator is always available to you to answer questions and provide additional tips, resources, advice, and help as you need it.
We hope you’ll give your student more than one chance before you make that determination—relationships take time to build, and just because you don’t hit it off right away doesn’t mean you won’t later. Even if you never hit it off, that doesn’t that mean God isn’t using you in their life! We encourage our Philos to trust that faithfully pursuing their student IS sowing seeds whether they get to see it or not.
We also encourage our Philos to remember that this program is built around the idea of showering students with the love of Christ. We can’t guarantee that your student will be easy to love, but we can guarantee that Christ can provide what you need to love them with His steadfast lovingkindness.
That being said, we are always here to help if you need tips or ideas on how to connect with your student or assistance resolving issues. Our Program Coordinator is always happy to help you. We genuinely want your experience to be a success!
No. Any young adult can participate as a “student” as long as they are between the ages of 18-24, even if they are not currently enrolled as a college student. While our ministry focuses primarily on college students, we often have crossover with young adult ministry that reaches a wide variety of people in the 18-24 age range who also need the hope and peace of Jesus Christ. Therefore, BAS does not exclude young adults who are taking a semester off, entered into the workforce after high school, are enrolled in a trade school, or are doing an internship/apprenticeship. The program exists primarily for college students, but it is not limited only to college students.
Yes. The heart of this program is showering college students with the love of Jesus through intergenerational friendship.
No. Student participants are not required to be Christians to join the program. We do ask all students to treat their Philos (and their family, where applicable) with honor and respect, avoiding the use of offensive language, drugs, or alcohol in their presence.
To be a Philos, community members must:
- Be a follower of Jesus
- Be an active participant in a local church
- Complete all steps in the process without any arising concerns
- Be willing to commit to the baseline expectations with their student for one year
Approval as a Philos is not a guarantee. Collegiate Impact retains the right to decline any candidate’s participation in the program.
You can participate as a Philos individually or as a couple/family. However, if you are married but participating individually and plan to have the student in your home, we may require your spouse and any other adults (18+) in your household to undergo a background check.