As a student who attends a private Christian school in the bible belt of America, it’s safe to say that I am surrounded by a huge bubble. While it’s a known fact that not all who go to CCS are Christians, we still all have been presented with opportunities to enrich our faith and our walk with God. However, how much will our personalities and beliefs change once we leave this “safe” enivornment to move on to jobs and college?

I enrolled in Charlotte Christian School my freshman year and am now a junior. The school I had previously attended claimed to be of “Christian-Judea” heritige, but other than not having schools for such holidays, this principle was not visible. In what seems like such a short time that I have been at CCS I have become trapped in a bubble, which before I was unaware existed.

Towards the end of sophomore year last year, I got a part-time job at Pacific Sunwear (PacSun) in Southpark mall. The bubble that I found myself in was popped. If I ever mention church at work, there is usually a dead silence. Once I even got the response “I would never wake up that early on a Sunday to hear about something I don’t believe in. It’s not that I don’t believe in God- I just don’t care”. As Christians, how do we respond to this comment? Do we let it slide or is there even any comment we can say back to that?

Many people have reasons for not believing in God. Maybe they don’t feel like He was there for them when they really needed Him. Some people just don’t like the feeling that someone larger than them has control over their life. And what is becoming an epidemic these days is children who grew up in evangelical homes turning away from God and the Church and never again returning- some experts say that this is the case with over 60% of teens.

Dealing with people who don’t even care that there’s a God that exists and who loves them as His perfect creation is very delicate. The most important thing is to not force your beliefs on them. With my co-workers at PacSun, I try to casually bring church or God into our conversations little by little until we can have an actual discussion. Many even have the impression that Christians are lame and boring and judgemental, however if you can be completely open to someone’s beliefs, and show them that we’re not all boring, people are more open to accepting new ideas.

For some, as myself, moving on to college or getting a new job will be an eye-opening experience. It’s important that we stand up for our beliefs when challgenged all the time, not just on Sunday morning or in bible class at CCS. Following Christ must be a lifestyle and not a once a week thing. The sooner we realize this, the more our relationship with Christ will grow.