If you don't have a substantial college fund, you may wonder how you'll be able to foot the bill for a college without drowning in debt. We talked to four families who currently have children enrolled at a Christian college. They all have one thing in common: They didn't have savings to cover college bills. But read on to see how they're doing it—and how you can, too.

Being practical has really paid off for Greg and Robynne Mirau. They've been able to put three kids through Crossroads College in Rochester, Minnesota. Their oldest children, Luke and Amanda, both graduated in 2007. Their youngest daughter, Abby, is currently a sophomore majoring in general ministries.

They admit it wasn't easy when they were all enrolled at once. "But we didn't panic," Greg says. "Our philosophy was that God would provide somehow."

The Mirau's qualified for a multiple student discount, which was $500 per child. They also all received grants and scholarships that covered most of the $15,000 tuition. Luke graduated debt free, Amanda had a small $5,000 loan to pay off, and the Mirau's are hoping Abby will graduate with little to no loan debt.

Even with the great financial aid packages there are still costs that can add up quickly, like books, food and day-to-day living expenses. That's why every penny counts in the Mirau household. Greg, who is a teacher, paints during the summer and school breaks. Robynne, who was a stay-at-home mom, started babysitting to earn some extra money. She also turned her hobby of gardening into a money-making venture by starting her own gardening business.

"The whole picture is that the Lord has provided," Greg says. "When we've needed it, he's said, 'Here.' Many times it was from an extra job that we weren't expecting."

Greg and Robynne have found that small steps can add up to big savings. They don't go grocery shopping without clipping coupons first. They claim they can save roughly 15 percent each visit. They are also very conscious of gas prices. They don't run to the store to pick up just one item—they make do with what's already in the pantry until the next scheduled grocery trip.

"We try to live simply," Robynne says. "We just try to help the kids get their bills paid so they can focus on their studies."

Paul and MaryAnn Jacob worked hard all their lives. Paul is a social worker and MaryAnn owns her own housecleaning business. But with five kids, it was impossible to save money for college. So in 1997 when their oldest daughter, Emily, told them she wanted to go to Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois, they knew they couldn't afford the tuition.

"We never told Emily she couldn't apply to Greenville," Paul says. "But we did make it clear that we weren't going to bankrupt the family. However, we were willing to make sacrifices to do what we could."

Emily, who was an outstanding student, earned scholarships and received grants that covered most of her tuition. She also took out a small loan that Paul and MaryAnn worked hard to help pay off.

The other Jacob kids were told if they planned on attending a school like Greenville they would have to work to earn scholarships and contribute financially to their education.

Emily's experience at Greenville was so positive that two other Jacob children, Abby, now a senior biology major, and Rachel, a sophomore psychology major, both decided to enroll. They both received grants and scholarships for roughly $15,000 a year, but still had to come up with about $5,000 annually. Rachel and Abby took out federally subsidized loans to cover the remaining balance, which Paul and MaryAnn are working to pay off. They predict Rachel and Abby will each graduate with $20,000 in debt.

With the debt constantly on their minds, the Jacobs are conscious of every dollar they spend and every dollar they make. When Rachel was a sophomore, she lost a $1,500 grant from her church. According to the Jacobs, the church just stopped participating in the grant program.

"I called the school and asked what they could do for us," Paul says. "[The financial aid officer] put me on hold and then came back and said she could give me a $1,000."

From then on, whenever it seemed appropriate to do so, Paul did not hesitate to ask the college to reevaluate the tuition cost based on family need and their current financial situation.

He learned how important it is to communicate with the aid office. "If I had not called," he says, "those changes for the better would not have happened."

Saving for college was a top priority for Deborah Kirchoff. It was so important that she and her then-husband socked away $20,000 by the time their daughter, Victoria, was born. But shortly after birth, Victoria was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect that required open-heart surgery. While the family had good insurance, they were still left with more than $20,000 in medical bills, which wiped out the entire college fund.

Still, Deborah didn't give up. She hoped her daughter would have the opportunity to attend a Christian school and graduate free of debt. But as the years passed, Deborah's life dramatically changed. She had another child and divorced her husband. As a single mom of two, she lived paycheck to paycheck. Saving for college wasn't an option.

Victoria worked hard throughout school and in 2004, she started her freshman year at a small Christian school in Florida. She received a nice financial aid package, but Deborah was still required to pay $400 a month. At the time, Deborah was employed at an insurance agency. While it was a good job, she didn't have any extra money. So, she started moonlighting as a caterer on the weekends.

"It was a miracle that I always had that money," Deborah admits. "Somehow the Lord made a way and I got a catering job."

Although Deborah was confident that Victoria would graduate from the Florida college, Victoria was very homesick and started having second thoughts about being so far away from home. After a year away, Victoria told her mother she wanted to come back to their Tennessee home and attend a community college. Deborah was hesitant. She'd worked so hard to help Victoria through her first year at a Christian college. Even so, she finally agreed to let Victoria transfer.

"I think that was totally the Lord," Deborah says. "Because shortly after Victoria started school at the community college, my boss said he could no longer pay me. I was laid off." Deborah was devastated. But her top priority was keeping Victoria in school. She applied for unemployment, but the maximum she could receive was $275 a week.

"That's not enough to pay my bills, much less help my daughter in college," Deborah says. "I applied for hundreds of jobs, and I continued to do my catering on the side. Somehow the Lord worked it out and I had enough money."

By February of 2007, Victoria had taken all the classes she could at the community school and wanted to transfer to Crichton College in Memphis, Tennessee, to major in education. Deborah, who had now been unemployed for 19 months, filled out the FAFSA hoping to receive a good package that would cover at least the $10,000 needed to attend classes.

"Her tuition was paid for with grants and scholarships. That was a wonderful miracle," Deborah says. "God took something terrible—unemployment—and did something wonderful."

The financial aid package did not cover room and board, and Deborah estimated she would need to come up with an additional $5,000 a year. The only way Victoria could attend Crichton was to live at home. "The only drawback is she's not as involved on campus," Deborah says. "She thinks the sacrifice of living at home is worth it so she can attend Crichton."

Deborah finally found a job at a manufacturing plant. However, she took a 50 percent pay cut from her previous job. She worries about having enough money for things like textbooks, which can often run around $400. But between her new job, her catering business and Victoria's part-time job, she's always had all the money she's needed for Victoria's education.

"God never said it would be easy," Deborah admits. "But God is faithful, even when you don't have a dime."

Even though Carol and Joe Shook didn't have a college savings for their son, they weren't shocked by LeTourneau University's $25,000 price tag.

"We knew there were schools that were much more expensive, like an Ivy League school," Joe says. "We actually thought it was a good value for the money. It wasn't the cheapest college, but it also wasn't outrageously priced either."

Still, they didn't have the money to cover the cost. Their son, Eric, now a sophomore majoring in engineering at the Longview, Texas, school, received a dean's scholarship. That trimmed the family's responsibility to roughly $19,000 a year in tuition. After attending a financial aid seminar hosted by LeTourneau, the Shooks decided the best way to finance Eric's education was through loans.

"It was very hard to accept loans to pay for most of his education," Carol admits. "But that's where faith stepped in and we knew God would help us take care of it."

Eric took out a small student loan for approximately $4,000 and the Shooks took out a Parents PLUS loan for the remaining balance. Eric's loan has a low interest rate of 4 percent, while Joe and Carol's interest rate is 8 percent. Eric's loan does not start accumulating interest until he graduates, but Carol and Joe's loan started accumulating interest the day they took out the loan. The payment was manageable: $159 a month for 10 years, with the first payment due six months after Eric started school. But Carol admits when she made the first payment she was shocked to discover they had already accrued $600 in interest.

In 2007, the Shooks' daughter, Jessica, followed in her brother's footsteps and enrolled at LeTourneau University. Jessica, an education major, received a $3,000 scholarship. Although Joe and Carol didn't want to borrow more money, they didn't have any other options.

They estimate they will borrow $36,000 a year until their children graduate. As their loan grew, so did the monthly payment, which jumped to $200 a month. But more alarming than the monthly payment was the amount of interest that just kept building.

Determined to keep their kids in a Christian college and to stay financially healthy, Joe and Carol mapped out a financial plan. Part of that plan is doing what Carol calls common sense things like driving older cars and not buying new clothes. Their next step was for Carol, who had been a stay-at-home mom, to get a job. She landed a part-time job as a church secretary, which she hopes will eventually turn into a full-time job. All their extra income goes directly toward their loans. They are now able to pay $1,000 a month, which will help them pay off the loan sooner and reduce the total interest.

Carol says they don't look at the loans as a burden, but as an honor. "The loans are helping us send our kids to a Christian college," she says. "We will succeed in paying for 90 percent of their college. That's their graduation present—for them to graduate almost debt free."