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So from time to time I want to post some issues and ideas in a “Thinking Ahead” series. They will just be periodical, but I think something like this would be really sweet.
The first topic that I am already thinking about is next year’s college freshmen (or this year’s graduating high school seniors). Honestly, this transition from youth to college is so underdevelopled and so critical!!! One statistic that is a constant, vivid reminder of this to me is the Barna research that indicated that 61% of young adults that were involved in church during their teen years are now disengaged from the church. You can see this research here. Now granted, this research is a little older (2006), but it is a chilling indictment nonetheless! What this tells us is that transition from youth to college ministry is simply not happening. You may have even experienced this yourself. Now this isn’t about pointing fingers or anything other than to tell the enemy that lack of education and awareness in this area stops here!!!
So these next few posts go out to youth ministers, church-based college ministers, AND campus-based ministers. We NEED to make transitioning our students more of a priority. Here are few ideas of how we could do this:
For church-based college ministers:
1. Start your college ministry with students early. Take the occasional opportunity to get to know the high school Juniors and Seniors early. -Speak on occasion at your youth group’s large group gathering. Maybe you could even speak about college. (You should definitely do this with your graduating seniors towards the end of the semester anyways!) -Simply attend your youth group’s gatherings from time to time and get to know them that way. -Be a Disciple Now leader for the Seniors or Juniors. -Attend youth camp and be a counselor. -Start one-on-one mentoring with some of the seniors..(guy to guy, girl to girl). -Take them to coffee….high school students love Starbucks!
2. Get parental support. I think this one is a HUGE idea (Thanks to Dr. Jay Sedwick on this one!). Organize a meeting with the parents of your graduating seniors where you can rally their support on encouraging their students to find and plug into a church home as soon as they get to college. Perhaps you can give parents ways and resources to assist in transitioning. Really think about this one. We college ministers can encourage youth all day long about the importance of getting plugged into a church at college, but I think the strong encouragement of a parent will go much, much further.
3. Include youth-to-college ministry transitioning into your yearly routine. Towards the end of the Spring semester, a good amount of graduating high school seniors already have a decent idea on where they will be attending. For each student, research and scout out the ministries, churches, and environment, of the city of the college they are attending. Research the campus ministries on the student’s future campus. In regards to churches, look for those that would provide for an easy transition such as those with similar core doctrines, size, and characteristics. (Now this is only for research purposes and suggestions. We want to be sure to allow for God’s direction and the student’s freedom to find the right church home.) Furthermore, get into touch with some of the ministers there! This would be a sweet time to get to know your brothers and sisters serving in the same field as you!!! Also, they could provide you with even more detailed info on the church and ministry scene on campus and around town. You could also research the locations of these churches and ministries. Some churches even provide shuttles or rides between campus and church. Also, consider the environment of the new location. For example, culture is way way different when you get outside of the bible belt! Compile your research and sit down with the seniors over coffee and inform them of your findings. (Maybe you could make them a nice packet or something.) If they already feel confident about getting involved with a campus ministry, then get them in touch with that ministry even before their first semester starts! (Email and Facebook fit nicely with this!)
Now this is all a lot of work….but it is SO WORTH IT! Besides, you will find that some students will go to the same University. Also, over time you will build up a sweet database of info that you can draw from (however you will want to update it from time to time). You will also gain many useful contacts and even make new friends. Furthermore, you can draw on your away students that are already attending there. Finally, you can spread all of this out over the spring and summer.
I am always touched about how receptive high school seniors are of this one. Remember, deep down inside, many of them are at least a little nervous about what lies ahead. It is very comforting to them knowing that you are involved in easing their transition! I can’t express this enough. Also, doing this does not hurt your image with the parents and the rest of your church. Clearly the point of this is not your image, but it definitely helps to have them happily behind you!
4. Get your existing college students involved in the transition. -Arrange a Q&A session between the high school seniors and some of your college students. -Sometimes the advice coming from current college students just connects better! Encourage your college students to mingle with and get to know the high school students at church and/or before Sunday school. -Get your college students to be D-now leaders or camp counselors if appropriate. -Also, connect the graduating seniors with the your away students that are already attending their prospective school.
It appears that I need to break this post up! So in the next post, we will look at ways and ideas campus-based ministers and youth ministers can assist in the transition.
If you have any more ideas on how church-based college ministers can help in the transition PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave a comment and add to the discussion!
January 19, 2010 at 2:27 pm
This may be yet-to-come or under a category for all types of college / youth ministers, but one of the most undervalued means we use is simple truth-teaching. It’s really important for us to be involved in actually discipling students toward making a good transition. While there aren’t as many “rules” as there are “principles,” upcoming freshmen need both… and they probably need us to supply them, while we’re connecting with them in the other ways you suggest.
Thanks for this, sir!
January 19, 2010 at 3:39 pm
Good post Mark. Transitioning HS to college is an untapped ministry opportunity in many places. I think because it is a resource (time, money, people) intense effort, making it a top priority or even putting it on the radar can be difficult. I hope to help it improve here.
January 20, 2010 at 9:50 am
Good call, Ben. College and youth ministers simply need to be teaching and equipping students towards a healthy transition. The data would suggest that this is not happening, so may we be agents of change!
January 20, 2010 at 9:59 am
Lee, I agree with you. And I also think it is an educational issue, meaning some ministers just don’t think about it. It is resource intense and often not on people’s radar for various reasons, but the ends clearly justify the means as I think we would all agree. And you are right, this is very much an untapped ministry opportunity!
January 21, 2010 at 2:37 am
On point 1, focusing on Juniors and Seniors in high school may be a bit late in the game. There is a huge falloff rate between the soph and jr years, largely due to their ability to drive. The largest age segment that accept Christ are children, with numbers drastically decreasing in the teenage years, and decreasing all the more in the college. There may be no transition time between high school and college at all if Christ is not being modeled by their parents/guardians, teachers, ministers from an earlier age. I think a youth ministry must have a plan of action in mind from Jr. High to High School to teach their students specific truths. There are plenty of youth ministries out there that have no long term plans, but are just maintaining their sacred cows and teaching on pop topics. I just finished reading “The Seven Checkpoints” by Stanley, and this gives a pretty solid plan of action on this.
I have heard a lot of proposed ideas on transitional ministry. As I recall, more than half of our groups that presented in the Associate Ministry class had proposed a “transition ministry.” Most of the proposals were academic. Go figure. It’s always easier to teach propositions than to model a lifestyle. I wish there were more said about college students spending time with students modeling Christ at work, in study, in service, in relationships.
January 21, 2010 at 10:04 am
Isaac, I agree with you on the need of youth ministries to consider a long term plan. I must admit that I am limited on my knowledge of youth ministry, but I do know the transition of the students who are in youth to college deserves more attention as it is simply not happening well. That is really the scope of this post- the transition of those youth already involved in the youth group/church to college life and plugging into a church/ministry at that point. What would be really cool is if college ministers and youth ministers sat down and discussed various aspects of a long term plan together.
I will have to read that Stanley book. It sounds like a good read.
And you make a beautiful point: College students spending time with and discipling youth is a brilliant concept.
January 21, 2010 at 3:40 pm
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