As If College Wasn’t Bad Enough Already
My perception of youth ministry is beginning to shift substantially. I still believe that it plays an important role in students’ lives right here and now.
But I am beginning to realize that we must also focus heavily on the challenges of faith, beliefs, character and integrity that students will face in the future–particularly when they take the plunge into the world we call “college”.
Why?
- College is a time when people get serious about spirituality, in whatever form.
- Secular colleges are dominated by secular worldviews. Christian values and beliefs are often shunned as childish and immature.
- There’s always news about, frankly, strange stuff happening on college campuses. Recently, students and professors at the University of Maryland rigorously defended their rights to publicly screen pornographic films and to discuss their educational qualities.
How are you preparing students for the challenges of higher education?
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Great post. This reality hit me during a breakout session at OneThing in December that was set up for youth pastors.
David Sliker led the group and talked about this. He wondered how we could train students to live through the last days - or battle the demons they meet everyday - when, statistically, they can’t even stand up to their bored, cynical college professors.
Good stuff. I wonder how we do it. Do we organize separate small groups for High School juniors and seniors? Set up something to keep the channels of communication open with them, where ever they end up?
Some might not like this answer, because it takes a lot of work!
As students work their way through adolescence, they’re completing two important adolescence tasks: gaining independence and forming their own identity. These are important tasks.
It means a lot of work for us because the older students get, the less “programs” work–programs like small groups or Facebook groups and even meetings with worship and a sermon, sometimes.
What they need as they enter college are strong, well established relationships with caring Christian adults that they can trust and lean on when the going gets tough. So my quick response to your question is this: The best thing we can do is build solid relationships with students now and commit to keeping those relationships. There’s a lot more students than we can handle, though, so the extra challenge is to create a community of adults (parents and non-parents) with the same heart and goal.