It's not pretty...but the potential is amazing.There is absolutely no doubt that the possibilities are endless in the areas of college ministry. From coast to coast, border to border, our homeland is littered with college campus' of every shape, form and fashion. From the commuter Junior Colleges to the behemoths such as The University of Kentucky...UCLA...The Ohio State University, students from ages 18 to 25 populate the landscape of America like never before. We are witnessing the birth of the largest generation in history. Already larger than The Baby Boomer Generation, our current class of want-to-be adults stand poised to rewrite history as we know it. But if we as Christian leaders don't intentionally and aggressively reach out to them, we're in for a rude awakening...and the results will be devastating!
Where did we go wrong? What caused this drastic turn that these amazing students are taking away from the church and away from a relationship with Christ? Such deep questions, that will never be answered in the confines of my menial little blog. But hopefully this will jumpstart our thought processes as we maneuver our efforts of evangelism and discipleship in the turbulent waters of The Next Generation!
The thoughts I share in this post are strictly my personal views taken from years of experience and observations as I’ve served His church in a variety of positions and locations. It also includes conversations that I’ve had with other friends and colleagues in various ministry situations. Whether you agree or disagree, remember this is just my observations. Please feel free to share yours in the comments. I welcome your input.
I believe the tide started turning for this group years ago when they were attending our Children's Sunday School classes and our Kid's Church programs. Entirely too many times, our Sunday Schools (SS) are nothing more than a Sunday Morning baby sitting service. We've staffed our Children's SS with individuals that, in all honesty, were the only ones left in our churches that said, 'Yeah, I'll do it' after we've begged and pleaded with every member on the roll books. Never before in all of my life have I seen a lack of interest and passion from our church members in the area of Children's Ministry. I've always believed that you can measure a person's true commitment to their church by their commitment to the church's Children's Ministry. Throw in a color sheet here, popsicle sticks and some glue there, and voila' we have a Children's Ministry! I do want to say a huge 'Thank You' though, to some invaluable Children's SS teachers I've seen over the years, like Margaret Burton at FBC-Swifton, AR; Mrs. LaVerne at Rowe's Chapel BC in Caraway, AR; or Floyd & Jane Killough at 2nd Baptist Church in Monticello, AR. True warriors, in my opinion!
As for Kids Church, oh the possibilities are ginormous! But I've seen some real losers too. I've seen entirely too many churches use Kids Church programs as nothing more than an excuse to remove our children from our 'big church' services. I once remember visiting a church...and a very large, contemporary one at that, who proclaimed to have a "kickin' good Children's Church Program". Upon personal investigation, it was nothing more than a free-for-all, with literally dozens of kids actually hanging from the rafters! Totally out of control, yet the adults in charge, thought it was the greatest thing known to man. As to an exclamation point to my thoughts on this subject, I was recently informed by a local SBC pastor that his church does well in the area of children's ministry. I asked how he had come to that decision. His reply still sends cold chills up my back. He informed me that "Our church does VBS for one week during the year, and that's all we need to do to have a great children's ministry."
Yep, he actually said it.
On more than one occasion.
And it still makes me nauseous...and angry.
Our next step in the progression of these students is the amusement park ride known as 'Youth Group'. This is an up and down, backwards and sideways assault on the roller coaster of puberty. Think about it: our current generation of students ages 18 - 25, were in youth groups all across our country from 1997 to 2004. During this time, the 'big thing' in youth ministry was to break away from the standard classroom type setting when your having your big meeting on Wednesday nights to a more relaxed atmosphere of used couches and comfy chairs arranged in a myriad of ways as to make the students comfortable. We traded in our discipleship teachings for fun and games. We were known throughout our communities as the place to be to 'have fun and hang out' with your friends. That, in and of itself is certainly not a bad concept. But seriously, where was the teaching? It sort of turned in to a 'teen-age sitting' service in the middle of the week.
After all, I should know this regiment down cold! I was a 4-star general in youth ministry. During that time, I was not only leading my youth group in this exact same fashion, I was the torch bearer and the leader of the processional of this new method throughout my own association of churches, other local churches, and in my state convention.
And it was working...or so I thought. During this time, I was serving in a combo position in the largest church in my county. We were blessed to have an incredible family life facility, that I took complete advantage of. It was a youth magnet. We were the hottest ticket in town on Wednesday nights. I had more students than I really knew what to do with.
And then it hit me.
All fun and games. Very little if any, Jesus.
I was radically convicted.
I began to restructure the Wednesday night agenda. The result, our number of students began to decrease rapidly, just as I suspected would happen. When the smoke had cleared, I was left with about a dozen students that, I can honestly say, were the best students I've ever led. They 'got it'. And wanted more of it. They began soaking up Scripture like a massive sponge. They were so hungry for His Word, they began to come to my office during the week for additional one-on-one time of discipleship. Totally blew my mind.
Then the unexpected happened...
This core group was now being equipped with spiritual ammunition to attach their high school campus. They were fearless...gunslingers for real! As their passion and love for Jesus Christ grew, it became noticeable at school. Literally, lives were changing right before my very eyes. They became mouthpieces for the Gospel everyday on their campus. They began bringing their friends to Wednesday night youth group...and to Sunday Worship. Before we realized what was happening, our youth group had now surpassed those earlier attendance figures, and was seriously THE place to be on Wednesday nights. It was awesome!
But not every youth group made that transition. Many were left in the clutches of that fun and games monster and it has put the finishing touches on crippling a large majority of this great generation. As a whole, we realized a little too late. Much too late to salvage this kids.
Are there exceptions to what I've described? ABSOLUTELY! WITHOUT QUESTION! I've seen some killer youth groups. Some so good that it made me want to be a youth again! I'm so appreciative of those leaders who were willing to go against the grain of the mindset of this youth group mentality. Guys like Shane Knight, Youth Pastor extraordinaire! He killed it during the many years he served the youth in churches throughout the south. I have such a huge admiration for guys like that! But by and large, I believe we failed to connect the majority of these students with relationships that would have eternal implications. And the result is the fact that 7 out of 10 students that have grown up in/attended church as a youth, NEVER go back to the church after their high school graduation! Seventy percent! In some states...like mine...more like 80%!
So this begs the question, 'Are we truly embracing the fact that nearly the entire campus population at the majority of universities across America either do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ or are fed up with 'church as usual''? Do we truly see the massive mission field that has been laid before us? Such a unique opportunity, but how willing are we to do something about it?
So what does this look like at the college level?
...to be continued.
