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Ha v e y o u b e e n i n a n y conversations about youth leaving the church? You can trace this concern all the way back to Jesus’ teaching on leaving the flock of 99 to go find the missing lamb in the

book of Matthew.

Isaiah 53:6 tells us, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.” That sure can be descriptive of what seems to happen in the transition from high school to life beyond. Most of us would agree, somewhere between the ages of 16 and 26, there are decisions made that either accept or reject the beliefs and values that have been taught earlier on.

In sheep, the weaning process is quite stressful. From Laura Lawson’s book; Managing Your Ewe and Her Newborn Lambs1, we read “The first most critical period in a lamb’s life is from birth to a week old.” (Likewise for new believers, right?)

“The second most critical period in a young lamb’s life is the weaning period when it begins its growth toward being a self-sufficient adult. This period is probably the most stressful time a young lamb encounters. It’s forced to rely on itself, not a mother

to survive. Lambs not managed correctly during this period frequently suffer tremendous setbacks. Many who made it through birth and the crucial first week of life only do so to die as a result of weaning stress. Weaning lambs takes prior planning to be successful.”

Similarly for humans, Dr. Gary Collins speaks of the stresses of culture shock2. “Stress is a force brought on by uncertainty and change which creates upset stomachs, gnawing fear, headaches, intense grief, excessive drinking and arguments. Stress dulls our memory, weakens our bodies, stirs up our emotions and reduces efficiency.”

Studies say that stress is a significant factor in obesity….hum, wonder if that may be a contributing ingredient to the “freshman 15”3—the phrase coined for the gain of up to 15 pounds during the freshman year of college?

The abandonment of faith may relate to what Stephen Bochner states, “Often individuals in a contact situation will, when the second culture has higher status than their own, reject the culture of their origin and adopt the new culture.”4

The Youth Transition Network5 (YTN) is finding that students who go after a lifestyle that compromises

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YOUTH TRANSITION

their godly beliefs soon feel guilty. Yet, many churches focus on “sin avoidance,” which is too late for these students, who then distance themselves from reminders of their struggle by disconnecting from God, Scripture and the church.

We need environments with a safe harbor for struggling students—an environment that would include teaching on forgiveness and restoration. And those students need assistance in learning how to deal with life’s pressures, including critical thinking skills and handling a variety of emotional pain.

With students as well as lambs, the issue is not “if” you go off on your own, but rather “when and how” you prepare for and accomplish the process. Youth workers need a well-defined plan for helping both parents and students with this process annually.

There are three parts that contribute to a successful transition.

1. First, being familiar with the destination envi-ronment.

2. Second, consider the physical and mental con-dition of the individual being transitioned.

3. Third, be mindful of the best ways to assist in the transition.

Things that youth workers need to realize

1. How critical they are in this transition process. Relationships, an implemented plan and team-work make a big difference.

2. The transition process shouldn’t begin in the spring of graduation year when so many deci-sions have already been made, but rather in September, or ideally in the student’s junior year of high school.

3. Youth workers are not alone in their attempt to get this done.

“Prepare them to be proactive about their spiritual growth during their col-lege years.” —Nik

“Things like their friendships, their roommate, their study habits, and what groups they will be involved in are all decided in those first weeks” —Timothy

“Develop a framework to help them prepare for diverse ideas; students “fall away” because they never truly under-stood what it meant to follow Jesus.” —Evan

“Promote the campus ministries in your youth group and follow up with the students after they go away.” —Chris “My experience…is that 80 percent of all incoming college freshmen who are ‘saved’ youth group kids become ‘lost’ college students very quickly…The exceptions are those kids who were part of a nitty-gritty ‘discipleship-band’ or mission-trip’ experience during high school, where they worked out how to truly follow Jesus and learned to pray and to not give up meeting together.” —Dan

“Students need to know that they are not simply at college to survive as Christians, but to be Christ’s ambas-sadors and to take the university by storm for the sake of the gospel.” —Camille

The transition process shouldn’t begin in the spring of graduation year.

QuotesEvan Hunter, director of The Ivy Jungle Network and

a coalition member of YTN, recently discussed with college pastors what they would like youth workers to know when it comes to sending their students off to college.6

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“Young people need to know that their faith is not only an inward spirituality; it does apply to every area of life:” —Becky

“We need to help students get in step with seeking God’s kingdom first, not when it’s convenient. That can only happen when we adopt a relationally-intensive ministry posture. Forget the programs. Invest in them as people.” —Gregg

“I hope that [students] are learning that there is a difference between acting like a Christian and actually striving to become like Christ.” —Daniel

“Students are major consumers of virtu-ally everything—and that attitude extends to their faith. College ministers are shocked that new students, rather than coming to college equipped to lead and serve, lack leadership and initiative. They see these challenges developing in high school and hope youth pastors will join with them to turn the tide.” —Evan

“.. If they have been born of God, they are empowered by the Holy Spirit for a purpose: to go and make disciples. Any preparation that does not integrate this mission into their fabric is falling short of the mark, and making my job much more difficult, as I then have to overcome the ‘holy huddle’ culture of those Christians who gather together merely for social and entertainment purposes.” —Matt

“I wish that more youth ministry was aimed at connecting students to the broader life of the church than simply having thrilling activities targeted at their generational desires... ….This would help students to view their spiritual lives as less individualistic and more community-oriented. —Matthew

“If youth pastors would start earlier empowering students, in an effort to help them make decisions and see a plan come to fruition, for us in campus ministry there would most likely be an increase in students taking ownership of ministry and living into the fact that Christ has set them free to do so much for this world, including for their own peers on campus.” —Ryan

“Please don’t abandon your recent graduates once they head off to col-lege, especially for the first year or six months…You still have access and influence in their lives. So please use it.” —Dave

“Employ a team of parents and other adults who will serve as mentors who ‘reconnect’ with students when they return... employ prayer war-riors, remind students they are being prayed for, and follow up on requests to remind them God is at work and faithful.” —Melanie

“Send them cards and care packages. A reminder of Christ’s love from home can go a long way to a lonely student who feels like God is far away.” —Jackie

“Youth leaders need to be vigilant in staying in communication with those who minister on the campus so that they can keep their understanding of college life accurate” —Patrick

You can also subscribe to a free e-mail copy of “Campus Ministry Update” provided by www.ivyjungle.org. Go online to review past archived issues for some additional ideas on helping students beyond graduation7.

VOLUME 25, NUMBER 3 ©2007 NNYM

This magazine is published quarterly by the National Network of Youth Ministries12335 World Trade Drive, Suite 16San Diego, California 92128Telephone: 858-451-1111Fax: 858-451-6900 netmag@youthworkers.net www.youthworkers.net

Managing Editor Mark StephensSenior Editor Doug ClarkArt Director Joel SawyerContent Liaison Briana HortonNational Accounts Manager George Lawson

National Leadership President Paul FleischmannChief Ministries Officer Daryl NussChief Operating Officer Mark StephensAffinity Networks Doug TegnerCooperating Ministries Robin TaylorDevelopment Ric TolhurstField Ministries Doug Clark, David OverstreetMarketing George LawsonMentoring Lynn Ziegenfuss, Steve Gonzalez

Regional Networks LeadershipGreat Lakes Keith KruegerGreat Plains OpenMid Atlantic Brian CodayNew England Mark OrrNorthwest Chris RenzelmanSouth Central OpenSoutheast David GrantSouthwest Mike De Vito

Affinity Networks LeadershipCampus Alliance Chuck KleinDeaf Teen Ministry Bob AyresMiddle School/Jr. High Ministry Sean MeadeNative American Chuck HarperRural Youth Diane BraskUrban Youth Christopher BrooksWomen in Youth Ministry Jeanne StevensYouth Missions Daryl NussYouth Transition Jeff Schadt

NNYM Ministry Council (Regional Coordinators and Affinity Networks representatives also serve on the Ministry Council.)

Bo Boshers, Chair Mark Moder Brian Adams Shelby Petersen Will Babilonia Topher Philgreen Matt Brinkley Dave Rahn Tommy Carrington Gail Reese Aqueelah Collier René Rochester Judy Glanz Lina Thompson Kent Hulbert Virginia Ward Jerry Mann Zeke Zeiler Tommy McClam To reach any of these leaders, visit www.youthworkers.net for contact information.

F A L L 2 0 0 7

For more information on the Youth Transition Network, contact....

Jeff Schadt Executive Director Youth Transition Network www.YouthTransitionNetwork.org www.LiveAbove.com (602) 441-2240

1 Laura Lawson, Managing Your Ewe and Her Newborn Lambs (Culpeper, VA: LDF Publications, 1993), 155,162-3

2 Dr. Gary Collins, as quoted in Adrian Furnham and Stephen Bochner, Culture Shock: Psychological Reaction to Unfamiliar Environments (Routledge; New Ed edition (November 1986)

3 www.kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/college/freshman_15.html4 Adrian Furnham and Stephen Bochner, Culture Shock: Psychological Reaction to

Unfamiliar Environments (Routledge; New Ed edition (November 1986)5 Youth Transition Network, is an affinity group with NNYM. YTN is a coalition of High

School, College and Military Ministries working together… “To help young people make healthy decisions and connections as they transition from high school, so that they continue as a vital part of the body of Christ.” www.youthtransitionsnetwork.org

6 Evan Hunter, Life After High School: What Campus Ministers Wish Youth Workers Understood About Christians at College (Youth Worker Journal edition (March/April 2007) also see (www.youthworker.com)

7 Chris Renzelman, The Other Side of Graduation (Network Magazine edition (Spring 2005) 25-6

www.youthworkers.net/index.cfm?fuseaction=netmag.viewarticle&ArticleID=17

There is growing interest, synergy and resources to help students in this life transition. YTN is launching two websites this fall: www.liveabove.com (a ministry database) and www.YouthTransitionNetwork.org (resources for parents and ministry leaders).

The Youth Transition Network is using the platform of existing denominations, youth, college and military ministries to resource students, parents and the church with both motivation and preparation tools. This includes working together to form one central place where students and helpful information can intersect. The hope is that this will help close the gap that currently exists between prospective students and ministries.

LiveAbove.com is the technological platform for the national bridge between high school, college and military ministries. This bridge is made effective by the Connect for Life DVD and Get Prepared sessions that can be utilitized in the youth ministry world. The

site will serve as an interactive search engine of college, singles and military ministries,

offering online “Christian communities for every campus and city in America.”

The site targets current and transitioning students with critical information; ministry-specific data, calendars, user groups, Christian roommates, jobs, community events, and a potential

planned safe social community capability organized by school. The website will draw

Christian students and ministries together before they leave home, seeking to minimize

the stress caused by culture shock.

For ministries, the advantage of this cooperation is the pooling of resources and expertise. This is critical since no single ministry, denomination or organization is capable of transitioning all of their high school students to their own college/singles ministries. Cooperation is essential if we are to address this issue to any significant degree.

The YTN vision fostered a “first of its kind” meeting in Phoenix (May 2005) between national high school and college ministry leaders, resulting in the formation of this coalition, now numbering over 50 ministries.

In June 2007, a national launch summit in Colorado was attended by 29 leaders from these ministries and the added coalition of military ministries. Attending were Young Life, NNYM, Assemblies of God, Southern Baptist, Dare2Share, Campus Crusade for Christ, InterVarsity, Chi Alpha, Navigators, Baptist Collegiate Ministries, CCC Military, Military Community Youth Ministry and Military Chaplains, as well as Focus on the Family, NavPress, Zeal Media and the Ivy Jungle Network.

Visit www.YouthTransitionNetwork.org in the weeks ahead for a comprehensive reserve of resources.

Let ’s a l l p ick up a p iece of th is puzz le and see what we can create together as we continue to address this crucial need.

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