If You Have Kids that Go to College, They Probably Don't Go to Church and What You CAN Do!

Seven out of ten high school seniors active in church make NO spiritual connection in college.  And, that does not count those that disappeared when they got their driver's license. .  So, odds are that includes your son or daughter.  Why is that?

I speak at lots of Senior Sunday Lunches around high school graduation time.  When I share this statistic...the parents always sit there and smile at me.  At first, I thought they probably were not listening.  Then, my wife said, "Dummy, they think their son or daughter is in the three out of ten.".  Since then, I have realized a third possibility.....Parents don't care!

I don't mean to be harsh  But, I have realized that many parents do not expect spiritual connection in college because they had none when they went to college.....and they came back to church.  I believe that in some way or other that message is communicated to their college bound sons and daughters......"We know you won't go to church or be involved in Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) or another campus ministry and that's ok.".

There are two problems with this.  First, if they do come back, they bring the issues that developed while they were away from the Lord and spiritual influence.  They make life choices and often pick a spouse during this "vacation from God".  But, here is the worse news:  these days many that go away during college are not coming back.

Here is a less than perfect suggestion.....parents should expect and communicate that they expect spiritual involvement in college.  Do you communicate an expectation of good grades or keeping a scholarship?  Most likely you do.  So, why not communicate spiritual expectations?  Just like grades, you cannot mandate it, but you can express it.  That means asking questions about grades, going to class, and attendance at Baptist Collegiate Ministry, a local church or other campus religious group.

A message many high schoolers are getting is that graduation is also graduation from church.   One person who has studied this has said, "Parents are not getting what they want from their student, but they are getting what they deserve.".  What he means is, don't expect anything from your student that you do not practice yourself.  That does not insure their involvement, but it increases the odds!

If you have a son or daughter going off to college in a few weeks, you can make sure the Baptist Campus Minister (more than 800 nation wide) and or a local church college ministry has their contact information.  Many of these are mailing, emailing, calling, and texting information about Welcome Week events and other connection opportunities.  Their first friends and connections will help determine their habits.

What a freshman does the first 2-3 weeks of the fall goes a long way toward determining their habits and practices for their whole college career.   You can increase the odds by what you say and do AND by letting someone know they are coming that will reach out to them.  Now is the perfect time to do it.

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