All of us who do college ministry have had the experience of seeing students become involved in our ministry and being very connected and then they disappear after a while. What happened?
Nine Common Reasons College Students Drop Out of a Ministry:
1. Their survival needs have been met.
One reason many students first become involved in a Christian campus or church group is for a sense of belonging and as an avenue for finding friends. As the school year develops, those needs are met by other groups and other friendships have been developed. Many of these have come as a result of your ministry casting a wide net. Their primary motivation was not a relationship to the Lord. However, some who came like this have made commitments to Christ or are now growing in what was a dormant relationship. Keep casting the wide net.
2.They do not find a personal group within the ministry that holds them.
No matter how good the teaching or music is, etc if they do not make some personal connections within the group, they likely will disappear. Every effort has to be made to help each student find a place of belonging and someone who notices and cares when they are not there.
3. There are personality clashes or a change of friends.
Just as relationships will help hold students in a ministry, a clash in relationships can run them out. Likely all of us who have been in college ministry long have experienced the breakup of a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship where one or both then would drop out. Occasionally, it even has wider implications when friends of theirs take sides and are affected.
4. Schedules become more complicated due to work, labs, etc.
The farther students go in school the more likely they are to have their schedules more and more crowded with work, labs, observing, internships, etc. Make sure that students knows your is not "an all or nothing" ministry. Some students feel guilty when they cannot attend as regularly and as a result stop attending completely.
5. They feel they have done all the ministry has to offer.
If a student can participate in everything a ministry has to offer in one or two years, why should they stay? Some things in your ministry ought to be for juniors and seniors only. Just as you meet some specific needs of freshmen, are you doing anything to meet the specific needs of seniors?
6. They feel pulled between the good and the good.
In some collegiate settings, a variety of groups or churches may be providing a variety of ministries and training options. Sometimes students drop out because they feel pulled between the demands for more of their time from more than one group or ministry. Sometimes, students feel this pull and tension between a campus based ministry and their church. Often, they wind up having to choose between the two rather than seeing them as complementary. Every effort should be made by campus and church based ministries to communicate and cooperate for the overall good of the student.
7. A student may drop out when they sense their beliefs and those espoused in the ministry are different.
A student may become involved in a ministry for a variety of reasons but they drop out because they sense their own beliefs are at odds with those the see as taught or represented in the ministry. No ministry can be all things to all students. Help those students to find a group or ministry whose beliefs are consistent with their own.
8. Some students drop out when "reality" hits.
I call the third week of school "reality week". That is when the first round of tests begin and the welcome events and free pizza events have pretty well ended. This is the point when they realize this is not summer camp and some study will have to happen.How students feel after their dropping out determines the possibilities of their coming back. Was their absence noticed, accepted, or seen as a sign of their lack of commitment....therefore....good riddance?
9. They drop out due to guilt over personal behavior.
Sometimes a student will do something way outside of their commitment to the Lord and their moral character. And even though they have repented and asked the Lord's forgiveness, their sense of personal shame and guilt pushes them away. It is important that we continually speak of God's forgiveness. This is not to make light of behavior or moral standards, it is rather to believe in and offer the grace of Jesus Christ offered again and again to all of us.
Any ministry has drop outs. Any good ministry has drop outs. An extra strong ministry may have more drop outs because students have been attracted because of the excellent outreach that is done and the reputation of the ministry on campus. It is important that we never make students feel once they have left that the door is not open for them to come back. We must work at keeping our relationship to them warm and caring. In Luke 15 it says the Father was looking down the road and saw the son coming back and ran to him. That door was not just open; it was wide open. Students drop out for many reasons. Is it obvious your door is wide open for their return?
Arliss Dickerson is the author of five books on college ministry that are available for 99 cents each in eBook form on Amazon.com. FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY is also available in paperback format.
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