Do you wonder what kind of impact youth ministry actually has on students by the time they graduate from high school? So do we. More and more denominations and youth workers are wondering what types of students we’re developing, and what happens to them after they graduate. This article is our first report on the data we’ve been collecting in the important and revealing College Transition Project study.
How do the kids in your church know when they have become adolescents? How do they know when they have become adults? As we re-think the value and necessity of rites of passage in our ministries, we may help bring clarity to these life stages and help students through the zones of identity confusion.
We all scratch our heads wondering how to respond to the loss of students from church after high school. Research on this pattern, as well as the patterns of those who return to their faith later, may inform our response as churches who have the opportunity to nurture them — both to prevent some from leaving and to welcome back others who have left.
Think about the last student who showed up at one of your youth ministry events for the first time. Did they come back? If not, why not? If so, that’s great, but do you know what your ministry did that kept them coming back to your church?
