I’m still on vacation, so Tony Myles graciously stepped in again to host the show.

This discussion covers the hurdle of what typically happens “after high school” in the lives of students. Namely, the erosion of their faith during the college years.

Some key thoughts from the show

• Churches face a temptation to “throw a college” ministry at emerging adults. Perhaps because it’s easier to push large group environments that feel like candy versus mentoring that isn’t quite as glamorous and marketable.
• Emerging adults are finding community elsewhere – in drinking a beer or a fraternity/sorority. We need to ask “Why?” Is it because these environments are more appealing to “let them be where they are today?”
• Our trend as a church is to draw people to a maturity level they aren’t at. Do emerging adults struggle with this?
• We need to destroy the idea of a finish line that ends at high school and move it at least four years further. Even then, it’s not a true finish line but more of a point where we have helped shape an understand of what self-feeding Christianity looks like and how they can contribute into the state of the church (and it’s plans for ministry).
• Success is perhaps best defined in terms of identity – a young person finishing high school or college and knowing with conviction how they are a son or daughter of God.
• Some of the greatest stories of us doing this well almost always involve a person or two who checked in on emerging adults semi-regularly to remind them who they were and wanted to become.
• We need to see church as a family and not as a program.
• One idea: Start to paint a picture of this early on during elementary years – what it looks like to become an adult who is walking with Christ in a healthy way and turning around to invest into the next generation; utilizing “identity based” curriculum during the last two years of high school; helping the church know “who” has graduated and what is next for them so that they don’t become a statistic; and so on.

Panel members for this show:

• Abbie Smith (co-author of “The Slow Fade: Why You Matter in the Story of Twentysomethings“)
• Brian Scramlin (Youth Pastor)
• Dave Turner (Youth Pastor)
• Tom Roepke (Youth Pastor)
• Lars Rood (Youth Pastor)
• Brandon Benfield (College Ministry Director)
• Tony Myles (Lead pastor, Coach to Youth Pastors)

You can listen to the whole conversation below or grab it in iTunes.

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Posted on July 3, 2010