It is hoped that students leaving home for college are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in classes and living on their own.
But they are often less prepared when it comes to remaining active in church — statistics show that 75 percent of students abandon their faith when they reach college. Making sure the state’s Baptist students don’t become a part of that percentage is the goal of CampusConnect: The Next Step.
CampusConnect is a half-day event designed to help high school juniors and seniors prepare for staying active in their faith in college, according to Keith Loomis, an associate in the office of collegiate and student ministries for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM).
The event is scheduled twice — Aug. 18 at the Baptist Campus Ministries (BCM) of the University of Alabama (UA) and Aug. 25 at the BCM of Auburn University. The free event is open to high school juniors and seniors, their parents and youth ministers and leaders.
Spiritual vitality
“We’re emphasizing a variety of concerns relevant to the spiritual vitality of Christian students,” said Nate Young, senior campus minister at UA’s BCM.
Along with future college students, he said CampusConnect will help parents and youth leaders understand how they can be more effective in efforts to prepare students for the transition to college as it relates to their faith.
The event at both campuses will include a catered lunch followed by small-group discussions between high school and college students. While the students participate in the small-group discussions, parents will discuss Life Management Skills and Faith Management Skills with special speakers. Youth leaders will participate in a panel on Help, Transitioning Students is Tough!
Following a break, high school students will participate in discussions on Life Management Skills and Faith Management Skills, while their parents will have small-group discussions with current college students. Youth leaders will participate in a panel discussion on Ministering With Students in Transition.
Young said students do not have to be with their parents to attend and parents may attend without their children.
“Our aim with CampusConnect is to provide high school juniors and seniors with a preview of ministry opportunities that will become available when they enter college,” Young said.
‘Better equipped’
Steve Thompson, senior campus minister at Auburn’s BCM, said ensuring that students do not abandon their faith while attending college is a task that involves parents, youth ministers and BCM ministers working together.
“We need to do a better job of communicating with one another about the issues students will be faced with,” he said.
New college students are often faced with moral choices different from those they may have been raised with, according to Mike Nuss, director of the SBOM office of collegiate and student ministries.
He added they may also be encouraged by friends and professors to explore different lifestyles and their faith might be challenged.
Loomis added that the problem of college students not staying involved with a church or religious organization begins before they leave home.
“We know that with so many students, faith development becomes less and less of a priority for them as they move through high school,” he said. “The fact of the matter is that for years, we’ve said, ‘We’re losing our students once they graduate from high school,’ but (in reality) we’re losing them before they become high school seniors.”
And Thompson said youth leaders have expressed their concerns and asked for assistance on how to hand them off to campus groups and keep them connected to a church and their faith.
“Hopefully youth leaders will be better equipped to help instruct juniors and seniors on how to make good choices toward college and some of the issues they’ll experience once they get to college,” he added of CampusConnect.
To register for one of the CampusConnect events, call Angie Williams at 1-800-264-1225, Ext. 373, or e-mail awilliams@alsbom.org.
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