60% of all church-going high school students reject their faith once they get to college (George Barna).
As the high school chapter grows closer and closer to completion, seniors shift their focus to the next stage of their life: college. After many attempts at the ACT and the enduring of the long application process, the senior class tightens up a few loose ends and gets ready to move on out. Some students are ready for the change of pace, yet some are cautious as to what lies around the corner. However, regardless of how one feels of the migration to a college campus, one thing is certain: new opportunities, as well as new challenges, lie ahead.
College life demands adaptations of all sorts.
“For me, time management has been difficult to learn. Although you may not be in classes for as long as in high school, you have a great deal more work to do outside of class,” said Nathan Benefield, WCA class of 2010 graduate.
A higher level of academic assessment is a challenge that most college kids are expecting. However, there are certain pressures that, tragically, Christian kids are more often then not unprepared for.
“The biggest challenge I faced [in college] was finding a good campus ministry to get involved in. I wish I had gone to more events of different ministries instead of picking a group and staying with them only to find out all the crazy things they believe. It led to a year of doubting what I believed and what I was raised to believe as well,” said Travis Ruppretch, WCA class of 2009 graduate.
A George Barna statistic taken in 2001 stated that 60% of Christian high school kids stop attending church when they get to college. Biblical teachers believe that this statistic is a result of several factors, the first being the new flux of previously unseen challenges.
When teenagers go off to college, there are many new temptations that they have not seen before, or have not dealt with to that extreme. Drinking, sex, and drugs are a scene that most high school students have been presented with before, but a college campus away from parental guidance brings more pressure then they are accustomed to. Without someone to hold him or her accountable, even a lifetime churchgoer can be swept away from their faith.
A second snare that draws Christians away from the faith is the pursuit of their own ambitions. New college kids can easily get caught up in the rush of things, and their desire to succeed in the world overgrows their desire to know Christ. To them, the success of today is more important than the condition of their immortal spirit. The longing for material success and earthly treasure is a kind of confinement that even experienced adults can be locked into.
According to a recent survey, the percentage of American adults identifying themselves as Christian has fallen over two decades. The American Religious Identification Survey from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut announced that as of 2010, 75 percent of Americans at least claim to be of the Christian faith. However ten years earlier in 1990, the number was 86 percent.
Taking all of this into consideration, it may appear that the odds are stacked against the Christian at college. However, going to college does not necessarily mean that one must “sell their soul” for a degree.
Christian kids can easily make the mistake of underestimating the temptations that college presents. A word from the wise is to be prepared, and seek accountability.
“Bottom line, college is what you make it to be but be aware that you can easily flunk out if you don’t set your priorities in order. As long as you put God first everything is will fall into place, and once you find a campus ministry you will find a church as well,” said Rupprecht.
As a school, Westminster’s “Christian retention rating” is much higher than the national average. A survey taken this past September addressing the WCA class of 2004 stated that 67% of the contacted graduates belong to a church home. Betty Von Valkenburg, assistant to the head of school and administrator of the yearly statistic, said that although every class has its own results most all of the statistics taken in the past have followed a similar trend. However even with all this being said, WCA students are advised to still be on their guard when departing for college.
Most every college has some form of Christian campus ministry for students to get involved in. For starters, Campus Crusade ministry is a national organization that gives Christian college kids accountability and support through their college career. In addition to Campus Crusade, most colleges have an inter-varsity group or a Christian Greek house that are also great ways to find spiritual encouragement. At most colleges, if one seeks help, one shall find it.
Taking all this into consideration, the best defense against the worldly traps of college is for students to seek accountability early on, and for them to be well aware of their place spiritually.