Can Christian Kids go to 'Secular' Universities?

As campus ministers, Jen and I work hard to help young Christians make the transition from high school and living at home to life in the university world, and ultimately into the infamous 'real world'. Many of you have probably heard the sordid statistics regarding the diminution of active faith among college age Americans. You may have heard wild numbers thrown around, like 80 or 90% of young Christians who attend secular colleges or universities leave the faith of their youth. Thankfully, these numbers are a bit exaggerated, but the fact remains that far too many young people are jettisoning Jesus on the way to their college diploma. This grieves me in many ways.

I have lots of ideas about how and why this occurs, as well as some statistics to show that the culprit is not the secular university, as 18-22 year olds who never attend university are the most likely group to walk away from faith of any kind*. I also, have lots of ideas regarding how we, as the Church, can move forward in this area (some of these will be discussed in my next installment of the unchristian response).

However, I don't want to bore you with all of that. But, I do want to draw your attention to an open letter from my fellow campus minister, Glen Davis, to the Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Dr. George O. Wood. This letter attempts to paint a clearer picture of the relationship between faith and the secular campus, and to encourage the Assemblies of God to be bold in sending young people to the secular campuses - these young people can not only survive with their faith intact, but thrive as witnesses to the Good News about Jesus!

If this is a topic that piques your interest, I highly recommend reading the whole letter.

As a Bible College graduate, I understand the value of a Christian college experience.
As a campus minister, and state college attender, I understand the value of living in the university world while not being of it.
From my perspective and experiences, I want to encourage everyone to honestly consider the specific direction of the Holy Spirit when considering where to study, or where to encourage a young person to study. Bible college is not for everyone. Secular college is not for everyone. College is not for everyone. The direction and purpose of Almighty God is for everyone.

Link to the letter.

*Losing My Religion: The Social Sources of Religious Decline in Early Adulthood by Uecker, Ragnerus, and Vaaler

A Week at Youth Camp

Each summer, the Louisiana District Youth Department hosts 3 week-long camps for teens in Woodworth, LA. Each week, Chi Alpha Louisiana sends a representative or two to hang out with the teenagers, get to know the youth leaders, and to get the word out about Chi Alpha for those juniors and seniors looking at making the transition into college.

Last week, Jen and I took our turn for the second year in a row. It can be quite an exhausting week with hundreds of teens! (Keep the District Youth Director, Allen Chapin, and his wife, Angela, in prayer this week as they recover from 3 straight weeks of it!) However, we had a great time playing wacky games, and cheering on the teens, just getting to know some great young people, praying with them during impactful services, and connecting with some amazing youth leaders, ministers, and volunteers.

Our week was quite successful along the lines of connecting with young people headed toward college. I don't know if we've ever met so many in one week, before, and I think several of them really had their interest piqued by the idea of Chi Alpha as they head toward the college campus.

What was icing on the cake for us was that we met students planning to attend university in New Orleans! This is usually quite rare, as the private schools in New Orleans are so expensive and selective, and usually only locals attend UNO, and not many teens from the New Orleans area make it to camp each year.

This year was different, though, and we met an incoming UNO freshman while reconnecting with a returning UNO student, both of whom are quite interested in connecting with the Chi Alpha community there. Also, we met two high schoolers (a junior and a senior) who plan to attend Tulane of all places!

That was exciting and fun for us. Even more than that was the honor of witnessing the Holy Spirit do some powerful work in the lives of teenagers.

Please pray with us as hundreds of thousands of Christian teenagers take the plunge into university life this fall for the first time. This is often a difficult transition for students in their life, and especially in their faith.

Louisiana Youth Camp 2007

This past week was a wild one! We went as representatives of Chi Alpha to the Louisiana A/G youth camp in Woodworth, LA. Our job was to meet and mingle and minister with the students, and with the youth pastors and leaders. It was a week of many names, lots of fun, lots of sun, little sleep, and powerful evening worship gatherings.

I'll be putting together a photo journal article for the upcoming newsletter - out next week!

Until then, you can view the pictures here: click me