College is a brand new experience for students and provides many new opportunities and life changing events. College is full of new experiences where you find a new understanding of who you really are and have complete independence. High school was not an awful experience for me, but now that I am at the University of South Carolina, I realize how much better school is now.  However, being in college means a lot of changes including a new schedule, new people, and some major adjustments that come from living away from home.  One of those major adjustments being church.  I grew up in a Christian household and I knew that when I got to college, I would want to join another church in order to continue my walk with Christ. Luckily, I found my church within the first weekend on campus and I have been attending ever since. But I noticed something that first week I went: I go to a school with over thirty thousand students but the campus is a ghost town on Sunday mornings. I thought to myself, “I know that everyone does not go to church or believe in God but there has to be more than this, right?”  This was astonishing to me and led me to believe that there has to be a reason or multiple reasons for this. By looking at my personal experience, interviewing other students on-campus, and learning about long term youth ministers and youth professionals experience, I have found that students feel like they “graduate” from their home church, specifically the Christian church, at the same time that they graduate from high school. This is important because students are losing these church related relationships that are vital to the growth and confidence that young people need to flourish in today’s society.

The lack of conviction is a key component for many college students and young adults as to why they don’t prioritize their religious affiliations. When I was in high school, I went to church every Sunday, attended a weekly small group and was involved in countless religious groups.  I knew that other eighteen year olds were not as involved in their church and that is totally awesome. I am the type of person that is always there to be a friend to all no matter what they may or may not believe. However, I did meet a lot of people by going to church, and I connected to a lot of people because they also went to church. For example, the small group that I attended each week has had one of the biggest impacts on my life over anything else. This group was filled with other people close to my age that I could talk to, count on, share life with, and find Christ with. Going to this group was a personal experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world and I would hope that every other high schooler is able to have a small group experience like I did.  The small group leader was amazing as well.  I did not have a father figure growing up and he filled that position for me in a way. He showed me what it was to love unconditionally and care about people. He put me on a good path and helped me become the man I am today. The fact of the matter is that a lot of kids do not get a sense of connection through their church because they may not be a religious person or may find that connection elsewhere. This is why when I got to USC, I was amazed at the number of students that were not going to some kind of religious service even if they were religious.  I live on a hall with about forty college students and only about five of them go to church from what I have seen.  Just from talking and getting to know my floor, I realized that many of them went to church before college so then why do I not see them on Sunday mornings?  Personally, I know that as a college student you do not want to set an alarm on the weekends.  You do not want to get up before noon and head to church. I believe that this is a part of why many kids are not going to church on Sundays or other religious groups. But you will do it if you have conviction and if church means something to you and if you want to pursue a relationship with God. This is a problem, though, because those who are religious and just decide not to go are missing out on opportunities to grow as an individual and build strong relationships with both other believers and with God.  I think we can all say that we have experience this first hand.  There have been some Sundays where I have slept in or other days of the week when I do not go to small group because I am tired or I have a lot of homework or a million excuses.  But when it comes down to it, the reason I do not go is because I am lacking in conviction.  Going to church that week or small group was not a priority for me.  However, not going those Sundays hurt me more than anything because I was not able to strengthen my connections with people.  It is impossible to make friendships and meet new people when you are not present to do so.  I have a sense of freedom and happiness when I do go, not only because of the religious aspect, but also because I am constantly building my social life and creating new relationships.  This, along with the spiritual aspect, is my conviction to go to church. 

Some students honestly just don’t know where to start in their college search.  After being in college for over two months, I decided to find out some of these reasons through on campus interviews.  There were many different responses to my interview questions, but a few responses were all very similar.  Many of the responses pointed to the reasons of not having someone to go with, not knowing where to go, or just being lost on what to do next.  For example, I interviewed an old friend from high school that I knew was very involved in his church back home. He attended services regularly and was very involved in his youth group.  I asked him if he had joined a church since he had arrived at school and his response was that he had not because he did not know where to go.  Another interviewee, Caroline, from campus had a similar response.  She was also very involved in church back home, went every single week, and even volunteered with the kids every Sunday.  From what she said, she really wants to get plugged into a new church, but does not know where and does not have a ride to go anywhere.  Another girl said that she “went regularly in high school and needs to go back,” but she also said that she did not know where to go.  From interviewing these people on campus, the reasons that they are not attending church regularly are becoming more and more clear.  Some students lack conviction, but a lot of kids just do not know how to go about the logistics of joining a new church. For most believers, they gain their beliefs from their parents and have been attending their parents’ church since they were born. Therefore, they have never had to find a church for themselves before and, they do not know how to start their search. College is stressful and intimidating enough as it is.  Most people are not going to want to go to a new church without a friend or maybe a ride from a friend.  I do not think that this is necessarily the fault of the church or of the person wanting to go as a general statement, but I do think that the church could definitely do more to reach out to young people.  Traditionally, most churches have members that are adults or older people.  If young people are in the church, it is usually because they are related to other members already in most traditional church settings.  However, some churches that have strong youth attendance are those churches that reach out.  For example, the first week at USC, my church set up an event every day for students.  They had games, free food, a dance party, and were super inviting.  Personally, I know that these events set a foundation and lead me out of my comfort zone.  I am not saying that churches need to go out of their way to spend a bunch of money and do crazy stuff to get the attention of college students, but I am saying that many churches could be doing a better job of putting themselves out into the community to help ease this transition for college students, specifically Christian believers.  Alan Reifman, a professor at Texas Tech University, talks about how college students are stressed out.  “Think about what many college students go through. Leaving the family home, feeling intense pressure to obtain high grades in connection with career aspirations, taking final exams, trying to establish a romantic/social life, dealing with (often very high) costs of college, and possibly working at a job during the school year,” says Reifman.  How can churches expect students to just join if they do not reach out into the community and make them feel comfortable?  Students are under enough stress as it is.  Again, I do not believe that the reason that many kids stop attending church in college is the church’s fault, but I do believe that if a church wants to reach out, that they have to be willing to serve students and make the transition into a new church easier.

The church in general has to figure out how to adapt to meet the needs of a younger generation.  As I am finding myself both in Christ and as a person, I often wonder, “what do college students and young adults need in their life in order for them to flourish and build up important values?”  I am a firm believer that everyone needs help, especially young people.  College students and young adults are at a time where they are starting to gain independence and live on their own for the first time and that is a tough transition.  Kara Powell, the Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute and a faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary, is not only a professional in religion but also in student ministry.  She has been in youth ministry for the past twenty years and has some very interesting views on why college students leave the church.  She believes that when students graduate from high school that they also “graduate” from the church.  Her reasoning for this is that when kids graduate from high school, they are faced with this awkward gap between high school and real life where they do not know where to turn or who to talk to or what to do.  I think that this is a very good point because people need other people to flourish.  What I mean by this statement is that it is very hard to figure out who you are in life by yourself.  I, along with Professor Powell, believe that students in this transition stage need some sort of support group.  Powell thinks that the church needs to do a better job at providing leaders and adults to guide these students through this time period.  While expanding on the idea that the church may need to do some work on reaching out to these students, another article comes to mind.  This other article is directed more towards the church because apparently the church is not adapting enough to meet the needs of college students.  I agree with certain aspects of this article.  We live in a new age of social media and new technology, and I believe that this has a huge effect on millennials.  I think that in order for some churches to meet the needs of younger people, they need to do some updating and break away from some traditional ways. For example, many young believers do not want to stand in a pew and sing hymns. They want to sing contemporary songs from artists such as Chris Tomlin, Hillsong United, and Matt Redman.  However, I think that breaking away completely from some traditional styles will drive an older age group away from the church and create a whole new problem. The driving of an older generation will also deprive young believers of people that have so much knowledge on finding God and walking with Christ that many young believers are searching to know and understand. The solution is for the church to find some balance of incorporating the rising change of a generation of contemporary believers while staying true to their values and some traditional practices.  In other words, the church needs to find ways to meet the needs of every age group, not just selective age groups. 

By looking at personal experience, on-campus interviews, and experience from long term youth ministers and youth professionals, we see that students feel like they graduate from the church when they graduate from high school.  According to LifeWay Research, seventy percent of young adults that attended church in high school regularly for at least one year, end up dropping out of the church.   Religion is a sensitive subject in today’s society which is a complete shame.  Many people feel targeted, judged, and uncomfortable when talking about Christianity and church for many reasons.  There are many reasons why people do not attend church in the first place, and that is okay.  As a Christian, it is not my job to judge, but to love everyone and lift others up.  I am a firm believer in discipleship through example, which is why I would never force anything upon anybody.  However, I will always keep other Christians accountable and stand up for what I believe in even if other people do not like what I believe.  Loving one another does not always mean agreeing with them.  I do not think that college students are leaving the church at such an alarming rate because of one reason, but I think it is and always will be a combination of many things.  It could be something as simple as not having a ride to church or not knowing where to go, or it could be a more compelling reason as of lacking conviction.  Whatever the reasons are that so many young people are leaving the church, the Christian community can agree that it is a major problem.  Something needs to be done and people within the Church need to actually talk about the issue and how to fix it rather than just ignore and accept it.  College students are in an extremely challenging part of their lives, and the church needs to remember that when questioning why they do not have a large population of young people.  I believe that the best way to approach this new problem has to be by the church.  One way that I think the church could reach out is by creating a shuttle for students to and from church on Sunday mornings.  I feel that this will confront multiple reasons that kids don’t show up to church on Sundays such as not having a ride and not having someone to go with.  Even though college students are not always the most proactive group of people, they are still kids.  They need support from their community..  If the church wants to see growth for future generations they have to be willing to address the problem, go out into their community, and build relationships with young people.  