Sustaining Spiritual Life After High School
First, it helps to start warning young people of the process of drifting away from God while they are still in senior high. (See article on this process at 18 and On Your Own.) God says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). Any Bible teaching series that will help them see the deception and prepare them to go the right direction is well served at this time. Second, it is vital that we offer spiritual and relational support after high school. Here are a few thoughts:
Challenge parents to stay engaged. A parent’s role changes after high school, but it is no less vital. It becomes more about mentoring and guidance, and it demands a close relationship and a heart connection. I am always ready to meet with the parents of our graduates and challenge them to stay closely connected. I can inform them of the challenges their graduate is going to face, and give them ideas for providing spiritual encouragement and prayer support. Ephesians 6:4 teaches, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
Establish an 18–23 year-old student department. We call ours “College and Career,” or "Cross Walk" and it falls under our student ministry organizationally. Currently it is led by me and my wife, and we strive to invest our hearts and prayers into our students after high school. My prayer is that the Lord will raise up someone else to take on this ministry. I’m eager and excited for my own son to be a part of this department as he transitions out of high school next summer. This group is significantly different than a high school youth group but absolutely essential.
Love them through the test of their faith. Every young person experiences some tests and trials during this time of life. Often those tests strike at the core of their faith. This is a time when their faith is proven personally. We must stand with them, pray for them, encourage them, and invest into them.
Be accessible for counseling and encouragement. At a time when the devil tries to distance them from every good relationship, we must be available. We have an open door and an open heart towards any question. At this age, they need biblical logic to answer honest and difficult questions. Jeremiah 3:15 admonishes us, “And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
Support them through tough decisions. I must be an unbiased counselor. Many of our young people are not called into the ministry, and they need to be reminded that the will of God for them is just as vital as full-time ministry. Young people attend secular colleges or choose local career paths. Our heart and passion for them is that they would follow God passionately and stay in His perfect will. Seeing our young people stay faithful to God is a great reward.
Be sensitive to their unique needs and challenges. This is a distinct stage of life that requires focused Bible teaching and encouragement. Consider some of these challenges:
~Because of classes and work, they don’t have a lot of extra time. They often work second shift and will not be able to attend a lot of weeknight activities like teenagers can. This doesn’t mean they don’t want and need fellowship. It just means it should be scheduled on Sunday nights after church.
~Because of minimum wage jobs and bills, they don’t have extra money. This means group activities should probably be free and in the form of fellowships or game nights. Nearly all of our College and Career activities are held on Sunday nights and are free or minimal cost.
~Because of the constant peer pressure in classes and on the job, they need to be reassured—it would be good to consider getting this group together frequently to share testimonies and encourage one another with their challenges.
~Because of their schedules, they can be hard to track down—we get emails and cell phone numbers, and we do our best to stay connected with them.
~Because of their culture, they can often be non-committal and easily discouraged—we challenge them not to reconsider their good and biblical decisions and are patient with them through times of uncertainty.
~Because their values are constantly hammered, they have many really good questions and can struggle with doubts—we must constantly strive to understand and answer their questions without getting frustrated that they have them.
~Because of an instant-gratification world, they often struggle with patience and fail to see that God’s best is worth waiting for—we must reinforce God’s principles of patience and fruit bearing, “In His season” (Psalm 1:3).
~Because they see themselves as one small spec in a mass of humanity, they need vision for their lives—we must strive to help them see how significant they are in God’s perfect plan.
~Because they are tired of being viewed as a child, they can often overreact to the perceived overbearing of authority—we strive so make sure they know that we believe in them, and we must not be overbearing! We should tell them that we know they will do the right thing. We must encourage them to get counsel, not because we want to control their lives, but because wise people always build good lives by listening to Biblical advice.
~Finally, because they long for relationships and are highly technical, they look to be accepted and connected in every way possible. We must stay connected, keep up with technology, and show them a godly example through close relationships. We must be available for one on-one-time.
(Adapted)
