Depending on where you look, there is a statistical range for how many Christian students struggle in their faith while attempting to cross this great gap. I can honestly tell you that it is somewhere between 60-75%. Do me a favor and try to erase the fact that you have heard this before. Attempt to re-read that sentence with a renewed perspective: Out of every one hundred teenagers who have professed Christ as Savor and grown up in a church, between sixty and seventy-five will drift away from growing and maturing in Christ after they graduate and leave home.
Obviously, some teenagers struggle more than others and many come back to their faith eventually, but the important thing is that the majority face a spiritual challenge that they are clearly not prepared for. And that is the key…they are not prepared.
According to the Fuller Youth Institute, only one in every seven high school seniors report feeling prepared to handle the challenges of college life. This is not to say that they aren’t prepared academically for college, most high schools do a good job of helping students who are able to move forward to higher eduction. Many are not ill-prepared socially, and they certainly feel like they are ready to leave. Rather, these teenagers are not prepared to live on their own in their faith, while making wise decisions and continuing to grow and mature, like they did in high school.
Think of it this way. A typical Christian teenager has up to four major spiritual influences. Can you guy what those are (I hope so because you are one of them)? Those four influences are family, friends, church, and mentors. These influences have helped the teen grow and mature, from childhood until graduation. If a teenager grew up in a Christian home, was involved in a church, had Christ-centered friendships, and learned from mentors like you and others, then he or she was much like I was at that age. So, it’s not that these student aren’t mature or somehow have been going through the motions and playing the Christian role. Their faith is authentic. The problem is that these student do not know how to grow in their faith without those four influences. They have never lived without these influences guiding them (& often holding their hand), furthermore, they have never had to replace those influences in a new environment. They have never had to start over on the ground floor of developing community, as many teenagers have developed friendships over a span of years. They have probably not ever had to find a new church on their own, as many teenagers go to the same church their parents attend or they follow a close friend to church. When it comes to developing a mentoring relationship, mentors often seek out teenagers just as you have developed deeper relationships with your students. Also, they will not know how to seek out a mentor, much less that they even need to. As we know, adults (even college students) must often seek out mentoring relationships which can become difficult if the individual has never do that before. Lastly, even though a recent high school graduate feels ready to move away and live on his/her own, this will be the first time to have a long distance relationship with their family, and many students struggle to make that adjustment.
What do you think about the 4 Influences theory? If un-addressed this year, how would you see this effecting your senior next year?