Church Dropouts

In 2007 Lifeway Research conducted a study of students that attended church regularly during high school. They found “70 percent of 23-30 year olds stopped attending church regularly for at least a year between ages 18-22.”  The main reason students dropped out was because they wanted a break from church.    The main reason students stayed was because church was a vital part of their relationship with God.  That’s a big difference in views.

• How does your church measure the high school graduate retention rate?
• What changes should a church make so that 30 percent are dropping out and 70 percent stay?

Finding Collegiates

In order to reach collegiates (anyone 18-24) then you have to know where they come from. Our church is located in Houston County with four high schools. A quick call to the board of education revealed that there are 1,479 students enrolled in in the 12th grade. Who is intentionally reaching these students once they graduate? That’s approximately 11,200 collegiates in Houston County that Jesus says are worth reaching because they are made in his image.

Good Ol’ College and Career

The Bridger Generation (coined by Thom Rainer) or Generation Y are the students that the majority of churches have forgotten about. In the good ol’ days the church’s answer was a “college and career” Sunday school. I propose a collegiate ministry in the local church designed to reach the 18-24 year old. A collegiate ministry is not just for college students but is for all 18-24 years olds. I feel that the word collegiate better captures and communicates the culture of this stage of adolescence.