70% of students will leave the church for at least one year after leaving our student ministries, regardless of how involved they have been (http://feeds.feedburner.com/cnlpodcast – episode 69).

Let that sink in – 70%…

Two things come to my mind, knowing that:

1. Why do I even try? Seriously, if you are invested in NextGen and student ministry, the question is real.
2. Can we do ANYTHING to combat this?

The good news is, we can cut that number IN HALF if their small group leader “goes with them to college.” What does that mean?

The one half statistic holds up, if that high school small group leader sends their freshman in college/out on their own students one text per month in that first year. They stay engaged with just one text per month. That’s why we try.

As student ministry and nextgen leaders, we cannot disengage just because our local school system tells us our students are done. The discipleship of our students and the future of the Church depends on it.