Moving On: 5 Ways to Help Graduating Students Transition Well

It’s finally here—Graduation Sunday. The students who started as tiny, timid sixth graders now walk around your church with broad-shouldered confidence, ready to tackle the world. Excitement and pride fill your prepped launch speech, and parents beam and wipe away the wetness from their cheeks. The day of celebration goes over without a glitch, and off the graduating seniors go into the world. Congratulations!

What’s next? Yes, you’ll see them around after they graduate. Maybe they will pop in when they are home from college. OR you could be lucky enough to have a few come back and volunteer in your student ministry. But what happens to the others? You’ve worked too hard to let them become another statistic! Do you know that a few simple, intentional efforts on your part can have a lasting impact as students transition into the next stage of life?

If your church is anything like the churches I’ve attended, students have a very clear path set before them for the first eighteen years of their lives. It’s fantastic and helpful for everyone! From infants to elementary to students, someone has held their hands and walked with them into the next stages of life. They’ve had small groups planned out for them and a place to belong every week. After graduation, they are now adults and can take control of their Sundays. YAY to everyone for surviving. But do these sweet high school graduates know where to go now?

ministryarchitects.com/volunteer-accelerator/

We all know the students who will figure it out and transition well. But what about the others? You know the ones I’m talking about. Will they want to come back after they experience a little freedom?

Depending on the researcher (Lifeway, Barna, Fuller, etc.), 66-80 percent of students will leave the church after graduating (I’ll say 70 percent for the ease of this article). Roughly only 30 percent will return later in life. That leaves 40 percent never coming back to a church. Y’all. That makes my heart hurt! 

Think about the students in your group. Put a face on them. Will they be a part of the 70 percent? No one would say they want a student to walk away from church, but how have you prepared to keep them around? Remember when you were that age? How did you feel? This is a season of rapid change in a short amount of time. If your church makes it clear where students should go next, it’s one less thing they have to think about, and it should make it simple for them to continue their faith journeys.

If you’re not sure if your church makes those next steps after graduation clear to students, below are a few things to consider.

Most importantly—have a plan! Even a simple one. Bring in other leadership to discover what works best for your church. This shouldn’t rest on you alone. Please don’t wing it or start thinking about it as you plan your graduation luncheon. Make it a priority. I know you’re busy and have a lot going on. But this may be one of the most important parts of your ministry, and with a little prep, it packs a big punch. Some students may not have a lot of guidance in this area of their lives. If we can help them transition into their new place in the church, we have a better chance of watching them deepen their walks with Jesus!

Let parents, students, and small group leaders know ahead of time what’s going to happen after graduation. This conversation should happen at the beginning of student’s senior year to help them walk it out with graduating seniors. Graduating seniors need to know there is a place for them after they start a job or go to college.

On that note, introduce them to other leaders and members within your church. If they only know the youth pastor and their small group leader, will they feel comfortable enough to show up later? If they have a solid connection to someone else within your church, they have a reason to come back after graduation. (Someone besides family!)

Follow through with the plan. Is it a small group? Is it a college class? Are they folding into an intergenerational class? Be prepared for them. Show them the classroom. Introduce the leaders before Graduation Sunday. Consider the language used to promote the class. Is it inclusive to all? (i.e., not just college students!) Remember that a “college class” will not reach all your graduating students. Don’t forget your career-minded ones! These may be the ones you want to concentrate on because they are staying close to home. College students will always file in while they are in town, but young adults in a career will not always go to a church college class because they don’t feel like they belong there.

Lastly, communicate. With both students and their parents. Have I mentioned that? It’s critical in all areas of life, and this one is no exception!

Why is this transition important? It sets up how these students will view the church later in life. Years 18 to 24 are a critical season of life when a plethora of ideas bombard young adults. They are challenged in faith and ethics while establishing their own core beliefs away from parents/guardians. They need a safe place to debate ideas and establish their own. And when the church isn’t a safe place anymore? When they don’t feel like they belong? They become the seventy percent and leave. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to lose any of them!

After graduation is arguably the time young adults need the Church the most. Please don’t let this season pass by without considering how to help graduating seniors walk into their next stage of life depending on Jesus more than ever. Not to be cheesy, but the rewards are eternal!

Share your thoughts with others in our YM360 community:

• Does your church have a plan for students after they graduate? If so, what is it?
• If your church doesn’t have a plan, what can you do that will pull them closer to your church family?

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