A Familiar Story: Are We Willing to Help Rewrite It?
The story is a familiar one, one I have heard from adults over the course of my four-plus decades of ministry. A woman in her mid-20’s, who my wife and I have been involved with in leading an Alpha Course, shared recently her spiritual journey. Her parents were Christians and took her to church every Sunday during her childhood and adolescence. Once she left home and went to college, she said she knew no one and got involved with the “wrong crowd.” Soon, she stopped attending church, entered the party scene and tried her best to fit in. Her siblings noted how much she had changed while she was a college student.
I have heard a similar version of this story hundreds of times from adults. They were not connected with any Christians on campus or any local church. Most of those with whom I’ve talked were just thankful they returned to the faith, as was the case with this most recent conversation. She concluded this was not how she wanted to live her life. She started seeking out believers who could mentor her and eventually decided on a life in vocational ministry.
Many of you will likely focus on the fact she returned to the faith. In fact, she commented that people told her it wasn’t that big of deal that she lived in a spiritual wilderness for four years. To them, it was normal for college students to experience this. It is true that many do return to the faith; it is also true that many do not. The question we should be asking is this: Do we truly think it is fine for young people to leave the faith for a while? Are we comfortable with that?
If so, then recognize this perspective ignores the fact they may never return to the faith, as well as the unique opportunities Christian college students have to be effective ambassadors for Jesus. Universities are crucial mission fields, and these students are in the perfect position to proclaim the faith in word and deed on campus. Four years spent in the spiritual wilderness are four years of lost opportunities to take advantage of relationships to impact for the Kingdom. Our friend made a lot of friends at her college. They didn’t have to be the “wrong crowd” if she came to campus well-discipled, committed to live for Jesus, and understood her role as His ambassador. Those friends possibly could have decided to follow Jesus because of her witness.
Sadly, she was not adequately discipled as a child and adolescent and then was not assisted in making connections with what I refer to as “spiritual resources” on campus—campus ministries, churches, and Christian counselors to help her thrive spiritually. And, even more sad is the fact that many pastors and parents assume their young people are doing well because that is what they’re told by the young people themselves. However, they rarely see what is really happening in these kids’ lives. I had a different vantage point, and I can tell you that most Christian college students either are not committed to living for the Lord, are spiritually immature or are just looking for friends who don’t live immorally. Few have a missional view of their lives when they come to campus.
This is why I am spending my retirement not retired. I started UpStream Ministries (www.jimmusser.com) to help churches and parents understand what I came to understand: young people are not getting properly discipled because their parents are not taking that biblical responsibility seriously or have no idea how to do it. I have also written two books addressing these issues. Letters from Downstream examines the shortcomings of the current model of discipleship in most local churches and offers a guide to the changes that need to be made to help make our young people more likely to be lifelong disciples of Jesus. The other book, Is Your Faith Ready for College? is a spiritual prep guide for high school juniors and seniors to connect them to spiritual resources BEFORE they reach campus as freshmen.
To be honest, it took me over 30 years to grasp the problem of the discipleship strategy in local churches, and I and my colleagues operated on the assumption that our main role was to bring students “up to speed” on what it meant to follow Jesus. I never asked why students weren’t spiritually mature since they spent (usually) their entire lives living with Christians and being around Christians. Once I did ask the question, it changed my focus to what it is now.
Many church leaders and parents blame universities or the culture for the spiritual problems of their young people. My response, however, is to point out that young people in the 1st Century continued to thrive spiritually despite growing up in one of the most pagan cultures in history. How do I know this? Because the 1st Century Church continued to grow over seven decades of existence. Several generations grew up in the Church.
The problem is not the university or the culture. The problem is how we Christians approach discipleship. We have latched on and evolved a strategy that never really worked well. Many have much the same attitude the late actor Charlton Heston had toward his gun rights, “from my cold, dead hands,” toward their approach to discipleship. They resist giving it up.
Yet, we must face the reality that few of our young people graduate from high school spiritually ready to be ambassadors for Christ, either on the college campus or in the workplace. And research continues to show the majority of students leave the faith after graduating from high school.
The question is, what are we willing to do to help change the familiar story for our young people? Are we willing to make the changes necessary for a different ending, or will we continue to employ an ineffective strategy and send young people into a world in which they are spiritually unprepared to survive, let alone thrive. The decision is ours to make.
Until next time . . .
© Jim Musser 2026
