The Barna Group Book Giveaway: How Do You Move Seniors Out?

Orange is a strategy that combines the warmth of the family with the light of the faith community to demonstrate the message of God’s story, in order to influence the next generation.  But somewhere between the late high-school and college years, students are en mass, leaving the church and checking their beliefs at the door.

The greatest question that today’s church faces is:  How does the church keep college-aged people engaged in faith?  

In the book Slow Fade, Reggie Joiner, Chuck Bomar and Abbie Smith explore why many churches and families have established the youth ministry finish line at twelfth grade. They (the church and family) walk their seniors out the door, breathe a sigh of relief, give them a Bible and let them disappear for a few years. Church leaders assume  that students will return to church later, as adults with young families.

There is a huge problem with this line of thinking.  If we let them go, we may never see them again.

Many never come back.

So this is where you come in – we want your perspective.

As a student pastor, how do you effectively move your high school seniors out of the student ministry and church?  What are some best practices to transition high school seniors out into the real world?  How do you prepare them for what’s next while also encouraging them to be the church?

The student pastor or youth leader with the best response to these questions will win the following two fabulous books from the Barna Group:

Unchristian:  What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity

You Lost Me:  Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church and Rethinking Faith

Please have your responses in by Sunday, July 22, 2012.  The XP3 team will then convene the next morning to determine the winner, then contact him or her to share the blissful news.