This past weekend I visited Brice’s Creek Bible Church (BCBC) to partake in their 2011 Missions Conference. I was once again reminded of all of the good work that is being done around the world. I am thankful for BCBC’s support of my work with soon-to-be college students.

I was also reminded of how important and strategic ministry to college students has become. In fact, as I listened to missionaries from other parts of the world (the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa) I couldn’t help but think of how similar it is to minister to college students on college campuses. College ministers are, indeed, cross-cultural missionaries, bringing the good news of Jesus to a distinct cultural group: college students.

In a previous post, I mentioned new research and resources from Fuller Youth Institute that seeks to develop better youth and family ministry practices that leads to life-long faith in young people that “sticks.” But what happens when those young people arrive at college? What is also needed is a biblically based, missional strategy for reaching those students when they arrive on college campuses.

Enter Stephen Lutz and his new, profound book College Ministry in a Post-Christian Culture. This book provides an effective strategy for reaching students with the Gospel. Steve currently works with college students at the Pennsylvania State University with the Coalition for Christian Outreach. His passion is to see churches and pastors take their cross-cultural calling seriously, to be more mission-minded, even in their own backyards. According to Steve, the college campus is one of the most important mission fields in our time and this is a very helpful book for those who are being “sent” to that part of the world.

The primary audience for College Ministry in a Post-Christian Culture is college ministers. I also think that all pastors, parents and even college students would greatly benefit from it as well.

Learn more about Stephen Lutz

Learn more about the book: College Ministry in a Post-Christian Culture

Listen to a radio interview with the author

A new study by two university professors leads to a shocking discovery: many students don’t learn very much in college. The findings of the study were recently reported in a groundbreaking book, Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa. The picture is grim. Forty-five percent of students “did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning” during the first two years of college, and thirty-six percent didn’t demonstrate much learning over four years of college. The authors note that many students drift “through college without a clear sense of purpose.” The main reason very few students are learning much in college is “lack of academic rigor.” The majority of students are not being pushed very hard in their studies. In fact, studying outside of class is at an all-time low, accounting for less than 14 hours a week for most students.

College bound high school students and their parents should pay particular attention to this study for two reason…

Read the rest at EFCA ReachStudents…

Kara Powell is tall and likes to hug. I’m short and from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Hugging my mom in public makes me uncomfortable. A few years ago I was invited to Fuller Theological Seminary to discuss Fuller Youth Institute’s (FYI) college transition project, now known by the creative and catchy phrase “Sticky Faith.” I’m often intimidated by settings like this: a renowned academic institution, a southern California setting, a gathering of Christian “leaders” from across the country. I have no wardrobe for such an event. As I picked up my nametag and stack of handouts, Dr. Powell, FYI’s Executive Director, spotted me from across the room. I knew a hug was coming. Waving to greet her, I dropped about 100 sheets of paper on the floor. The hug would have to wait. I must have covered every square inch of that Fuller classroom floor, on my hands and knees, crawling through a maze of legs of strangers. What a way to start day number one of the sticky faith summit!

It was an honor to be invited to this historic event. I had been following the Sticky Faith research from the beginning and as soon as I received the invitation in the mail, I booked my flight and headed to the Gap Outlet. I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. I’d crawl to Pasadena if I had to.

I am pleased to announce that after five years of research and discussion, FYI has released the findings of their research in some very helpful resources. Here’s what FYI had been working so tirelessly to discover: what are the practices that parents and youth workers need to engage in to better produce faith in young people the sticks for the long haul. In other words, how do we lead teens to faith that lasts? This question is at the heart of the College Transition Initiative as well and FYI has been one of my most important conversation partners. Their research has greatly influenced and informed my seminars and writing. Thank you Kara, Chap, Brad, Cheryl, and Irene (and anyone I’m missing) for your hard work!

The new resources they have created are timely and timeless, deep yet accessible, and profound but simple to understand. My hope is that every pastor and parent who cares about passing along the faith to the next generation reads the Sticky Faith books, watches the DVDs and explores the website. May the resources bear much fruit!

Read a press release: What Makes Faith Stick During College?

Learn more about the new books for parents and youth workers.

Listen to podcasts about the research.

Check out the Stick Faith blog.

It’s early September, the back-to-school buzz is in the air. There’s back-to-school shopping, back-to-school meetings, back-to-school supplies… the list seems endless. I’d like to offer my own: Back-to-School Advice.

Over the last year, in anticipation of the release of Make College Count (check out the back-to-school discount!), I had a few friends offer advice to students on how to make the most of the college years. All of the contributors care deeply about college students and want to see them take seriously these formative years. Maybe you know someone who could benefit from a little direction to get off to a good start this school year.

Click here to see the complete list of college advice or click a name below to read their advice to students:

J. Mark Bertrand

Matt Bonzo

Ned Bustard

Timothy Edris

Brad Griffin

Allen Jackson

Steve Miller

Jonathan Morrow

Stephen Nichols

Rick Ostrander

Kara Powell

Roger Steer

Gideon Strauss

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week I spoke at Malone University. I spoke there in February of this year and it was an honor to be invited back so soon. My assignment this time was to talk to the students and faculty regarding “a new way of thinking” about college. I was given the biblical text of Romans 12:1-2.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul warns Christians not to “conform to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” The problem with the “pattern of the world” is that it becomes so normalized, so much a part of our culture, so much a part of our thinking, that we don’t even recognize the way in which is often runs counter to the will of God.

I explained that in many ways we are tempted to think about college according to the pattern of this world. For many, college has simply become an assumed next step after high school, with very little reflection on why a person goes to college. Students are tempted to believe the cultural myth that suggests that during the “college years” they can do whatever they want before entering the “real world.” There is also a temptation to view learning as nothing more than a grade to get a degree. What will be on the test becomes the most important question students ask in class! And relationships? Well, too often they are seen as connections and networks, based on self-interest, remaining on the surface.

Our minds need to be renewed to think differently about college, to envision a college experience rooted in deeper learning and deeper community. That was my challenge to the students at Malone University this week and to students everywhere, always.

Click here to listen.