Christian Colleges

This is the time of year that students are looking at colleges with a sense of urgency. Juniors are feeling the excitement of one more year of school and seniors are pretty freaked because they only have a few more months to solidify this lifechanging decision. What schools are your students considering? Are they wrestling with the decision of whether or not to attend a Christian college? Because of our highly unchurched population, many of our students weren't even aware that they existed! Here are some things we have instituted to have them consider a Christian college/university:

• Have the school come to you. Many schools have a team of students who are willing to come out and run a service for you. They will also use this opportunity to give students information and perhaps even some free merchandise.
• Choose your events wisely. Every year our youth group attends a CIY (Christ in Youth) Summer Conference. Despite the fact that one of their locations is only an hour away, we choose to spend a day in a van to drive to Milligan College (a school I would love our students to check out).
• Jump in a van and do a loop. Offer a road trip for a group of students and go on a campus tour. In January I took our student leadereship team to CCU's Winterfest event in January and while out in Ohio we used the opportunity to detour three hours to visit KCU. Schools are more than willing to provide an opportunity to give a campus tour, allow your students to observe a class, and even provide free lodging and meals.
• Check out a campus ministry. We have not fulfilled this offer yet, but Penn States campus ministry has offered us a chance to check out their ministry while students are checking out the campus.
• Go next door. We are fortunate enough to have Eastern University less than 20 miles away. I have taken students to that campus to sit in on a lecture just to help them prepare for college. Consider the school in your local area just to keep college fresh on their brains. This is a great trip for freshman and sophmores.