Jason Leonard, Part 3: From High School to College to the Real World

January 3, 2020

How can the Church help students through the major transitions of young adulthood? In this episode, Jason gives advice to pastors and parents about preparing their high school students for the next step, and he and Adam look at some of the existential challenges students face in college.

Part of the work of spiritually preparing students for college is to be realistic about the challenges and questions they’ll encounter and letting them practice wrestling with these things before they leave home. And when they do leave, pastors can help students transition to college by connecting them with a Christian community and continuing (even to a small degree) a supportive, hope-filled relationship with them. The more difficult transition, however, is when a student leaves the “biosphere” of college as a suddenly independent twenty-something.

Listen in to this episode to hear how college life makes the transition out of it more challenging and what Jason thinks the church can do to help.

 

Jump Through the Conversation

  • [2:04] Embracing the many expressions of the Church in receiving and sending off college students

  • [5:59] Why younger generations aren’t attracted to church

  • [7:59] How churches and youth pastors can do a better job about handing off students to college ministries

  • [9:03] The difficulty of the transition to life beyond college 

  • [11:33] How parents and youth pastors can prepare high school kids for college

    • Expose them to new ideas

    • Encourage abstract thinking

  • [15:07] Anecdotes from Jason and Adam

  • [17:18] What is the purpose of the university?

    • Expectations and promises

    • The college biosphere

  • [20:44] Jason’s two questions to college students

    • How is this degree preparing you for life after college?

    • What do you want?

  • [23:09] How churches and youth pastors can help high school kids transition to college

    • Help them find Christian community

    • Keep in touch with them

    • Give space and hope when they wrestle with faith

 

Links and Resources

 

A resource of the Chattanooga House of Prayer