How making it normal for all students to be prepared for college and start with a team of friends and leaders they meet many months in advance reverses the 70% college faith drop off and positions students to multiply believers and create cultural change in our universities and beyond.
Note: Each of these studies has been a tremendous gift to the body of Christ, and have catalyzed thought and practical action. This page is an independent analysis by Every Student Sent to correlate the findings to the ongoing work of ESS in an effort to stimulate discussion on these important topics so that we all, as the Body of Christ help today's youth and culture. There is no implied endorsement of ESS by any of these fine works and their authors.
Beginning in 2007, Lifeway and Barna research began to indicate that 2/3 of students walked away from Christian fellowship over the college years. In recent years, illuminating research has begun to unpack some of the reasons for this. Below we will share these newer studies and correlate some of those findings to some of the key benefits of the Every Student Sent movement, especially:
Belonging - Connecting students together with a group of other incoming friends and leaders many months before college starts. This belonging includes several stages: (1) With parents and adults who are helping students look forward to an exciting future, (2) With high school friends who are gaining a sense of preparing for mission, (3) With incoming freshmen friends and leaders beginning to bond as long term friends though their college career. See Overview.
Purpose- Helping them understand the mission that no one can reach non-Christians in their dorm better than them, and giving them hope through testimonies and leaders that this is possible. This has been shown to catalyze dorm movements. The successful testimonies from this coming year will multiply hope and vision. See College Awakening SweetSpot.
Identity- Is formed in the environment of the above two bullets.
Vocational Discipleship- ESS helps high school students identify who they are, their life purpose, potential career, and college major. We help students develop missional communities around their academic department to multiply disciples, and begin changing culture in their professional field, which translates to the marketplace as we help them make that transition. Tools are given to parents and youth leaders to engage with students in interesting and practical discussions about their future. See Marketplace.
What about Evangelism? - Note that most of the below studies measure the number of church youth walking away. What numbers represent each student's potential to help catalyze new believers coming to faith in their dorms and for a lifetime, as ESS trains them to do in teams? Multiplying disciples as is a key element of ESS. Think of every student kept in the faith as bringing others during their college and professional career. Catalyzing multiplying movements have always been God's plan A.
Findings
The First 72 Hours on Campus: Because of the culture shock and business of a new student with their dorm, activities and meals, a Navigators study revealed that the relationships a student makes during the first 72 hours on campus typically defines their primary friend group and drives their faith trajectory.
ESS Solutions
Meeting friends & leaders in advance is essential.Every Student Sent allows students to connect with other incoming freshmen and ministry/church leaders to develop good relationships before they arrive at freshmen orientation or the first days of campus. This can be many months in advance, or even as a Junior in making college choices. This will help them fiend study partners in their major, roommates, and friends with a sense of mission. See ESS Students and the College Awakening Sweet Spot.
Relationship Priority: This research re-orders the sequence in discipleship innovation: Relationships are the first priority in formation. p.61
Exemplary Relationships. Young people today, more than ever, need among their closest friends some adults and peers whose intimacy with Jesus makes them heroic. Chapter 3.
More on this: Intimacy with Jesus is inviting. Soaked in love and joy, it captures the attention of those in our relationship circles, paving the way for belief and corresponding lifestyle adjustments. If we’ve imagined that right belief and faith-based practices precede relationships, we’ve mistakenly calculated the cause. p.61
Discipleship is a multiplication strategy, and unless those who aim to work together can testify to the way they enjoy a radical focus on Christ when they connect, the inevitable reproduction story line will fail to reach the transformational threshold being sought. p.62
Career/Major/Business Leaders: Business leaders bewildered about the trajectory of young people may appreciate a concrete way to invest in community flourishing by growing up indigenous leaders for the future. Educators and marketplace leaders alike can be wooed to become relational mentors, facilitated via Movement | DFW connections p.65
Movement | DFW can engage Other Networks (like Rick Eubanks and the National Network of Youth Ministries) to become known for“ Kenositic Collaboration” that measurably attracts GenZ young people into church. p.63
TENX10: Establish a dynamic connection with the TENx10 Collaboration. p.64
ESS Solutions
Relationship Priority: ESS is a social network built with the purpose of connecting teens and leaders together in online social groups that lead to physical connections on the college campus. These are reinforced throughout college on ESS via networks for their college major and connections into their future place of work. See ESS Overview.
Exemplary Relationships-Students. Students who are drawn together for mission and a closer walk with Jesus when they will soon be on their own away from home will tend to let exemplary students be more visible and set the tone of social groups heading towards college. Youth group students who are really still seekers, or have are in early formation, often quickly grow when they are with a campus ministry full of students who are their volitionally and not just because of their parents. See ESS-Students
Exemplary Relationships- Parents - Parents are given tools to bond with their students on an practical level as they prepare for college. See ESS-Parents
Exemplary Relationships-Leaders - ESS has tools to help Youth Leaders, College Ministers, and Campus pastors better engage with students during this important formational time.
Discipleship; A core of ESS is tocreate multiplying disciples. More is being add to this area, including content and partners. The Thrive course inESS Coursesis an introduction of this for students.
Business Leaders/Career, Major and Vocational Discipleship. ESS partners with Business ministry groups such as Pinnacle Forum, FCCI, Faith Driven Entrepreneurs, BMF and others to function as mentors in high school and college, and the transition to the workplace. See ESS-Marketplace and the below section on Faith for Exiles.
Other Networks - ESS is an open platform that assists and benefits from many other networks including NNYM and Every Campus. Rick Eubanks is helping with our DFW efforts. SeeLeader Remarks
TENX10: Every Student Sent is a TENX10 partner and actively working in the college transition space
To ground and motivate an ambitious generation - Train for Vocational Discipleship
Barna believes this emphasis on careers presents an opportunity for the church to engage in what could be called “vocational discipleship”. The church has an opportunity to reach this next generation of teenagers through integrating career, and calling into their discipleship efforts.
More topics to be added later. Many other findings and topics in Faith for Exiles were touched on in the Not on Our Watch section.
ESS Solutions
Vocational Discipleship - When parents, schools, and youth leaders are working with college-bound 10-12th graders, a significant relational discipleship moment is present. We have found that when pastors speak about these practical forward looking realities, older students who used to fade away from youth group come back, tell their bosses they need to clear their schedule, and they invite friends. Community happens. See this practical process:
College Major - Discussions on life direction and selecting a major have a far reaching life impact. It is also a relational discipleship time. Tools, videos, and resources are being curated into ESS to help parents and generate engaging youth group discussions. More partners and resources are being added. Crown Financial Ministries Career Direct and the Parent page.
Selecting a college - Part of the above process
Academic department Missional Communities - Incoming and existing students are invited into a community of believers working to multiply the good news and impact culture in their academic community. This trains them to learn to navigate and express the Kingdom in a secular environment so they are ready to transition to the workplace. See Career Arc on ESS-Marketplace. Marketplace Ministries and Christian professionals are invited to speak into these groups in person or remotely.
Transition to the Workplace - ESS is working with a growing number of marketplace ministries such as Pinnacle Forum, FCCI, Faith Driven Entrepreneurs, and BMF are working with ESS so that college grads will have mentors in the city of their first job, as well as preparing them in college. Baton Exchange conducts group sessions on campus for preparation.
Where Do I Fit? (Belonging) - Connecting students together with a group of other incoming friends and leaders many months before college starts. This belonging includes several stages:
(1) With parents and adults who are helping students look forward to an exciting future,
(2) With high school friends who are gaining a sense of preparing for mission,
(3) With incoming freshmen friends and leaders beginning to bond as long term friends though their college career. See Overview.
What difference can I make? (Purpose)
Campus Purpose - Helping them understand that being a friend to other college students is a mission, and that no one can reach freshmen in their dorms for Christ better than them. This has been seen to catalyze dorm movements. The successful testimonies from this year will multiply hope, expectation and vision. See College Awakening.
Vocational Purpose- Understanding the integration of faith and work and how God is calling and equipping them to influence their academic department, then their future workplace and community is a giant motivational and discipleship factor. See ESS-Marketplace and the Faith for Exiles discussion above.
Who am I (Identity)
Experiencing Intimacy with Christ is assisted by community. Tying into Belonging and Purpose as above is part of establishing Identity
Commissioned by a private foundation, “The Great Opportunity” is an independent report estimating that over 40 million young people who were raised in Christian homes could walk away from a life with Jesus by 2050.
But, if the church can help them engage with Christ at rates from just two decades ago, over 20 million can know a life with Him.
Findings
CHAPTER 1 - THE GREAT OPPORTUNITY
Over 30 years, help 16,000,000 more youth begin or continue a life with Jesus
This is 533,000 students per year :
ESS Solutions
650,000 youth group grads start college each year. Presently roughly 2/3 of these stop following Jesus in college. (See various studies)
Anecdotal descriptions by Churches who have measured a 2 out of 3 college drop off have demonstrated most of this eliminated in one semester by preparing and connecting in advance. Also students lead others to Christ and come back during winter break to motivate the younger youth group students with an exciting life in Christ.
If we work together and it becomes normal for no parent or church to send students to college alone, (a simple concept to convey) the majority of this 66% loss could be stemmed. When half of this goal is achieved, we will keep 2/3 in the faith and lose 1/3. This means 216,000 more freshmen succeeding and multiplying each year. If over 4 years they average one new believer per student, 432,000 more will graduate into our cities.
Students experiencing success during the Freshman Sweet Spot will lead more students to faith, and be an inspiration to the youth group they came from.
Findings
CHAPTER 2 – STARTING NEW CHURCHES
• Church planting in the US will need to double to triplefrom current rates to address population growth and anticipated church closures of older congregations. The American church needs to plant more than 215,000 churches in the next 30 years to maintain status quo, and to meet the needs of the unaffiliated an additional 60,000 churches.
• These 275,000 new churches over 30 years equates to 9,166 new churches per year.
ESS Solutions
• Every Student Sent trains and equips students to multiply disciples in their dorms and academic departments to create multiplying missional communities, and then take this skill to their life and the marketplace upon graduation.
• Such groups can become community churches near the college campus or in their new city upon graduation.
• Since more students will experience successful evangelism and discipleship because of being prepared for the Freshmen Sweet Spot, the volume of qualified believers as church planters will substantially increase.
• If it becomes normal in America for Christian students to start college with a team of leaders and friends rather than alone, it seems likely that the 63% attrition could go down to 33% or lower. This means an additional 30% x 650,000 = 195,000 students will succeed each year, and if half of them lead someone to Christ in 4 years, that is 195,000 x 1.5 = 292,000 more students with an exciting college experience in Christ. ESS strongly trains students to create disciple making movements. This is conjecture, but if only 3% of these plant an expression of the church, that is 3% x 292,000 = 8,760 new plants per year. In any event, this will help the church planting movement.
Findings
CHAPTER 3 – MISSION FOR YOUTH
1-Equip and mobilize whole churches to foster youth formation
2-Provide parents with tools for teaching their children
3-Equip and send youth into mission
ESS Solutions
1-ESS helps parents, 10-12th grade students, and youth leaders work as a team to help students find their purpose and major, select a university, and grow in college readiness with a team of adults and students.
2- ESS parent social groups and Parent tools and resources from ESS and its broad coalition of partners assist families
3-In the broad context of preparing youth for mission and adulthood in college, the central purpose of ESS is to equip and send youth into mission in college, and preparing them with experience in high school.
CHAPTER 4 – REACHING NEW AUDIENCES IN A DIGITAL AGE
This chapter focuses on reaching the unaffiliated. Every Student Sent will further promote such tools and the TenX10 network to more students and adults to reach the unaffiliated.
ESS Solutions
• Every Student Sent is an open social media platform to especially for students but also parents, youth leaders, college ministers, Christian schools, and marketplace ministries as an network for discipleship in teams to reach non-Christian students. It is primarily a network for believers and seekers, but puts 3rd party tools into the hands of students to reach their friends. Examples include Dare2Share’s Life in Six Words evangelistic tool, Alpha, and E3 Partners / I am Second 4-Fields. The social network aspect allows students to practice using such tools in community.
• APP Version. ESS works well on a mobile phone, but the forthcoming APP version will work even better for students and community.
• Increasing Local Church Visibility – ESS invites churches near universities and community colleges to be on the platform so that incoming students find them.
Findings
CHAPTER 5 – CARE FOR THE POOR
Increase the effectiveness of church-driven care for the poor via investments in social entrepreneurship, cross-church collaboration, and more effective tools.
ESS Solutions
The ESS Urban Uplift approach can increase the number of successful youth and young adult role models to impact church and community culture. The elements are: • Campus Ministry Staff at Community Colleges and Urban Churches work collaboratively as a team. • Churches who serve the campus are listed on ESS at that college • College-bound students including promising leaders are introduced to campus staff • Community College Campus staff and designated students help these students with:
o Growing in their faith o Learning to lead others to Jesus, thus deepening their passion through experience o Help as academic encouragers and study partners o ESS helps with choice of major and purpose and scholarshipping them for Career Direct
• At Christmas and in May - Students from these urban churches hold sessions for high school students showing how God has grown relationship with Christ, showed them how to multiply, and are excited about their development into their profession and calling.
• These students spark a growing movement of world-changers in their local community and local churches with the power of Christ.
Findings
CHAPTER 6 – BUILDING A LONG-TERM WITNESS
1. Invest earlier in leadership development vision casting, and formation for high-potential Christian undergraduates
2. Encourage more Christian scholars to enter the academy as a calling equal to ministry or professional vocations, and strengthen collaboration within disciplines
3. Launch a regular convening to gather cross-disciplinary groups of Christians, to develop long-term approaches to emerging societal needs
ESS Solutions
1. Leadership - ESS fosters leadership within missional communities for academic majors
2. Calling to the Academy - ESS in conjunction with our specially trained Career Direct consultants help high school and college students consider the strategic impact of becoming a college professor. This is also helped by our InterVarsity Emerging Scholars partner integrated into social groups and with content on the site.
3. Cross Disciplinary Students convene in the local and national online social community plus in integrated Zoom groups to discuss solutions societal needs.
Findings
CHAPTER 7 – COUNTING THE COST
• Total $151M to $265M
ESS Solutions
Full national deployment to fulfill what is above and make it normal for most US students to start college with a team on mission is less than $1M per year for 2 years, then is self supporting. (Total $1.9M)
This is less than $2 per student for the 650 annual college-bound youth group grads.
Because of some fixed costs and economies of scale, this will $250K for the first saturated city. $450K for four cities, $950K for all of US.
ESS will be self-supporting in 2 years due to for-profit side business related to career/major selection, and a job/internship site similar to Indeed. See Acceleration Page and 2-Page Summary.
