It doesn't make as much sense when the student doesn't physically go anywhere, but the struggle is the same.

If a student has been going to a church for a long time and feels at home there, it's disconcerting when suddenly he or she feels like a misfit. It's much like leaving your room in the morning and returning to find it has been remodeled for a different purpose.

One student said he felt guilty being in the teen class, but that's where he's most comfortable. He realized he had questions that just confused the younger teens, but the adults' questions confused him. As a teacher, the challenge is frustrating. A class with freshmen and seniors has maturity level problems of its own. It gets insane when a graduate joins the mix.

Although the young adult group is comprised of people only a few years older, their circumstances may as well be centuries apart. What do you do with kids who've outgrown the youth group but aren't yet ready for the young adult class? When there are new questions and desires but no new activity, the result is spiritual stagnation. If a student remains in this state, stagnation may turn into indifference.

A Spiritual Transition

College-aged students crave something new to share, and this craving leaves them open to new worship experiences. The traditional church needs to be ready to accommodate this thirst for something new. This age group has outgrown teen ministry but may not be mature enough for the young adult/adult ministry. So how do we serve an age group that's thirsting for the knowledge presented in adult classes but isn't comfortable sharing with the "old" people?

Consider the experiences of the students who go away to college. They're in a new experience with every other first-year student. They enter a group that's meant to be transitional—a group that's comfortable because it reminds them of their high school group, but is exciting because it's different. The activities are new, and they're challenged to think more deeply and grapple with ideas first presented in youth group but are just hitting home now. This testing of the faith can be a needed step for the firming of their faith.

This testing of faith also needs to happen for the student who stays home, but it doesn't happen as naturally. Students who don't go away haven't been forced to fly and may feel more comfortable in the nest even though they're frustrated and stagnant. An extra effort is necessary to create a feeling of newness for that group. I find it interesting that a college campus can have a strong campus ministry while the traditional churches across the street from the campus see little increase in attendance. What can the traditional church learn from the campus ministries?

18-Year-Old 'Adults'

Why are 18-year-olds so reluctant to join the adult ministries? I can understand the reluctance of an 18-year-old who's glad his or her parents no longer force attendance at youth group; but if a person is looking forward to doing adult things and is serious about discipleship and spiritual growth, I'd think that adult study would be enticing. And sometimes it is…for about a month. So, what's the problem? Maybe it's healthy rebellion. Again, I look at the away-from-home counterparts. They're still allowed to work through the healthy rebellion that takes place when trying to find themselves. If they're trying to find a worship style that fits them and not necessarily their parents, why would they want to study with their parents?

Another area of discomfort is the need to be around one's peers. I look at where I've stuck this age group in the past and chuckle. First, it was the 16- 20-something grouping. "I failed my Algebra test" and "I've gotten myself in serious debt" happened within the same two minutes. Then I tried the 18- 35 grouping, and that was even worse. I avoided the 18-21 grouping, because I didn't want to segregate them from the adults so much that adults felt like the enemy—many youth groups deal with enough of that.

I don't think they should be completely ripped from what's comfortable. They should be allowed to have the healthy rebellion and a sense of home at the same time. They should have a different spiritual experience so they don't feel like they're in another high school youth group. The key word is transition.

The challenge is to provide an environment that'll create a smooth but not-too-easy transition. For many, college provides the rite of passage ritual that mainstream American culture lacks. Somehow, traditional churches need to create that experience for those who remain at home. During this time, they may never see adults as peers, and the adults may never see them as peers; that may not be a bad thing. I'm excited when a student gets to the point of being able to recognize the value of being mentored in a discipleship class. The question is: How do we help him or her get there?

Maybe it's another age grouping that works in conjunction with the young adult ministry. Maybe it's a seasonal ministry that's temporary for the participants and serves as that rite of passage. Maybe it's re-working the whole system so teens feel like insiders from an earlier age and throughout this phase.

Whatever the case, we must work harder to guide these students through this transition toward adulthood and spiritual maturity.