Reference Points for Wandering Students

For three years, I’ve traveled to Seneca Rocks, WV, in August. There I spend four days with 60 or more students from Ohio Wesleyan University, most of whom have not stepped foot in a college classroom yet. They are literally fresh-men and women. My two-fold job on “Fresh-X” is to work with student leaders on day hikes, and to assist the program director, CCO’s Ryan Carlson, with activities and ideas regarding the Fresh-X theme.

As part of the closing program this year, I had the students pair off and give detailed directions to their houses. (I made the disclaimer that another destination could be chosen if they felt insecure.) I wanted to see what reference points would emerge, and here’s a sample of what I heard: “You’ll see a reddish mailbox mounted on top of a tree stump”; “When you get to the bright yellow gas station, turn left”; “If you see a ______, you’ve gone too far.”

Reference points are vital to staying on course and reaching a destination. On a hiking trail, “blazes” show the way as colored paint marks on trees. In a complex cave, the direction of a running stream assists with orientation. At a rock-climbing site, the belayer who holds the other end of your rope tells you when it is safe to climb. The whole world could yell, “Climb!” but if your belayer isn’t ready, the world must be ignored.

College students need reference points for moral and spiritual guidance as well. “Over 60% of young people raised in the church will leave it during college” (www.barna.com). Similarly, “70 percent of young adults ages 23-30 stopped attending church regularly for at least a year between ages 18-22″ (www.lifeway.com). That is a substantial number of wandering people.
What a privilege we have in campus ministry to help students locate and develop dependable reference points throughout this spiritually difficult period. Feel free to adapt this activity to your ministry setting, and let me know how it works out.