One of the worst conversations a Christian parent can have occurs when their college freshman comes home after the first semester claiming he or she no longer believes in God. Many secular campuses today are openly hostile towards Christianity. We send our children to these institutions, paying a lot of money for the privilege of doing so, only to have their religious beliefs and values attacked by their roommates, their classmates, and their professors. They are asked questions they cannot answer causing them to question their beliefs until the day comes when they decide they no longer believe.
Christian parents could send their children to Christian colleges and universities, and there are many excellent ones out there. But, there are also some that long ago abandoned the faith as well. Just because a school has Christian in the name or had a historical relationship with some denomination does not mean that it continues to be a Christian school. Some can be just as dangerous to the faith of your child as any secular school.
The best thing Christians can do is to ensure that their students are prepared to defend their beliefs. That begins with the students having a faith that is their own. It's hard to defend something that isn't yours to begin with. Too many young people have a faith that belongs to their parents or grandparents, but they've never really made it their own. When their faith is challenged they find it difficult to defend it because it doesn't actually belong to them.
This is why it is so troubling to see the decline in Sunday school attendance in most churches. Parents are more concerned with seeing their children attend dance recitals and sporting events than they are in helping them receive a solid foundation in the Word of God. Now, there's nothing wrong with dance recitals and sporting events or anything else a child might engage in, but there is something wrong when those things have priority over seeing that the child receives sound biblical instruction.
The odds of your child earning a living playing a sport is very small. The chances of your child facing tremendous pressures to abandon his or her faith is far greater and can have a life-long impact on his or her life. In fact, it can have eternal consequences.
The instruction our children need exceeds what is often found in Sunday school material. That material may be good for laying a foundation when they are younger, but as they advance the material they learn needs to advance as well. That material should include some apologetics as well as biblical instruction in the areas of finances, family life, and theology. They must be encouraged to make their faith their own and know not only what they believe but why they believe it. Then they will be ready to defend their faith when they leave the safety of their families and home church.
Churches need to make sure the material that is being taught in their classes and small groups is doctrinally and theologically sound. It needs to challenge your young people to think for themselves to help them personalize their faith and make it their own.
To send a young person to a secular university without adequately preparing him or her to defend their faith and values is throwing them to the wolves. Even if they do not go to college, they will still face a society hostile to Christianity when they leave home. It is our responsibility as adults to ensure they are prepared to face that hostility without having their faith damaged.
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