the assemblies of god lock arms with national ministries in unprecendented coalition to address youth tansition crisis

College often becomes a spiritual graveyard for many Christian students… a place where they wander from their faith. The Assemblies of God denomination has concluded that they are losing 66% of their youth leading up to, andfollowing, high school graduation. Culture shock, loneliness, a party environment and peer pressure result in students leaving their family foundations when on their own.
For many of our youth, this is the first time all of their God-given needs go unmet: to be loved, accepted and fit into a group. When our students leave home alone with no established connection to Christian roommates, godly friends or college ministries they lose the accountability and the balance provided by these vital relationships.

Does leaving home need to equal leaving one’s faith as well?

NO! God has assembled an unprecedented coalition of our nation’s largest youth, college and military ministries to assist our youth in transition. Founded by Jeff Schadt, the Youth Transition Network (YTN) has come together to motivate, prepare and transition our nation’s youth. Chi Alpha, Campus Crusade, The Navigators, InterVarsity, Youth for Christ and Student Venture along many others are joining forces to offer resources to students, parents, youth leaders and pastors in order to help our teens make the leap from high school to their next spiritual home.

YTN has identified some of the keys that can help transform the freshman year into a spiritual greenhouse where a student’s faith blossoms. For instance, a Christian roommate gives a student someone to go with as they investigate churches and ministries. This is vital, given that college ministries report that they have just 72 hours to connect with entering freshmen before the stress, loneliness and tempting environment take their toll. In fact, motivating students to make that relational connection BEFORE they arrive on campus is essential. These godly relationships provide balance, a home away from home and offer the opportunity for students to internalize their faith apart from parents.

Bridging the gap between youth and college/career ministries is what LiveAbove.com is all about. Today the site offers students the ability to connect to 5,400 ministries on 3,300 campuses nationwide.

“Youth face a minefield of temptations when leaving home. The Youth Transition network enables students to connect with ministries, friends and roommates that will help solidify their faith.”
— Josh McDowell

“We are acutely aware of the importance of the time from high school graduation to a young person’s first college Christmas break. Many formative decisions are made during their summer break and first semester in college that shape the future for these youth for a lifetime. Having the www.LiveAbove.com site will allow our high school students to locate and connect with Chi Alpha and other campus Christian organizations well before they graduate so they are better prepared to make one of the most important and crucial transitions in life.”
— Dennis Gaylor, National Director Chi Alpha Campus Ministries USA.

The Youth Transition Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to decreasing the annual loss of youth from the church following graduation and leveraging the existing infrastructure of their ministry partners to make the relational transition of youth a reality. For more information go to www.YouthTransitionNetwork.org or www.LiveAbove.com.