"Wooing" High School Seniors

One lesson that stood out to me from my Campus Crusade staff days was that one measurement of how well the fall semester went was the number of freshmen the ministry attracted. The college football analogy fit perfectly... successful programs don't rebuild... successful programs reload. We went after the freshmen hard knowing that initial foray into college would leave them with all sort of choices, some good, some bad. We wanted them to jump right into a ministry that welcomed them and helped them grow.
But now that I'm with a church college ministry the approach is a bit different. Now the big issue is how do you attract high school seniors into the ministry? The good news is that you have a captive audience. I mean they are already coming on Sunday morning so how do you tap into what they are doing and give them a picture of college ministry? But here's the reality of recruiting seniors... they are all over the map when it comes to staying in a church. For many the bottom line is that they've grown up in the church and they are ready to explore elsewhere. For others, they see the "bright shiny" churches where the Spirit of God seems to be working. They look at their church where the Spirit is working but in their minds, it's not as dynamic. And so they are off to another church. The big problem that I'm seeing is that this attractional emerging postmodern church is simply re-dividing the pie. They are either not reaching a large segment that currently remains unreached and they are not training and shepherding young adults through this time in their lives.
So how do we reach this segment of graduating seniors? First, I would always encourage college pastors to pray for the upcoming class. Pray Luke 10:2 that God would raise up laborers for the harvest. Second, I would say, don't wait for them to come to you. Go to them. For instance, in a few weeks we are actually taking up the high school time to offer a college meeting for the high school students. We want them to see up close what it looks like to come on Sunday nights. Third, don't wait until the late spring to start "wooing". Start early, even as early as their junior year when many start to think about moving on. Get to know them by name. Start working with the high school department to make the transition as easy as possible. Fourth, feed them, do anything to attract them to finally come. The bottom line is that these students need a push, a reason to come. Realize that it's hard to step out into a new arena where you aren't the "top dog" anymore. Other than the ones who are adventurous or are really looking for something different, most high school seniors need to come in a pack. So give them a reason to come! And when they come make sure that you and other students take the time to get to welcome and get to know them. If you begin now, you will be surprised at how different the group will look after four years of going hard after seniors.