It’s the month of May, and that means graduation ceremonies will be happening soon across the state.
The Class of 2025—from high school to college to post-graduate students— will share in this important moment of achievement and celebration.
As part of this rite of passage, many will take part in commencement events that will include speeches with advice to live by. Throughout history, there have been a few commencement addresses that seem to have made a lasting impact.
One such commencement address was given by Winston Churchill at his alma mater, Harrow School. While some were expecting to hear a long-winded speech from the Champion of Freedom that day, Churchill instead stood up, looked out over those graduates and said simply this: “Never give up.
Never. Never.”
You will not find much better advice in life than what Churchill spoke that day. With my column here, I would like to build off Churchill’s words, with my own message to the Class of 2025: “Never give up on church.
Never. Never.”
There is a pattern in life in America whereby students, even ones who were active in church and youth group during high school, begin to check out on church attendance during their college and early career days.
For example, a “2019 Lifeway Research study found two-thirds of those who attended church regularly for at least a year as a teenager say they also dropped out for at least a year as a young adult.” That is an alarmingly high “church drop-out rate.”
As a church, we need to do an even better job of encouraging young people not to give up on church, encourage them to stay connected to church. Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM) on college campuses across Oklahoma do a great job of sharing the Good News, feeding students spiritually and getting them connected to a local church.
Another way we can reinforce church connection is to focus our conversations with young people on spiritual goals. Too often our conversations for high school graduates focus merely on getting good grades or finding a successful career with a good financial outlook. These measures of success are, of course, good things. But spiritual well-being is even
more important.
There is a positive trend in this direction of parents emphasizing the right priorities. A Lifeway Research survey (of) parents who regularly attend church were asked what their greatest hopes for their children were. “When asked their biggest priority for their student’s future, 2 in 5 (41%) say their main goal is spiritual well-being. Around half as many point to emotional well-being (19%) and physical well-being (18%). Fewer choose financial well-being (9%), having a profession they enjoy (9%) or relational well-being (4%). Most parents place spiritual (71%), emotional (66%) and physical (60%) well-being of their student’s future as one of their top three priorities.”
We need to continue to believe that and also act like it. For instance, when your high school student’s activities conflict with Sunday worship, it’s the activity (not the church attendance) that should give way.
Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church (Matt. 16:18). The Church will continue now into eternity. Let’s encourage the Class of 2025—and each of us—to stay committed and connected to the local church. That would be the best kind of graduation gift of all.
