Event Detail
The event is designed to address the changes from high school to college that Ohio State University, Youth Transition Network (YTN) and Fuller Seminary uncovered in their research which cause students to encounter significant challenges in the transition.
Session One: “Change”: Dr. Dave Rahn, VP/CMO of Youth for Christ
This session examines what college students say about the change and the effects that significant change has on a person, in terms of stress, anxiety and culture shock; helping students understand what is coming and how quickly these forces can derail them from their goals.
Session Two: “Responding to Student Research”: Dr. Kara Powell and Brian Raison
A great deal of research has been conducted into the factors that lead to both success and failure in the transition. Dr. Kara Powell of Fuller Seminary and Brian Raison of Ohio State University bring the realities home with practical suggestions on how to succeed in the midst of the transition.
Session Three: “Pressures, Parties and Vacuums”: Paula Fuller, VP of InterVarsity
This session uses college student interviews and addresses the practical side of the pressures from the social scene, roommates and dorm life which students will face, giving practical and spiritual insight into being ready with a plan for success.
Session Four: “The Battle for the Mind”: John Stonestreet and Ray Bohlin
John Stonestreet, spokesman with Summit Ministries, and Ray Bohlin, President of Probe Ministries, team up to bring forth awareness of the battle caused by the information age and the hundreds of thousands of messages we receive daily in the light of the top three worldviews that will challenge students on the college campus.
Session Five: “Tales from the Trenches”: Chris Renzelman and a College Panel
Chris Renzelman, Regional Coordinator with the National Network of Youth Ministries, talks with a college student panel to help answer questions about college and the transition. Also, four college student videos will look at roommates, what college students would tell incoming freshmen if they went back to their youth groups and the realities on campus (even on a Christian one); helping students process all they are learning in the event.
Session Six: “Managing Academics & Finances”: Ben Burns, Brian Raison and Mark Jevert
College students routinely report that they were not ready for the academic freedom or the responsibility of managing their money, resulting in costly mistakes that they would like to go back and prevent. This session, led by Brian Raison, Ben Burns (Director of Campus Crusade’s College Prep Seminars) and Mark Jevert (Communications VP at Youth for Christ), gives helpful tips in a fun manner related to academics and a heartfelt talk about finances, priorities and involving parents in the financial event called “college”.
Session Seven: “Expectations and Failure”: Chris Renzelman and Jeff Schadt
Founder and Executive Director of YTN, Jeff Schadt’s compelling transparency sets up a session that is based upon his research that found that many students feel like spiritual failures, resulting from expectations they could not live up to. A group discussion about the expectations that students face sets up a look at failures in scripture and how they were often given greater responsibility when their heart response to failure was right.
Session Eight: “It’s Your Faith Now”: Nick Hall, Executive Director, PULSE Outreach
Nick brings a compelling challenge for students to take the reigns of one’s own faith beyond high school and to connect to ministries before leaving home, through LiveAbove.com, which sets them up to succeed on campus because they are not alone.