4 Ideas for Graduates after High School
As a student minister you are responsible for many things. But one question about responsibility that consistently comes up is, “What do you do with graduates after they graduate?”.
In light of this question, Cory Sullivan and I share a few ideas of what we have done in the past and currently for graduates after they graduate.
- Keep the relationships going. Whether they are off to college or staying local, find ways to keep the relationships going as you may be the only adult who can keep that person connected to church in this transition year.
- Find ways to keep graduates engaged in the Church. It could be having them share at youth events or even do “Alumni Events” where you are taking graduates and keeping them connected to each other, some caring adults and the church
- Explore some Leader options with them. There are a ton of opportunities around the church, not just in student ministry, but all over the church where they can connect and serve one of the existing ministries.
- Connect them to others in the Church. Unfortunately you may not be as able as before to hang out with the graduates as you have a whole new group of students to invest in. However, if you want to keep graduates engaged in the Church, help them connect with other adults in the Church who they can start building new friendships with and that can help them with that next stage of life they are in.
These are 4 simple wins that student ministers can do with graduates, especially that first year after as they transition from high school into their next stages of life. But those aren’t the only ideas out there for graduates.
What do you all think and do? Share your thoughts below or on social media using #SMVWeek17 as you post on what you do with graduates after they graduate and how effective it has been for you all.
And keep following these bloggers all week long as we all vlog about different ministry topics.
