By Chuck Edwards *
July 2004 – A mother describes what happened when her daughter went off to college: “Our daughter was raised in Christian schools and in a Christian home. Two years out of high school at 20, she enrolled at the University. Unfortunately, she was overwhelmed by the professors and began to believe their philosophies. She graduated two years ago … and has turned her back on all that she believed in. We are trusting God to bring our girl back. The wait is sometimes difficult, but we are on bended knee.”
How tragic! Yet this is just one example of a growing trend: kids raised in Christian homes who lose their faith at college. In fact, national surveys indicate that up to 51% of Christian students no longer claim to be “born again” by their senior year.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Another letter, this time from a student attending a liberal Ivy-league university, explains how he enjoys playing, as he called it, “guerilla warfare” with his non-Christian professors. He has even started a student newspaper that reports on issues from a conservative and Christian perspective.
How was this student able to thrive spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally at such a liberal school? [For one thing,] this student had previously attended a Summit Ministries summer leadership conference where he was taught to distinguish between the various philosophies presented in the classroom. With this understanding under his belt, he was able to see through the secular humanist and Marxist ideas presented by many of his professors. And more importantly, he learned to champion a Christian worldview.
Worldview training at its best
Each summer for the past 41 years, Summit Ministries has trained students in the art of thinking biblically. Located in Manitou Springs, Colorado, Summit’s intensive two-week sessions combine classroom training with an enjoyable youth camp atmosphere. Typical morning and evening classes equip students with a deep understanding of the Christian worldview and other prominent worldviews of our day as well as providing an insightful grasp of the key issues of our current culture. The afternoons are reserved for sports and relaxation, horseback riding and whitewater rafting, informal discussions, small groups, and worship.
Can two-weeks of worldview training make a difference in a student’s life? Listen to comments from those who have attended:
Summit training is so much a part of how I think…. I have been meeting with an atheist during this semester… We have had some good hard discussions about evolution, the nature of secular humanism, and even things as abstract as neurological determinism. He still rejects the notion of faith in the unseen, but at least he realized that faith has its reasons. Joel
“Thank you 1,000 times for the Summit and the change it has wrought in me. I know you hear this all the time, but I have never experienced such a dramatic, life-jolting two weeks in my entire life.” Julie (After attending the Summit, Julie regularly writes letters to the editor of her local newspaper, has served as a page in the Washington State legislature, spoken out on a television talk show, and testified before a Washington State Senate committee on AIDS education in the public schools.)
“Summit radically changed the apathetic nature in me. I now read a book and two newspapers every day. I find myself not only well-versed on the current issues but up-to-date on the topics which concern me the most.” Adam
“The Summit prepared me for a liberal education. I am a pre-law student and I had an Honors Sociology class last semester that attacked Christianity every week. I not only knew what I believed, but I knew exactly how to defend the Christian faith. I never could have been so successful in that class if I hadn’t been so prepared. It is a mission field here and I feel very equipped because of your program.” Allyson
The stories of these students are instructive for parents of high school and college students. No longer can we assume that a Christian home and regular church attendance are enough to keep our children from falling prey to the radical ideas they face in our post-modern culture.
Teaching your college-bound teenager to understand the times could mean the difference between whether he graduates with his faith intact or whether you are the next parent writing a tear-stained letter on bended knee.
For more information about Summit Ministries, go to www.summit.org or call (719) 685-9103. 
* Chuck Edwards is a curriculum writer and summer conference director for Summit Ministries. His two daughters are recent college graduates.
