RESOLUTION 16-05
Report R1.2 (CW, pp. 22–24); President’s Report, Part 2 (TB, pp. 21–31)
WHEREAS, The college years have historically been a time where many of our young people are tempted to fall away from the faith as they find themselves confronted by dominant secular and increasingly anti-Christian worldviews; and
WHEREAS, We have experienced escalating turmoil on our nation’s university campuses in recent years, including the loss of freedom of speech and religious expression; and
WHEREAS, An annual survey of over 153,000 college freshmen, “The American Freshman,” demonstrates that college freshmen are increasingly distancing themselves from any religion (28% in 2015 compared to 12% in 1971); and
WHEREAS, According to a recent Gallup poll in 2015, the percentage of Christians among this age group continues to trend lowest among college age young adults (18–24); and
WHEREAS, One of the greatest tasks each generation has is to hand over the faith to the one that follows it; and
WHEREAS, We all wish to join the Apostle John in saying of the young people of the church, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 4); and
WHEREAS, We are witnessing increased zeal by many of our LCMS college students to confess their faith in the public square, although it is getting increasingly more difficult to do so; and
WHEREAS, The enormous challenges that our young people face on our university campuses also present equally tremendous opportunities for our collective witness to the truth of God’s Word in the academic square and the marketplace of ideas; therefore be it
Resolved, That we give thanks to God for the renewed emphasis on campus ministry in the Synod through “LCMS U” and continue to encourage congregations, circuits, and districts to intentionally support local campus ministry and outreach wherever possible; and be it further
Resolved, That we encourage all LCMS families, pastors, youth workers, and congregations to increase their own efforts to help connect their graduating high school students to our LCMS U campus ministries as early as possible; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Synod encourage efforts to be made by LCMS U in the next triennium to develop a strategic and comprehensive plan to help congregations and families better prepare high school graduates for the transition to college life, develop resources to help those going to college better understand the challenges and worldview frameworks that they will face during their college years, and increase training opportunities and resources to aid our college age youth in boldly witnessing to their faith on campus and in the public square.