High school graduation is almost here. I know what that’s like, because I’ve been through it three times. As parents, we have one simple question on our mind: Have I done a good job preparing my child for college?
Every Christian parent wonders this. We pray that we’ve adequately prepared our high school graduate to enter into the fray of college life: intellectually, spiritually, and morally. But, in the end, we must leave their future in the hands of the only person that controls it, God himself.
Even so, that doesn’t mean we can’t give them some resources to help them along the way—resources that can express our deepest hopes for them, and also prepare them for the barrage of challenges coming their way. As my wife Melissa and I have watched our three kids graduate, we have produced some resources designed to accomplish exactly these two things.
Our Deepest Hopes for Our Graduate
As parents, we all have great hopes for our children. We dream of what they might learn and what they might become. And typically, for most parents, those dreams take the form of vocational aspirations. My child could be an airline pilot, a professional singer, a rocket scientist, a fashion designer, etc. And all those dreams are wonderful.
But, there is a greater dream for our children. An ultimate dream. More than anything, our hopes for our children is that they would love Jesus with all of their hearts. No matter what particular calling our children might enjoy, this one is number one.
In 2020, my wife Melissa release an amazing children’s book that expressed exactly that desire: Wherever You Go, I Want You to Know. Melissa takes the child on a fun roller coaster ride of possible callings—with outstanding illustrations that draw you in and make you smile—but the ultimate thing she wants them to know is that Jesus is the thing most worthy of their affections and aspirations. The final line says it best:
I love you so much, I want you to know. . .
I’m cheering you on, wherever you go.
And, whatever you do, wherever you start,
I pray you love Jesus, with ALL of your heart.
While the book was obviously written for children, we have enjoyed watching how it has become such a popular gift for high school graduates! We hear stories every year about parents giving it to their son or daughter and graduation because it expresses their greatest wish for their life.
The Challenges Coming for Our Graduate
Even though our greatest hope as parents is for our kids to love Jesus, we also know that university life will present significant challenges to that hope. Indeed, I can still vividly remember my own college experience as a believer on campus. In the fall of 1989, I began my freshman year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Like many freshmen, I was excited for the next chapter in my life, eager to explore the new opportunities and experiences that college had to offer.
Of course, I knew there would be challenges. College life would not be easy, especially for a Christian. But I had grown up in a solid Christian home, was taught th
e Bible from a young age, and was a faithful member of my church youth group. So I figured I was ready.
I wasn’t.
The problem stemmed not from what I was taught but from what I wasn’t taught. I wasn’t prepared in the one area that would matter most in a university environment. I wasn’t prepared intellectually. And I would soon learn (the hard way) that intellectual preparation was what I needed more than anything.
My experience was not unique. Every year, Christian college students are confronted by an intellectual world for which they are not prepared. And studies show that Christian college students are leaving behind their faith in worrying numbers.
And it is precisely for this reason that I have written my book: Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College (Crossway, 2021).
I have structured the book in the form of “letters” to my daughter Emma, who (in yet another ironic turn) was herself a student at UNC Chapel Hill. Each of these “letters” addresses a particular intellectual issue or challenge that I know she (and all college students) will eventually face.
I’ve been so encouraged to see how this book has become a common gift to high school graduates on their way to university life. Paired with Melissa’s book above, they make a great combination for sending off a son or daughter with good reminders of the things they believe.
So, if you are looking for some gift ideas for your graduates this spring, you can check out these books here and here!