I was on the phone to a youth worker recently. I asked if his church had any young people going to university this year. He answered ‘not enough for you to worry about really’. This happens more regularly than you’d believe and each time I hear it my heart sinks. 

Many youth groups have a few young people transitioning to university each year but what is easy to forget is that it is just as important to prepare that one young person than it is to prepare the tens of young people at a time. It’s not a numbers game. I don't think that this particular youth worker thinks that their young people aren't important or that the transition to university is nothing to do with them, just that it has never been an option to explore preparation for university on a small scale. 

Every young person transitions to university differently. Every young person needs to be given time and space to think about what university looks like for them, what that means for their faith and who they want to be when they get there. 

There are some practical things that you can do with your young people to help prepare them for university if you have 1 or 2 heading off:

• Collaborate. Get in touch with some churches in your area and chat to them about collaborating on preparation for university. Chances are there will be lots of youth workers in your area in the same position as you. It could be the start of a brilliant relationship of supporting each other in your ministry.
• Small group gathering. A youth worker in Selby recently shared that she had two young people going to uni so she bought each of them a Student Linkup Sessions and ran through a session (the Student Linkup sessions are made up of 4 themes) together. She chatted through their expectations and feelings about starting uni. The small atmosphere was perfect for them to be honest and relaxed together. Sometimes small gatherings work well.
• Get current students on board. If you don’t have many heading off and you don't know where to start, get a current student from your church involved in chatting through university life with your soon-to-be-students. They’ll give the fresh perspective and will relate to the school leavers well. 

No matter how many young people you have going to uni, start somewhere!