NEXT is an innovative program for young adults run by Whitley College. The NEXT program aims to help students develop their faith and identity in a formative part of their life. It gives young Christians an opportunity to think about who they are, what they believe and what they want to do with their life. As Whitley College says, "NEXT is for Young Adults who want to focus on the big questions of life – who am I? what do I believe? and how can I go about living these realities out? In short, faith, identity, friendship are what we talk about, explore and discover together."
NEXT was created amidst growing disengagement of young adults with the church. It was designed to better engage and support the lives of young adults, and as a way of promoting young adult participation in theological study. The program is committed to the wellbeing and spirituality of young adults, especially as they are going through the challenging transition from high school into their adult lives.
Sam, a current NEXT student, said that he was “thinking of going back to study [and] felt called to do it.” The program has been highly beneficial for Sam. He says it “[gave] me a much longer view of God, helped me with family and who I am in a way that I’ve never thought of before” He also appreciated the interfaith learning, including visits to a Synagogue in East Melbourne and a St Franciscan Cathedral. He feels that he has gained a "more tolerant, accepting approach … seeing everyone else as human and on a spiritual journey.”
Justin, a graduate of NEXT, was at the end of high school and was “starting to ask lots of questions.” NEXT “seemed like the perfect course.” He said he went into the course trying to think through his questions and discover his purpose in life but what “turned out be what I got most of NEXT” was the “community and relationships.”
Rowan Lewis, team leader of NEXT, noted that it is different from other programs in that it is about the student as a person, not about training them for a career. Many of the students have come out of high school, without having a clear understanding of where they are going. They don’t want to go into engineering, medicine, law etc. without having a sense about what they really want to do with their lives. NEXT allows people to ask questions about themselves and their calling before they go on to further study or work. Rowan said that it is also different from other Christian gap years, which tend to have an educational or missional/ministerial focus. NEXT isn’t about recruiting young adults into a certain missional activity, instead about helping them figure out what they want to do for themselves. It is simply about, as Rowan said, “giving young adults a chance to work their life out and their faith.”
NEXT is an accredited diploma program with a typical workload is 3 days of study a week over a year. It includes the standard units of a ministry/theological degree, including an overview and introduction to Christian theology, the Bible and Biblical interpretation and spirituality. However, it is not simply about teaching them Christian doctrines and teachings, but enabling them to interpret the Bible and figure out what they believe for themselves. It is an opportunity for the students to think about what they believe, why they believe it and whether their beliefs are strong enough to guide their life. There are also various electives including creativity, social justice, internship, other Whitley units. And there are internships for people who want to be involved with and gain experience in Christian mission or ministry. NEXT is in its third year with 27 students currently enrolled. There is a team of around 9 people running the program, including facilitators, trainee facilitators and lecturers.
The program has also integrated some of the essential features of Christian life. This includes understanding of one’s own soul and spirituality (how one communes with God), being anchored in a worshipping community, intergenerational mentors, spiritual friendships with friends and peers, and being engaged in an expression of faith or mission. NEXT provides guidance and space for the students to find and develop these things, so that their faith will have a concrete foundation that will hopefully last the rest of their life.
Rowan observed that there are around three types of people who join the program. There are some who are fired up and looking forward to a year of being stretched and grown spiritually. There are some who grew up in a church or who have had some faith experience, but who have some issues or questions that they are struggling with and need to work through. And there are other who have had a difficult experience with life or faith and are looking for a new start. NEXT is flexible and personalised to respond to their needs individually.
NEXT is year of personal development and spiritual formation, giving young Christians the opportunity to think about their themselves and their place in the world. It is a great program for young adults thinking about doing some theological study and discerning what direction God is calling them with their lives.
For more information see: http://whitley.unimelb.edu.au/next
and https://next.asn.au/portfolio/summary/
by Benjamin Cronshaw
