Trailhead Opens Path for Teens to Explore Their Faith

For eight years, a unique Westmont program has given high school students space to explore the ways that faith, education and work can be united in a life of significance. Trailhead: Seeking God’s Call wrapped up three weeklong sessions this summer with 55 students who lived on campus, ate in the Dining Commons and worshiped with new friends.

“It’s an amazing privilege every summer to be with these youth as they’re able to pay attention to who they are and where they’re going, free from the pressures that often characterize this season of life,” says program director Christen Foell.

The weeks included time observing and writing during a walk with professor emeritus Paul Willis along the campus trail; making watercolor books, drawing and reflecting in the garden with art professor Nathan Huff; learning with Spanish professor Mary Docter about biblical and contemporary perspectives on immigration; exploring with religious studies professor Holly Beers how ordinary people can have big roles in God's kingdom; and investigating with music professor Daniel Gee the identity-forming power of music.

Out in the community, students learned about biblical perspectives on immigration and displacement while visiting Immigrant Hope, a ministry of Shoreline Community Church. Students also heard from the staff at local social ministry Kingdom Causes, reflected on homelessness and met people who shared their experiences of living unhoused.

Sociology professor Blake Victor Kent helped students frame those experiences and begin to develop a Christian sociological imagination.

“Meeting immigrants and formerly unhoused people challenged students to think both personally and structurally about social problems,” says Sarah Garland, Trailhead assistant director.

Docter asked the two dozen students to introduce themselves and share their family’s country of origin. Mexico, Belize, France, Poland, Guatemala, El Salvador, Sweden, Germany and Canada were all mentioned. “Immigration, as you might know, can be a polarizing topic, right?” she said. “How can we welcome immigrants, but also protect borders? It’s complicated.”

When facing difficult issues like immigration, the students offered suggestions such as listening well to multiple perspectives, being open-minded as you listen, empathizing with all sides and trying to find commonality.

Docter praised these answers and encouraged the students to do some research, reading and studying about challenging issues, and to consult the Bible. “As Christians, we have a responsibility to also see what God says about this, because it’s not just what our friends, families or a scholar say, but it’s also what does God’s word say,” she added.

After reading select Bible verses, the conversation revolved around the prevalence of migration throughout the Bible and God’s instructions for treating immigrants with love and empathy. The students shared examples that highlighted the biblical imperative to have compassion for migrants.

The following day, without saying a word, Gee signaled for the group to stand up and, on his command, they progressively began to rhythmically tap their feet, clap their hands and make various sounds with their mouths. Following a foot-stomping, swaying singing round, Gee asked the students to think about what roles music plays in their lives.

As conductor of the Westmont Choir, Gee says when he stands in front of the audience, he recognizes that he has been given an amazing gift to make and share music. “Music is not just something we use to express ourselves, but it is given by God to shape us, form us, grow us and to challenge us,” he said.

As the week wound to a close, Aaron Sizer, Trailhead collaborating director, invited students to reflect on the stories they had heard, considering how those stories resonate in their lives and where God might be prompting them toward new thinking and action.

Trailhead is funded each summer through a significant grant to Westmont from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its High School Youth Theology Institutes Initiative, encouraging young people to explore theological traditions, ask questions about the moral dimensions of contemporary issues and examine how their faith calls them to lives of service.