Have you noticed you can customize just about everything these days? Think about it: Cars have custom designs from the front bumper to the muffler (and that’s just the outside of the car)!

If you have a cell phone (If you don’t, you need one before you leave for college!), you know you can choose your own skin, ringtone and display, morphing it into personalized eye candy. Your computer’s desktop is arranged just the way you like it. You can customize your MySpace or Facebook page until it stands out from your friends’ pages.

And how about coffee? I love coffee. I remember when the only choice to make when ordering was whether to add sugar or cream; but that’s not how it goes today. Now the jingle goes something like this: “I’ll take a grande, low-fat, iced caramel macchiato with extra carmel drizzle.” (Okay, maybe forget the low-fat part.) I was so proud the last time I ordered a latte because all the boxes on the side of the cup were checked. They even took my name and wrote it on the cup. It was customized, baby!

What about students’ lives? Can we customize the lives of the students to whom we minister? As you help students make this transition from high school to life after high school—which might mean college, work or both—you have a great opportunity to partner with students to customize their lives, to make it their own. For many of them, this is as exciting as it gets. They have been waiting and longing for years to enter the “real world.” Other students in your care may find it mostly terrifying. All the responsibilities of the adult world might have them hiding in their closet at home.

As seniors approach graduation, why not take this opportunity to talk about customizing their lives for the glory of God? Dialog with them about what this might look like a year, two years or 10 years down the road. Do it over a customized coffee.

Adapted from Jeff Baxter’s new book Following Jesus into College and Beyond (Zondervan).

Jeff Baxter received his doctor of ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary and spends much of his time studying, writing and investing in the next generation at Starbucks while sipping on a peppermint mocha. He has spent more than 15 years ministering to adolescents. To keep up with Jeff, go to www.sacredoutfitter.blogspot.com.