Historically, religious sponsors have played a significant role in promoting holistic growth of students through emphasizing Christian based values in learning institutions. This have been showed by ever increasing seasonal social, moral, and ethical challenges facing students which include early pregnancies among female students, drugs and substance abuse, religious radicalization, burying, arson, among others. However, there has been a great concern from the public discourse on the laxity of the church as religious sponsors in schools from the frequent moral decay displayed by the students today. This article assesses the role of religious sponsors in development of holistic secondary school students in Nyeri County, Kenya. This study adopts a descriptive approach through collecting primary data from 68 CU/CA patrons, 99 students and 68 school administration. This article confirmed that various religious sponsors promote students' moral, social and spiritual development to students through organizing frequent prayer sessions, Biblical expositions, as well as offering Christian based guidance and counseling. However, this have not been to the maximum as could be expected in religious contexts. This study recommends for revitalized pastoral reforms from both the schools and the church. This will ensure that secondary schools fully utilize the rich valuable chaplaincy ministry based on pastoral care and counseling services as facilitated by the respective religious sponsors.

Contemporary educational institutions have been faced with emerging social-cultural, spiritual and moral issues that have brought with them new choices in views, cultural orientations, and philosophy. Ultimately, their health welbeing is affected. This has created a contextual social crisis that necessitates the need to guide young people in various ways of approaching contemporary life. This article asseses the main social, moral and spiritual challenges facing students in secondary schools in Nyeri County, Kenya. The study was conducted descriptively with a total of 99 secondary school students, and 68 Christian Union(CU)/Catholic Action(CA) patrons. From the results of the study, it was established that most of the students are faced by various social, moral and spiritual challenges among others; unhealthy relationships that leads to early pregnancy among girls; religious relativism; negative influence from modern social media; and membership to pseudo-religious groups. The study, hence, recommend to various educational stakeholders on the need to change the traditional methodological approaches that have been used addressing the above mentioned challenges faced by the 21st century young generation. Hence, the nned to develop a more contemporary methodoligies that can address the revolutionized social-cultural, moral and spiritual contexts. In this case, an effective complementary Christian pastoral care and counseling programmes interventions becomes vital in contemporary educational contexts.