Download
1 / 53
530 likes | 642 Views
Mission Lifeguard 1. Question #1. What is the percentage of young people who have left your church (or conference)?. Question #2. How do you know?. How many young people are in your church (or conference)?. Question #2. How do you know?. Once saved, always saved.
E N D
Question #1. What is the percentage of young people who have left your church (or conference)?
Once saved, always saved • Is this a Seventh-day Adventist belief?
Once saved, always saved • Is this a Seventh-day Adventist practice?
1978 • Young people need to create a new identity. • Being different from the established norm • gives them a new identity.
1978 • Put them in charge of the church so they can • create their new identity IN THE CHURCH instead of outside of the church.
2000 • 1,523 baptized young people, ages 15-16 in 1987. • 783 baptized young people, ages 25-26 in 1997.
2000 • “It seems reasonable to believe that at least 40-50% of Seventh-Day Adventist teenagers in North America are essentially leaving the church by their middle 20s.”
2000 • Of the 783 in the last year of the study, • 1/3 had changed their address in the previous year.
2000 • Of the 783 in the last year of the study, • 80% were presently members of the SDA Church.
2000 • Of the 783 in the last year of the study, • 80% were presently members of the SDA Church. • But only 55% attend church regularly.
2005 NSYR
2005 NSYR • “Religion and spirituality are indeed very significant in the lives of many American teenagers.”
2009 NSYR
2009 NSYR • “The common wisdom that • religiosity declines sharply during the young adult years is shown to be greatly exaggerated.”
2011 • “43% drop-off between the teen and early adult years in terms of church engagement.”
2011 • “The dropout problem is, at its core, • a faith-development problem.”
2011 • “The church is not adequately preparing • the next generation to follow Christ faithfully • in a rapidly changing culture.”
NOMADSThey walk away from church engagement but still consider themselves to be Christian.
PRODIGALSThey lose their faith and consider themselves to “no longer be Christian.”
EXILESThey are still invested in their Christian faith but they feel “stuck” or “lost” between culture and the church.
Churches that implemented MISSION LIFEGUARDreclaimed 83% of their young people in 6 months, and 94% of their young people in 12 months.
I made up those numbers,just like other people do when they “quote statistics” about young people leaving the church!
