Touching the Hearts of Czech and Slovak Youth

1. Touching the Hearts of Czech and Slovak Youth A Research Study of 2nd and 3rd Year Czech and Slovak Secondary School Students

2. Key Questions • Where to focus ministry efforts to engage and disciple youth • To better understand the condition of the local youth so that the church can be better equipped to reach their own context

3. The Method • A 34 question survey among 2nd and 3rd year secondary school students • 30 key cities in Czech and 10 key cities in Slovakia • Three types of schools: Practical, Gymnasia, and Vocational • At least 35 students per school: at least 105 students per city and 1434 in Prague • A total of 8290 students surveyed: 6911 in Czech

4. The Sample • 6911 students in the Czech Republic • 1379 students in Slovakia • Male: 43.7% (44.1% in Czech and 41.6% in Slovakia) • Female: 56.3% (55.9% in Czech and 58.4% in Slovakia) • Practical Schools: 26.0% • Gymnasia: 34.7% • Vocational Schools: 39.3%

5. The Segments • Target Audience: • Believe that there is spiritual reality • Believe that God exists and they are interested in Him. • Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world • Interested in knowing more about the Bible BUT the Bible is not currently an integral part of their life. • Nominal: • Identify themselves as belonging to either the Roman Catholic or other Christian faith • The Bible is not currently an integral part of their life • Evangelical: • Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world • The Bible is currently an integral part of their life

6. Understanding Needs and Hunger • The Needs: • Happiness • Autonomy • Being Loved and Accepted • Freedom from Guilt • Life Purpose • Fulfillment and Importance: 1 – 7 scale • Solutions: Options to choose top 3 • Always include parents, friends, boy/girl friend, and God • Other relevant options: no more than 12

7. Hunger • Hunger: Importance x (Importance - Fulfillment)

8. Example: Solutions for Purpose

9. Key Insights for KAM Student Ministry • The issue is not unbelief but it is indifference • Highest concentrations of the Target Audience are in the east • Look for them in Gymnasia • The church has a credibility crisis with the youth • Most Czech students do not have any religious affiliation: most Slovak students are Catholic • Unfulfilled Happiness is the greatest need among students • Students look to their most personal human relationships to fulfill the need for Happiness • After Happiness, Being Loved is the next greatest need among female students • After Happiness, Autonomy is the next greatest need among male students • Freedom from Guilt and Purpose are not key issues for students

10. INSIGHT 1: The issue is not unbelief but it is indifference Jesus is Son of God and Savior… …and want to know Him CZECH STUDENTS …and believe in a spiritual reality Target Audience

11. INSIGHT 2: The highest concentrations of the Target segment are in the east 7.1% 2.9% 3.8% 15.3%

12. The Target group is very present in Slovakia The Target group is very absent in Bohemia

13. Focus on Brno: Target = 7.1%, Nominal = 17.0%, Evangelical = 1.9%

14. Brno

15. Focus on Třebíč: Target = 15.3%, Nominal = 28.2%, Evangelical = 4.2%

16. Třebíč

17. Třebíč

18. Focus on Písek: Target = 3.8% (5), Nominal = 6.0% (8), Evangelical = 1.5%

19. Písek

20. Písek

21. Focus on Praha: Target = 2.9%, Nominal = 9.1%, Evangelical = 1.0%

22. Praha

23. Praha

24. INSIGHT 3: Larger portions of Target and Evangelical segments are in Gymnasia

25. INSIGHT 4: The church has a credibility crisis with the youth • Just 10% of Czech students indicated that the church is a credible: inappropriately manipulating members is the most common opinion • Hypocrisy is the most common opinion of Slovak Students • Credibility is a minority opinion even among the Target • Credibility is barely a majority opinion among Evangelicals

26. All segments agree on the reasons for attending church: • Getting closer to God • Tradition and obligation • The reason of getting closer to God is strongest amongst both the Target and Evangelical segments

27. INSIGHT 5: Most Czech students do not have any religious affiliation: most Slovak students are Catholic • Students in Slovakia are overwhelmingly more religious than the students in Czech • Students in the Target and Nominal segments are overwhelmingly Catholic • More than 1/3 Evangelical students belong to a non-Catholic denomination • More than 10% of Evangelical students do not identify themselves as Christian!

28. Parents: Key influence to religious behavior • The religious practices of the parents match those of their children • The seemingly high number of fatherless among Evangelical students

29. Most Czech parents never attend church • Most Slovak parents attend church at least annually • Nominal parents and Target segment father attend church at least annually • Target segment mothers attend church at least monthly • Evangelical parents attend church regularly

30. INSIGHT 6: Unfulfilled Happiness is the Greatest Need Among Students

31. NATION: Hunger for Happiness is significantly higher in Slovakia than in Czech: Slovak students are statistically less fulfilled in happiness than Czech student while at the same time they place a statistically higher value on importance • SEGMENT: Students from the Targets and Nominal segments rank personal Happiness as statistically more important than their Evangelical counterparts and Czech students: hunger for Happiness is greater among the Target segment and Nominals when compared to their Evangelical counterparts • GENDER: Male and female students indicate similar fulfillment of Happiness in this study; however, female students rank the importance of personal happiness much higher than males: the hunger for Happiness is statistically higher among females when compared to males

33. INSIGHT 7: Students look to their most personal human relationships to fulfill the need for happiness IS GOD PERSONAL?

34. Those looking to God are complacent towards Happiness Those looking to impersonal solutions are indifferent towards Happiness

35. INSIGHT 8: Being Loved is also a key need… • NATION: The hunger for Being Loved is much greater among secondary school students in Slovakia than in the Czech Republic since being loved is statistically more important to these students. • GENDER: The hunger for Being Loved is also notably greater among female students compared to male students. Female respondents in this survey indicate that Being Loved is more important and that this need is more fulfilled compared to their male colleagues.

36. Those looking to sports, sex, popularity, and money are indifferent towards Being Loved

37. INSIGHT 9: Autonomy is also a key need… Generally greater among male and Czech Students, but not statistically significant

38. Paradox: the effectiveness of God and Family and ineffectiveness of Art and Money

39. INSIGHT 10: Freedom from Guilt and Purpose are not key issues for students

40. Issue: only students looking primarily to God are hungry… Issue: only students looking primarily to drugs and alcohol are less fulfilled than those looking to God…

41. God is most fulfilling: science and philosophy are least fulfilling

42. Your Questions? • Email: sfriderich@clarity-research.net • Appointments • Hotel KAM conference center, Malenovice on Tuesday (20th) • SKYPE • Answers: http://tinyurl.com/KAM2011

43. Relevance of Context: C1 To see a movement of God among youth that connects these young people into the local church and transforms the society in which they live

44. Possible Strategies

45. Relevance to Calling: C2 To see a movement of God among youth that connects these young people into the local church and transforms the society in which they live

46. Capabilities: C3

47. C3 Matrix CAPABILITIES CALLING

48. Top Strategies: Why? • 1) • 2) • 3) • 4) • 5)

49. What needs to be Answered? • 1) • 2) • 3) • 4) • 5)

50. Next Steps • 1) • 2) • 3) • 4) • 5)