We lived in Southwest Michigan for four years while I was teaching at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. Having lived most of our lives in Florida, the adjustment to the weather change was daunting. Don’t misunderstand me, the seasons were beautiful, even magical. However when winter arrived, although there were brief glimmers of beauty, it was mostly brutally cold and gray. In the thick of the coldest portion of the season I would sometimes be reminded of the line from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardobe, “Always winter but never Christmas.”
It sounds humorous now, but I remember one particularly bitter winter, my girls made a “unilateral latitudinal” decision. They declared that our family needed to live where the sun shone and the winters were not as long. I still remember my wife declaring she could live only so far from the equator. To thrive, my family needed a change in the weather.
This time of year, just before winter, I’m always intrigued as the Seventh-day Adventist Church has their final quarter corporate meetings at their respective headquarters. I’ve only attended in person a couple of times, but am always fascinated by the process and pageantry. While some come for the great stories of mission and success, and yet others simply enjoy the fellowship with colleagues from around the world, the nerd in me is intrigued by one of the standard reports that may seem rather routine and mundane to these proceedings.
For the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, it’s typically been David Trim, PhD, who provides their annual statistical report. And likewise, Dr. Trim’s comparable colleagues in each of the respective levels of the church structure—typically the secretariat office—does the same. For the most part, my brain can start to gloss over as the multiplicity of graphs, and statistics are shared. But year after year, I feel a chill run up my spine as we get to a certain part of the report.
As Dr. Trim’s annual report ramps into the evangelistic successes for our denomination, I start off always encouraged by the millions of people who have joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church since the 1960s. I’m also rather impressed that we have been able to tally these type of statistics for over a half century.
Winter Wonderland
But then my stomach begins to turn as I acknowledge the next statistical nugget: Of the 37.6 million people who became members of our faith community, 40% have chosen to leave over this same period of time. That is: 15,132,555 people of all ages, ethnic backgrounds, and personal circumstances have departed from Adventism since 1965.
In the face of such drastic Adventist attrition, Dr. Trim suggests, “Major evangelistic campaigns need to be organized so that they go hand in hand with major discipleship programs. . . While it’s important to focus on bringing the Adventist message to more people worldwide, more intentional discipleship of people already in the church is crucial to retain members.”
He goes further to say, “Church members leave because they aren’t loved, and they can’t fit in.” Then Trim lists in weighted rank order, the top 6 reasons that people leave:
Perceived hypocrisy in other church members
Marital difficulties
Lack of friends in the church
High level of conflict in local church
Other family conflicts
Personal conflicts with local church
Having spent most of my ministry/academic career focusing on young adults, I can’t help but reflect on the 2014 findings generated by Dr. Trim’s office citing that the majority of those who leave the Adventist Church do so during their young adult years. The gravity of the General Conference’s 2019 annual report struck me hard, especially pairing it in my mind with how many are estimated to be young adults when they leave, to which I posted on my social media feed a meme that caused quite the stir.
[And yes, the background was intentional; Not a faux paux of contemporary culture ignorance.] True confessions: I’m not a statistician; a dabbler at best. Also, admittedly at all levels of church leadership, these reports are a very rough estimate based on the data we have.
Dr. Jerry Connell, a friend and colleague posted in response, “After 35 years of pastoral ministry my guess is that the numbers are even higher. Many pastors do not like to ‘clean the books.’ It makes it look like they are losing members, plus a lot of parents don't want their kids names ‘taken off’ the church membership rolls.”
Another friend and colleague, Dr. Jose Cortes, Jr. chimed in, “Wondering how many children—born to Adventist parents—that never got baptized and left prior to their young adult years? This is so sad, incriminating, and sobering.”
Even with the accuracy ambiguity of this “best estimate,” it is an appalling number to me. It is a tragic number. It is a horrific number. And maybe the larger tragedy for me is that this will likely be just a couple of presentation slides in a constellation of hundreds presented at our corporate leadership meetings to conclude yet another year of church business. However for me, it is jaw-dropping awful.
One more reflection given this 9.6 million number: In my mind, this means most Baby Boomers who left departed as young adults. SDA GenXers left as young adults. Adventist Millennials also left—or are leaving—as young adults. It would not be a statistical stretch to say Generation Z has already considered their departure. From my perspective, this transcends the demographic idiosyncrasies or unique experiences of any particular generational cohort. It speaks to the church’s absence at a time of life, developmentally, when our young Adventists need us the most. For over half a century, the research has been sharing: When it comes to the young adult years, the Adventist Church has tended to be a winter wonderland.
Warmer Weather
Before you dismiss this as another “negative Nancy” rant, or before we begin tangential “gripe sessions” about whatever “pet problem” you or I attribute to the Adventist Church, know that my reflections are my honest effort, as a lifelong Adventist leader, to “define our reality.” Truth be told: For over half a century so far, as it pertains to young adults, doing what we have always done has not worked.
Also before you deem the situation hopeless; Or resign to the departure of young adults from Adventist church life as inevitable, I would like to offer here one caveat that the research and statistics have repeatedly affirmed as a vital component that draws young people into the center of church life: warmth.
From Growing Young Adventists:
“Warm is the new cool” in these congregations, where authenticity triumphs over worship style or a multitude of programs. Young people who participated in the [Growing Young] research praised their churches for “warm” attributes, such as welcoming, belonging, accepting, hospitable, and caring.
So many churches pour money and energy into flashy worship services meant to make teenagers and young adults think that church is cool.
But it turns out cool isn’t what young people want. . . they want: authenticity and connection.
In a word: warmth.
When we analyzed the terms that young adults used to describe the churches or parishes that they chose, we noticed repeated words: welcoming, accepting, belonging, authentic, hospitable and caring. We began to call this the “warmth cluster.”
Andrews University professor emeritus and a dear friend, Dr. Roger L. Dudley shared in an interview we did a decade ago, “I’m convinced that all youth ministry is local. I have story after story of that kind of thing—people who were offended because of the congregation, as well as stories of people who love their church because of the warm way they are accepted.”
Dr. Dudley, in following youth into their young adult years, concluded, “While there are many factors in retention, I really think that the congregational climate is perhaps the most important thing of all. Young people, when they think about Seventh-day Adventists, they don’t think about the denomination as a whole. To them, Adventism is that congregation. If that congregation is a warm, accepting place, then Seventh-day Adventism must be a good thing. If that congregation is a place that is struggling, then they wonder, What’s the matter with Adventists? I guess adults do that too, but young people do it particularly.” [emphasis added]
Dr. David Trim notes, “More than a third of Adventist church members do not feel really loved and cared about. These are areas that have to change if we are to retain more members in our local churches. . . Imagine the possibilities of being a welcoming, warm, and caring church that not only results in retaining our members, but also in winning back former and inactive church members.”
From my research and ministry experience, when it comes to local church warmth, the first key is intergenerational relationships. In the Adventist Millennial study, “for so many of our respondents, their relationship with the church was determined by their relationship with older members. These were even more important than peer relationships in many cases.”
The study also suggested, “local churches do not need to figure out how to make intergenerational relationships happen; they are already happening. However, we should recognize the importance of noting that these intergenerational relationships can work both ways—both negatively and positively. The goal for local leadership can be to create a church culture that reinforces the positive interactions and reduces the negative interactions.”
Do young adults view your local church as a place of warmth, belonging, and acceptance?
Or is your church more like the “frozen chosen?”
“Always winter, never Christmas…”
Warming Things Up
It’s been my observation that the vast majority of ministry research on young adults and their relationship with the church has pointed to warm relationships in various ways as a key factor. In the Adventist context, every study—from Dudley’s seminal longitudinal studies to ValueGenesis to the Barna Group’s Adventist Millennial Study—has alluded to this importance. In my most recent work with Fuller Youth Institute, Fuel Warm Community is slated as one of the key commitments identified in thriving, growing churches. And if indeed “warmth” is a factor that can stem the tide of young adults leaving our faith community, I’d like to offer a couple of ideas to consider based on my experience.
Warm Hearts Early: I often chide my church members that “young adult ministry” begins long before they are young adults. It’s my gut theory that a young person decides very early on whether or not they will stay with the church; certainly before they get their driver’s permit, many before their teenage years. Beginning in early childhood, fostering as sense of identity, belonging, and purpose that is consistent—well into if not through emerging adulthood—is vital towards any hope of them remaining part of our church.
Warmth At the Center: I’ve recently been personally convicted that as long as youth and young adult ministry is an extracurricular activity to the heart of church life, Adventism will continue to languish. The silo of “youth group,” even the way by which we approach club ministries and Adventist education, has outsourced the discipleship and relational nurture of our young people away from the local church. This has crippled our church members relational skills with next generations, and made young adult strangers of our own children. Our local church culture would do well to embrace young adults at the very center of church life. Building authentic intergenerational relationships is worthwhile. Endeavoring to empathize with the complexities of 21st century young adult life helps us support next generations in meaningful ways.
Wisdom Dispensed with Warmth: I am convinced that every local church member can mentor someone younger than themselves. If nurturing disciples, fostering ministry leadership, and apprenticing the young were part our church culture, I imagine next generations not only thriving in our congregations but moreover impacting the world for Christ. If every member were to consider themselves a mentor on behalf of Jesus, our local churches could be grace-filled communities where the Great Commission could be fulfilled in young hearts and minds.
During our time in Michigan, after a long season of bone-chilling cold, snow plows, and layer upon layer of winter clothing, any change in the weather would give us hope. As the sun would break through the gray days, almost immediately you could see my girls brighten and blossom. The grip of winter would begin to thaw, and all around it felt like fresh life and growth and vibrancy could sprout up again.
For the Seventh-day Adventist Church, I’m sensing a change in the weather. May the 54-year winter, give way to a season of spring where growing young Adventists can sprout, thrive, and bloom. May the Son shine brightly on, in, and through our congregations. May our leaders tenderly work the soil of young hearts. May our membership offer the warmth and nourishment needed. May the local church be filled with sprouts, and blossoms, and fruit. For when next generations grow and thrive, the whole church benefits, flourishing in the bounty and beauty of all generations growing together.
Things are starting to warm up. Just step into the Sonlight, can you feel it too?