Pilot Case Studies of NAD Churches

Kenley Hall & Joseph Kidder (Church Ministry)

Pilot Case Studies of NAD Churches who are Attracting and Keeping Young Adults (18-30)

This research involves pilot case studies of NAD churches that are attracting, rechurching, and keeping young adults (18-30). The challenge that the Adventist church is facing today is that 50-70% of its young adults (18-30) are leaving the church. We are hoping by studying churches that are attracting, rechurching, and keeping young adults and bringing them back to church, we will develop universal principles that any church can adopt to bring young adults back to their church. Our aim is to identify the culture and factors that are making these churches appeal to the younger generation. We will utilize a mixed methods approach (surveys, cases studies, observation, focus groups, guided interviews) with a strong emphasis on case study research. Though this initial research project focuses on churches in the NAD, we ultimately intend to expand this research to other divisions of the world church.