The Graying of Adventism

[Neil D]

Ok, I cut an pasted this article from Adventist Today. My appologies to Monte Sahlin. I hope that no one gets in trouble....but this is up for discussion. I want to know from all, why is this so? What is the remedy? What can be done about it? What is the real problem here?

Posted January 18th, 2009 by Monte Sahlin

Clearly, the Adventist Church is struggling to maintain the younger portion of its adherents. The new demographic study of

the Adventist community in North America pegs the median age at 51 while the median age for the U.S. is 36 and for Canada is 35. That is a 15-year difference!

The graphs in the study that show a comparison of generations and age cohorts between the Adventist households and the general population show a decided "over-supply" of Adventists among the generations over 45 years of age, and significant lack of Adventists in the segments under 46 years of age. (To answer one question immediately: This study collected data for all household residents, so it does take into account children too young to be baptized members. The data collection was parallel to the methods used in the census.)

There are a number of quibbles that could be pursued. Retired people are more likely to respond to telephone surveys because they have more time on their hands. Younger adults are more likely to be busy and hard to reach for interviews. This random sample was drawn from local church directories and young people are more likely to be concentrated in a few, larger congregations. But, none of these quibbles explains an astounding 15-year difference in median age!

For demographers that is an enormous gulf. It is roughly a full generation's difference between the world in which the Adventist Church ministers and the internal world of the Church. Although the report does not split this hair, it is likely that the gap between the leaders who make the decisions in the Church (from local boards on up) is more like two full generations.

You will find those who will insist right at this point that the eternal verities that are important in a church are not significantly related to mere generational calculations. As a researcher, I have found that to be largely true. Changes in faith across large segments of the population occur very slowly. In my own lifetime I have seen the introduction of the guitar into worship music, but it has taken 50 years for that to happen and all the waves of dissent to disappear. (At 60 years of age, I can say with a straight face: Once upon a time the guitar was just as controversial in Adventist churches as drums are today.)

Last fall, the Center for Youth Evangelism at Andrews University brought together a group of youth workers, pastors, researchers and church administrators from around the world to consider the implications of the paucity of teens and young adults among Adventists. We spent three days discussing many aspects of this issue. It was pointed out that this is particular to North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In much of the world the Church is dominated by people under 30 years of age. I pointed out that a major element in this demographic reality is the low birthrate among Adventists in industrial, affluent societies. Of course, the birthrate goes down everywhere as family economics improve, but among the affluent, the Adventist birthrate is lower than that among the general population of the same socioeconomic status. I (only partly) jokingly suggested that one solution is for our pastors to begin to urge Adventist couples to have more children. We need birth goals as much as we need baptismal goals!

Adventist educational administrators are painfully aware of the crimp this demographic reality is putting into church school enrollments. A study that I directed for the Columbia Union Conference in 2004 showed that a replication of questions from a study in the mid-1980s result in now significant change in the percentage of Adventist families who send their young people to Adventist schools. Enrollments are down not because of a lack of support or faithfulness, but because of a lack of warm bodies of the appropriate age. The demographic pool is down, so even if you marginally improve recruitment rates among Adventists, the yield in enrollments is down.

As the median age inches up in local congregations, the available energy for volunteer ministries declines. Older people have more limitations as they get older. (As a new member of AARP, I can say, "Don't I know!") A third study which I am currently writing the report for shows that in the first five years of this decade the percentage of Adventist churches involved in almost all kinds of outreach and nurture activities has declined significantly. The local church is, across the board, simply doing less of everything.

I believe there must be a connection between the increase in median age and the decrease in activity. I know people in retirement who are doing more than ever in their local churches, but I think they are likely to be the exception that proves the rule. Many Adventist congregations (if not most) are "stuck" in a routine where the members are getting older and they find it more and more difficult to rally the energy necessary to do things they have done for years. Yet, they are afraid to try new things that might engage younger people because of the voices of fear in the Adventist community that constantly speak out for "old ways" and against change. It is a formula for failure, a prescription for a slow death. It is dishonoring to God and unfaithful to the mission to which He has called this movement!

Here is my plea for the new year: If you are a leader in a local congregation, please take the risk of reaching out and attempting to engage people in their teens, twenties and thirties. If you are under 46 years of age, please give a local church one more try. Give it your best folks and pray as hard as you can for the hand of Christ in your efforts. We are at a tipping point!

You can get a copy of the Demographic Profile of Seventh-day Adventists in North America here. It was published by the Center for Creative Ministry on behalf of the North American Division Secretariat.

[Bravus]

For mine it's related to the opinion I described in the 'Joys of Adventism' thread: how do people come to be Seventh-day Adventists? By being convinced that a particular set of propositions are true. It's a very logical, cerebral faith, rather than a more visceral, emotional experience.

But (with all the caveats about any general scheme), the young people of today are a TV generation who do not read for pleasure. The kind of logical, linear, propositional approach to reasoning that gets people in and keeps them in Adventism may as well be a Martian dialect in terms of keeping these people in the church. They don't assent to the key propositions, and so they end up experiencing the church solely as a set of rules and cultural features... and without a belief in The Truth, that lifestyle by itself is just not all that attractive.

No doubt I'll get howled down here, and that's fine. But take a close look at the rhetorical style of those doing the howling and see if what I say about it isn't true.

[John317]

All the churches around Loma Linda-- and there are over 10 altogether-- have many young people. As soon, however, as you move to the churches that are 20 or so miles away, you begin to see a majority of the members who are 50 yrs and older and far fewer young people. I'm a member of a church of about 100 members. It's about 20 miles from Loma Linda. Here my daughters are often the only children in the Sabbath school class.

By contrast, when I was kid, my Sabbath school classes almost always consisted of about 100 kids. My girls love to go to church, though. When I've proposed going to a larger church where they'd have lots of kids in their classes, they've told me they want to stay right here.

I attend the Spanish church which is located in a small chapel attached to the main building. There are usually only about 5 to 8 people in attendance in the Spanish section.

The town I live in has a population of about 23, 000. Many local people attend other SDA churches, which accounts for the small number at some of the churches.

A few years ago our local church experienced a struggle between those who wanted to have a celebration style of worship and those who wanted to have a more traditional style. It was felt that the celebration style would encourage more young people to attend, but in the end the decision was made to keep the traditional style of worship.

Most of the members are 65 and above. Within the past year or so, we have seen 6 members die, including a retired pastor and his wife, a former elder and his wife, and another elderly man who had been very dedicated and active. At this rate, if we don't get quite a few young people, I expect that within the next 15 years, they won't be able to afford to keep the church property. They already sold the school property a couple of years ago because of a lack of student enrollment.

[True-believer]

Hey all,

The Churches in Australia are doing really well, and even though I myself do not have an Adventist background, I can say that from my observations in quite a number of sda churches, it is very healthy.

South Australia, where I come from, is, I have to say, is one of the states in this beautiful country that has less people than all the other six states in the country.

But, South Australia and everywhere else is still quite healthy, and most of the sda churches are turning pentecostal with their types of music being played and songs being sanged--so I think thats awesome--I love all the up to date Christian Music.

There is lots of young people, both children and youth and young adults there.

Pathfinders is huge.

There is still lots of older people there.

And, especially my church, there is lots of Philippino's.