Youth Church Dropout Statistic
So, I referred in my last post to the statistic concerning the rate of church dropout among youth pursuant upon graduation from high school, but did not cite a source. I need one. So I consulted the highest-profile youth-ministry targeted organization I knew of, whom I mentioned earlier--Youth Specialties. After searching their website and coming up empty-handed, I contacted them via e-mail. Surely the youth ministry gurus will be able to refer me to this crucial statistic. After all, it is impossible to evaluate the effectiveness of the youth ministry "enterprise" without it.
Every youth pastor, youth volunteer, and senior pastor ought to know this figure. Well, I received a kind and prompt response from YS informing me that they do not keep those sorts of statistics, which I interpreted to mean that they don't readily know where to find them. Perhaps this particular individual simply did not know where to find it. I suspect this is the case. But I figured they'd be a bit more helpful than informing me that YS does not officially compile statistical data. Oh well.
If anyone else knows of a published source citing the statistic I'm looking for, please post a link or citation in the comments. Thanks!
Matt
Every youth pastor, youth volunteer, and senior pastor ought to know this figure. Well, I received a kind and prompt response from YS informing me that they do not keep those sorts of statistics, which I interpreted to mean that they don't readily know where to find them. Perhaps this particular individual simply did not know where to find it. I suspect this is the case. But I figured they'd be a bit more helpful than informing me that YS does not officially compile statistical data. Oh well.
If anyone else knows of a published source citing the statistic I'm looking for, please post a link or citation in the comments. Thanks!
Matt
To my knowledge, I've seen that stat in a couple of places. First, Barna Research group uses it a lot. Second, I remember first seeing it in Josh McDowell's book from like 1995ish. You should check that out as wel.
ReplyDeleteHave you checked out Christian Smith's book, Soul Searching? IMHO, it's the best book on the planet on the topic.
Here's the top 3 guys I know of in youth ministry research. Oddly enough they live within 40 miles of one another. When it comes to qualitative/quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of student ministry in the United States, these 3 guys are the cats meow.
Dave Rahn- Huntington University
Christian Smith- University of Notre Dame
Terry Linhart- Bethel College, Indiana
Feel free to shoot me an email. I'd be happy to talk. adam@youthspecialties.com
Hey, thanks Adam! I knew Barna had something on it, but I couldn't find it on his website. Everything worthwhile (No offense, George) has a price tag on it.
ReplyDeleteOh, the Josh McDowell book? For some reason I thought he had written more than one... ;-)
I'll definitely check out the Smith book, as well as look up the three guys you listed.
Thanks again!
Matt