June, 2013

Churchs Member Research

Seventh-day Adventist Church Research Hancock Center for Youth and Family Ministry

North American Division of Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research

Regarding: Faith, Values, Commitment

July, 2013 Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 2

Table of Contents 1. Context ...... 3 2. Introduction ...... 3 2.1 Description ...... 3 3. Research Team Involvement ...... 3 4. Protocol ...... 4 4.1 Preparing the instrument, selecting the respondents ...... 4 4.2 Gathering the data sets ...... 5 4.3 Analyzing the data sets ...... 5 5. Results ...... 6 5.1 Types of analyses ...... 6 5.2 Demographics...... 6 5.3 About Church Life / Church Relationships ...... 10 5.4 About Religious Life ...... 22 5.5 Identifying Beliefs ...... 32 6. Specific Analyses ...... 39 7. Insights and Observations ...... 59 7.1 Tables and Figures Index ...... 59 7.2 Licensing ...... 60 8. Apendix 8.1 Gender Frequencies (A) 8.2 Survey Instrument (B) Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 3

1. Context This document is the first written report following research done in the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist church during the second quarter of 2013 regarding faith, values, and commitment of a selective sample of Adventist church members throughout the Division. The research was sponsored by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists under the direction of the Department of Research and Archives who provided the basic analysis plan and worked closely with the John Hancock Center for Youth and Family Ministry at the H.M.S. Divinity School at La Sierra University, Riverside, CA throughout the months of survey development, coordination of research teams in six divisions of the Adventist church, data collection and preliminary analysis. 2. Introduction 2.1 Description This research centers on the church members of the North American Division, their faith, values, and commitment, and is designed to provide a descriptive portrait of a representative group of Adventist church members. The survey questions target three major areas and a number of subcategories that provide insights into church members’ commitment and involvement in their local community. The data sets share an understanding of the following: (1) Members’ church life, including their involvement in church/pastoral understandings such as church warmth climate and thinking climate (2) Personal religious life, including personal piety, practice and ministry, and their attitudes regarding pastoral ministry in their local congregations (3) Beliefs, commitment and orthodoxy This research proposes to share insights that will assist church leaders, local churches, administrators, publishing houses and congregations as they plan for a clear, targeted ministry, deeper church nurture, and help for theological clarity for the system that manages the churches as well as help for the local congregations who must attempt to meet the ever-changing needs of the local church. This Church Member Research shares details of the faith lives of members and their connectedness with local congregations, along with an understanding of the priorities in ministry among the pastors of the churches we surveyed as they clarified their vision and understanding of the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist church. It was designed to look at adult church members between the ages of 18 and up and the impact on local ministry for their faith lives. 3. Research team involvement Listed are the members of the research team that was used to perform our data collection, management, and analysis. Hancock Center Project director : V. Bailey Gillespie, Ph.D.; Management team leader: John P. Anthony; On-line Survey Protocol: Check-Box Software management; Michael Donahue, Ph.D., Donahue and Associates, Baltimore, MD; Coordinating Consultants: Chang Ho Ji, Ph.D., Maury Jackson, D.Min.; Kimberly Hall, M.B.A.; David Gerigus, M.B.A., Greg Wilson, Data International. 4. Protocol 4.1 Preparing the survey instrument, selecting the respondents Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 4

The survey instrument was developed in consultation with the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the North American Division Office of Research. The survey was divided into four sections as indicated by the chart below, along with the types of questions identified as important for understanding the faith life of the members in the North American Division.

Sections Question Themes

1. Your Information Ethnicity, gender, membership status and duration, age, church attendance patterns, schooling, employment affiliation (11 questions)

2. About Your Church Worship attendance, church involvement, insights into commitment to the local congregation, characteristics of church life, experience with local church, programming, church thinking and church warmth scales from Valuegenesis research in the North American Division

3. Your Religious Life Faith development, local church warmth, personal commitment to Jesus, personal religious life, Intrinsic/ Extrinsic religion commitment, personal piety—Bible reading, prayer, Ellen G. White, family worship frequency

4. About What You Believe Understanding of salvation, Adventist doctrines, opinions about understanding the Bible and Ellen G. White, commitment to the teachings of the church, personal morality, Adventist guidelines for life

Table 1. Survey Questions and Types

4.2 Gathering the data sets

Data Collection Timeline

January - February, 2013 •Continue conference contact for pastor information •Initiate Pastor contact for church registration •Pilot and launch church member registration

March 2013 •Evaluation and adjustment of church member registration •Multi-language survey translation and setup •Continue conference contact pastor information •Continue pastor contact for church registration

March 25 - June, 2013 •Launch online survey data collection •Continue conference contact pastor information •Continue pastor contact for church registration

Table 2. Data Collection Process Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 5

Sampling The sample group development started with requesting church members to register online for the survey, using information that was provided to them by their pastors. After evaluation of the registration process, the church member registration was discontinued and church members were provided with information to participate in the survey without having to register. The public random sample group was developed via this process.

Data Collection The survey was published online in English, and after the request of pastors in several conferences, French and Spanish translations were also developed and published online. Using information provided by conference presidents, pastors were asked to register their church(es) for the study. After a pastor registered his/her church, they were provided with a handout to be distributed to church members that contained information on how to participate in the study. Pastors were asked via email to remind members about the study using the handouts, bulletin announcements, verbal announcements, and whatever means they felt would work for their church.

The data collected came from 27 conferences of all nine unions of the NAD. Conferences were contacted 3-4 times via email, phone calls, and followup was done to obtain pastor contact information. For several conferences, contact from the research team was their first knowledge of the study. Conferences that chose not to engage in the study did not provide a reason for that decision. Pastors who responded to the email invitation registered 300 churches and they were sent information so that their membership could participate in the study. While it is unclear why not all pastors chose to have their membership participate in the study, one church pastor stated that they would not be participating because the project didn't fit their church schedule. It is also interesting to note that research team members visited several churches that had registered for the study, but did not find the project handouts available for membership. A total N=1,495 participants took part in this survey. Approximately 12% of the confirming churches’ membership participated in the research, not an uncommon number for on-line surveys. Approximately 9% of the sample did not complete the survey perhaps due to survey size after multiple entries on-line to respond. Oversampling of the ethnic groups with hard copy surveys is still in process and will not be completed until the fall of 2013 and an update will be provided with ethnic data sets at no additional cost

4.3 Analyzing the data sets Upon completion of the on-line survey and selection of the clusters of churches in the various unions of the North American Division, an analysis plan was developed under consultation with the General Conference Office of Archives, Statistics and Research, which included the types of analysis they requested along with additions by the Hancock Center for Youth and Family Ministry at the H.M.S. Richards Divinity School at La Sierra University. The analysis plan was approved and distributed throughout the world divisions, working closely with the Hancock Center to ensure consistency in analysis and increase the possibility of comparison. While each Division in this research has made some adaptations to the survey instrument, most, if not all of the questions are alike, yet contextualized for understanding and clarity. Each report from the South American Division, InterAmerican Division, Southern Pacific Division, Trans-European Division and the South Pacific Division under our supervision and guidance will be prepared by the individual research teams and copies provided to the Office of Archives, Statistics and Research at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The statistical software used for the North American Division data sets is JMP, a business unit of SAS that produces interactive software for desktop statistical discovery for MacIntosh computers. All data was analyzed by Michael J. Donahue, of Donahue and Associates, Baltimore, MD. Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 6

5. Results 5.1 Types of analyses Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the survey. Therefore, preliminary results are shown in frequency tables or plots. For the construction of all of the tables in the results section, only the valid values for each item are considered; namely, missing data were omitted. In all figures and tables the percentages were rounded up to the nearest whole number. In the bulk of the frequencies the percentages reflect up to two decimal ponts. (i.e. 23.11%). Seventh-day Adventists Church Member Survey: Faith, Beliefs, Perceptions, Attitudes and Actions

5.2. Member Information — Demographics Demographic data are characteristics of a group. This information can be compiled according to the characteristics needed for a particular research study. The Church Member research included questions of ethnicity, gender, church relationship, age, educational experience, church attendance, and identification, including employment in the church. For the construction of all tables in the results section, only the valid values for each item were considered; namely, missing data were omitted. (Question 1.5 asked what country you are living in?) This information was unnecessary and deleted.

4% Black 76% Caucasian 7% East Asian 6% Latin/Hispanic 3% South Asian 3 % Other

Figure 1. Q.1.1. How do you describe yourself?

No 2% Female 43% Male 57% Yes 98%

Figure 2. Q1.2 Gender Figure 3. Q1.3. Baptized SDA Member Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 7

50%

40%

26% 30% 23% 17% 20% 9% 10% 9% 10% 4%

0% 16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66-75 76 and up

Figure 4. Q1.4 Age

1.4. Age Column % 16-20 1.51% 21-25 2.01% 26-30 3.90% 31-35 5.03% 36-40 5.03% 41-45 8.05% 46-50 6.79% 51-55 10.57% 56-60 12.83% 61-65 14.47% 66-70 11.70% 71-75 7.17% 76-80 4.28% Older than 80 years of age 5.66% Younger than 15 years of age 1.01%

Table 3. Q1.5. How old are you? Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 8

80% 76%

60%

40%

18% 20%

1% 2% 1% 3% 0% None A few times/year 1-2x/year 4x/year 2-3x/month 4 or more/month

Figure 5. Q1.6. Church attendance during last year

Elementary Some high school Graduated HS Some College/University Graduated College/University Graduate or Professional Graduate 50

40 37% 32% 30 21% 20

10 8% 1% 2% 0 Figure 6. Q1.7. What is the highest level of school you have completed?

No SDA schooling 29% Some SDA elementary 13% Completed SDA elementary 32% Some SDA Junior HS 24% Some SDA HS 40% SDA college or Univ. 52% SDA graduate school or professional school 22% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Figure 7. Q1.8. SDA school attendance Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 9

No 44% Yes 56%

Figure 8. Q1.9. Have you been an Adventist from birth?

>1 year 2% 1-4 years 9% 5-10 years 10% 11-15 years 10% 16-20 years 5% 21-25 yeaars 5% 26-30 years 6% 31-35 years 8% 41-45 years 10% 46-50 years 8% < 50 years 21% 0% 3% 6% 9% 12% 15% 18% 21% 24% 27% 30%

Figure 9. Q1.10. For how long have you been a Seventh-day Adventist? 31% have been an SDA less than 15 years while 69% have been an SDA more than 50 years.

Yes 20% Figure 10. Q1.11. Are you employed by an institution affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist church? No 80% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 10

5.3 About church life / church relationships The second section of the survey focused on information about the local congregation — attendance preference, participation, satisfaction, characteristics of church life, programming interests, church climate, degree of support for the world church and local congregation, pastor and local leadership portrait, commitment to local congregation, outreach involvement, etc. — 57% of church members surveyed would prefer to go to church about once a week. 22% for or more than once a week (38%). (See below)

Q2.1. Frequency of church attendance overall? Column % A few times a year or less 3.44% About once a week 57.40% More than once a week 21.81% Once every month or two 3.06% Two or three times a month 14.29%

Q2.3. How do you consider your involvement in your church? (Best Column % Description) I consider myself a casual participant 20.69% I consider myself a leader in my church 31.29% I consider myself an active participant 39.08% I consider myself an observer 5.11% I do not participate at all in church activities 3.83%

Q 2.2. I prefer to go to church: Column % A few times a year or less 1.15% About once a week 51.40% More than once a week 37.50% Once every month or two 1.53% Two or three times a month 8.42% Insights: 20% of the respondents indicate they attend church Two or three times a month or less 89% would prefer to go to church once a week or more 31% consider themselves a leader in their church 21% see themselves as a casual participant 9% consider themselves only an observer or non-participant in their local church While 39% consider themselves an active participant Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 11

30% 24% 23% 21% 19% 14% 15% 8% 8% 4% 3% 3% 1% 2% 0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Figure 11. Q2.4. 78% of church members say they are satisfied with their church above the 70th percentile on a scale of 1-10.

Q2.5. Characteristics to consider leaving your SDA church for another faith? Column %

Boring sermons 1.80% Cold, unfriendly 2.71% No activities 1.93% Worship not meaningful 11.34% No longer believe 47.55% Other 34.66%

Column % Q1.2. Gender? Q2.5. Characteristics to consider leaving your SDA Male Female church for another faith? Boring sermons 2.11% 1.58% Cold, unfriendly 2.41% 2.93% No activities 2.71% 1.35% Worship not meaningful 9.34% 12.84% No longer believe 50.90% 45.05% Other 32.53% 36.26% Column % Q14. How old are you? Q2.5. Characteristics to consider leaving 31-50 51-65 over 65 your SDA church for another faith? Boring sermons 3.11% 1.01% 1.79% Cold, unfriendly 2.07% 3.70% 2.24% No activities 1.55% 1.68% 0.90% Worship not meaningful 7.25% 10.77% 13.45% No longer believe 56.99% 44.78% 42.60% Other 29.02% 38.05% 39.01%

Insights: No significant differences except women are seen as more interested in “social” things. Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 12

Q2.6. Characteristics to consider for attending Column % another SDA church? Boring sermons 4.64% Cold, unfriendly 30.03% No activities 2.71% Worship not meaningful 34.02% No longer believe 28.61% Column % Q1.2. Gender? Q2.6. Characteristics to consider for attending Male Female another SDA church?

Boring sermons 4.22% 4.95% Cold, unfriendly 29.82% 30.18% No activities 3.31% 2.25% Worship not meaningful 32.83% 34.91% No longer believe 29.82% 27.70%

Q1.4. How old are you? 31-50 51-65 Over 65 Q2.6. Characteristics to consider for Column % Column % Column % attending another SDA church? Boring sermons 4.15% 5.39% 4.04% cold, unfriendly 34.72% 30.30% 24.22% no activities 4.15% 0.67% 2.24% worship not meaningful 29.53% 34.34% 39.01% No longer believe 27.46% 29.29% 30.49%

Insights: Ages 61-65 seem much less concerned about church activities, and the importance of meaningfulness increases with time as a factor for considering attending another SDA church.

Q2.7. Characteristics to consider worship at home? Column % Boring sermons 3.99% Cold, unfriendly 21.49% No activities 1.03% Worship not meaningful 35.91% No longer believe 37.58% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 13

Q1.2. Gender? Male Female Q2.7. Characteristics to Column % Column % consider for worship at home? Boring sermons 3.30% 4.50% Cold, unfriendly 18.92% 23.42% No activities 1.80% 0.45% Worship not meaningful 39.94% 32.88% No longer believe 36.04% 38.74%

Column % Q1.4. How old are you? Q2.7. Characteristics to 31-50 51-65 over 65 consider for worship at home? Boring sermons 5.18% 4.71% 2.23% Cold, unfriendly 26.42% 19.87% 15.63% No activities 2.07% 0.34% 0.89% Worship not meaningful 34.20% 34.34% 39.73% No longer believe 32.12% 40.74% 41.52% Insights: For all three questions above, “belief” is less important while “meaningfulness” increases in importance according to age. “Belief” is less important for the youngest group. Q2.8 to Q2.17 are questions that target the quality of church religious education in the Valuegenesis research. Question Never Sometimes Often Almost always Q2.8. Programs at my church are interesting 2% 23% 40% 35% Q2.9. Programs at my chrch make me think 5% 27% 36% 32% Q2.10. My Sabbath School teachers or leaders know me well 11% 17% 25% 47% Q2.11. My pastor knows me well 11% 21% 20% 48% Q2.12. The leaders in the church are warm and friendly 2% 17% 32% 49% Q2.13. I can be myself at church 4% 16% 27% 53% Q2.14. The leaders in our church care about me 5% 22% 29% 44% Q2.15. I look forward to going to programs at church 4% 26% 29% 42% Q2.16. I go to programs at church because I want to 3% 18% 25% 55% Q2.17. My church is helping me grow closer to Christ. 5% 26% 28% 41% _____ Table 4. Quality of Church Religious Education Frequencies Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 14

19% 33% Almost always Often 16% Sometimes Never 31%

Figure 12. Q2.18. I attend small group meetings organized by the church

Q2.18. I attend small group meetings organized by the church Column % Almost always 18.04% Never 30.64% Often 15.38% Sometimes 35.94%

Q2.19. I feel guilty when I do not attend church most weekends Column % Almost always 26.42% Never 31.03% Often 13.28% Sometimes 29.27%

Q2.20. I feel proud of my church and its role and reputation in my community Column % Almost always 40.58% Never 7.69% Often 24.27% Sometimes 27.45%

Insights: One fourth (25%) of church members say that their leaders in their local church “never” (55%) and only sometimes (23%) care about them. Almost three out of ten church members (1/3rd) share that they “never” (4%) or “sometimes” (26%) look forward to going to programs at their church. 66% claim that their local church is helping them grow closer to Christ. 80% say that they can be themselves at church. 69% indicate that their church is helping them “often” and “almost always” grow closer to Christ.

Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 15

The survey questions regarding support for the local church with donations was a significant set of findings for understanding the respondents’ commitment to the church (Questions 2.21-2.29). We asked, what “best describes” your involvement in the following financial activities of the local church. The possible responses were based on a 6-point scale (Never, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Always, N/A). The following responses are grouped by Never and Seldom, Sometimes, Often, and Always). Percentages are sorted in descending order based on “always” supported.

Always Never/seldom

78% Q2.21. Tithe 7% 64% Q2.22. Local Budget 7% 30% Q2.23. Christian Education 23% 28% Q2.25. Mission Program 21% 25% Q2.24. Building Fund 23% 24% Q2.28. Local Church School 23% 24% Q2.26. Evangelistic projects 25% 15% Q2.29. Wills & Trusts 59% 11% Q2.27. 13th Sabbath Offerings 51% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Figure 13: Support for the local church Insights: Almost 1/4th of church members “Never” or “Seldom” support local Christian education and 1/4th of church members surveyed say they “Always” support local Christian education programs. 1/5th “Seldom” or “Never” support the local evangelistic projects of the church. Over 3/4th of the church members surveyed support the church with their tithes Over 2/3rds support the local church budget “Always.”

Describe your pastor. Understanding pastoral ministry was a goal of this research. Questions were identified and approproate response formats selected in areas of pastoral expertise, characteristics of pastoral care, and, in addition, information on the pastoral leadership style and methods were explored. The research team asked, On a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being the lowest (“Not at all”) and a score of 5 being the highest (“very much), how well do each of these describe your pastor? (Scoring based on 4 and 5 of the 5-point scale). Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 16

4/5 on a 5-point scale

Q2.30. Enthusiastic about ministry 84%

Q2.36. Shows true spiritual leadership 75%

Q2.35. Good preacher 76%

Q2.31. Helpful in times of need 71%

Q2.37. Receptive to new ideas 71%

Q2.38. Thorough in pastoral duties 70%

Q2.34. Sensitive to needs of others 69%

Q2.32. Inspiring 54%

Q2.33. Visits members of the church 54%

0 25 50 75 100

Figure 14. 4 and 5 on a 5-point scale percentages.

Q2.30. Enthusiastic about ministry Column % 1 2.30% 2 3.12% 3 10.43% 4 23.31% 5 60.84%

Q2.31. Helpful in times of need Column % 1 4.53% 2 5.77% 3 15.93% 4 27.34% 5 46.43% Q2.32. Inspiring Column % 1 6.14% 2 6.14% 3 14.46% 4 27.56% 5 45.70% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 17

Q2.33. Home visits Column % 1 11.42% 2 12.65% 3 21.73% 4 24.76% 5 29.44%

Q2.34. Sensitive to needs Column % 1 4.66% 2 7.95% 3 18.49% 4 27.12% 5 41.78%

Q2.35. A good preacher Column % 1 4.23% 2 7.09% 3 12.96% 4 25.78% 5 49.93%

Q2.36. Spiritual leadership Column % 1 4.50% 2 7.49% 3 13.08% 4 23.98% 5 50.95%

Q2.37. Receptive of new ideas Column % 1 5.77% 2 7.55% 3 16.07% 4 27.47% 5 43.13% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 18

Q2.38. Thorough in pastoral duties Column % 1 4.67% 2 8.38% 3 16.90% 4 29.67% 5 40.38%

Rarely True/Never True (Descending order)

Q2.45. Out of touch 71% Q2.41. Engages members in mission 27% Q2.47. Is creative 20% Q2.40. Communicates mission of the church 17% Q2.39. Open to new ideas 16% Q2.44. Responsive to community needs 16% Q2.42. Easy to talk to 13% Q2.46. Involves young people in worship 9% Q2.43. Active in assisting the church 7% Q2.48. Supportive of Local School 5% 0 25 50 75 100

Figure 15. Regarding local church leadership statements are “Rarely true” or “Never true.”

Insights: Local church leadership is very supportive of the local church school. Leadership is very active in assisting the church and involving young people in its worship. At the same time, over 1/4th of church members think the church leadership is not engaged in the church’s mission. Yet, leadership is not out of touch with the needs of the local church (71%). 69% of respondents say it is “Often true” and “Always true” that the local leadership support the local school. 67% say it is “Often true” and “Always true” that the local leadership involves young people in their local worship services. Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 19

Q2.49 - Q2.50. In thinking about what originally brougnt you to this congregation, what attracted you compared with the foremost reason you remain a part of this congregation. (More than one answer may be selected)

Originally brought you to this congregation Foremost reason to remain a part of this congregation

30% Worship style 35% 28% Doctrines of the church 41% 24% The minister 33% 23% Denominational ties 28% 20% Friends 40% 18% Music program 19% 17% Children/Youth programs 16% 15% Church’s reputation 16% 13% Proximity to where I live 0% 9% Community outreach 14% 6% Evangelism program 6% 3% Adult education program 3% 2% Self-help groups 2% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Figure 16. Reasons to join and remain in the church (Descending order) Q2.51-Q2.70 provide insight into the importance of the personal traits of pastoral leadership in the local church. The survey explored such valuable qualities of the pastoral leadership as biblical expertise, emphasis on spiritual growth, pastoral comforting and reasurring, along with concepts regarding new approaches to ministry and decision- making skills. On a five point scale with 1 = Not important and 5 = Very important, the following insights were tabulated. Question N/I Slightly Fairly Quite Very Q2.51. Expertise in biblical and theological matters >1% 2% 10% 36% 55% Q2.52. Emphasis on spiritual development and growth >1% 2% 6% 27% 64% Q2.53. Thought-provoking and challenging 1% 3% 10% 34% 51% Q2.54. Comforting and reassuring 2% 3% 17% 33% 44% Q2.55. Biblical preaching and teaching >1% 1% 6% 20% 72% Q2.56. Preaching and teaching on contemporary issues 4% 10% 22% 33% 31% Q2.57. New approaches and ideas 4% 12% 26% 35% 25% Q2.58. Does things as they have always been done 41% 30% 17% 7% 5% Q2.59. Strong and decisive decision-maker 2% 5% 24% 40% 29% Q2.60. Encourages lay decision-making 3% 3% 15% 42% 37% Q2.61. Relaxed interpersonal style 3% 6% 22% 44% 24% Q2.62. Formal interpersonal style 31% 27% 17% 85% 5% Q2.63. Works hard to acomplish tasks 1% 2% 13% 41% 43% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 20

Question N/I Slightly Fairly Quite Very Q2.64. Places feelings of others ahead of achieving goals 4% 11% 28% 36% 21% Q2.65. Helps people figure things out for themselves 3% 5% 21% 44% 27% Q2.66. Advises what to do 8% 23% 34% 26% 10% Q2.67. Reflective and reserved 20% 26% 32% 16% 7% Q2.68. Outgoing and socially engaging 4% 6% 23% 42% 26% Q2.69. Maintains a balanced life 1% 2% 11% 38% 48% Q2.70. Gives whole self to the church 8% 12% 23% 32% 25% Table 5. Important personal traits of pastoral leadership

Traits of Pastoral leadership (“Very important” in descending order)

Biblical preaching/teaching 72% Expertise in biblical /theological matters 55% Thought-provoking/challenging 51% Maintains a balanced life 48% Comforting and reassuring 44% Works hard to accomplish tasks 43% Lay decision-making 37% Preaching/teaching on contemporary issues 31% Strong, decisive decision-maker 29% Helps people figure things out 27% Outgoing and engaging 26% New approaches and ideas 25% Gives whole self to the church 25% Relaxed interpersonal style 24% Feelings of others ahead of goals 21% Advises what to do 10% Reflective and reserved 7% Does things always been done before 5% Formal interpersonal style 5% 0 25 50 75 100

Figure 17. Key pastoral leadership traits Insights: The top five reasons why respondents became Seventh-day Adventist were: 1. Worship style 2. Doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 3. The minister 4. Denominational ties 5. My friends are there The top five reasons why respondents remain in the Seventh-day Adventist church were: 1. Doctrines of the church 2. Where my friends are 3. Worship style 4. The minister 5. Denominational ties Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 21

The top five personal traits of pastoral leadership were: 1. Biblical preaching and teaching 2. Expertise in biblical and theological matters 3. Thought provoking and challenging 4. Maintains a balanced life 5. Comforting and reassuring

Q2.71. My congregation needs to increase or improve efforts in outreach? Column % Should increase or improve to a great extent 29.42% Should increase or improve to some extent 50.07% We are doing fine as is 18.25% We're doing too much now 2.26%

Q2.72. My congregation needs to increase or improve caring and nurture? Column % Should increase or improve to a great extent 25.78% Should increase or improve to some extent 51.70% We are doing fine as is 21.81% We're doing too much now 0.71%

Q2.73. To what extent would you personally be willing to get more involved in Column % outreach Not at all 6.59% To a great extent 19.07% To a moderate extent 34.50% To some extent 39.83%

Q2.74. Without support of the worship service my faith might fade away Column % Not at all 43.20% To a great extent 9.96% To a moderate extent 16.13% To some extent 30.72%

Q2.75. I use information from the Internet to help grow my faith Column % Not at all 31.56% To a great extent 11.22% To a moderate extent 15.85% To some extent 41.37% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 22

5.4 About Your Religious life Personal religious life and how that experience with God is nurtured, developed and maintained is an important facet in one’s personal identity. Local congregations, denominational entities, relationships, personal experiences and insights into the biblical record and their application in actual living provide the grist with which one’s religious experience is framed and experienced. We asked the respondents to help us identify some of the factors that helped develop their own religious life. We identified 27 activities, relationships, involvements and entities in the church that are all designed to assist members with their spiritual growth. What follows is information about the members’ religious life and explores the four factors that contribute to that growth. Q3.1 to Q3.27 provide the answers to the question, “How much has each of the following helped you develop your religious life.?” Question Not at all Sometimes Often Very much Q3.1. Sabbath School 3% 6% 22% 44% Q3.2. Personal Bible study and prayer 15% 21% 30% 33% Q3.3. Church worship services 3% 21% 40% 36% Q3.4. Family worship 31% 26% 19% 23% Q3.5. Prayer meetings 49% 26% 13% 13% Q3.6. Weeks of Prayer at church 59% 24% 10% 8% Q3.7. Church retreats 49% 28% 16% 8% Q3.8. Church community outreach 33% 40% 17% 10% Q3.9. Short-term mission projects 57% 24% 11% 8% Q3.10. Attending an Adventist school 48% 11% 14% 26% Q3.11. Evangelistic outreach 43% 28% 15% 15% Q3.12. Conference-sponsored events 44% 40% 10% 6% Q3.13. The church pastor 14% 34% 30% 22% Q3.14. The youth pastor 73% 15% 8% 6% Q3.15. The local elders in my church 36% 38% 16% 10% Q3.16. The Sabbath School quarterly 30% 27% 23% 20% Q3.17. Evangelistic meetings (Public) 41% 32% 15% 12% Q3.18. Small groups 34%% 28%% 20% 19%% Q3.19. Adventist publication (Union/Division paper) 36% 37% 18% 9% Q3.20. Adventist publications (Review/World) 30% 37% 23% 11% Q3.21. On-line church publications 26% 31% 10% 5% Q3.22. Family 15% 22% 29% 34% Q3.23. Friends 8% 28% 34% 30% Q3.24. Internet sites 35% 39% 18% 8% Q3.25. Adventist Radio 73% 18% 5% 3% Q3.26. Adventist TV 49% 22% 16% 12% Q3.27. Pastor’s sermons 6% 24% 36% 35%___ Table 6. Understanding members’ faith growth Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 23

Insights into faith development — “Often” and “Very Much”

Church worship services 76% Pastor’s sermons 71% Sabbath Schools 66% Friends 64% Personal Bible study / Prayer 63% Family 63% Church pastor 52% Family Worship 44% Sabbath School Quarterly 43% Attend Adventist school 40% Small groups 39% Adventist Publications (Review/World) 34% Evangelistic outreach 30% Short-term mission projects 29% Adventist TV 28% Community outreach 27% Adventist publications (Union/Division) 27% Evangelistic meetings (Public) 27% Prayer Meetings 26% Internet sites 26% Church retreats 24% Local elders 26% Weeks of Prayer (Church) 18% Conference-sponsored events 16% On-line church publications 15% Advenitist radio 8% 0 25 50 75 100

Figure 18. Key components of your religious life

Climate scales. In earlier research with young people, the climate scales were predictors of faith maturity and intrinsic faith. The environment in and around the local congregation provides an example of the nature of God and the beauty of the Christian life. Question Not true 3 4 5 Very true Q3.28. It feels “warm” 3% 8% 18% 35% 35% Q3.29. I learn a lot 5% 14% 25% 32% 24% Q3.30. It accepts people who are different 4% 7% 16% 29% 44% Q3.31. Most members want to be challenged re: issues 6% 14% 28% 30% 21% Q3.32. It is friendly 2% 7% 17% 35% 38% Q3.33. It challenges my thinking 6% 17% 33% 32% 23% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 24

Question Not true 3 4 5 Very true Q3.34. It encourages me to ask questions 7% 15% 23% 31% 23% Q3.35. Strangers feel welcome 3% 8% 33% 35% 31% Q3.36. It expects people to learn and think 12% 13% 23% 30% 21% Q3.37. It stretches me in worship 9% 18% 27% 27% 18% Q3.38. It provides fellowship 6% 16% 32% 43% 9% Table 7. Climate scale frequencies Insights: 70% say their church is warm 73% say their church is friendly 66% say strangers will feel welcome in their church 49% say their church provides fellowship 73% say that they accept people who are different 54% say their church encourages them to ask questions 56% say they learn a lot in church 56% say that their church challenges their thinking 45% say their church stretches them in worship 54% say the church say most members want to be challenged regarding religious issues 52% say their church expects people to learn and think Over 1/4th of the members are neutral on these topics, neither positive nor negative regarding them.

Committed since young child 100% Gradually committed Suddenly committed 80% Not sure of commitment 60% 50% Committed at specific moment 38% Not committed 40%

20% 7% 2% 2% 1% 0%

Figure 19. Personal committment timeline

Q3.39. Regarding my commitment to Jesus Christ? Column %

I am not committed to Christ 1% I am not sure if I am committed to Christ 2.29% I committed my life to Christ at a specific moment in my life, but it didn't last 1.7%1 I've been committed to Christ since I was a young child and continue to be 49.57% committed to Him now. My commitment to Christ came suddenly and I was changed 7.42% My commitment to Christ has developed gradually over a period of time 38.24 Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 25

Faith Maturity Scale Frequencies share a balanced view of one’s relationship with God and has been used by a number of denominations as well as the three Valuegenesis research projects with Adventist young people in Seventh-day Adventist schools (1990, 2000, 2010). The following shares the individual items. Scale analysis follows in the additional analysis section of this report.

Question Never 2 3 4 Often Q3.40. I help others with their religious questions and struggles 3% 11% 27% 30% 28% Q3.41. I seek out opportuities to help me grow spiritually 2% 7% 20% 32% 39% Q3.42. I feel a deep sense of responsibility for reducing pain and 3% 11% 25% 33% 33% suffering in the world Q3.43. I give significant portions of time and money to help others 2% 11% 25% 30% 33% Q3.44. I feel God’s presence in my relationships with others >1% 7% 19% 41% 34% Q3.45. I feel my life is filled with meaning and purpose >1% 2% 8% 40% 49% Q3.46. I show I care about reducing poverty in the world 3% 8% 25% 34% 31% Q3.47. I apply my faith to political and social issues 4% 10% 24% 38% 23% Q3.48. The things I do reflect a commitment to Jesus Christ 1% 4% 17% 38% 40% Q3.49. I talk with other people about my faith 2% 9% 28% 32% 30% Q3.50. I have a real sense that God is guiding me 1% 5% 10% 30% 55% Q3.51. I am spiritually moved by the beauty of God’s creation >1% 2% 7% 17% 73%

Table 8. Faith Maturity Scale Items

Q3.51a. I enjoy reading about Adventism Column %

I strongly agree 41.11%

I strongly disagree 2.18%

I tend to agree 39.65%

I tend to disagree 6.71%

I'm not sure 10.35%

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Religion. Like the Faith Maturity Index which measures particular qualities of the religious life, we included in this Church Member Reseaarch the Intrinsic and Extrinsic religion scale. This scale describes an extrinsically religious person as one who sees religion as a means of obtaining status or personal security, for self- justification and for social ability, thus making religion more utilitarian and self-oriented. In contrast, the intrinsically religious person internalizes beliefs and lives by them regardless of outside or extrinsic social pressure or other possible personal consequences. The questions have been reordered below to comply with the two types of religion. Intrinsic Religion Questions. Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 26

Q3.55. It is important to me to spend time in private thought and prayer Q3.56. I have often had a strong sense of God’s presence Q3.58. I try hard to live according to my religious beliefs Q3.60. My religion is important because it answers many questions about the meaning of life Q3.61. I would rather join a Bible study group than a church social group Q3.66. My whole approach to life is based on my religion Q3.69. Prayers I say when I am alone are as important to me as those I say in church

Q3.55. It is important to me to spend time in private thought and prayer Column %

I strongly agree 73.55%

I strongly disagree 1.45%

I tend to agree 22.24%

I tend to disagree 1.31%

I'm not sure 1.45%

Q3.56. I often have a strong sense of God's presence Column %

I strongly agree 42.04%

I strongly disagree 1.31%

I tend to agree 40.44%

I tend to disagree 3.50%

I'm not sure 12.70

Q3.58. I try hard to live according to my religious beliefs Column %

I strongly agree 46.50%

I strongly disagree 1.46%

I tend to agree 41.98%

I tend to disagree 4.08%

I'm not sure 5.98% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 27

Q3.60. My religion is important because it answers Column % questions about the meaning of life

I strongly agree 52.50%

I strongly disagree 1.91%

I tend to agree 37.35%

I tend to disagree 3.53%

I'm not sure 4.71%

Q3.61. I would rather join a Bible study group than social group Column %

I strongly agree 20.18%

I strongly disagree 3.24%

I tend to agree 32.25%

I tend to disagree 15.91%

I'm not sure 28.42%

Q3.66. My whole approach to life is based on my religion Column %

I strongly agree 46.88%

I strongly disagree 2.61%

I tend to agree 37.74%

I tend to disagree 8.99%

I'm not sure 3.77%

Q3.69. Prayers alone are as important as those in church Column %

I strongly agree 74.52%

I strongly disagree 2.78%

I tend to agree 16.55%

I tend to disagree 3.66%

I'm not sure 2.49% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 28

Extrinsic Religion Questions. Q3.52. I go to church because it helps me to make friends Q3.53. It doesn’t much matter what I believe so long as I am a good person Q3.54. Sometimes I have to disregard my religious beliefs because of what people might think of me Q3.57. I pray mainly to gain relief and protection Q3.59. What religion offers me most is comfort in difficult times Q3.62. Prayer is for peace and happiness Q3.63. Although I am religious, I don’t let that affect my daily life Q3.65. I go to church mostly to spend time with my friends Q3.67. I go to church mainly because I enjoy seeing people I know there Q3.68. I pray mainly because I have been taught to pray Q3.70. Although I believe in my religion, many other things are more important to me. Q3.52. I go to church because it helps me make friends Column %

I strongly agree 11.63%

I strongly disagree 15.70%

I tend to agree 31.54%

I tend to disagree 27.91%

I'm not sure 13.23%

Q3.53. It doesn't matter what I believe so long as I am good Column %

I strongly agree 1.31% I strongly disagree 71.57% I tend to agree 3.50% I tend to disagree 20.26% I'm not sure 3.35%

Q3.54. Sometimes I have to disregard my beliefs because of what people might think Column %

I strongly agree >1%

I strongly disagree 72.71%

I tend to agree 2.90%

I tend to disagree 19.30%

I'm not sure 4.06% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 29

Q3.57. I pray to gain relief and protection Column %

I strongly agree 6.31%

I strongly disagree 19.65%

I tend to agree 22.87%

I tend to disagree 40.03%

I'm not sure 11.14%

Q3.59. What religion offers me most is comfort in difficult times Column %

I strongly agree 20.68%

I strongly disagree 6.35%

I tend to agree 38.41%

I tend to disagree 22.45%

I'm not sure 12.11%

Q3.62. Prayer is for peace and happiness Column %

I strongly agree 20.98%

I strongly disagree 4.58%

I tend to agree 43.58%

I tend to disagree 17.87%

I'm not sure 0.12999

Q3.63. Although I am religious, I don't let it affect my life Column %

I strongly agree 2.92%

I strongly disagree 55.12%

I tend to agree 4.23%

I tend to disagree 31.10%

I'm not sure 6.57% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 30

Q3.65. I go to church to spend time with my friends Column %

I strongly agree 1.45%

I strongly disagree 39.97%

I tend to agree 8.43%

I tend to disagree 45.93

I'm not sure 4.22%

Q3.67. I go to church mainly because I enjoy seeing people I know there Column %

I strongly agree 3.21%

I strongly disagree 22.48%

I tend to agree 18.25

I tend to disagree 47.45%

I'm not sure 8.61%

Q3.68. I pray mainly because I have been taught to pray Column %

I strongly agree 3.51%

I strongly disagree 41.72%

I tend to agree 10.84%

I tend to disagree 38.36%

I'm not sure 5.56%

Q3.70. Although I believe in religion, many other Column % things are more important

I strongly agree 5.86%

I strongly disagree 43.19%

I tend to agree 16.84%

I tend to disagree 26.50%

I'm not sure 7.61% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 31

Personal piety includes such concepts as reading the Bible and the writings of Ellen G. White, engaging in personal devotions and family worship.

60% 52%

45%

30% 26% 13% 15% 8% 1% 0% Daily/<1/day <1x/week About 1x/week Less than 1x/month Never

Figure 20. Q3.71. Reading the Bible

60% 51%

45%

30% 26%

13% 15% 9% 1% 0% Daily/<1/day <1x/week About 1x/week Less than 1x/month Never

Figure 21. Q3.72. Engage in personal devotions

40% 36%

30%

19% 18% 20% 15% 12% 10%

0% Daily/<1/day <1x/week About 1x/week Less than 1x month Never

Figure 22. Q3.73. Read Ellen G. White Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 32

29% 30% 28%

23% 17% 14% 15% 12%

8%

0% Daily/<1/day <1x/week About 1x/week Less than 1x/month Never

Figure 23. Q3.74. Have family worship (Away from church)

5.5 Identifying beliefs This section of the research encompassed section 4 in the survey instrument and was entitled “About What You Believe.” This group of questions included doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist church as well as familiar statements of belief for the Christian community.

Figure 24. Q4.1. God loves everyone, and I should be all right in the end if I am a morally good person

Strongly disagree 42%

Disagree more than agree 30%

Agree more than disagree 20%

Strongly agree 8%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 25. Q4.2. I believe in a personal God who seeks a relationship with human beings

Strongly disagree 0%

Disagree more than agree 1%

Agree more than disagree 5%

Strongly agree 93%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 33

Figure 26. Q4.3. There are only two kinds of people in the world: the righteous, and the rest who are not

Strongly disagree 10% Disagree more than agree 17% Agree more than disagree 25% Strongly agree 48% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 27. Q4.4. Christianity is about Jesus giving power to conquer sin in my life

Strongly disagree 10% Disagree more than agree 14% Agree more than disagree 34% Strongly agree 43% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 28. Q4.5. I am saved the moment I believe and accept what Jesus has done for me.

Strongly disagree 6% Disagree more than agree 6% Agree more than disagree 24% Strongly agree 63% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 29. Q4.6. I believe that Jesus was born of a virgin

Strongly disagree 1% Disagree more than agree 1% Agree more than disagree 5% Strongly agree 93% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 34

Figure 30. Q4.7. The SDA church is God’s last-day church to prepare the world for the Second Coming

Strongly disagree 4% Disagree more than agree 9% Agree more than disagree 23% Strongly agree 64% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 31. Q4.8. There is no teaching, or Scripture, which is completely without error or contradiction

Strongly disagree 32% Disagree more than agree 24% Agree more than disagree 27% Strongly agree 19% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 32. Q4.9. Of all the people on earth, one group has a special relationship with God

Strongly disagree 34% Disagree more than agree 24% Agree more than disagree 23% Strongly agree 20% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 33. Q4.10. A relationship with Jesus is important, but I will not go to heaven unless I obey God’s law

Strongly disagree 25% Disagree more than agree 26% Agree more than disagree 29% Strongly agree 19% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 35

Figure 34. Q4.11. I expect the world as we know it to end within the next 20 years

Strongly disagree 13% Disagree more than agree 26% Agree more than disagree 42% Strongly agree 19% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 35. Q4.12. If I have been baptized, I will make it to heaven if I remain a good person all my life

Strongly disagree 45% Disagree more than agree 34% Agree more than disagree 18% Strongly agree 3% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 36. Q4.13. God created the world in exactly six days of 24 hours each in the relatively recent past

Strongly disagree 7% Disagree more than agree 9% Agree more than disagree 14% Strongly agree 69% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 37. Q4.14. I believe God created the world

Strongly disagree 1% Disagree more than agree 0% Agree more than disagree 2% Strongly agree 97% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 36

Figure 38. Q4.15. If I am to be saved, I need to be baptized into the SDA church

Strongly disagree 46% Disagree more than agree 29% Agree more than disagree 16% Strongly agree 8% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 39. Q4.16. The SDA church believes in “present truth,” which means beliefs might change over time

Strongly disagree 26% Disagree more than agree 25% Agree more than disagree 31% Strongly agree 18% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 40. Q4.17. The true Sabbath is the Seventh-day Saturday

Strongly disagree 0% Disagree more than agree 2% Agree more than disagree 5% Strongly agree 92% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 41. Q4.18. When a person dies their body remains in the grave, their soul sleeps until the resurrection

Strongly disagree 2% Disagree more than agree 3% Agree more than disagree 10% Strongly agree 86% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 37

We asked the respondents to read carefully the following statements and then mark next to the statement that is the closest to their understanding of what the Bible is.

Q4.19 The Bible

The Bible contains no more truth or wisdom than do the >1% religious books of other world religions.

The Bible is the work of people who collected stories that >1% had been created to explain the mysteries of life. It contains a great deal of wisdom about the human experience.

The Bible is the work of people who genuinely loved 3% God and who wanted to share their understanding of God’s activity in the world.

The Bible is the work of people who copied what God 7% told them word for word, and who wrote without being influenced by their own place and time.

The Bible is the work of people who were inspired by 70% God and who represented God’s message in terms of their own place and time.

The Bible is the work of people who were inspired by 20% God and who, though expressing their message in terms of their own time and place, expressed eternal truths.

We asked the respondents to read carefully the following statements and then mark next to the statement that is the closest to their understanding of the writings of Ellen G. White.

Q4.20 Ellen G. White

I don’t know who Ellen G. White is. >1%

Ellen G. White was a person who created stories of 5% supernatural guidance in order to explain the mysteries of life. Her writings contain a great deal of wisdom about the human experience.

Ellen G. White copied what God told her word for 3% word, and wrote without being influenced by her own place and time.

Ellen G. White was inspired by God and presented 87% God’s message in terms of her own place and time.

Ellen G. Whit’s writings contain no more truth or 5% wisdom than do the religious works written by the leaders of other denominations. Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 38

We asked to what extent do you accept the following individual teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist church. They were requested to select their best answer. Q4.21. Jesus Christ is the Son of God Column %

I accept it because the church teaches it >1%

I don't accept it >1%

I embrace it wholeheartedly 98.37%

I have major doubts about it >1%

I have some questions about it >1%

Q4.22. The Investigative Judgment began in 1844 Column %

I accept it because the church teaches it 12.46%

I don't accept it 3.12% I embrace it wholeheartedly 56.38%

I have major doubts about it 3.56% I have some questions about it 12.17%

This question is not important to me 12.32%

Q4.23. The Church’s interpretation of end-time prophecies Column %

I accept it because the church teaches it 5.59% I embrace it wholeheartedly 75.78% I have major doubts about it 1.86% I have some questions about it 14.29%

This question is not important to me 2.48%

Q4.24. E. G. White was an inspired messenger to the Adventist church Column %

I accept it because the church teaches it 6.84%

I don't accept it >1%

I embrace it wholeheartedly 72.81%

I have major doubts about it 2.23% I have some questions about it 11.14%

This question is not important to me 6.30% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 39

Q4.25. Adventist standards on healthful living Column %

I accept it because the church teaches it 6.98%

I don't accept it >1%

I embrace it wholeheartedly 76.23%

I have major doubts about it >1%

I have some questions about it 12.63%

This question is not important to me 3.27%

Q4.26. Adventist teachings on modesty and simplicity in dress Column %

I accept it because the church teaches it 6.98%

I don't accept it 1.04%

I embrace it wholeheartedly 65.83%

I have major doubts about it 2.53%

I have some questions about it 14.26%

This question is not important to me 9.36%

Q4.27. How would you describe your attitude toward religion and Column % spirituality? I am both spiritual and religious 83.06% I am neither spiritual nor religious 2.23%

I'm religious but not spiritual 5.05% I'm spiritual but not religious 9.66%

6. Specific Analyses

6.1 Analysis suggested by the research teams of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the John Hancock Center at the H.M.S. Richards Divinity School, at La Sierra University. Analysis plan suggested by the General Conference is provided below. Additional appropriate analysis has been suggested by the research team at the Hancock Center for Youth and Family Ministry and are listed as such after the General Conference analysis plan. This research plan was shared with the Division Research Teams to assist them in the analysis of their unique Division data sets. Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 40

Please note: the abbreviations of the item labels was solely for the purpose of providing compact tables for the sake of analysis. No theological, rhetorical, or polemical purpose was intended or should be inferred.

Why use scales? Frequently, a single question is all that is really needed to obtain the information that is desired. For example, "Are you going to vote for candidate X in the next election?" This single item is important (especially to candidate X), but if we wanted to know something about a broader concept, such as political philosophy, then we will need more than one item. A group of questions about the size of government, abortion, capital punishment, foreign affairs, etc. will be much more accurate in providing a picture of either one’s party affiliation (if that is the object), or one’s position along a liberal-conservative continuum. Similarly, there are certain issues which are not easily predictable by asking about things that are not directly related. A famous study was addressing why people "cut" classes. They looked at what time of day the class was taught, who taught it, whether it was in one's major, whether the individual liked the class, and related topics. As it turned out, none of these questions predicted whether or not people would cut a class. What predicted that behavior was attitude toward cutting class. People who simply did not cut classes would attend regardless of time, teacher, toughness, etc. People oriented toward cutting class will be more likely to cut even if the class was "easy" or convenient, etc. But with more complex concepts, more information is needed. Just as a doctor will ask multiple questions in order to make a diagnosis which distinguishes between one disease and another, multiple questions related to an underlying concept are more accurate measures of that concept than a single item.The vocabulary of a single item may be misunderstood. People differ in how they respond to scales: some tend to "strongly agree" fairly often, others use that reading fairly infrequently. How one responds to a particular item might have a great deal to do with such transitory characteristics as emotion, fatigue, distractedness., etc. But with multiple items, transitory influences on answers tend to cancel each other out, yielding more "reliable," that is to say repeatable, measures. Note that reliability and validity are not the same thing. The scale may give a similar score to the same person across multiple testings, and thus be reliable, but it may not be a valid measure of the concept in question, e.g., intelligence, or Adventist spirituality. Thus reliability is a necessary but not sufficient condition for validity. The Valuegenesis survey and related surveys use a number of measures which have been "vetted" across multiple studies and groups. These are the scales used in the current Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Survey.

Faith Maturity Scale The Faith Maturity Scale was developed as a measure to be used across a wide range of Protestant denominations: Christians Church, Disciples of Christ; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Presbyterian Church, USA; United Church of Christ; the United Methodist Church, and Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 41

the Southern Baptist Convention. When the North American division approached Search Institute to perform a similar study of the Adventist church, in what was to become known as a Valuegenesis 1, a brief, 12 item version of the original 38-item scale was employed. In Valuegenesis 2 and Valuegenesis 3, the response format of the scale was altered to make it more consistent with other questions in the survey by employing a five-item frequency (never did/always) format. In the current survey, the scale had a mean of 3.99 out of a possible 5 (averaging the score across the 12 items rather than simply summing them). This compares with a mean of 3.8 for pastors across the 6 denominations in the national study in which scale was developed, and a mean of 3.31 for "adults." Thus the adults in this survey scored higher than the pastors in the previous study, a high score. Low, medium, and high were scored at intervals of one third across the range of the scale: low = 2.33 and below, medium = 3.66 and below, and high at greater than 3.66.

Intrinsic Religiousness The intrinsic religiousness scale, developed by Gordon Allport, is among the most widely used scales for the measure of religiousness in American psychology of religion. The basic underlying concept is that intrinsic religion is an end in itself, and is contrasted with extrinsic religion, which is religion as a means to an end such as social acceptance. It has undergone a number of modifications over time, and the version used in this survey is referred to as the "I/E Revised" scale, developed by Gorsuch and McPherson in 1988. It is a subset of the original intrinsic scale items, plus some items that were originally on the extrinsic scale, but which have now been reversed scored. The mean on the I scale was 4.27, with a median of 4.38. Low, medium, and high were scored at intervals of one third across the range of the scale: low = 2.33 and below, medium = 3.66 and below, and high at greater than 3.66 The reliability for the I-R scale in this data set was a somewhat disappointing .68, but nonetheless it was more highly correlated with various measures of Adventist thought than the FMS General Conference Research Team Suggestions for Analysis

Church experience / Pastor 1. Does any age group (Q 1.4) correlate with any reason to attend/remain in the congregation (Q 2.49, Q 2.50), or with perceived importance of certain traits in pastoral leadership (QQ 2.51-2.70) ? See following analysis for percentages

2. Does involvement (Q 2.3)—”How do you consider your involvement in your church” correlate with care of leaders (Q 2.14), and QQ 2.10, 2.11?

Analysis: Yes, this is a high correlation. Q.2.14—The leaders in the Church care about me (0.46) Q2.10—My Sabbath School teachers or leaders know me well (0.45) Q2.11—My pastor knows me well ((0.40) Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 42

3. Does regular church attendance (Q 2.1) correlate with any of church experiences (Q 2.8 through 2.20) and characteristics of pastor (QQ 2.30 – 2.38), and Q 2.74, and “very true” of QQ 3.28-3.38?

Correlations with 2.1 — How often do you attend worship services at your church?

Q.2.8. Programs at my church are interesting 0.22

Q.2.9. Programs at y church make me think 0.21

Q.2.10. My Sabbath School teachers or leaders know me well 0.34

Q.2.11. My pastor knows me well 0.33

Q.2.12. The leaders in the church are warm and friendly 0.24

Q.2.13. I can be myself at church 0.26

Q.2.14. The leaders in our church care about me 0.31

Q.2.15. I look forward to going to programs at my church 0.40

Q.2.17. My Church is helping me grow closer to Christ 0.34

Q.2.18. I attend small group meetings organized by the church 0.42

Q.2.19. I feel uncomfortable/guilty when I do not attend church 0.16 most weekends

Q.2.20. I feel proud of my church and its role and reputation in my 0.21 community

Q.2.30. Pastor enthusiastic about ministry 0.13

Q.2.31. Pastor helpful in times of need 0.25

Q.2.32. Pastor inspiring 0.21

Q.2.33. Pastor occasionally visits members 0.16

Q.2.34. Pastor sensitive to the needs of others 0.20

Q.2.35. Pastor good preacher 0.17

Q.2.36. Pastors shows true spiritual leadership 0.15

Q.2.37. Pastor receptive of new ideas 0.15

Q.2.38. Pastor thorough in pastoral duties 0.20

Q.2.74. Without the support of the worship service in my local 0.06 church, I feel my faith might gradually fade away Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 43

For the correlation of Q.2.1 with QQ3.28-38 some questions were on a 6 point scale and others on a 5 point scale. For most questions 10 or fewer people choose 6. But for Q. 3.36. Over a hundred people used it. Therefore the following correlations we have combined 5 and 6 as responses and are comparing that with all other responses to the questions. Correlations with 2.1 — How often do you attend worship services at your church?

Q.3.28. Church feels warm 0.10

Q.3.29. I learn a lot in church 0.13

Q.3.30. It accepts people who are different 0.03

Q.3.31. Most members want to be challenged to think about 0.02 religious issues and ideas

Q.3.32. It is friendly 0.11

Q.3.33. It challenges my thinking 0.06

Q.2.34. It encourages me to ask questions 0.18

Q.3.35. Strangers feel welcome 0.14

Q.3.36. It expects people to learn and think 0.12

Q.3.37. It stretches me in worship 0.18

Q.3.38. It provides fellowship 0.15

4. Does participation in small groups (Q 2.18) correlate with views on caring and nurture (Q 2.72), and on outreach (Q 2.73)? Q.2.74—Without the support of the worship service in my local chruch, I feel my faith might gradually fade away (0.04) Q.2.73—To what extent would you personally be willing to get more involved in outreach by your congregation? (0.34) (Nominally significant)

5. Do age categories (Q 1.4) (16-30; 31-50; 51-65; over 65) correlate with any important personal traits in pastoral leadership (QQ 2.51-2.70)? No correlations were significant or above 0.12.

6. Does view on support of worship service/faith (any option) (Q2.73) correlate with regular church attendance/preference (QQ 2.1, 2.2), and with characteristics of worship at home (Q 2.7)? Simple correlation provided no correlations of significance

Religious life/Beliefs 1. Do age groups of “younger than 15” and/or “16-30” correlate with QQ 3.52, 3.65, 3.67, 3.70, 3.71, 3.72, 3.73, 3.74? No correlations were significant or above 0.14

2. Does age group of “16-30” correlate with any of QQ 4.1-4.18, 4.22 through 4.27? Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 44

Point-biserial correlations correlating membership in the age groups (yes, no) with the response to the questions. However, no correlations were significant or above 0.11.

3. Does ethnicity (Q 1.1) or country (Q 1.5) correlate with any of QQ 4.21 - 4.27? (The ethnicity data sets were quite small percentages of the total respondents. The Hancock Center Research Team needs to continue the research with oversampling of significant ethnic groups as proposed. Due to summer schedules this will take place in the Fall of 2013 academic year at no cost to the General Conference. A report will be generated by ethnic group and provide to the General Conference when available.

4. Does the response “Adventists born” (Q 1.9) correlate with conformity (Q 3.54), with “pray because have been taught” (Q 3.68), or spirituality (Q 4.27)? No correlation above 0.05

Financial support: 1. Does church attendance (Q 2.1), any level of involvement (Q 2.3), and/or growth in Christ (Q 2.17), and Q 2.71 correlate with support of mission/evangelistic projects (Q 2.25, 2.26)? No significant correlations 2. Does 13th Sabbath offering correlate with the age groups (could be combined in bigger blocks) (Q 1.4), involvement in the church (Q 2.3)? (First a scatterplot to see if the relation of age with each question is basically linear. If not, analyses of variance with age as the independent variable and the individual question means as the dependent variables will let us know if there are any significant differences between the age groups. Given our large sample size, issues of family-wise significance levels (e.g., the Bonferroni correction) should not be a problem. The unique analyses of MANOVAs are not our concern here). 2.27. 13th Sabbath

16-30 -0.13 31-50 -0.08 51-65 -0.02 over 65 0.01 2.3. involved? 0.20

3. Does support of Christian education by donations (Q 2.23) and/or support for the local church school correlate to education received in SDA schools (any level) (Q 1.8)? See analysis below 2.23. Church ed 2.28. church school

1.8. No -0.11 -0.11 1.8. some grammar -0.04 -0.04 1.8 all grammar 0.07 0.05 1.8. Some junior HS 0.03 0.01 1.8. Some HS 0.08 0.08 1.8. College 0.22 0.16 1.11. SDA job 0.16 0.14 Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 45

College education is strongest, but not particularly strong.

4. Does support through tithe (Q 2.21) correlate with age (Q 1.4), ethnicity (Q 1.1), number of years as a baptized member (Q 1.10), Adventist from birth (Q 1.9), or any positive experience with the church (QQ 2.8-2.20)? (Simple correlation) These correlations are fairly high: Q2.25 Q2.26 Q2.1 0.27 0.34 2.3 0.34 0.37 2.17 0.28 0.33 2.71 0.19 0.15

Q3.39. Note: A good single item measure of religious commitment. See analysis below

Q3.40 to 3.50. These are the items of the Faith Maturity Scale and should be scored appropriately. (See comments below regarding the Faith Maturity Scale).

Q3.51 to 3.70. These are the items of the intrinsic (51, 55, 56, 58, 60, 61, 66, 69) and extrinsic (52, 53, 54, 57, 59, 62, 63, 65, 67, 68, 70) Religious Orientation Scales. Entire set of 20 should be factor analyzed and then I and E should be factor analyzed separately. There are a number of psychometric issues here that I will be happy to assist with, notably a three-factor solution for E, and some cross loading between I and E depending on how they are worded. (See comments below regarding the Intrinsic/Extrinsic Religious Orientation Scale).

Q3.71 to 3.74. These should be factor analyzed by the possible unitary personal devotion scale. Obviously, one issue will be whether the Ellen White and family worship items formed separate factors or load with the other. (See analysis below).

Specific Information about Scales used in the Church Member Research

Faith Maturity Scale (QQ 3.40-3.51) Items 1-12 have the following response options: (1) never; (2) rarely, (3) once in a while; (4) sometimes; (5) often. 3.40. I help others with their religious questions and struggles. 3.41. I seek out opportunities to help me grow spiritually. 3.42. I feel a deep sense of responsibility for reducing pain and suffering in the world. 3.43. I give significant portions of time and money to help other people. 3.44. I feel God's presence in my relationships with other people. 3.45. I feel my life is filled with meaning and purpose. 3.46. I show that I care a great deal about reducing poverty in my country and throughout the world. 3.47. I apply my faith to political and social issues. 3.48. The things I do reflect a commitment to Jesus Christ. 3.49. I talk with other people about my faith. 3.50. I have a real sense that God is guiding me. 3.51. I am spiritually moved by the beauty of God's creation. Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 46

Comments This scale was originally developed as a broadly-based interdenominational measure, consisting of some 38 items, and it appeared in that form in the first Valuegenesis survey. Later psychometric analysis indicated that an equivalent scale could be composed of 12 core items (Benson, Donahue & Erikson, 1993). This latter scale was used in the "short form" employed as a survey service after the primary Valuegenesis reports had been issued.

Unfortunately, there were still shortcomings with the format of both the questions and the available responses. The available responses were expressed in terms of a seven-point frequency scale (never to always), and several of the items themselves contained qualifiers ("always"). In addition, not all the items were written in the first person. The present version of the scale corrects both shortcomings.

The Faith Maturity Scale had reliabilities of .81 (6th grade girls) to .88 (11th grade boys).

A high scale score was an average of 5.0 or high on the scale items; a low scale score was an average of 3.0 or lower on the scale items; all other scores were classified medium.

Congregational Climate Scale

Think about the local church that you attend. How true of your church are each of these statements? (Mark one for each.)

Items 3.28-3.38 have the following response options: (1) I do not attend church; (2) Not all the time; (3) Slightly true; (4) Somewhat true; (5) Quite true; (6) Very true

Q3.28. It feels warm. Q3.29. I learn a lot. Q3.30. It accepts people who are different. Q3.31. Most members want to be challenged to think about religious issues and ideas. Q3.32. It is friendly. Q3.33. It challenges my thinking. Q3.34. It encourages me to ask questions. Q3.35. Strangers feel welcome. Q3.36. It expects people to learn and think. Q3.37. It stretches me in worship. Q3.38. It provides fellowship.

Comment These items were used to create two measures of congregational "climate"; the degree to which one's congregation, as a whole, is perceived as having particular characteristics. One scale is called "congregational warmth" and consists of items 3.28, 3.30, 3.32, 3.35, and 3.38. The other was called "thinking climate" and consisted of items 3.29, 3.31, 3.33, 3.34, 3.36, and 3.37.

The reliability of the Congregational Warmth Scale ranged from .80 (7th grade boys) to .92 (12th grade girls).

The reliability of the Thinking Climate Scale ranged from .82 (6th grade boys) to .92 (12th grade girls).

In all cases, these statistics were calculated by first recoding the response (1) I do not attend church as "missing"; those who chose that answer were excluded from the analysis. Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 47

Intrinsic/Extrinsic Religious Orientation Scale

Indicate how much you disagree or agree with these statements. Choose from these answers: (1) I strongly disagree; (2) I tend to disagree; (3) I'm not sure; (4) I tend to agree; (5) I strongly agree

Q3.51. I enjoy reading about my religion. Q3.52. I go to church because it helps me to make friends. Q3.53. It doesn't much matter what I believe so long as I am good. Q3.54. Sometimes I have to ignore my religious beliefs because of what people might think of me. Q3.55. It is important to me to spend time in private thought and prayer. Q3.56. I have often had a strong sense of God's presence. Q3.57. I pray mainly to gain relief and protection. Q3.58. I try hard to live all my life according to my religious beliefs. Q3.59. What religion offers me most is comfort in times of trouble and sorrow. Q3.60. My religion is important because it answers many questions about the meaning of life. Q3.61. I would rather join a Bible study group than a church social group. Q3.62. Prayer is for peace and happiness. Q3.63. Although I am religious, I don't let it affect my daily life. Q3.65. I go to church mostly to spend time with my friends. Q3.66. My whole approach to life is based on my religion. Q3.67. I go to church mainly because I enjoy seeing people I know there. Q3.68. I pray mainly because I have been taught to pray. Q3.69. Prayers I say when I'm alone are as important to me as those I say in church. Q3.70. Although I believe in my religion, many other things are more important in life. Q2.2. I would prefer to go to church: (1) A few times a year or less; (2) Once every month or two; (3) Two or three times a month; (4) About once a week; (5) More than once a week Comment

The measures of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Religious Orientation and scales derived from them are among the most frequently used scales in the psychology of religion (for a basic review, see Donahue, 1985). Factor analysis indicated the presence of two separate factors corresponding to intrinsic and extrinsic religiousness. Item analysis indicated that for this Adventist population, the scales were best constructed as follows:

Intrinsic Religious Orientation, 3.51, 3.55, 3.56, 3.58, 3.60, 3.66, 2.2

Extrinsic Religious Orientation, 3.52, 3.53, 3.54, 3.63, 3.65, 3.67, 3.68. It should be noted that because the population involved were adolescents, rather than the adults on whom the scale was originally developed, an item measuring how often the students would prefer to attend church was used, rather than a measure of actual church attendance.

In the Valuegenesis 3 research the Intrinsic Religious Orientation Scale had reliabilities from .78 (6th grade girls) to .85 (8th grade boys).

Also, in the Valuegenesis 3 research the Extrinsic Religious Orientation Scale had reliabilities from .70 (10th grade girls) to .78 (6th grade boys)

Some research has also used a fourfold taxonomy based on splitting both scales into "high" and "low." It has been found that while those who score high on the Intrinsic Religious Orientation Scale and low on the Extrinsic Religious Orientation Scale, know as “intrinsics” show the benefits of devout (low in prejudice and dogmatism, for example), those who score score high on both scales, known as “pro-religious” display the Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 48

opposite characteristics. (Those who score low on both scales are called “nonreligious,” and those who score low on the Intrinsic Religious Orientation Scale and high on the Extrinsic Religious Orientation Scale are known as “extrinsics.” In the Valuegenesis 2 & 3 reports, these high-low splits were taken by using the midpoints of the scales (rather than using mean or median splits).

Other interesting correlations

(1) Religious not Spiritual (2) Spiritual not Religious FMS = Faith Maturity Scale Int = Intrinsic Religious

Spiritual vs. Religious Correlations

Item R not S S not R Both Neither FMS (3) Int (1) (2)

Q.4.22. Investigative .---- 0.20 23 0.16 0.10 0.33 Judgment

Q4.23. End-time .---- .--- .--- .------0.28 prophecies

Q.4.24. EGW .---- 0.21 0.27 0.17 0.19 0.41

Q.4.25. Healthy .---- .--- .--- .--- 0.17 0.29 living

Q.4.26. Modesty/ .---- 0.11 0.14 .--- 0.22 0.39 Simplicity

Thinking Warmth Intrinsic FMS Gender Age Church climate Climate religious attendance

Warm 0.68 Int 0.24 0.19 FMS 0.27 0.21 0.56 Gender -0.03 0.02 0.04 -0.05 Age 0.13 0.15 0.21 0.20 0.01 attend 0.12 0.18 0.17 0.16 -0.07 0.06 church Ed -0.04 -0.06 0.02 0.16 -0.08 0.13 0.03 Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 49

FMS I E Warm Thin Like

Intrinsic 0.55

Extrinsic -0.20 0.00

Warm 0.21 0.19 0.01 climate

Thinking 0.28 0.24 0.05 0.67 climate

Like 0.32 0.33 -0.06 0.62 0.68

SDA 0.19 0.40 -0.10 0.13 0.07 0.26

FMS - Faith Maturity Scale I = Intrinsic Religion E = Extrinsic Religion Warm = Warm Climate Think = Thinking Climate Like = Items 2.8, 2.9, 2.12, 2.13, 2.15, 2.16, 2.17, 2.18, 2.20 SDA = Items 4.22, 4.24-4.26

SDA Like Thinking Warmth Extrinsic Intrinsic FMS Beliefs Programs Climate Climate Religion Religion

SDA Beliefs (Q4.22, Q4.24-4.26) Like 0.31 Programs Thinking 0.12 0.68 Climate Warmth 0.16 0.62 0.67 Climate Extrinsic -0.14 -0.06 0.05 0.01 Religion Intrinsic 0.45 0.33 0.24 0.19 0.00 Religion

FMS 0.23 0.32 0.28 0.21 -0.20 0.55 The correlations are estimated by REML Method. Note. These are recalculated setting “Not important to missing.” (There were 294 missing values) Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 50

Note: Below this rubric was used: low = 1 to 2.3; medium = 2.3 to 3.6; high = 3.6 to 5

Faith Maturity Scale Quality click 1 2 FMS HML Column % Column % Low 0.65% 2.07% Medium 25.81% 25.19% High 73.55% 72.74% Insights: No difference between whether or not they correctly responded to the "quality check" question inserted in the survey. 1.4. How old are you? 2 31-50 51-65 oer 65 FMS High/Medium/Low Column % Column % Column % Low 0.63% 1.48% 0.00% Medium 25.00% 27.68% 19.32% High 74.38% 70.85% 80.68%

1.4. How old are you? 2 31-50 51-65 oer 65 Intrinsic R Column % Column % Column % Low 0.00% 0.39% 0.00% Medium 13.64% 15.23% 7.65% High 86.36% 84.38% 92.35%

Insights: Both show a "curvilear" relationship with age. 1.9. SDA from birth? Yes No FMS HML Column % Column % Low 2.03% 1.33% Medium 26.08% 24.00% High 71.90% 74.67% 1.3. SDA from birth? Yes No Intrinsic R Column % Column % Low 0.53%% 0.71 Medium 12.20% 9.22% High 87.27% 90.07% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 51

1.2. Gender? Male Female FMS HML Column % Column % Low 1.98% 1.53% Medium 26.73% 23.98% High 71.29% 74.49%

Column % 1.2. Gender? Intrinsic R Male Female Low 0.34% 0.54% Medium 15.86% 11.11% High 83.79% 88.35%

Insights: As always, women higher on measures of general religiousness 2.3. Involved? Nonparticipant Observer Casual Active Leader participant participant FMS HML Column % Column % Column % Column % Column % Low 8.33% 11.43% 3.55% 0.36% 0.00% Medium 37.50% 45.71% 39.72% 23.21% 13.49% High 54.17% 42.86% 56.74% 76.43% 86.51%

Column % 2.3. Involved? Intrinsic R Nonparticipant Observer Casual Active Leader participant participant Low 4.55% 3.03% 0.00% 0.39% 0.00% Medium 36.36% 24.24% 27.74% 8.59% 5.21% High 59.09% 72.73% 72.26% 91.02% 94.79% Column % 4.27. Attitude toward religion and spirituality? FMS HML Religious not Spiritual not Both Neither Spiritual Religious Low 5.88% 1.54% 0.90% 20.00% Medium 55.88% 33.85% 22.44% 46.67% High 38.24% 64.62% 76.66% 33.33% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 52

4.27. Attitude toward religion and spirituality? Religious not Spiritual not Both Neither Spiritual Religious Intrinsic R Column % Column % Column % Column % Low 0.00% 1.69% 0.00% 13.33% Medium 39.39% 38.98% 7.79% 46.67% High 60.61% 59.32% 92.21% 40.00%

Insights: Difference bewteen response pattern in scales: "R not S" more likely to be high on I-R; this may be due to a ceratin "Liberal Protestant" bent to FMS, and therefore a preference for "S not R"

FMS HML (High/Medium/Low)

Low Medium High

Intrinsic R % of Total % of Total % of Total

Low 0.30% 0.15% 0.00% Medium 0.76% 7.76% 4.72% High 0.61% 17.50% 68.19% THESE ARE TOTAL PERCENTS, NOT COLUMN PERCENTS.

Insights: 76.25% of the cases are on the main diagonal; same rating on both scales. The main "deviation" is the 17.50% who are High on I but Medium on FMS.

FMS Intrinsic R Es Ep

1.2. Gender? -0.0504 0.0588 -0.1411 0.0096 1.3. Baptized SDA? 0.0969 0.092 -0.035 -0.056 1.6. Attended church last year? 0.1679 0.2540 -0.0398 -0.0083 2.3. Involved? 0.3733 0.3153 -0.0151 -0.0727 Support your church with donations? 0.1688 0.1723 -0.0819 -0.0134 2.21. Tithe> 0.1824 0.2938 -0.1425 0.0294

Insights: Here are the correlations of FMS and I-R with various variables. Note that I-R is the more "Adventist" scale; it correlates more highly with other scales of interest. Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 53

FMS Intrinsic R

Warm climate 0.2098 0.1450 Thinking climate 0.2761 0.1650 Like programs 0.3200 0.3156 4.22. Investigative judgment in 1844 0.1135 0.4161 4.26. Modesty in dress 0.2233 0.434 4.25. Healthful living 0.1676 0.336 4.24. E.G. White inspired 0.1832 0.4555 4.16. "Present truth" -0.0881 0.0938 Insights: Note again: I-R is more "Adventist"

Thinking and Warmth Scales Please note that these comparisons are not equivalent to the FMS or I-R h.m.l tables. In that case, all respondents are being rated on the basis of a single common scale. In these comparisons, the thing being rated is a program, which changes from person to person. So the program being rated high on warmth by persons of age 65 and up IS NOT the same program as that being rated by the next person age 65 and up. Thus, this is essentially a MEAN rating so the warmth experienced by all persons age 65 and up. In addition, presumably the programing differs by age and gender, and perceptions of what is considered a "thinking program" will differ by education, etc. This should be kept in mind while considering these ratings.

1.4. How old are you? 2 31-50 51-65 oer 65 Thinking climate Column % Column % Column % Low 14.01% 11.63% 9.09% Medium 36.31% 34.11% 31.82% High 49.68% 54.26% 59.09%

1.4. How old are you? 2 31-50 51-65 oer 65 Warm climate Column % Column % Column % Low 5.03% 6.92% 3.94% Medium 19.50% 23.08% 11.82% High 75.47% 70.00% 84.24% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 54

1.9. SDA from birth? Yes No Thinking climate Column % Column % Low 12.04% 11.62% Medium 33.51% 35.21% High 54.45% 53.17%

1.9. SDA from birth? Yes No Warm climate Column % Column % Low 5.45% 6.51% Medium 18.96% 17.81% High 75.58% 75.68%

1.1. Ethnicity (See ethnicity note below) Black White East Asian Latin Hispanic South Asian Other Thinking Column % Column % Column % Column % Column % Column % climate Low 13.04% 11.24% 14.58% 13.51% 9.09% 20.00% Medium 47.83% 32.95% 45.83% 32.43% 40.91% 20.00% High 39.13% 55.81% 39.58% 54.05% 50.00% 60.00%

1.1. Ethnicity Black White East Asian Latin Hispanic South Asian Other Warm climate Column % Column % Column % Column % Column % Column % Low 11.54% 4.96% 13.04% 5.13% 9.09% 5.00% Medium 23.08% 18.13% 19.57% 23.08% 13.64% 15.00% High 65.38% 76.91% 67.39% 71.79% 77.27% 80.00%

1.2. Gender? Male Female Thinking climate Column % Column % Low 11.60% 12.06% Medium 32.42% 35.66% High 55.97% 52.28% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 55

1.2. Gender? Male Female Warm climate Column % Column % Low 6.12% 5.74% Medium 19.73% 17.49% High 74.15% 76.76%

2.21. Tithe Never Seldom Sometimes Often Always Thinking climate Column % Column % Column % Column % Column % Low 21.74% 11.76% 3.03% 14.29% 10.02% Medium 34.78% 41.18% 54.55% 28.57% 34.07% High 43.48% 47.06% 42.42% 57.14% 55.91%

2.21. Tithe Never Seldom Sometimes Often Always Warm climate Column % Column % Column % Column % Column % Low 4.35% 17.65% 5.71% 10.20% 4.75% Medium 21.74% 17.65% 22.86% 16.33% 16.83% High 73.91% 64.71% 71.43% 73.47% 78.42%

4.27. Attitude toward religion and spirituality? Religious not Spiritual not Both Neither Spiritual Religious Thinking climate Column % Column % Column % Column % Low 6.25% 21.67% 11.17% 23.08% Medium 28.13% 36.67% 33.71% 46.15% High 65.63% 41.67% 55.12% 30.77%

4.27. Attitude toward religion and spirituality? Religious not Spiritual not Both Neither Spiritual Religious Warm climate Column % Column % Column % Column % Low 2.94% 6.45% 5.93% 0.00% Medium 17.65% 29.03% 17.22% 26.67% High 79.41% 64.52% 76.85% 73.33% Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 56

2.3. Involved? Nonparticipant Observer Casual Active Leader participant participant Thinking climate Column % Column % Column % Column % Column % Low 47.62% 9.38% 14.18% 9.43% 10.28% Medium 33.33% 46.88% 35.07% 36.23% 29.44% High 19.05% 43.75% 50.75% 54.34% 60.28%

2.3. Involved? Nonparticipant Observer Casual Active Leader participant participant Warm climate Column % Column % Column % Column % Column % Low 19.05% 14.71% 7.41% 4.04% 4.65% Medium 42.86% 38.24% 23.70% 16.54% 12.09% High 38.10% 47.06% 68.89% 79.41% 83.26% 1.2. Gender? Male Female 2.49. f What originally brought you ? Column % Column % _The minister No 75.44% 75.94% Yes 24.56% 24.06% Column % 1.4. How old are you? 2 2.49. f What originally 31-50 51-65 oer 65 brought you ?_The minister No 78.79% 75.08% 73.80% Yes 21.21% 24.92% 26.20% Insights Little difference by age or gender; some tendency for the minister to be a little more important by age. Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 57

Correlations regarding liking church and caring leadership with regards to “Spiritual” and “Religious” by age.

I like church Leaders like me

S=Spiritual R=Religious

Neither R nor S -0.0995 -0.0831

Both S and R 0.2119 0.1457

S not R 0.2111 0.1668

R not S -0.0109 0.0316

age over 65 0.0555 0.0943

age 51-65 -0.0046 -0.1086 age 31-50 -0.1132 -0.0392 age 16-30 -0.0840 -0.0254

Insights There are 157 missing values. Not much relation to age.

I like church Leaders like me

Thinking climate 0.5872 0.5031 Warm climate 0.5430 0.5651

FMS 0.2963 0.3112

Intrinsic R 0.3187 0.2379

Es -0.0603 0.0251 Ep 0.0486 0.0293

Note: Es and Ep are the two “new” extrinsic scale identifiers. Based on Kirkpatrick’s analysis that “E” breaks out into multiple factors. For example, Ep is an extrinsic personal religion for “relief and protection; see 3.57, 3.59, 3. 62. Ep is “extrinsic social;” See 3.52, 3.65, 3.67, 3.68, 3.70. I-R is intrinsic revised, and includes dome reverse-scored items.

Insights There are strong correlations with regards to the Thinking Scale and the Warmth Scale Some correlation with the Faith Maturity Scale and the Intrinsic R scale Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 58

Due to the small percentage of numbers in the ethnic categories we recommend the oversampling we suggested in our proposal and the proposed schedule.

1.1. Ethnicity

Black White East Asian Latin Hispanic South Asian Other

FMS HML Column % Column % Column % Column % Column % Column %

Low 7.14% 1.49% 0.00% 2.50% 0.00% 5.00%

Medium 25.00% 24.91% 19.15% 30.00% 40.91% 20.00%

High 67.86% 73.61% 80.85% 67.50% 59.09% 75.00%

1.1. Ethnicity Black White East Asian Latin Hispanic South Asian Other

Intrinsic R Column % Column % Column % Column % Column % Column % Low 0.00% 0.59% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Medium 8.33% 13.11% 11.63% 17.95% 13.64% 15.00% High 91.67% 86.30% 88.37% 82.05% 86.36% 85.00%

References

Benson, P. L., Donahue, M. J., & Erickson, J. A. (1993). The Faith Maturity Scale: Conceptualization, measurement, and empirical validation. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, 5, 1- 26

Donahue, M. J. (1985). Intrinsic and extrinsic religiousness: Review and meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 400-419.

Gorsuch, R. L. (1976). Research and evaluation: Their role in decision making in the religious setting. Review of Religious Research, 17, 93-101.

Osgood, C. E., Suci, G. J., & Tannebaum, P. H. (1957). The Measurement of Meaning. Urbana: University of Illinois Press Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 59

7. Insights/observations Insights drawn from this research have been provided throughout the document, usually at the close of each section. Observations of individual items in the survey have been noted and the percentages speak for themselves as one reviews the frequencies in the main document and Appendix 7.2 where the gender split s are provided in its entirety.

7.1 Tables and Figures Index Table 1 — Survey questions and types ...... 4 Table 2 — Data Collection Prcess...... 4 Table 3 — Q1.5. How old are you? ...... 7 Table 4 — Quality of church religious education frequencies ...... 14 Table 5 — Important personal traits of pastoral leadership ...... 20 Table 6 — Understanding members’ faith growth ...... 22 Table 7 — Climate Scale frequencies ...... 23 Table 8 — Faith Maturity Scale items ...... 25

Figure 1 — Q1.1. How do you describe yourself? Figure 2 — Q1.2. Gender Figure 3 — Q1.3. Baptized SDA member Figure 4 — Q1.4. Age Figure 5 — Q1.6. Church attendance last year Figure 6 — Q1.7. School level completed Figure 7 — Q1.8. SDA school attendance Figure 8 — Q1.9. Adventist from birth Figure 9 — Q1.10. How long Adventist Figure 10 — Q1.11. Employment SDA Figure 11 — Q2.4. Church satisfaction on a 10-point scale Figure 12 — Q2.18. Small group meeting attendance Figure 13 — Support for the local church Figure 14 — 4 and 5 on a 5-point scale (Perception of local ministry) Figure 15 — Regarding local church leadership statements are “Rarely true” or “Never true” Figure 16 — Reasons to join and remain in the church (Descending order) Figure 17 — Key pastoral traits ...... 21 Figure 18 — Key components of your religious life ...... 22 Figure 19 — Personal committment timeline ...... 23 Figure 20 — Q3.71. Reading the Bible...... 30 Figure 21 — Q3.72. Engage in personal devotions ...... 30 Figure 22 — Q3.73. Reading Ellen G. White ...... 30 Figure 23 — Q3.74. Family worshipo away from church ...... 31 Seventh-day Adventist Church Member Research Hancock Center for Youth & Family Ministry North American Division Page 60

Figure 24 — Q4.1. God love everyone ...... 31 Figure 25 — Q4.2. I believe in a personal God...... 31 Figure 26 — Q4.3. Two kinds of people in the world ...... 32 Figure 27 — Q4.4. Christianity is about Jesus ...... 32 Figure 28 — Q4.5. Saved the moment I believe and accept...... 32 Figure 29 — Q4.6. Jesus born of a virgin ...... 32 Figure 30 — Q4.7. SDA church, God’s last day church ...... 33 Figure 31 — Q4.8 No teaching or Scripture, completely without error ...... 33 Figure 32 — Q4.9. Of all people, one group has special relationship with God ...... 33 Figure 33 — Q4.10 Relationship with Jesus important/Law ...... 33 Figure 34 — Q4.11. World to end in next 20 years ...... 34 Figure 35 — Q4.12. Baptized and remain good ...... 34 Figure 36 — Q4.13. Creation in 6 days/24 hours/recent past ...... 34 Figure 37 — Q4.14. God created the world ...... 34 Figure 38 — Q4.15. Saved, but need baptism into church ...... 35 Figure 39 — Q4.16. Present truth ...... 35 Figure 40 — Q4.17. Sabbath is Saturday ...... 35 Figure 41 — Q4.18. State of dead ...... 35 7.3 Licensing I, the author of this work, hereby publish it under the following licenses: Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document with the permission of the General Conference Office of Research, Silver Spring, MD. and the John Hancock Center for Youth and Family Ministry, Riverside, CA.

8. Appendix 8.1 Gender Frequencies (A) 8.2 Survey Instrument (B) Here is a complete copy of the research instrument with special notation as to the additions,changes, and/or modifications to the suggested General Conference Research Survey Instrument. Appendix page numbering is independent of the main report.