Territorial Young Adult Research Project

THE TERRITORIAL YOUNG ADULT RESEARCH PROJECT

INTRODUCTION

In October 2007, The Canada and Bermuda Territory began a research project with the hopes of gaining an understanding of the rates and causes of young adult attrition across the Territory. The project was designed to meet the following goals: 1.

2.

3.

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to investigate the rates of attrition among Salvationists in the 16-35 age bracket to compare these rates with those of other denominations to determine if there are discernible patterns or causes of this attrition. to recommend action that can be taken to address the issue.

A four part approach was adopted in order to achieve these goals.

1. A literature review of recent research on trends in young adult church affiliation.

2. A ministry-unit survey, which attempted to paint a statistical picture of patterns of attrition on the grassroots level.

3. A set of three young adult surveys, aimed at gauging the opinions of young adults regarding their experiences in the Army (one for those attending an Army corps; one for former Army attenders who now attend another church; one for former Army attenders who do not attend any church 4. A series of interviews and focus groups with young adults, practitioners, and stakeholders across the Territory.

What follows is a complete summary of the research project, presented in a series of four reports, as follows.

Report 1: Literature Review…………………………………………………... Page 2 Report 2: Demographic Trends in Attrition and Retention…………………… Page 15 Report 3: Young Adult Opinion Research…………………………………….

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Report 4: Interview Themes…………………………………………………... Page 87 Recommendations……………………………………………………………..

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Shorter versions of the reports on demographic trends and opinion research have been produced, and are available upon request from the Corps Ministries Department.

TERRITORIAL YOUNG ADULT RESEARCH PROJECT

REPORT 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

INTRODUCTION While there is a significant amount of literature on the sociology of religion in North America, much of the literature deals with the United States, and the existing studies of Canadian Christianity tend to look at the big picture of “denominational families.” Most researchers and theorists seem to agree that North American Christianity will continue to see a decline in denominational loyalty, a growing “free market” religious landscape, and a renewed focus on the local congregation in the coming years. While Church attendance has declined in recent decades, there is a resurgent openness to spirituality among younger generations, and many of those who are no longer active in a church continue to identify with their religious upbringing or background.

The findings of these general studies are important, and help us to situate the trends we are seeing in The Salvation Army in a larger context. However, we cannot presume that they tell us the specific Salvationist story. The Salvation Army is a very small denomination, and in some ways, it does not fit the traditional categories of “evangelical” and “mainline” denominations.

Recent trends in Canada and Bermuda actually suggest that, in terms of attendance, The Salvation Army is closer to a mainline denomination than an evangelical denomination.

In relation to The Salvation Army in particular, some preliminary research has been conducted in the UK, and some informal research has been carried out in Canada. No systematic and large scale study has been done on the issue of attrition. This study will be the first attempt to assess in detail the issue of the retention of young adults in The Salvation Army.

GENERAL TRENDS AND THEORIES Many contemporary Christian commentators believe the Church in Western society is in the midst of a massive shift. For some time, people have been predicting a “new reformation” in the Church, suggesting that we are entering a post-denominational era, and that a new “form” of church is emerging which is reinventing the way Christianity is practiced.1 These theories are most likely overstated, and only time and the hindsight of history will tell us if contemporary trends are going to produce lasting changes in the Church’s life. However, without speculating about whether or not we are entering a “new reformation,” we can still identify certain significant changes which are relevant to the issue of retaining young adults in The Salvation Army: 1. The Post-Constantinian Era: Ever since the conversion of Constantine in 312 A.D. and the Edict of Milan, which legalized Christianity in 313, Church and State have been 1

For example, Lyle Schaller, The New Reformation (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995).

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interwoven in ways that have radically shaped the Church’s life. For centuries, Christianity has been aligned with the powers-that-be in the West, and this has had its advantages and disadvantages. It led to the establishment of “Christendom,” where Christianity became the official state religion, and people were considered Christians simply by virtue of the time and place they were born. Even after official enforcement of Christianity ended in the modern era, the sense of being part of a “Christian nation” has remained strong, along with the idea that people are Christian by birth and family heritage. It is only in the past few decades that this relationship between state and Church has really started to fall apart, and we are now transitioning into a time when Christianity no longer dominates the culture. Many Christians are even trying to move past the ideal of the “Christian nation” and embracing an understanding of the Church as a counter-cultural minority. Fewer and fewer people consider themselves Christians by birth, and those who are born into Christian families are less likely to feel obligated to maintain family religious affiliation.

2. The “Free Market” of Religious Consumption: while we may not like to think of faith in terms of a free market, many analysts suggest that this is the best way to understand religious behaviour in North America today. Individuals in our society increasingly view their faith as a consumer product, and consider themselves free to “shop around” for the product that suits their tastes and needs. Not only this, but many churches have taken the same view of the situation, and understand their mission as “marketing” their message to a certain audience or demographic. This means that various local churches are competing for members. We certainly would not endorse this “free market” perspective as theologically normative, however, we must admit that there is some truth to the idea that Christianity has become consumerized in our culture. We should also note that while the trend toward consumerization is more extreme in the United States, the Canadian scene has many of the same features.

3. Declining denominational loyalty: denominational loyalty is clearly not what it used to be. Most contemporary Christians are not concerned with denominational identity, and many think nothing of changing denominations. The Salvation Army has resisted this trend somewhat, due to its high degree of denominational distinctiveness, its strong internal culture, and the ethic of loyalty which has been part of the militaristic Salvationist tradition. However, these bonds are evaporating even in the ranks of the Army. While there still seems to be stability among denominational families (i.e., evangelicals, mainliners, Roman Catholics), within the evangelical church in particular there is a great deal of “circulation” taking place between the membership of various denominations.

4. Focus on the local congregation: Most believers today are more focused on finding a good local congregation to attend than finding a congregation within their particular denomination of origin. Along with this “congregationalization” comes a renewed emphasis on community, enjoying corporate life together, and local church fellowship.

This means that many local churches are downplaying denominational distinctives, and avoiding formerly contested doctrinal issues, so that the transition from one denomination

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to another is made easier. Their focus is rather on creating a congregational culture that is welcoming and open.

5. Convergence of traditions: there is a great deal of openness among contemporary Christians toward aspects of spirituality and faith from other traditions. This is particularly true of the so-called “emerging church,” but there is also a sense among the broader Christian population that there is great benefit to be gained from the wisdom of the whole Church catholic, including its various historical forms.2 We thus have evangelicals who are interested in spiritual direction, a typically Catholic discipline. We have the emergence of Taizé prayer as a worldwide ecumenical phenomenon. There is also an openness to the use of formal liturgy, meditation, the lectio divina and so forth among younger evangelicals. This openness signifies a recognition among contemporary Christians that no one part of the Church possesses the fullness of Christian faith.

Therefore, in search of deep and vibrant spirituality, believers are coming to value the diversity of traditions, and to value the legacy of Christians of other denominations, which further lessens old-school denominational loyalty, which was often based on prejudice and arrogance.

These are some of the key trends in North American Christianity that are relevant to the issue of retaining young adults in The Salvation Army in Canada and Bermuda. However, these trends don’t tell the whole story, and it should be remembered that different contexts within Canada and Bermuda these trends will show up in different ways. Some congregations, for example, will show much more of the “consumer” church trend than the “convergence” trend. Another difference is found in the fact that there is much less denominational variety (and therefore less “consumer” options) in Newfoundland than there is in a major urban centre like Toronto. Rural settings in general may not have been touched by these trends as strongly. Still, identifying these trends should help us understand some of the things that are happening in the Territory as a whole.

RETENTION AND ATTRITION: PATTERNS AND ISSUES Research dating back to the 1960s has demonstrated that theologically conservative churches tend to hold their membership levels better than mainline denominations.3 Data from the General Social Survey in the United States from the 1970s through the end of the 1980s showed conservative Protestant denominations consistently retaining over 80% of their membership, compared to percentages in the sixties for liberal mainline denominations.4 Some have even argued that the trend goes further back, into the early 20th century. In a recent study, Andrew Greeley and Michael Hout argue that conservative churches have been gaining members for over seventy-five years, long before the “liberalization” of mainline churches which took place in the 2

This has been discussed extensively by Robert Webber, in his books The Younger Evangelicals (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), and Ancient-Future Faith (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999). Webber is not only documenting the trend, but making a theological case for embracing it.

3 C. Kirk Hadaway and Penny Long Marker, “All in the Family: Religious Mobility in America,” Review of Religious Research 35/2 (December 1993), 97.

4 Ibid., 102.

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1960s.5 Some suggest that conservative Protestants are not doing any better at actually attracting outsiders than mainline denominations, and that most of the membership continues to be sustained from within the conservative Protestant population. Along these lines, Greeley and Hout posit that the real reasons for the advantage of conservative churches over mainline church are a “demographic edge,” by which they mean a tendency for families in conservative churches to have more children, and the fact that conservative churches possess an “attraction for the already converted.”6 In Canada, Reginald Bibby has argued that the percentage of Canadians who self-identify as conservative Protestants has remained roughly constant since 1871, at about 8% of the total population.7 Numerical growth has taken place, but this growth has basically kept pace with the growth of the population as a whole. Bibby, widely acknowledged to be the leading authority on religious trends in Canada, has changed his perspective over the course of his career, from sounding alarm bells with his first two major books, Fragmented Gods and Unknown Gods, to pointing to signs of hope in 2002’s Restless Gods. Bibby has been noting the significant declines in share of the population among all religious groups, even going back to the supposed “golden age” of the 1950s, a time in which the statistics tell us that no religious group saw a proportional increase in their share of the population.8 His optimism in Restless Gods comes primarily from his assertion that people are not actually “leaving” their religion. What Bibby means by this is that the people who “drop out” of denominations tend to continue to “identify” with that denomination, even if they are no longer active members.9 His findings are supported by those of Rosalind Fane, who found that in Britain, self-assigned religious affiliation was a significant indicator of a wide variety of social behaviours, beliefs, and attitudes, even if such affiliation was not accompanied by regular attendance.10 Bibby also found that many of these “dropouts” who continue to identify with their religion were open to becoming involved with the church at a future date, and that this openness was particularly strong among 18-34 year old protestants.11 Another way to look at this situation is to use the “market” analogy, and say that “demand” has continued to be high for religion, but the “supply” side is experiencing some difficulties. People are interested in spiritual matters, but they aren’t necessarily buying what the Churches are selling. Bibby’s practical suggestion arising out of this is that churches should focus more on this “ongoing identification” and try to find ways to capitalize on it, for example, by reaching out to former members.12 However,

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Andrew Greeley and Michael Hout, The Truth About Conservative Christians (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006). Most seem to imply that the onset of “liberalization” coincided with the beginning of mainline decline.

6 Greeley and Hout, The Truth About Conservative Christians, 112.

7 Reginald Bibby, Restless Gods: the Renaissance of Religion in Canada (Toronto: Stoddart, 2002), 72.

8 Reginald Bibby, Fragmented Gods: the Poverty and Potential of Religion in Canada (Toronto: Stoddart, 1987), 14.

9 Bibby, Restless Gods, 46ff.

10 Rosalind Fane, “Is Self-Assigned Religious Affiliation Socially Significant?” in Leslie Francis, Ed., Theology, Sociology, and the Curriculum (London: Cassell, 1999): 113-124.

11 Bibby, Restless Gods, 51.

12 For example, see chapters 6 and 7 of Restless Churches: How Canada’s Churches can Contribute to the Emerging Religious Renaissance (Ottawa: Novalis, 2004); Although Bibby’s Restless Gods sounded a new note in his assessment of the religious situation in Canada, he had already proposed a similar response focused on affiliates who

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Bibby would also be quick to say that the churches must do more than simply mirror the culture in offering religion as one choice among other consumer products. In a passage of Fragmented Gods that should set off alarm bells among religious leaders, Bibby writes, “Religion, Canadianstyle, is mirroring culture. A specialized society is met with specialized religion. Consumerminded individuals are provided with a smorgasbord of fragment choices. Culture leads; religion follows.”13 However, Bibby suggests that a recognition of this impoverishment of Canadian religion should lead the churches to re-examine their approach and discover the potential that is latent in the Canadian context.14 So, on the one hand, Bibby has some reassuring things to say to The Salvation Army.

Conservative Protestants are generally holding steady at 8% of the population, and Canadians who aren’t attending religious services aren’t actually “dropping out” altogether. The other side of his “ongoing identification” position is that there is not as much “switching” going on as people think.15 Bibby repeatedly makes this claim, and seems to be undermining the issue of “church shopping” that so many people seem to be concerned about. However, when we look closely at what Bibby is actually measuring, it becomes clear that he is talking about switching between “denominational families,” not switching between individual denominations. For example, huge numbers of people are not leaving the Anglican Church to become Pentecostals, although this does sometimes happen. C. Kirk Hadaway and Penny Marler have argued the same thing in relation to the United States. Using General Social Survey data, they found that most Americans do not switch denominations, and those that do switch normally remain in the same denominational family.16 However, there are times when Bibby, along with Hadaway and Marler, acknowledge that among the evangelical church in particular, there is a great deal of “circulation” taking place.

While Hadaway and Marler were quick to say that most people do not switch, they found that switching within “denominational families” increased significantly between the 1970s and 1980s.17 They also predicted that religious mobility would increase in the future.18 Bibby acknowledges that approximately 40% of religious people in North America have changed their religious identification at least once in their life.19 A more recent study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that 44% of Americans change their religious affiliation, if changes within protestant groups are included.20 Evangelicals may be continuing to identify as evangelicals, but this does not mean that they continue to worship in the denomination of their youth. There is a “robust market” among the evangelical churches, leading to an “unprecedented still identify with the Churches in There’s Got to be More: Connecting Churches and Canadians (Winfield, BC: Woodlake Books, 1995).

13 Bibby, Fragmented Gods, 256.

14 Bibby, Fragmented Gods, 271.

15 Bibby, Restless Gods, 39ff.

16 C. Kirk Hadaway and Penny Long Marler, “All in the Family: Religious Mobility in America,” Review of Religious Research 35/2 (1993): 97.

17 Hadaway and Marler, “All in the Family,” 102.

18 Ibid., 112.

19 Bibby, “On Boundaries, Gates, and Circulating Saints: A Longitudinal Look at Loyalty and Loss.” Review of Religious Research 41 (1999), 151.

20 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey.” Available online at http://religions.pewforum.org/reports. Accessed Feb 29, 2008. This compares with 28% when switching within Protestantism is not included.

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amount of movement between evangelical churches.”21 In this situation, while we might take some comfort in the fact that the evangelical churches are at least maintaining pace with the population growth in Canada, we must be aware that there will be some “winners” and “losers” among evangelical denominations as the circulation of the saints continues.

Specifically in relation to younger people, Bibby identifies some positive and negative trends.

On the one hand, involvement and attendance among younger people have rebounded in recent years, especially among conservative protestants. Among teens who identify as protestant, 54% identified as conservative in 2000, compared to only 26% in 1984.22 While only 51% of conservative teens reported regular attendance in 1984, the number had climbed to 70% in 2000.23 Bibby also found in 2000 that 71% of 18-34 year olds said they believed that they have spiritual needs.24 However, these statistics do not mean that there is an easy road ahead for churches trying to reach out to younger people. Younger people today are less likely than previous generations to see a role for religion in public life in Canada.25 Also, of the 71% in Bibby’s survey who said that they have “spiritual needs,” 52% have what Bibby calls “unconventional” views of spirituality, meaning that they do not necessarily view the Church as the place where their spiritual needs will be met.26 Only 37% of those aged 18-34 saw a correlation between decline in religious activity and one’s quality of life.27 There is also a trend in Bibby’s research that should be a significant concern for Christian leaders: those younger people who do belong to religious communities don’t feel that those communities are responsive to their needs and concerns. Bibby found that 18-34 year olds are much less likely than older people to say that their religious groups were aware and responsive to their personal problems.28 It would not be difficult to draw a connection between the fact that younger people generally don’t feel that religious communities are responsive to their needs, and the fact that many of them don’t see the churches as places where their spiritual needs might be met.

Another important factor which Bibby has measured in Canada is confidence in religious institutions. Confidence in institutions of all types has dropped in the past couple decades, but confidence in religious institutions has dropped more rapidly than confidence in other institutions.29 Confidence in religious leaders has also dropped significantly, from 51% in 1985 to 36% in 2000, a drop that was much steeper than the drop in confidence in political, educational, or media leaders.30 Bibby suggests that this means institutions must work hard to establish credibility. This was also suggested from a more explicitly Christian perspective by Lyle Schaller, in his 1995 book The New Reformation. Schaller identified a number of factors that have led to a questioning of institutional authority, such as the need for authority to constantly be earned and re-earned by leaders, and the rejection of denominations as regulatory bodies over congregational leaders. Schaller asks, “How long will ecclesiastical hierarchies be 21

Bibby, Restless Churches, 129.

Bibby, Restless Gods, 87.

23 Ibid., 88.

24 Ibid., 193.

25 60% of 18-34 year olds, compared with 81% for 35-54 year olds. Restless Gods, 185.

26 Ibid., 195ff.

27 Ibid., 219.

28 Ibid., 209.

29 Bibby, The Bibby Report: Social Trends Canadian Style (Toronto: Stoddart, 1995), 110.

30 Bibby, Restless Gods, 58.

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able to resist the pressures to flatten the structure and grant more authority to the people who are most affected by the decisions now made in far away places?”31 Authority is no longer accepted simply on the basis of institutional legitimization. In fact, the institutional seal of approval may be more of a liability than an asset in gaining the trust of people at the local level. Therefore, Bibby suggests that a new kind of “organizational credibility” is needed, and he describes it as follows: Integrity is obviously expected. But the research shows that Canadians also see credible religious groups that are worthy of their time and money as being characterized by additional traits such as openness to change and diversity, and, frankly, being more positive and uplifting. They also want religious groups to have good leadership. Others want to see them as having character and not bowing to culture…the more general call for organizational characteristics such as openness, equality and positive change are reasonable and should be both heard and taken seriously.32 Obviously this is a significant issue for an organization as complex as The Salvation Army, which has, by its very nature as a social service agency as well as a denomination, more “institutional” features than many other religious groups. The Army has also preserved many hierarchical features which other denominations have altered in recent decades. It will be important for the Territorial Young Adult Research Project to measure the attitudes of our current and former young adults, to see how they perceive the authority structures of The Salvation Army on a local and denominational level.

While Bibby has spent most of his time documenting Canadian trends, others have been attempting to compare the situation in Canada with that in the United States. Much more data has been collected, and more research has been done, on the American religious landscape.

While the religious trends in Canada and the US are obviously closely related, we should expect there to be some significant differences. In 2003, Sam Reimer wrote a book-length comparison of conservative protestants in Canada and the United States, and found that they share more in common than is often suspected, in spite of the fact that there are some differences.33 Peter Beyer, in a 1997 article, argued that the Canadian religious “market” was less competitive than the American, and tied this to cultural differences. The Canadian “mosaic” approach to cultural diversity, combined with a consumer culture, has led to a trivialization and fragmentation of religion in Canada. Beyer suggests that because denominations have been sidelined in the public square, Canadians have “shifted in large number to a preference for non-denominational, occasional, and less organized religious consumption.”34 The result is that the Canadian denominational marketplace is less “vital” than the American.

In addition to the studies of religious attitudes and behaviours summarized above, a number of 31

Schaller, The New Reformation, 34.

Bibby, Restless Churches, 118.

33 Sam Reimer, Evangelicals and the Continental Divide: The Conservative Protestant Subculture in Canada and the United States (Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003).

34 Peter Beyer, “Religious Vitality in Canada: The Complementarity of Religious Market and Secularization Perspectives,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 36/2 (1997): 274.

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researchers have done specific research on the reasons why younger people are switching churches or leaving the church altogether. In 1986 Reginald Bibby conducted a study for the Anglican diocese of Toronto, in an attempt to assess the overall picture of participation, opinions, and attitudes among members and former members. Notably relevant for this study was his questioning of former members about their reasons for becoming inactive in the Church.

The main reasons identified by respondents were: preferred to use their time differently (58%), disenchantment with what religious leaders were doing (41%), and increasing awareness of hypocrisy (40%).35 Another study conducted with former members in the United States also identified hypocrisy as a key issue among those who have left the church.36 It is generally acknowledged that childhood involvement and socialization is key to ongoing identification and involvement as adults.37 Even still, Bibby found that 53% of inactive members age 18-29 had been highly involved as children, and 41% had been highly involved as teens.38 Bibby notes that while some of these “dropouts” return in their late twenties or thirties, it is highly unlikely that they are coming back at all if they have not returned by the age of 40.39 One important myth that needs to be dismissed in relation to the denominational “switchers” is the assumption that they are spiritually shallow. Particularly in an organization like The Salvation Army, where a high value is placed on loyalty, there is a tendency to look down on those who might have moved to other churches as “not committed.” However, many researchers have found the opposite to be the case. In the recent study Reveal: Where are You?, Willow Creek Church found that those members of their congregation who were considering switching to a new church were actually on the mature end of the spectrum of spiritual maturity.40 This is consistent with what many sociologists of religion have found. People who are more active in the church are more likely to switch denominations than people who are inactive.41 People who have switched are also likely to be more religious than people who have never switched.42 This makes a great deal of sense, because those who have “switched in” to a denomination have made a conscious choice to become members of that particular group, whereas may of the “stayers” may not actually have a great deal of “ownership” of their received faith. A recent Canadian study of former staff members at Ontario Pioneer Camp by John Bowen also supports these findings.

Bowen found that fully three quarters of those who he had worked with as LITs at OPC had switched denominations.43 This remarkably high number may be explained by the fact that people who have been through the camp staff experience go through an intense discipleship program, and therefore tend to be part of the “mature” Christian population.

However, the main issues influencing switching seem to be more circumstantial than attitudinal.

Common reasons for this type of switching are inter-denominational marriage and relocation to a 35

Bibby, Anglitrends: A Profile and Prognosis (Toronto: Anglican Diocese of Toronto, 1986), 96.

Dean R. Hoge, Benton Johnson, and Donald A. Luidens, Vanishing Boundaries: The Religion of Mainline Protestant Baby Boomers (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1994), 146.

37 For example, Hadaway and Marler, “All in the Family,” 104.

38 Ibid., 94.

39 Bibby, There’s Got to Be More, 75.

40 Greg L. Hawkins, and Cally Parkinson, Reveal: Where are You? (Barrington, Ill: Willow Creek, 2007).

41 Hadaway and Marler, “All in the Family,” 109.

42 Hadaway and Marler, “All in the Family,” 99.

43 John Bowen, Growing Up Christian: Why Young People Stay in Church, Leave Church, and (Sometimes) Come Back to Church (Unpublished, 2007), 15 36

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new community.44 This type of switching may have little to do with dissatisfaction with one’s denomination. In moving to a new community, many churchgoers find themselves looking for a good local church, and they are not necessarily concerned about the denominational affiliation of that church. In a study of Presbyterian young adults who switched denominations after relocating, researchers found “no mention of theological issues or moral teachings, an no identification of dissatisfaction with the Presbyterian denomination.”45 While childhood socialization may make such a move less likely, there are times when there is not much that can be done on a denominational level to prevent these changes. In measuring both switching and leaving among Salvationists, it will be important that we sort out how much of this is due to dissatisfaction with the denomination or local church, and how much is due to a relocation, marriage, or other such circumstance.

RESEARCH SPECIFIC TO THE SALVATION ARMY Not much research has been done specifically on The Salvation Army and young adults, particularly from a statistical perspective. However, the Army does occasionally get mentioned in some of the literature looking at broader trends. Earlier research pointed to some positive trends that Salvationists might find encouraging. In Fragmented Gods Bibby noted that Salvation Army growth had slightly outpaced population growth in between 1921 and 1981.46 However, Peter Beyer notes that between 1981 and 1991, The Salvation Army started to see declines in affiliation in census records, similar to that of mainline churches.47 This is important, because it reminds us that we cannot presume that The Salvation Army is doing well simply because the conservative protestant churches in general are holding steady. There are indications that the Army, although it is theologically conservative, is aligned more closely with mainline denominations in terms of retaining members. According to census data, between the 1991 and 2001 The Salvation Army saw the third most rapid decline of any religious group in Canada, at 21.9%.48 Internal data between 1999 and 2005 tell a similar story, with a 20% drop in Sunday attendance, and an 18% drop in Junior Soldiers.49 The question that this study will attempt to address is, how much of this decline is related to young adult attrition, and what are the issues which are driving the decline among that particular segment of the Salvation Army population?

In the UK, The Salvation Army has conducted some research on youth and young adult ministries, although the approach was less systematic than what is being proposed in this project.

Some focus groups were facilitated among younger Salvationists in order to assess their views and opinions of The Salvation Army. The key findings of these focus groups can be summarized as follows:50 44

For example, Hoge, Johnson, and Luidens, “Types of Denominational Switching Among Young Protestant Adults,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 34/2 (1995):253-258.

45 Hoge, Johnson and Luidens, “Types of Denominational Switching,” 255.

46 Bibby, Fragmented Gods, 28.

47 Beyer, “Religious Vitality in Canada,” 282.

48 Canadian Census data, summarized in Commissioner William Francis’ powerpoint presentation “Together in Mission,” Presented at the November 2007 Territorial Leaders Conference.

49 Ibid.

50 taken from Janet Miles, “Branding: Sub-brand Research Report Part I” (London: The Salvation Army UK Youth Ministries Unit, July 2003), 18.

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VOCATIONAL THEMES What do we exist for?

A God / Kingdom Focus Discipleship development & empowerment Social Action / Mission Community

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ETHOS What is important to us?

Authenticity and Relevance Acceptance and Inclusion Compassion and Servanthood Committed, Ready, and Radical

Clearly this research discovered that there are many things about The Salvation Army that continue to be valued by young people, and they also found that there was great interest in and hope for the future of The Salvation Army in the UK. The participants were also asked to share those areas of Salvation Army identity that they felt needed to be discarded. Key issues of concern were “authoritarian structures,” “rigidity,” “antiquated quaint Victorian traditions,” and a “culture of duty.”51 It will be interesting to see if these results compare to those we find in Canada. However, these focus groups were conducted only among current Salvationists, and in our study so we could find some significant differences between those who are active, those who have gone to other churches, and those who have left the Church.

Another study that was published by the UK Territory’s Youth Ministries Unit was Mark Gadsden’s New Model Army: New Expressions of Salvationism in Youth Culture.52 Gadsen’s work is not statistical, but focuses on how The Salvation Army needs to adopt to contemporary culture in order to reach out effectively to young people. Gadsen also makes reference to other studies conducted in the UK by The Salvation Army’s Research and Development Unity, which suggested that the Army was in real danger of becoming an “old people’s club,” and that the only way forward was to “focus on recruiting and retaining young people into membership.”53 Gadsden argues that the Army’s militaristic tradition and history of centrally designed and implemented programming present challenges for Salvationists who are trying to reach out to contemporary youth culture.

Strategies for developing communities are being replaced by more flexible ways of working with people – an approach that operates from below rather than from above…Youth evangelism must take place within young people’s culture and be guided not by central commands, but by God’s unique agenda for specific people and subcultures.54 Therefore, he suggests that ministry in today’s culture must be adapted specifically to each local community. Gadsden’s perspective can be summarized by saying that the Army must move away from recruiting soldiers for a “universal army,” and focus on going out to reach people, instead of asking them to join an establishment.55 51

Ibid., 10.

Mark Gadsden, New Model Army: New Expressions of Salvationism in Youth Culture, ed. Alison Hall (London: The Salvation Army, 2004).

53 The quote is from P. Escott, “What do we learn from the Consensus?” (London: The Salvation Army Territorial Headquarters, 2002), 24. Unfortunately I was not able to get this report so I am relying on Gadsden’s summary.

54 Gadsden, New Model Army, 45.

55 Gadsden, New Model Army, 49.

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The Youth Ministries Unit in the UK has developed 4 essentials of Salvation Army youth ministry which reflect the approach outlined by Gadsden: It is the aim of Salvation Army youth work to provide every young person with the opportunity: 1. To have access to regular worship in a culturally relevant context.

2. To be regularly involved in evangelism 3. To be discipled in a small group community.

4. To engage in ongoing social action.56 In our study, it will be interesting to see if these are issues that our respondents identify as important to their experience. Of course, the ultimate result of the consultations and reports that were conducted in the UK has been the establishment of Alove: The Salvation Army for a New Generation. As a new “brand” of Salvation Army designed specifically to connect with youth, Alove has become the new name, identity, and approach of youth ministry in the UK, replacing the old structure of DYS, TYS, and so forth. It would be interesting to know how things have progressed in the past few years as Alove has developed. One concern might be that the development of such a distinct “brand” might be divisive for the broader Salvation Army.

Hopefully, over the course of our project, we will be able to engage with Alove practitioners to get a sense of how the ministry is going.

MOVING FORWARD The material covered in this literature review has identified some of the broad trends and key issues which may be at stake in the retention of young adults in the Canada and Bermuda Territory. In our statistical research, we will measure attitudes relating to the common issues noted in the research that has already been done on young adults in the North American church.

Some of the important issues that we will explore among our population will be: circumstantial situations that accompany switching; concerns over authority structures; confidence in religious institutions; attitudes towards denominations in general; the quality of the local church experience. It may be, however, that when we do the qualitative research, respondents will raise issues we have not anticipated, due to The Salvation Army’s particular identity and culture.

56

Gadsden, New Model Army, 40.

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Literature Review

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Beyer, Peter. “Religious Vitality in Canada.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 1997, 2, 272-288.

Bibby, Reginald W. Restless Churches : How Canada's Churches Can Contribute to the Emerging Religious Renaissance. Ottawa: Novalis, 2004.

-----. Restless Gods : The Renaissance of Religion in Canada. Toronto: Stoddart, 2002.

-----. Canada's Teens : Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow. Toronto: Stoddart, 2001.

-----. “On Boundaries, Gates, and Circulating Saints: A Longitudinal Look at Loyalty and Loss.”

Review of Religious Research 41 (1999): 149-164.

-----. There's Got to be More! Connecting Churches & Canadians. Winfield, BC: Wood Lake Books, 1995.

-----. The Bibby Report : Social Trends Canadian Style. Toronto, Stoddart, 1995.

-----. Unknown Gods: The Ongoing Story of Religion in Canada. Toronto: Stoddart, 1993.

-----. Fragmented gods : the poverty and potential of religion in Canada. Toronto: Stoddart 1990 [1987].

-----. Anglitrends : a profile and prognosis : a study carried out for the Anglican Diocese of Toronto. Toronto: Anglican Diocese of Toronto, 1986.

Bowen, John. Growing Up Christian: Why Young People Stay in Church, Leave Church, and (Sometimes) Come Back to Church. Unpublished manuscript, 2007.

Fane, Rosalind S. “Is Self-Assigned Religious Affiliation Socially Significant?” in Leslie J. Francis (ed.), Theology and Sociology. London: Cassell, 1999.

Francis, William. “Together in Mission.” Powerpoint Presentation from the November 2007 Territorial Leaders Conference, Jackson’s Point Conference Centre.

Gadsden, Mark. A New Model Army: New Expressions of Salvationism in Youth Culture. Ed. Allison Hall. London: The Salvation Army, 2004.

Greeley, Andrew and Michael Hout. “Musical Chairs: Patterns of Denominational Change.”

Sociology and Social Research, 1988, vol. 72, pp. 75-86.

Hadaway, C. Kirk and Penny Long Marker. “All in the Family: Religious Mobility in America.”

Review of Religious Research. 1993. Vol. 35:97-116.

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Literature Review

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Hawkins, Greg L, and Cally Parkinson. Reveal: Where are You? Barrington, Ill: Willow Creek Resources, 2007.

Hoge, Dean R., Benton Johnson, and Donald A. Luidens. Vanishing Boundaries. Louisville: Westminster / John Knox Press, 1994.

-----. “Types of Denominational Switching Among Young Protestant Adults.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 1995, vol. 34: 253-258.

Miles, Janet. “Branding: Sub-brand Research Report Part I.” London: The Salvation Army UK Youth Ministries Unit, July 2003.

Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey.” Available online at http://religions.pewforum.org/reports. Accessed Feb 29, 2008.

Reimer, Sam. Evangelicals and the Continental Divide: The Conservative Protestant Subculture in Canada and the United States. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003.

Schaller, Lyle. The New Reformation. Nashville, Abingdon, 1995.

Woods, C. Jeff. Congregational Megatrends. Bethesda MD: The Alban Institute, 1996.

Webber, Robert E. The Younger Evangelicals: Facing the Challenges of the New World. Grand Rapids, Baker, 2002.

-----. Ancient-future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999.

Willow Creek Repents? Why the most influential church in America now says "We made a mistake." Out of Ur: Following God’s Call in a New World. Blog. October 18, 2007. http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2007/10/willow_creek_re.html Willow Creek Repents? (Part 2) Greg Hawkins responds with the truth about REVEAL. Out of Ur: Following God’s Call in a New World. Blog October 26, 2007. http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2007/10/

THE TERRITORIAL YOUNG ADULT RESEARCH PROJECT

REPORT 2: DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS IN ATTRITION AND RETENTION

INTRODUCTION In late January 2008, a web-based ministry unit survey was sent to all corps officers in the Canada and Bermuda Territory. The purpose of the survey was to gain an accurate statistical picture of the current young adult population of the Territory and of the changes in the young adult population that have taken place over the past five years.

This report will present a summary of the findings of the ministry unit survey. The highlights of the report can be summarized as follows: • • • • • • • •

There are an estimated 4500-5000 young adults (age 16-35) associated with corps in the Territory.

There were more corps that reported an increase in young adults than corps that reported a decrease in young adults over the past two years. Over five years, however, there are more corps reporting an decrease in young adults.

Taking internal denominational transfers into account, the data shows a small net gain across the Territory in young adults over the past two years, and a small net loss over the past five years.

Corps Size is the most significant factor influencing attrition rates. Larger corps fare better in attracting and retaining young adults.

The size of the community in which a corps is located also plays a role, but it is not as significant as corps size.

In general, the Western region of the Territory seems to have the strongest rates of young adult retention, followed by the Eastern Region, and then the Central Region.

A higher percentage of females have been reported in both losses and gains of young adults.

Losses and gains of young adults are more likely to take place among those under 25 than among those over 25.

PARTICIPATION As noted above, surveys were sent to every corps in the Territory in the winter of 2008. Each corps was asked to have one local leader complete a questionnaire which focused on trends in young adult involvement at their corps over the past 5 years. At the time of the survey there were 313 corps in the Territory, and we received 108 responses. A summary of participation by division, corps size, and community size is presented below. While the response is not high enough to be scientifically accurate, it does represent a good cross-section of the Territory as a whole. Also, in analyzing the data, we can attempt to compensate for those segments of the Territory which are underrepresented by weighting the responses accordingly.

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

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Participation by Division Responded Total Corps Percentage

BC 17 42 40%

PRA 10 34 29%

MAN 5 13 38%

ONN 10 18 56%

OGL 12 34 35%

OCE 18 51 35%

QUE 2 11 18%

MAR 6 24 25%

NLW 16 53 30%

NLE 11 29 38%

BER 1 4 25%

TOTAL 108 313 35%

Participation by Corps Size* 0-49 50-99 Responded 38 36 Total Corps 141 96 Percentage 27% 38% *Based on 2007 average attendance.

100-149 22 47 47%

150-199 6 17 35%

200 + 6 12 50%

TOTAL 108 313 35%

Participation by Community Size 0-5,000 Responded Total Corps Percentage

22 86 26%

5,00015,000 23 60 38%

15,00050,000 18 46 39%

50,000100,000 15 24 63%

100,000500,000 19 50 38%

500,000 +

TOTAL

11 47 23%

108 313 35%

Because some divisions have a very small participation rate, we are not able to make responsible projections about each and every division individually. However, by grouping divisions together into three regions, we can make note of general differences and patterns across the Territory. For the purposes of this report, the divisions have been grouped into three regions: • • •

West (BC, Prairies, and Manitoba), Central (Ontario North, Ontario Great Lakes, Ontario Central East, and Quebec) East (Maritimes, Newfoundland and Labrador West, Newfoundland and Labrador East, and Bermuda).

While Bermuda and Quebec are clearly distinct cultural settings which would obviously merit independent analysis, the response to the survey from these particular locations does not provide a sufficient basis for such an analysis.

In what follows, I will present the raw data, as well as projected totals weighted by region, corps size, and community size, respectively. This will allow us to see the range of possible projections which can be made from the data as gathered, and avoid a simplistic reading of the data based on one method of calculating projected totals. I will also summarize gender and age differences in gains and losses across the Territory.

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

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CURRENT YOUNG ADULT POPULATION Raw Data The first question we asked participants was “How many 16-35 year olds do you have right now at your Corps?� The 108 corps reported that they have a total of 1792 young adults. That would average out to about 16.6 young adults per corps, a strong number considering an average Sunday attendance of 71 people in 2007. However, high responses from a few large corps tip the average (mean) towards the high end of the spectrum of responses. There are, as we would expect, a significant number of corps with very few young adults. This means that the median response (the middle response of the 108 corps that responded) is much lower, at 8 young adults.

The median attendance for 2007 was 51 per Sunday.

If we take the average number reported and multiply it by the 313 corps in the Territory, we come up with a projected number of 5193 total 16-35 year olds affiliated with corps in the Territory. With a total average attendance of approximately 22,500 for 2007, this number is significant and encouraging.

Weighted by Region A comparison of the three regions reveals a stronger young adult population in the West, with the Central and Eastern parts of the Territory reporting slightly lower numbers of young adults on average per corps. Because of the high number of corps in Central Canada, the total number of young adults is projected to be strongest in that region. However, when the total projected number of young adults is measured as a percentage of the total average Sunday attendance for each region in 2007, the East and Central regions have an almost equal proportion of young adults (approximately 21%), with the West being significantly higher (27.8%). Weighting the projected total number of young adults according to the number of corps in each region brings us to a total projection of 5163.

West Central East Total

young adults reported 583 710 499 1792

corps participating

average per corps

total corps

projection

total 2007 attendance

32 42 34 108

18.2 16.9 14.7 16.6

89 114 110 313

1621 1927 1614 5163

5821 9210 7573 22424

projection as % of attendance 27.8% 20.9% 21.3% 23.0%

Weighted by Corps Size A comparison of the results by corps size reveals a more significant trend. While we would expect larger corps to have a larger number of young adults, simply by virtue of the fact that the overall size of the corps is larger, the data indicates that the percentage of young adults in relation to total attendance increases disproportionately as corps size increases. It should be remembered that the smaller corps were under represented in the raw data (see participation by corps size, above). This means that compensating for this under representation by weighting the

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

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results by corps size produces a significantly lower overall projection of 4434 total young adults, as opposed to 5193 based on the raw data.

Corps size (attendance) 0-49 50-99 100-149 150-199 200+ Total

young adults reported 166 358 610 293 365 1792

corps participating

average per corps

total corps

projection

38 36 22 6 6 108

4.4 9.9 27.7 48.8 60.8 14.2

141 96 47 17 12 313

616 955 1303 830 730 4434

total 2007 weekly attendance 4298 6531 5811 2890 2894 22424

projection as % of attendance 14.3% 14.6% 22.4% 28.8% 25.2% 19.8%

Projected Young Adult Population as a Percentage of Average Attendance 35.0%

30.0%

25.0%

20.0%

15.0%

10.0%

5.0%

0.0% 0-49

50-99

100-149

By Corps Size

150-199

200+

Territorial Avg

The graph above indicates that there is a significant difference in young adult population between corps with average attendance under 100 and those with average attendance over 100.

If we analyze the data according to the 100 attendance-mark, the difference is in the proportion of attenders who are young adults is stark. The projected population of young adults as a percentage of total attendance among corps with average attendance over 100 is 10% higher than the projected population of young adults as a share of attendance at corps with attendance under 100 (see table below). While overall attendance numbers between the two groups are almost equal, the number of young adults in the larger corps is significantly higher.

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

0-99 100 + Total

young adults reported 524 1268 1792

19

corps participating

average per corps

total corps

Projection

74 34 108

7.1 37.3 14.4

237 76 313

1678 2834 4512

total 2007 weekly attendance 10829 11595 22424

projection as % of attendance 15.5% 24.5% 20.1%

Weighted by Community Size The differences in young adult population by community size are not as clear as the differences by corps size. While it is generally true that corps in larger communities have a higher percentage of young adult attenders, the proportion of young adults does not increase steadily as community size increases.

Community size

young adults reported

corps participating

0-5,000 5,000-15,000 15,000-50,000 50,000-100,000 100,000-500,000 500,000 + Total

189 270 179 178 640 336 1792

22 23 18 15 19 11 108

average per corps 8.6 11.7 9.9 11.9 33.7 30.5 16.9

total corps

projection

86 60 46 24 50 47 313

739 704 457 285 1684 1436 5305

total 2007 weekly attendance 4549 2942 2975 1577 5659 4722 22424

projection as % of attendance 16.2% 23.9% 15.4% 18.1% 29.8% 30.4% 23.7%

In recent years, attention has been given to the particular challenges that The Salvation Army faces in rural communities. THQ has typically considered any community with a population of less than 15,000 to be a rural community. The data collected in this project shows that rural ministries have a slightly lower percentage of young adults in their congregation, however, the difference is not nearly as significant as some might expect. While urban corps have more than double the number of young adults as rural corps, when corps size is taken into account, the difference in young adults as a percentage of average weekly attendance is less than 5%.

0-15,000 15,000 + Total

young adults reported 459 1333 1792

corps participating

average per corps

total corps

projection

total 2007 attendance

45 63 108

10.2 21.2 16.0

146 167 313

1489 3534 5023

7491 14933 22424

projection as % of attendance 19.8% 23.7% 22.4%

While rural communities seem slightly disadvantaged in their percentage of young adults, the findings of this project indicate that the differences are much more pronounced when the dividing line is drawn between communities of less than 100,000 and those of more than 100,000. Corps in communities of over 100,000 show an 11.6% increase in young adult population as a percentage of average weekly attendance when compared with corps in communities of less than 100,000.

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

0-100,000 100,000 + Total

young adults reported 816 976 1792

20

corps participating

average per corps

total corps

projection

total 2007 attendance

78 30 108

10.5 32.5 17.3

216 97 313

2260 3156 5416

12043 10381 22424

projection as % of attendance 18.8% 30.4% 24.2%

The significance of the 100,000 mark is quite clear if we look at the average number of young adults per corps, as presented in the graph below. There is a clear jump in the graph at the 100,000 population category, and relatively little change in the four categories below 100,000.

The fact that the percentage of young adults in larger communities is greater indicates that it is not simply the case that larger communities have larger corps and therefore more young adults.

By viewing the projected number of young adults as a percentage of the total attendance in the particular community size category, we can see that the corps in larger communities tend to have disproportionately more young adults as a percentage of their average attendance.

Average Number of Young Adults Per Corps, By Community Size 40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0 0-5,000

5,000-15,000

15,000-50,000

By Community Size

50,000-100,000

100,000-500,000

Territorial Average

500,000+

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

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FEWER, MORE, OR THE SAME: CHANGES BY CORPS OVER 2 AND 5 YEARS The ministry unit survey also included information on changes in young adult population in each corps individually. We asked corps leaders to tell us if their corps has fewer, more, or the same number of young adults compared to 2 years ago and 5 years ago, respectively.

Raw Data The raw data indicates that over 2 years, there are more corps reporting that they have had an increase in their young adult population than corps reporting that they had a decrease. However, there are slightly more corps reporting that they have fewer young adults than they had 5 years ago than those reporting they have more or the same number of young adults. fewer 34 31.5% 43 39.8%

Current # of young adults vs. 2 years ago Current # of young adults vs. 5 years ago

more 41 38.0% 40 37.0%

same 33 30.6% 21 19.4%

no answer 0 0% 4 3.7%

total 108 100% 108 100%

Weighted by Region When the data is analyzed by region, it appears that in general, the Western region is the strongest, followed by the Central and Eastern region. The same pattern appears over 2 and 5 years. Over 5 years, the Western region is the only region which reported more corps with an increase of young adults than corps with a decrease in young adults. vs. 2 years ago WEST CENTRAL EAST TOTAL

vs. 5 years ago WEST CENTRAL EAST TOTAL

Raw data FEWER MORE 7 16 14 18 13 7 34 42

SAME 9 10 14 33

Percentages FEWER MORE 21.9% 50.0% 33.3% 42.9% 38.2% 20.6% 31.8% 37.1%

SAME 28.1% 23.8% 41.2% 31.1%

Projected # corps with: FEWER MORE SAME 19 45 25 38 49 27 42 23 45 100 116 97

Raw data FEWER MORE 12 14 17 14 14 11 43 40

SAME 6 10 7 25

Percentages FEWER MORE 37.5% 43.8% 41.5% 34.1% 43.8% 34.4% 41.0% 37.1%

SAME 18.8% 24.4% 21.9% 21.9%

Projected # corps with: FEWER MORE SAME 33 39 18 46 38 27 45 36 23 125 113 66

The total projected trends remain the same, with slightly more corps reporting an increase over two years, and slightly more corps reporting a decrease over 5 years.

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

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Change in Number of Young Adults Per Corps Over 2 and 5 Years, by Region 140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0 FEWER 2 YR

MORE 2 YR

SAME 2 YR WEST

FEWER 5 YR

CENTRAL

MORE 5 YR

SAME 5 YR

EAST

Weighted by Corps Size Again, the analysis of the data by corps size reveals a clear pattern. Smaller corps are more likely to report having fewer young adults, and larger corps are more likely to report having more young adults over a 2 and 5 year period. vs. 2 years ago 0-49 50-99 100-149 150-199 200+ Total vs. 5 years ago 0-49 50-99 100-149 150-199 200+ Total

Raw data FEWER MORE 13 11 13 13 6 9 1 4 1 4 34 41

SAME 14 10 7 1 1 33

Percentages FEWER MORE 34.2% 28.9% 36.1% 36.1% 27.3% 40.9% 16.7% 66.7% 16.7% 66.7% 32.1% 36.1%

SAME 36.8% 27.8% 31.8% 16.7% 16.7% 31.4%

Projected # corps with: FEWER MORE SAME 48 41 52 35 35 27 13 29 15 3 11 3 2 8 2 101 114 98

Raw data FEWER MORE 18 9 18 13 5 12 1 4 1 2 43 40

SAME 11 5 5 1 3 25

Percentages FEWER MORE 47.4% 23.7% 50.0% 36.1% 22.7% 54.5% 16.7% 66.7% 16.7% 33.3% 41.6% 34.8%

SAME 28.9% 13.9% 22.7% 16.7% 50.0% 23.5%

Projected # corps with: FEWER MORE SAME 67 33 41 48 35 13 11 26 11 3 11 3 2 4 6 130 109 74

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

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Change in Number of Young Adults Per Corps Over 2 Years, By Corps Size 70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0% 0-49

50-99

100-149 Fewer

More

150-199

200 +

Same

Change in Number of Young Adults Per Corps Over 5 Years, by Corps Size 70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0% 0-49

50-99

100-149 Fewer

More

150-199 Same

200 +

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

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If we group the corps into two sizes, 0-99 and 100+, as we did above in the analysis of young adult population as a proportion of average attendance, a significant difference emerges. Corps with more than 100 in average Sunday attendance are much more likely to have reported an increase in young adults than whose with average Sunday attendance of less than 100. Over five years, for example, 29.7% of corps with an average attendance of less than 100 reported an increase, compared with 52.9% of corps with average attendance of more than 100. This presents a particular challenge for the Army, of course, in that approximately three quarters of the corps in the Territory have an average Sunday attendance below 100. vs. 2 years ago 0-99 100+ vs. 5 years ago 0-99 100+

Raw data FEWER MORE 26 24 8 17

SAME 24 9

Percentages FEWER MORE 35.1% 32.4% 23.5% 50.0%

SAME 32.4% 26.5%

Projected # corps with: FEWER MORE SAME 83 77 77 18 38 20

Raw data FEWER MORE 36 22 7 18

SAME 16 9

Percentages FEWER MORE 48.6% 29.7% 20.6% 52.9%

SAME 21.6% 26.5%

Projected # corps with: FEWER MORE SAME 115 70 51 16 40 20

Weighted by Community Size Once again, an analysis of the data by community size reveals a less consistent pattern than the pattern seen above in relation to community size. While it is true that a contrast can be seen between the smallest communities and the largest communities, there is no consistent trend in young adult attrition as community size increases in each of the categories below. vs. 2 years ago 0-5,000 5,000-15,000 15,000-50,000 50,000-100,000 100,000-500,000 500,000 + Total vs. 5 years ago 0-5,000 5,000-15,000 15,000-50,000 50,000-100,000 100,000-500,000 500,000 + Total

Raw data FEWER MORE 10 6 5 9 4 8 6 5 5 8 4 5 34 41

SAME 6 9 6 4 6 2 33

Percentages FEWER MORE 45.5% 27.3% 21.7% 39.1% 22.2% 44.4% 40.0% 33.3% 26.3% 42.1% 36.4% 45.5% 32.7% 37.6%

SAME 27.3% 39.1% 33.3% 26.7% 31.6% 18.2% 29.7%

Projected # corps with: FEWER MORE SAME 39 23 23 13 23 23 10 20 15 10 8 6 13 21 16 17 21 9 102 118 93

Raw data FEWER MORE 11 6 8 9 6 6 8 6 5 8 5 5 43 40

SAME 5 6 6 1 6 1 25

Percentages FEWER MORE 50.0% 27.3% 34.8% 39.1% 33.3% 33.3% 53.3% 40.0% 26.3% 42.1% 45.5% 45.5% 40.4% 36.5%

SAME 22.7% 26.1% 33.3% 6.7% 31.6% 9.1% 23.1%

Projected # corps with: FEWER MORE SAME 43 23 20 21 23 16 15 15 15 13 10 2 13 21 16 21 21 4 127 114 72

The inconsistency in the relation between community size and change in young adult population per corps is quite clear in the two graphs presented below.

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

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Change in Number of Young Adults Per Corps Over 2 Years,

by Community Size 50%

45%

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15% 0-5,000

5,000-15,000

15,000-50,000 Fewer

50,000-100,000 More

100,000-500,000

500,000 +

Same

Change in Number of Young Adults Per Corps Over 5 Years,

by Community Size 60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0% 0-5,000

5,000-15,000

15,000-50,000 Fewer

50,000-100,000 More

Same

100,000-500,000

500,000 +

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

26

The urban vs. rural breakdown does reveal a general difference between corps in these two types of communities. However, the trend is not nearly as pronounced as that which was seen in relation to corps size. vs. 2 years ago 0-15,000 15,000 + vs. 5 years ago 0-15,000 15,000 +

Raw data FEWER MORE 15 15 19 26

SAME 15 18

Percentages FEWER MORE 33.3% 33.3% 30.2% 41.3%

SAME 33.3% 28.6%

Projected # corps with: FEWER MORE SAME 49 49 49 50 69 48

Raw data FEWER MORE 19 15 24 25

SAME 11 14

Percentages FEWER MORE 42.2% 33.3% 38.1% 39.7%

SAME 24.4% 22.2%

Projected # corps with: FEWER MORE SAME 62 49 36 64 66 37

Once again the division between corps in communities under and over 100,000 seems to be a more significant factor. Over five years, 42.3% of corps in communities of less than 100,000 reported a decrease in young adults, while 33.3% of corps in communities of more than 100,000 reported a decrease in the same time period. vs. 2 years ago 0-100,000 100,000 + vs. 5 years ago 0-100,000 100,000 +

Raw data FEWER MORE 25 28 9 13

SAME 25 8

Percentages FEWER MORE 32.1% 35.9% 30.0% 43.3%

SAME 32.1% 26.7%

Projected # corps with: FEWER MORE SAME 69 78 69 29 42 26

Raw data FEWER MORE 33 27 10 13

SAME 18 7

Percentages FEWER MORE 42.3% 34.6% 33.3% 43.3%

SAME 23.1% 23.3%

Projected # corps with: FEWER MORE SAME 91 75 50 32 42 23

NET GAINS AND LOSSES: ACTUAL ATTRITION AND GAINS REPORTED We then asked respondents to indicate specifically how many young adults had left their corps in the past 2 and 5 years respectively, and how many had joined. We provided several ways of categorizing the gains and losses experienced at each corps, and asked corps leaders to provide numbers of gains and losses for each category (for example, how many moved away and joined another Army corps? How many did not move but chose to join another church? How many joined your church as a new convert, etc). This categorized data allows us to determine how many of the gains and losses reported by corps leaders were the result of internal Army transfers, and how many can be counted toward actual denominational gains and losses.

Raw Data The raw data indicates a net denominational change over 2 and 5 years that follows a similar pattern to the data regarding corps with fewer, more, or the same number of young adults. Once Salvation Army transfers are accounted for, over the past two years, the corps participating in this survey reported total net gains of 93 young adults. Taking the simple average per corps participating, and multiplying it by total corps, that gives the Territory a projected gain of 270

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

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SA transfers

Denominational losses

Total gains

SA transfers

Denominational gains

Net change

Average per corps

Projection

2 years 5 years

Total losses

young adults. However, the cumulative trend over 5 years shows a projected net loss of 64 young adults. Given that current projections regarding the number of young adults in the Territory range from about 4500 to 5300, a net loss of 64 is miniscule.

494 739

170 247

324 492

671 831

254 361

417 470

+93 -22

+0.9 -0.2

270 -64

Weighted by Region Weighting the results by region shows a slightly more pronounced overall trend over both 2 and 5 years. In general, the corps from Central Canada reported the strongest change over both time periods, with projected net gains of 128 young adults over 2 years, and a slightly lower 108 over 5 years. The data shows the West with a projected gain of 17 in the past 2 years, and an overall loss of 100 over 5 years. The results for the East indicate a projected gain of 129 over 2 years, with the five year loss of 84.

Projection +17 +128 +129 +274

Projection

Average per corps +0.2 +1.1 +1.2 +0.9

Average per corps

Net change +6 +47 +40 +93

Net change

Denominational gains 108 205 104 417 Denominational gains

SA transfers 90 97 67 254

SA transfers

Total gains 198 302 171 671

Total gains

Denominational losses 102 158 64 324 Denominational losses

SA transfers 62 66 42 170

SA transfers

Total losses 164 224 106 494

Total losses

WEST CENTRAL EAST TOTAL

5 YEARS

2 YEARS

These numbers are surprising, because they do not match trends regarding the number of corps reporting gains by region. Those results indicate that the Central region was actually faring the worst overall. The inconsistency is likely due to the fact that a couple of corps in the Central region reported large gains, thereby skewing the overall results.

WEST CENTRAL EAST TOTAL

317 254 168 739

100 90 57 247

217 164 111 492

322 357 152 831

141 153 67 361

181 204 85 470

-36 40 -26 -22

-1.1 +1.0 -0.8 -0.2

-100 109 -84 -76

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

28

Average Net Change in Young Adults Per Corps, by Region 1.4 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 -0.2

WEST

CENTRAL

EAST

-0.4 -0.6 -0.8 -1 -1.2 -1.4 2 YR AVG. NET

5 YR AVG. NET

Weighted by Corps Size The pattern of losses and gains by corps size shows that, in general, smaller corps have experienced greater losses. However, there are a couple of anomalies in the data, with corps with an attendance of over 200 showing a steep decline over 5 years (see the chart on average net change per corps, below on p. 16). As with the above data regarding regional differences, this exception to the general trend may be due to one or two particular corps in the 200+ category which reported significant losses, thereby skewing the results. Other than the 200+ attendance category, the average net gains per corps over 5 years increases as corps size increases. Over two years, the average net gains per corps increase steadily with corps size, with the exception that corps in the 150-199 size category showed higher average net gains that corps in the 200+ size category.

The overall projected net change by corps size is slightly lower than the net change projected by region, due to the fact that 141 of the corps in the Territory fit into the 0-50 category, the one category which shows losses over both 2 and 5 years.

Mid-sized corps reported net gains in young adults over both time periods, and the strongest gains of all over both two and five years were reported by corps in the 150-199 category.

Net change

Average per corps

Projection

-11 +31 +29 +28 +16 +93

-0.3 +0.9 +1.3 +4.7 +2.7 +0.9

-41 +83 +62 +79 +32 +215

Average per corps

Projection

36 49 163 54 59 361

32 129 130 57 69 417

Net change

80 200 316 121 114 831

Denominational gains

83 130 131 47 101 492

37 51 97 26 43 254

Denominational gains

46 46 111 10 34 247

SA transfers

Denominational losses

129 176 242 57 135 739

69 180 227 83 112 671

SA transfers

43 98 101 29 53 324

Total gains

Denominational losses

22 42 74 10 22 170

29

Total gains

SA transfers

65 140 175 39 75 494

SA transfers

0-50 50-99 100-149 150-199 200+ TOTAL

Total losses

5 YEARS

0-50 50-99 100-149 150-199 200+ TOTAL

Total losses

2 YEARS

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

44 151 153 67 55 470

-39 +21 +22 +20 -46 -22

-1.0 +0.6 +1.0 +3.3 -7.7 -0.2

-145 +56 +47 +57 -92 -77

Net change

Average per corps

Projection

20 73 93

+0.3 +2.1 +0.9

+64 +163 +227

Average per corps

Projection

85 276 361

161 256 417

Net change

280 551 831

Denominational gains

213 279 492

88 166 254

Denominational gains

92 155 247

SA transfers

Denominational losses

305 434 739

249 422 671

SA transfers

141 183 324

Total gains

Denominational losses

64 106 170

Total gains

SA transfers

205 289 494

SA transfers

0-99 100 + TOTAL

Total losses

2 YEARS

0-99 100 + TOTAL

Total losses

2 YEARS

If we simplify the analysis and distinguish between corps of with average attendance of 0-99 and those with average attendance of 100+ we see a significant difference between the two sizes of corps in average net gain over 2 years. Over 5 years, however, the difference is very slight.

195 275 470

-18 -4 -22

-0.2 -0.1 -0.2

-58 -9 -67

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Average Net Change in Young Adults Per Corps, by Corps Size 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1

0-50

50-99

100-149

150-199

200+

-2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 2 YR AVG. NET

5 YR AVG. NET

Weighted by Community Size Community size appears to be ambiguously related to the question of net gains and losses. A look at the data (below) shows no clear pattern in relation to community size. In both cases, the corps in the largest centres (500,000+) appear to have experienced the largest average net loss.

Corps in communities with less than 5,000 people show very little net change over 2 and 5 years, but corps in communities of 5,000 to 15,000 seem to fare better. While corps in communities of 100,000 to 500,000 showed more gains than those in communities of 50,000 to 100,000 over 2 years, the 5 year trend shows the opposite relationship.

What is important to note about this data is that the smallest communities are not necessarily disadvantaged in attracting and retaining young adults. In my research I have found this to be a common assumption among Salvationists. While it was noted above that there are a higher proportion of young adults in corps which are located in larger communities, the data for net gains and losses does not support the idea that small communities are at a significant disadvantage. Corps in communities of less than 5,000 reported a more positive net change over both 2 and 5 years than some of the other categories analyzed below.

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

Projection 23 149 -5 2 118 -60 227

Projection

Average per corps 0.3 2.5 -0.1 0.1 2.4 -1.3 0.7

Average per corps

Net change 6 57 -2 1 45 -14 93

Net change

Denominational gains 45 113 21 44 151 43 417 Denominational gains

SA transfers 25 61 17 31 85 35 254

SA transfers

Total gains 70 174 38 75 236 78 671

Total gains

Denominational losses 39 56 23 43 106 57 324 Denominational losses

SA transfers 18 57 14 9 48 24 170

SA transfers

Total losses 57 113 37 52 154 81 494

Total losses

0-5,000 5,000-15,000 15,000-50,000 50,000-100,000 100,000-500,000 500,000 + TOTAL

5 YEARS

2 YEARS

31

0-5,000 5,000-15,000 15,000-50,000 50,000-100,000 100,000-500,000 500,000 + TOTAL

82 172 52 84 179 170 739

25 86 15 13 55 53 247

57 86 37 71 124 117 492

76 184 30 144 268 129 831

26 87 14 49 142 43 361

50 97 16 95 126 86 470

-7 11 -21 24 2 -31 -22

-0.3 0.5 -1.2 1.6 0.1 -2.8 -0.5

-27 29 -54 38 5 -132 -141

Average Net Change in Young Adults Per Corps, by Community Size 3

2

1

0 0-5,000

5,000-15,000

15,000-50,000

50,000-100,000

2 YR AVG. NET

5 YR AVG. NET

-1

-2

-3

100,000-500,000

500,000 +

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

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Projection 204 80 284

Projection

Average per corps 1.4 0.5 0.9

Average per corps

Net change 63 30 93

Net change

Denominational gains 158 259 417 Denominational gains

SA transfers 86 168 254

SA transfers

Total gains 244 427 671

Total gains

Denominational losses 95 229 324 Denominational losses

SA transfers 75 95 170

SA transfers

Total losses 170 324 494

Total losses

0-15,000 (rural) 15,000+ (urban) TOTAL

5 YEARS

2 YEARS

The surprising relative strength of corps in small communities is quite clear when we compare urban and rural data on the question of net gains and losses. The data collected in this project shows rural corps averaging more net gains than urban corps.

0-15,000 (rural) 15,000+ (urban) TOTAL

254 485 739

111 136 247

143 349 492

260 571 831

113 248 361

147 323 470

4 -26 -22

0.1 -0.4 -0.2

13 -69 -56

Projection 133 100 233

Projection

Average per corps 0.8 1.0 0.7

Average per corps

Net change 62 31 93

Net change

Denominational gains 223 194 417 Denominational gains

SA transfers 134 120 254

SA transfers

Total gains 357 314 671

Total gains

Denominational losses 161 163 324 Denominational losses

SA transfers 98 72 170

SA transfers

Total losses 259 235 494

Total losses

0-100,000 100,000+ TOTAL

5 YEARS

2 YEARS

Since we found the 100,000 mark to be significant in relation to the questions discussed above, the data was analyzed along these lines again in relation to net gains and losses. The results for the 2 year trend are almost equal, but over 5 years, it again appears that corps in smaller communities fared better in young adult retention, even though the gains reported are negligible.

0-100,000 100,000+ TOTAL

390 349 739

139 108 247

251 241 492

434 397 831

176 185 361

258 212 470

7 -29 -22

0.1 -1.0 -0.3

15 -94 -79

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GENDER DIFFERENCES The data collected from corps across the Territory indicates that there are more females than males leaving Salvation Army corps. However, there are also more females than males joining Salvation Army corps.

Female losses reported

Male losses reported

Losses unaccounted for by gender

Total gains reported

Female gains reported

Male gains reported

Gains unaccounted for by gender

2 years 5 years

Total losses reported

NOTE: there are significant discrepancies between the total number of losses and gains reported in this survey and the number of male and female losses and gains reported. In other words, corps reported higher total gains and losses than the combined total of female and male gains and losses reported. The chart below indicates the discrepancies.

428 729

168 282

126 240

134 207

547 651

237 238

181 176

129 237

The data that follows presents the gender differences as a percentage of the total losses and gains which are accounted for by gender in the data. That means, for the purpose of the following, I have bracketed out the losses and gains for which we have no gender data, and will report on the percentages of male and female gains and losses which have been reported. This is not ideal, but it is the most appropriate way to summarize the probable gender differences in gains and losses of young adults across the Territory. Net gains and losses by gender will not be presented, as the holes in the data are simply too significant for such an analysis to be done properly.

Raw Data As noted above, there are fairly consistent ratios of female to male differences in both gains and losses of young adults. With the exception of the 5 year losses, there is an almost identical difference of approximately 57% female and 43% male gains and losses. The 5 year loss variance is slightly less pronounced, at 54% female and 46% male.

2 years 5 years

% left female 57.1% 54.0%

% left male 42.9% 46.0%

% joined female 56.7% 57.5%

% joined male 43.3% 42.5%

While it is difficult, based on the information available, to determine the cause of this difference between male and female changes, it may be due to the fact that there are generally more females involved in churches than there are males. More females in the overall Salvation Army young adult population would likely translate into more female losses and gains.

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

34

Gains and Losses by Gender 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 2 YR LOSSES

2 YR GAINS FEMALE

5 YR LOSSES

5 YR GAINS

MALE

By Region The regional data shows a similar pattern of higher gains and losses among females as compared with males across all the regions. The only exception is the 5 year losses in the Central region, which show approximately 10% more males than females. Other than this anomaly, there do not appear to be any consistent regional trends in male vs. female gains or losses.

2 years West Central East

% left female 60.0% 57.0% 53.4%

% left male 40.0% 43.0% 46.6%

% joined female 52.1% 52.8% 65.0%

% joined male 47.9% 47.2% 35.0%

5 years West Central East

% left female 57.8% 45.8% 55.1%

% left male 42.2% 54.2% 44.9%

% joined female 54.8% 59.5% 59.0%

% joined male 45.2% 40.5% 41.0%

By Corps Size When we examine the data on gender differences by corps size, a somewhat baffling trend emerges. In the loss category, the smaller corps tend to show less of a difference between male and female losses. In particular, losses in corps with an average attendance of 50 or less are

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Demographic Trends

35

almost equally male and female, over both 2 and 5 years, while the corps with an average attendance of 200 or more show a 60/40 split between males and females. In the gains category, the trend is reversed, with the largest corps showing an almost equal amount of male and female gains, and the smallest corps showing a larger percentage of female gains (see charts below).

2 years 0-50 50-99 100-149 150-199 200+

% left female 51.2% 56.5% 58.9% 52.4% 60.7%

% left male 48.8% 43.5% 41.1% 47.6% 39.3%

% joined female 63.3% 64.2% 54.9% 55.9% 49.5%

% joined male 36.7% 35.8% 45.1% 44.1% 50.5%

5 years 0-50 50-99 100-149 150-199 200+

% left female 52.4% 53.0% 47.0% 59.5% 59.1%

% left male 47.6% 47.0% 53.0% 40.5% 40.9%

% joined female 55.6% 63.4% 55.9% 60.7% 53.0%

% joined male 44.4% 36.6% 44.1% 39.3% 47.0%

Gender Differences in Gains and Losses Over 2 Years, by Corps Size 70%

65%

60%

55%

50%

45%

40%

35%

30% 0-50

50-99 % left female

100-149 % left male

150-199 % joined female

% joined male

200+

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36

Gender Differences in Gains and Losses Over 5 Years, By Corps Size 70%

65%

60%

55%

50%

45%

40%

35%

30% 0-50

50-99 % left female

100-149 % left male

150-199

% joined female

200+

% joined male

When the data is analyzed on the basis of the 100 attendance mark, the trend is still present, with a larger gender difference in losses found in the larger corps, and a larger gender difference in gains found in the smaller corps. The cause of such a trend is not immediately apparent.

2 years 0-99 100+

% left female 54.9% 59.0%

% left male 45.1% 41.0%

% joined female 64.0% 53.2%

% joined male 36.0% 46.8%

5 years 0-99 100+

% left female 52.8% 55.0%

% left male 47.2% 45.0%

% joined female 61.7% 55.8%

% joined male 38.3% 44.2%

By Community Size The data for community size indicates a similar gender pattern to the one found in connection with corps size, with a couple of exceptions. The general pattern is that losses appear closer to equal between males and females for the corps in smaller communities, with larger percentages of females lost in larger communities. The gender of those gained over two years is almost equal in larger communities, but much larger percentages of females were gained in smaller communities. In the smallest communities (less than 5,000), 71.2% of those who joined were female. The exception to this general trend is the 15,000 to 50,000 category, which shows that 80% of the gains were male. This anomaly is explained by a small sample size in this category.

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Gender Differences in Gains and Losses Over 2 Years, By Community Size 80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20% 0-5,000

5,000-15,000 % left female

2 years 0-5,000 5,000-15,000 15,000-50,000 50,000-100,000 100,000-500,000 500,000 +

% left female 47.1% 52.5% 46.2% 71.4% 56.8% 58.8%

15,000-50,000 % left male

50,000-100,000 % joined female

% left male 52.9% 47.5% 53.8% 28.6% 43.2% 41.2%

100,000-500,000

500,000 +

% joined male

% joined female 71.2% 61.0% 20.0% 59.2% 53.5% 49.2%

% joined male 28.8% 39.0% 80.0% 40.8% 46.5% 50.8%

Over 5 years, the gender pattern in losses is similar to the 2 year pattern. The difference in gains between smaller and larger communities is less significant than over 2 years. Still, more females than males were gained in smaller communities, with closer to an equal percentage of males and females gained in larger communities.

5 years 0-5,000 5,000-15,000 15,000-50,000 50,000-100,000 100,000-500,000 500,000 +

% left female 50.9% 47.4% 52.9% 62.8% 50.0% 58.7%

% left male 49.1% 52.6% 47.1% 37.2% 50.0% 41.3%

% joined female 58.3% 60.0% 28.6% 64.3% 57.7% 53.8%

% joined male 41.7% 40.0% 71.4% 35.7% 42.3% 46.2%

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Gender Differences in Losses and Gains Over 5 Years, By Community Size 80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20% 0-5,000

5,000-15,000 % left female

15,000-50,000 % left male

50,000-100,000 % joined female

100,000-500,000

500,000 +

% joined male

Urban vs. rural data on gender shows the same trend, with the exception of the 5 year gains, where there is still a significant gender gap in both rural and urban communities.

2 years 0-15,000 15,000+

% left female 50.9% 58.6%

% left male 49.1% 41.4%

% joined female 65.1% 52.9%

% joined male 34.9% 47.1%

5 years 0-15,000 15,000+

% left female 48.8% 55.7%

% left male 51.2% 44.3%

% joined female 59.6% 57.2%

% joined male 40.4% 42.8%

If communities over/under 100,000 are compared, the percentage of female gains is still higher in every category. However, the difference between communities under 100,000 and communities over 100,000 is less significant than the urban / rural difference.

2 years 0-100,000 100,000+

% left female 56.1% 57.7%

% left male 43.9% 42.3%

% joined female 62.3% 52.3%

% joined male 37.7% 47.7%

5 years 0-100,000 100,000+

% left female 52.4% 55.0%

% left male 47.6% 45.0%

% joined female 60.5% 56.1%

% joined male 39.5% 43.9%

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AGE DIFFERENCES Age is a significant factor influencing the likelihood of a change in church attendance and involvement. The data collected here confirms that both losses and gains are more commonly reported among people under 25 than among those over 25.

Raw Data Over both 2 and 5 years, approximately 65% to 70% of gains and losses came from young adults under the age of 25. This is likely due to the significant transitions that take place in the late teens and early 20s, including graduation from high school, enrollment in post-secondary education, and the early stages of a career and financial independence. Such transitions increase the likelihood that other changes, such as leaving one church and possibly joining another, will take place.

Losses 2 years 5 years

16-18 35.0% 35.3%

19-24 34.7% 31.9%

Gains 25-29 15.7% 16.8%

30-35 14.6% 15.9%

16-18 28.4% 30.7%

19-24 34.6% 33.0%

25-29 20.1% 19.9%

30-35 16.9% 16.4%

Age Differences in Gains and Losses 40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10% 16-18

19-24 2 YR LOSSES

25-29 5 YR LOSSES

2 YR GAINS

30-35 5 YR GAINS

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By Region Each region of the Territory has reported that a higher percentage of both their gains and losses have come from those under 25, compared with those 25 and over. However, there are some interesting variations on this theme. First, losses in the West are distributed more evenly across the age spectrum than in the Central and Eastern regions. Second, the Central region has the most pronounced contrast between losses of those under 25 years old and those over 25 years old, with 75% of losses over two years and almost 80% of losses over 5 years coming from 16-25 year olds. Finally, the Eastern region shows a low percentage of 16-18 year old gains, but a very large percentage of 19-24 year old gains – 42.4% over 2 years and 57.9% over 5 years.

2 Years West Central East

Losses 16-18 24.5% 38.6% 40.0%

19-24 37.8% 36.4% 29.5%

16-18 22.9% 44.6% 41.2%

19-24 31.4% 33.8% 30.2%

5 Years West Central East

Gains 25-29 19.4% 16.4% 11.4%

30-35 18.4% 8.6% 19.0%

16-18 31.4% 34.2% 19.4%

19-24 29.9% 31.6% 42.4%

25-29 22.4% 12.7% 15.4%

30-35 23.3% 8.9% 13.2%

16-18 25.0% 41.7% 19.3%

19-24 29.5% 23.3% 57.9%

Losses

25-29 19.7% 19.7% 20.8%

30-35 19.0% 14.5% 17.4%

25-29 28.0% 16.6% 12.3%

30-35 17.5% 18.4% 10.5%

Gains

Age Differences in Losses, By Region 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 16-18

19-24 2YR WEST

2YR CENTRAL

25-29 2YR EAST

5YR WEST

5YR CENTRAL

30-35 5YR EAST

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Age Differences in Gains, By Region 60% 55% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 16-18

19-24 2YR WEST

2YR CENTRAL

25-29 2YR EAST

5YR WEST

30-35

5YR CENTRAL

5YR EAST

By Corps Size Larger corps have reported a smaller percentage of their losses in the 16 to 18 year old category, over both 2 and 5 years. It is interesting that there is a similar pattern of gains, with the percentage of gains in the 16-18 year old category steadily declining as the size of the corps increases. Also, corps in the two largest attendance categories reported a higher percentage of losses in the older age categories.

2 Years 0-50 50-99 100-149 150-199 200+

Losses 16-18 37.5% 36.0% 41.4% 32.0% 13.2%

19-24 35.7% 32.0% 35.4% 24.0% 47.4%

16-18 35.6% 40.5% 45.0% 29.8% 11.6%

19-24 31.7% 25.9% 37.7% 21.3% 38.4%

5 Years 0-50 50-99 100-149 150-199 200+

25-29 14.3% 16.0% 13.1% 16.0% 23.7%

Gains 30-35 12.5% 16.0% 10.1% 28.0% 15.8%

16-18 37.0% 32.6% 22.8% 28.4% 25.0%

19-24 15.2% 43.7% 35.9% 19.4% 47.5%

30-35 19.2% 15.8% 7.3% 21.3% 24.4%

16-18 34.1% 26.5% 30.1% 45.8% 20.3%

19-24 15.9% 36.1% 42.3% 15.6% 38.0%

Losses 25-29 13.5% 17.7% 9.9% 27.7% 25.6%

25-29 26.1% 13.3% 27.6% 14.9% 17.5%

30-35 21.7% 10.4% 13.8% 37.3% 10.0%

25-29 31.8% 18.1% 20.9% 10.4% 26.6%

30-35 18.2% 19.4% 6.7% 28.1% 15.2%

Gains

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Age Differences in Losses, By Corps Size 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 16-18

19-24 2YR 0-50 5YR 0-50

2YR 50-99 5YR 50-99

25-29 2YR 100-149 5YR 100-149

2YR 150-199 5YR 150-199

30-35 2YR 200+ 5YR 200+

Age Differences in Gains, By Corps Size 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 16-18

19-24 2YR 0-50 5YR 0-50

2YR 50-99 5YR 50-99

25-29 2YR 100-149 5YR 100-149

2YR 150-199 5YR 150-199

30-35 2YR 200+ 5YR 200+

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If we divide the corps between those with over 100 for average attendance and those with less than 100, the above trends do not appear. In fact, there does not appear to be any clear difference between these two categories of corps.

2 Years 0-99 100+

Losses 16-18 36.5% 33.3%

19-24 33.1% 36.4%

16-18 38.5% 32.4%

19-24 28.2% 35.2%

5 Years 0-99 100+

25-29 15.5% 16.0%

Gains 30-35 14.9% 14.2%

16-18 33.7% 24.6%

19-24 36.5% 33.3%

30-35 17.2% 14.8%

16-18 28.1% 32.2%

19-24 31.7% 33.7%

Losses 25-29 16.0% 17.6%

25-29 16.6% 22.6%

30-35 13.3% 19.4%

25-29 21.1% 19.2%

30-35 19.1% 14.8%

Gains

By Community Size For the most part, the losses and gains in each community size category follow the pattern of the whole Territory, with higher percentages of losses and gains reported among those under 25 across the board. There are some interesting differences, however, between the 16-18 and 19-24 year old age categories in terms of losses.

Corps in the largest communities (500,000+) reported a very low percentage of losses among 16 to 18 year olds, and a much higher percentage among 19-24 year olds. By contrast, corps in the smallest communities (less than 5,000) reported significantly higher losses of 16-18 year olds than 19-24 year olds. This could be due to the fact that young adults in very small communities have no choice but to leave their home community to find work or post-secondary education.

Those in the largest communities are least likely to have to move away for these purposes, and therefore are less likely to leave their church at a younger age.

2 Years 0-5,000 5,000-15,000 15,000-50,000 50,000-100,000 100,000-500,000 500,000 +

16-18 54.9% 46.3% 54.2% 24.3% 35.5% 9.0%

Losses 19-24 25-29 15.7% 11.8% 27.8% 7.4% 20.8% 8.3% 43.2% 18.9% 37.3% 19.1% 50.7% 20.9%

30-35 17.6% 18.5% 16.7% 13.5% 8.2% 19.4%

16-18 30.9% 25.3% 88.0% 27.8% 24.6% 17.6%

19-24 63.6% 13.2% 8.0% 27.8% 39.6% 44.6%

16-18 54.8% 37.1% 37.5% 50.0% 41.9% 9.2%

Losses 19-24 25-29 24.7% 6.5% 27.8% 19.6% 16.7% 16.7% 20.4% 14.8% 36.8% 11.0% 41.5% 28.2%

30-35 14.0% 15.5% 29.2% 14.8% 10.3% 21.1%

16-18 25.5% 39.6% 86.7% 29.3% 37.3% 13.5%

19-24 66.7% 7.5% 0.0% 25.3% 35.8% 35.7%

5 Years 0-5,000 5,000-15,000 15,000-50,000 50,000-100,000 100,000-500,000 500,000 +

Gains 25-29 0.0% 34.1% 4.0% 29.6% 14.2% 27.0%

30-35 5.5% 27.5% 0.0% 14.8% 21.6% 10.8%

25-29 0.0% 30.2% 6.7% 24.2% 10.4% 36.5%

30-35 7.8% 22.6% 6.7% 21.2% 16.6% 14.3%

Gains

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44

Age Differences in Losses, By Community Size 60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0% 16-18

19-24 2YR 0-5,000 2YR 100,000-500,000 5YR 15,000-50,000

2YR 5,000-15,000 2YR 500,000+ 5YR 50,000-100,000

25-29 2YR 15,000-50,000 5YR 0-5,000 5YR 100,000-500,000

30-35 2YR 50,000-100,000 5YR 5,000-15,000 5YR 500,000 +

Age Differences in Gains, By Community Size 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 16-18

19-24 2YR 0-5,000 2YR 100,000-500,000 5YR 15,000-50,000

2YR 5,000-15,000 2YR 500,000+ 5YR 50,000-100,000

25-29 2YR 15,000-50,000 5YR 0-5,000 5YR 100,000-500,000

30-35 2YR 50,000-100,000 5YR 5,000-15,000 5YR 500,000 +

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45

The urban/rural comparison shows a similar pattern, particularly in the 2 year trend. In terms of gains, however, the differences between urban and rural corps are much smaller.

2 Years 0-15,000 15,000 +

16-18 50.5% 28.2%

Losses 19-24 25-29 21.9% 9.5% 40.3% 18.5%

30-35 18.1% 13.0%

16-18 27.4% 28.9%

19-24 32.2% 35.9%

16-18 45.8% 29.8%

Losses 19-24 25-29 26.3% 13.2% 34.8% 18.8%

30-35 14.7% 16.6%

16-18 32.7% 30.3%

19-24 36.5% 32.1%

5 Years 0-15,000 15,000 +

Gains 25-29 21.2% 19.5%

30-35 19.2% 15.7%

25-29 15.4% 21.0%

30-35 15.4% 16.6%

Gains

In relation to the age at which people leave their church, it seems that the 100,000 population mark is slightly more significant than the 15,000 mark. The percentage of gains and losses among 16-18 year olds is higher in communities of less than 100,000, while the percentage of gains and losses of 19-24 year olds is higher among communities of more than 100,000.

2 Years 0-100,000 100,000 +

16-18 45.2% 25.4%

Losses 19-24 25-29 26.5% 11.4% 42.4% 19.8%

30-35 16.9% 12.4%

16-18 34.2% 22.1%

19-24 28.4% 41.3%

16-18 45.9% 25.2%

Losses 19-24 25-29 24.3% 13.8% 39.2% 19.8%

30-35 16.0% 15.8%

16-18 34.9% 27.9%

19-24 28.9% 35.7%

5 Years 0-100,000 100,000 +

Gains 25-29 21.3% 18.8%

30-35 16.0% 17.8%

25-29 18.8% 20.7%

30-35 17.4% 15.7%

Gains

CONCLUSION The demographic data uncovered in the Territorial Young Adult Research Project provides us with some important insights into the issue of young adult attrition in The Salvation Army in Canada and Bermuda. The eight “highlight� points noted at the outset of this report summarize the most significant findings of the ministry unit survey.

Based on the findings of this survey regarding current young adult population, number of corps reporting losses, and net denominational gains, there is no reason to believe that The Salvation Army is faring worse than other denominations in attracting and retaining young adult members.

In fact, with only a slight net loss reported over five years, it would seem that the Army is actually faring quite well. However, it must be noted that there are reasons to question the accuracy of the data. Internal attendance records (SAMIS) for the Territory indicate that there was a 9.67% drop in attendance over the five year period between 2002 and 2007. It would be rather odd if the young adult population in the Army was holding steady while overall attendance was dropping. Therefore, we should be cautious in drawing conclusions from this survey alone.

Even if the numbers are slightly inflated, this research should give Salvationists reason to believe that the loss of young adults is not as bad as many have presumed.

THE TERRITORIAL YOUNG ADULT RESEARCH PROJECT

REPORT 3: YOUNG ADULT OPINION RESEARCH

INTRODUCTION In the winter of 2008, a series of three web-based surveys were launched and sent out to current and former Salvationist young adults, aged 16-35. The initial contacts were gathered from corps leaders across the Territory. After that, participants were asked to provide further contacts of friends and acquaintances who might want to participate in the survey.

The purpose of the survey was to gain an understanding of the views and opinions of young adults regarding the Salvation Army. Three different versions of the survey were designed, though some questions were common to all three versions. Survey 1 was designed for those participants who are currently active in a Salvation Army corps, survey 2 was for those who no longer worship at the Army but now attend another church, and survey 3 was for those who do not currently attend any church.

This report will present a summary of the findings of the three surveys. Some of the key highlights of the report are summarized below: • • • • • • • •

Denominational membership is in decline.

Quality relationships and meaningful opportunities for involvement are the most significant positive influences on young adult involvement.

No particular issue dominates the concerns of young adults with the Army.

Teaching and discipleship are key issues of concern.

Concern is low for classic controversial Salvation Army issues.

There is a significant gap between Army culture and young adult culture.

Younger SA attenders find basic theological terms less meaningful.

Young adults are unsure about the future of the Army.

A shorter version of this report is available, based on the above highlights listed above.

PARTICIPATION Over 800 invitations to participate in the project were sent out by email to young adults across the Territory. The response rate was much higher for survey 1 (active Salvationists) than it was for survey 2 (former Salvationists churchgoers) and survey 3 (former Salvationists not active in a church). There were a total of 362 surveys completed, with 274 completed by active Salvationists, 59 by former Salvationist churchgoers, and 39 by those not active in a church. A summary of the participation by age group, gender, and region is presented below. For the purposes of this project, the Territory has been divided into regions as follows: West (BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba), Central (Ontario and Quebec), and East (the Maritimes, Newfoundland, and Bermuda).

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47

Survey 1 274

Survey 2 59

Survey 3 39

Total 372

Male Female

113 161

21 38

19 20

153 219

West Central East

62 138 74

10 38 11

8 22 9

80 198 94

16-18 19-24 25-29 30-35

39 111 69 55

0 8 28 23

3 10 14 12

42 129 111 90

Respondents

The small number of respondents for surveys 2 and 3 means that detailed analysis of this data according to gender, region, and age group would not be responsible. Therefore for surveys 2 and 3, unfortunately, we will only be able to present the overall results. In relation to active Salvationists, however, we will be able to look at differences in gender, region, and age group.

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP, ATTENDANCE, AND INVOLVEMENT Membership Most of those who participated in the survey as active attenders of a Salvation Army corps were official members, with nearly 70% identifying themselves as soldiers, and another 15% as adherents. This is in stark contrast with former Salvationists who now attend other churches: 62% of them have not become members of their new church. This indifference towards denominational membership reflects broader trends in Church culture. With denominational switching becoming more and more prevalent, many believers are wary of becoming official members of the churches where they worship. Those who attend no church were also asked to tell us if they consider themselves to be Salvationists and if they consider themselves to be Christians. Of this group, 18% continue to identify themselves as Salvationists, and 78% identify as Christians. The latter statistic in particular supports Reginald Bibby’s assertion that many of those who have “left” the Church continue to identify themselves as religious.

SA Attenders Membership: % non-member 8.0% soldiers 68.9% adherents 15.2% officers 8.0%

Other Church Attenders Membership: % non-member 62.1% member 37.9%

Non-Attenders Self-identification: I consider myself a Salvationist I consider myself a Christian

% 18% 78%

The proportion of SA attenders who indicated that they are soldiers is very similar between male and female respondents. However, a higher proportion of female respondents were non-members and adherents, and a higher proportion of male respondents were officers.

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Young Adult Opinion Research

Membership nonmember soldiers adherents officers

Male 5.8% 70.2% 11.5% 12.5%

Female 9.5% 68.4% 17.1% 5.1%

48

Difference +3.7%F +1.8%M +5.6%F +7.4%M

A regional comparison of the SA attenders who responded to this survey reveals that a lower percentage of respondents from the Central region were soldiers and a higher percentage were adherents. The Eastern respondents included the largest proportion of officers of the three regions, with the Western region showing the lowest proportion of officer respondents.

Membership non-member soldiers adherents officers

West 8.6% 75.3% 12.9% 3.2%

SA Attenders Central 7.6% 65.6% 18.3% 8.4%

East 4.2% 71.8% 12.7% 11.3%

Variance from Mean (average of regions) West Central East +1.8% +0.8% -2.6% +4.4% -5.3% +0.9% -1.7% +3.7% -2.0% -4.4% +0.8% +3.6%

A comparison of the four age groups among Army attenders shows that the split between covenanted members (soldiers and officers) and other responders is roughly 60% to 40% among 16 to 18 year olds, and 90% to 10% among 30-35 year olds. This could be interpreted to mean that either a) younger Salvationists are not becoming soldiers at the same rate as their predecessors 10 to 20 years ago, or b) younger Salvationists are waiting until they are older to make decisions about membership.

Membership of Active SA Responders 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 16-18

19-24

25-29

soldiers / officers

adherents / non-members

30-35

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Young Adult Opinion Research

Membership nonmember soldiers adherents officers

16-18 15.8% 60.5% 23.7% 0.0%

SA Attenders 19-24 25-29 11.7% 4.2% 73.8% 61.1% 13.6% 19.4% 1.0% 15.3%

30-35 0.0% 76.9% 10.3% 12.8%

16-18 +7.9% -7.6% +6.9% -7.3%

49

Variance from Mean 19-24 25-29 +3.7% -3.7% +5.7% -7.0% -3.2% +2.7% -6.3% +8.0%

30-35 -7.9% +8.8% -6.5% +5.6%

If we look at the former membership status of those who have stopped worshipping a the Salvation Army, we find that approximately three quarters of these responders had been soldiers when the were attending a Salvation Army corps.

Previous Army Membership nonmember soldiers adherents officers

Other Church Attenders 13.8% 77.6% 5.2% 3.4%

Non-Attenders 15.0% 75.0% 10.0% 0.0%

Of those who have gone on to other denominations, the largest percentage have remained in the Wesleyan / holiness family of churches, with a significant portion also becoming a part of Pentecostal or charismatic churches.

Denominations Attended by former Salvationists

nl in e,

.2% te, 5 noni Me n

M ai

6.

9%

Wesleyan / Holiness, 22.4%

B ap

tis t, 8.

6%

Other evangelical, 8.6%

Pentecostal / Charismatic, 15.5%

It is also the case that most of those participating in all three surveys came from an “Army background.� About three quarters of the former Salvationist respondents came from families in

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50

which their parents were soldiers, officer, or adherents, and over 80% of current Salvationists came from the same background.

Family background: church members officers soldiers adherents none

SA Attenders 7.9% 30.5% 46.2% 7.9% 10.5%

Other Church Attenders 13.8% 24.1% 46.6% 12.1% 5.2%

Non-Attenders 12.5% 15.0% 55.0% 5.0% 5.0%

Attendance Most of the church attenders who participated in this survey are regular attenders, with 94% of respondents to survey 1 and 98% of respondents to survey 2 indicating that they attend worship services at least 2 or 3 times per month. This means that those who have responded to the survey are people who are engaged in the life of the church.

Attendance weekly 2-3 month once month up to 6 year less than 6

SA Attenders 83.1% 10.9% 3.8% 1.5% 0.8%

Other Church Attenders 70.7% 27.6% 1.7% 0.0% 0.0%

The differences in attendance rates between males and females was negligible. Regionally, however, there seems to be slightly lower weekly attendance rate among the respondents from the Central region, and a higher proportion of monthly attenders.

Attendance of Active SA Resondents, by Region (Variance from Mean) 3.0%

2.0%

1.0%

0.0% weekly

2-3 month

once month

up to 6 year

-1.0%

-2.0%

-3.0%

-4.0% West

Central

East

less than 6

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Young Adult Opinion Research

Attendance weekly 2-3 month once month up to 6 year less than 6

West 84.9% 10.8% 3.2% 1.1% 0.0%

SA Attenders Central 79.5% 13.6% 4.5% 1.5% 0.8%

East 84.7% 9.7% 2.8% 1.4% 1.4%

51

West +1.9% -0.6% -0.3% -0.3% -0.7%

Variance from Mean Central -3.5% +2.3% +1.0% +0.2% 0.0%

East +1.7% -1.6% -0.7% +0.1% +0.7%

Weekly attendance rates dip among the respondents in their 20s, and are strongest among 30-35 year old respondents, followed by 16-18 year olds. Also, a higher proportion of those under 25 attend two or three times per month.

Attendance: weekly 2-3 month once month up to 6 year less than 6

16-18 84.2% 13.2% 0.0% 2.6% 0.0%

SA Attenders 19-24 25-29 80.0% 79.4% 14.3% 8.8% 3.8% 8.8% 1.0% 1.5% 1.0% 1.5%

30-35 89.7% 7.7% 0.0% 2.6% 0.0%

16-18 +0.9% +2.2% -3.2% +0.7% -0.6%

Variance from Mean 19-24 25-29 -3.3% -3.9% +3.3% -2.2% +0.7% +5.7% -1.0% -0.4% +0.3% +0.9%

30-35 +6.4% -3.3% -3.2% +0.7% -0.6%

Involvement We also asked respondents to indicate what ministries they are currently involved in. The Army respondents indicated higher levels of involvement than those who attend other churches in every category included in the survey. The only category where those in other denominations were almost equally involved as Army attenders was Bible study.

Involvement in Church Activities 70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0% Children's Ministries

Bible Study

Music Ministries

Social Services

SA Attenders

Youth Group

Mission Board

Other Church Attenders

Services to Seniors

College & Careers

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52

It should be recalled, however, that the average age of those participating in the survey from other denominations is much higher than that of the Army attenders, so that may explain in part the lack of involvement in activities, particularly youth group and children’s ministries, where younger people are more likely to be involved.

Among Army attenders, the male respondents reported higher levels of involvement in all of the ministries included in the survey, with the exception of children’s ministries, which showed a 16% higher level of involvement among females, and music ministry, in which females reported slightly higher levels of involvement.

Involvement Children's Ministries Bible Study Music Ministries Social Services Youth Group Mission Board Services to Seniors College & Careers

Male 37.2% 46.9% 54.9% 20.4% 52.2% 26.5% 17.7% 23.9%

SA Attenders Female 53.4% 43.5% 57.8% 12.4% 40.4% 11.2% 8.1% 11.2%

Difference +16.2% F +3.4% M +2.9% F +7.9% M +11.8% M +15.4% M +9.6% M +12.7% M

The fact that males are generally more involved than females is significant, and may be related to the fact that female respondents showed higher levels of concern regarding opportunities for involvement in ministry (to be discussed below). In particular, it is interesting that the proportion of females involved in children’s ministry is considerably higher (16.2%) than the proportion of males involved, while more males are involved in leadership on the mission board (15.4% difference). Are women “ghettoized” into certain ministries, and somewhat restricted or underrepresented in senior leadership positions in the local congregation?

A comparison of age groups among Salvation Army attenders demonstrates the typical changes in involvement that come with age. The older young adults participating in the survey tended to be less involved than younger participants in children’s ministries, music ministries, and youth group, while younger participants were less likely to be involved in social service, mission board, or services to seniors.

Involvement: Children's Ministries Bible Study Music Ministries Social Services Youth Group Mission Board Services to Seniors College & Careers

16-18 63.2% 50.0% 68.4% 5.3% 76.3% 0.0% 2.6% 10.5%

SA Attenders 19-24 25-29 46.7% 42.6% 41.9% 47.1% 60.0% 54.4% 12.4% 22.1% 52.4% 35.3% 8.6% 29.4% 10.5% 14.7% 22.9% 19.1%

30-35 43.6% 53.8% 56.4% 25.6% 30.8% 33.3% 20.5% 10.3%

16-18 +14.2% +1.8% +8.6% -11.1% +27.6% -17.8% -9.5% -5.2%

Variance from Mean 19-24 25-29 -2.3% -6.4% -6.3% -1.1% +0.2% -5.4% -4.0% +5.8% +3.7% -13.4% -9.2% +11.6% -1.6% +2.6% +7.2% +3.4%

30-35 -5.4% +5.6% -3.4% +9.3% -17.9% +15.5% +8.4% -5.4%

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Involvement Changes by Age among SA Attenders 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 16-18 Children's Ministries Youth Group

19-24 Bible Study Mission Board

25-29 Music Ministries Services to Seniors

30-35 Social Services College & Careers

The regional breakdown of involvement shows that the respondents from the Central region reported lower involvement in nearly all categories, except for college and career ministries.

Respondents from the East reported higher levels of involvement in music ministry and Bible study, while those in the West reported the highest levels of involvement in social services and youth group.

Involvement Children's Ministries Bible Study Music Ministries Social Services Youth Group Mission Board Services to Seniors College & Careers

West 49.0% 49.0% 54.2% 19.8% 52.1% 17.7% 13.5% 13.5%

SA Attenders Central 42.8% 39.9% 54.3% 13.0% 39.9% 14.5% 10.1% 19.6%

East 52.7% 52.7% 66.2% 13.5% 51.4% 18.9% 10.8% 13.5%

Variance from Mean West Central East +0.8% -5.4% +4.6% +1.8% -7.3% +5.5% -4.1% -3.9% +8.0% +4.3% -2.4% -1.9% +4.3% -7.9% +3.6% +0.7% -2.5% +1.9% +2.0% -1.4% -0.7% -2.0% +4.0% -2.0%

Finally, we asked respondents to tell us if they are more or less involved than they were 2 years ago and 5 years ago. If we compare the SA attenders with those who have gone on to another church, we find that a higher proportion of the SA group reported being more involved than they were both 2 and 5 years ago. There is a correspondingly higher proportion of other church attenders who say that they are less involved than they were both 2 and 5 years ago.

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Young Adult Opinion Research

Involvement Change More than 2 yrs ago Less than 2 yrs ago Same as 2 yrs ago More than 5 yrs ago Less than 5 yrs ago Same as 5 yrs ago

54

SA Attenders 38.6% 28.0% 33.3%

Other Church Attenders 27.6% 34.5% 37.9%

Difference +11.1% SA +6.5% Other +4.6% Other

52.7% 29.5% 17.8%

34.5% 46.6% 15.5%

+18.2% SA +17.0% Other +2.3% SA

Involvement Change Over Five Years 60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0% More than 5 yrs ago

Less than 5 yrs ago SA Attenders

Same as 5 yrs ago

Other Church Attenders

We also asked those who have left the Army for another church if they are more or less involved now than they were when the attended the Army. Nearly 60% indicated that they were less involved now as compared to their involvement with the Army, and only 13.8% indicated that they are more involved in their current church.

Current involvement versus Army involvement More involved 13.8% Less involved 58.6% Same involvement 27.6%

A breakdown of the data on involvement change among SA attenders by gender indicates that females were more likely to report that they have become less involved, and males more likely to report an increase in involvement.

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Involvement Change: More than 2 yrs ago Less than 2 yrs ago Same as 2 yrs ago

SA Attenders Male Female 49.0% 47.8% 21.2% 24.9% 29.8% 27.3%

Difference +1.2% M +3.7% F +2.5% M

More than 5 yrs ago Less than 5 yrs ago Same as 5 yrs ago

60.6% 22.1% 17.3%

+13.1% M +12.1% F +1.0% F

47.5% 34.2% 18.4%

Regionally, the Central region had the highest percentage of respondents reporting an increase of involvement over 2 years, and the Eastern region had the lowest percentage reporting an increase.

Involvement More than 2 yrs ago Less than 2 yrs ago Same as 2 yrs ago

SA Attenders West Central 37.5% 42.8% 26.0% 26.8% 32.3% 30.4%

East 33.8% 24.3% 37.8%

Variance from Mean West Central East -0.5% +4.7% -4.2% +0.3% +1.1% -1.4% -1.2% -3.1% +4.3%

More than 5 yrs ago Less than 5 yrs ago Same as 5 yrs ago

50.0% 26.0% 20.8%

48.6% 29.7% 18.9%

+0.5% -2.7% +3.0%

50.0% 30.4% 13.8%

+0.5% +1.7% -4.1%

-0.9% +1.0% +1.1%

The age category data shows that, over five years, the younger respondents were more likely to report and increase, while those in their late 20s and 30s were more likely to report the same level of involvement as 5 years ago. Even still, in all of the age categories, a higher percentage of respondents reported that they are more involved now than they were 5 years ago than the percentage who reported less involvement.

Involvement More than 2 yrs ago Less than 2 yrs ago Same as 2 yrs ago

16-18 36.8% 23.7% 39.5%

SA Attenders 19-24 25-29 41.0% 30.9% 30.5% 32.4% 28.6% 35.3%

30-35 35.9% 20.5% 41.0%

16-18 +0.7% -3.1% +3.4%

More than 5 yrs ago Less than 5 yrs ago Same as 5 yrs ago

63.2% 26.3% 10.5%

55.2% 30.5% 13.3%

46.2% 28.2% 25.6%

+11.0% -2.7% -8.1%

44.1% 30.9% 25.0%

Variance from Mean 19-24 25-29 +4.8% -5.3% +3.7% +5.6% -7.5% -0.8% +3.1% +1.5% -5.3%

-8.0% +1.9% +6.4%

30-35 -0.2% -6.2% +4.9% -6.0% -0.8% +7.0%

POSITIVE INFLUENCES ON INVOLVEMENT: ACTIVE SA ATTENDERS We asked those who are currently attending a Salvation Army congregation to rate a number of influences as to their significance in keeping them connected to the Army. The specific question asked in the survey was: “Please rate the following according to how important they have been in keeping you involved with the Salvation Army.� Participants were asked to rate each item on a five point scale as follows: 1 = not important at all/not applicable; 2 = not very important; 3 = may have played a role 4 = important; 5 = very important

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The response was quite strong overall, with 12 of the 15 factors listed rated as “important” or “very important” by over 50% of respondents. The influences which received the top three response rates are all relational: one’s relationship with God, supportive relationships in a church family, and positive role models. The next two issues are about involvement: meaningful opportunities for involvement, and involvement in church activities. Of course these two sets of issues are related, as it is normally in the context of involvement in church activities that relationships are given the opportunity to develop and flourish. While divisional events and camping ministries are not rated as highly as one might expect, it should be noted that each of these issues was still rated as important or very important by nearly 60% of respondents. What is somewhat surprising is that the desire to follow the example of one’s parents rated very low, with only 34.5% of respondents indicating that this was an important factor influencing their involvement.

Issue My personal relationship with God Having a supportive church family Having positive role models in my church Having meaningful opportunities for involvement Involvement in church activities The teaching I received was helpful in my walk My personal commitment to SA mission Wanting to pass on my faith to my kids Divisional events such as youth councils Having Salvationist friends My experiences in SA camping ministry My agreement with the SA's ethical positions Finding a spouse who is a Salvationist Desire to follow the example of my parents Being involved in the S.A. helps answer the big questions of life

important / very important 89.4% 86.0% 84.8% 76.2% 73.5% 71.6% 69.4% 61.5% 59.8% 59.2% 58.6% 55.1% 42.7% 34.5% 33.2%

We can examine the data from another angle by comparing the percentage of respondents who rated each factor as “not at all important / not applicable” or “not important.” Again, it is clear that the response was highly positive, because 13 of the 15 items were considered unimportant by less than 30% of the respondents, and none of them were rated unimportant by more even 50% of respondents (see chart below). For the most part, the data listed in order of unimportance is a reversal of the influences listed in order of importance. The top five issues in terms of importance are the same as the bottom five issues in terms of unimportance, although the order is slightly different. This strengthens the case for viewing the issues of quality relationships and meaningful involvement as key to maintaining involvement.

However, some differences can be noted by examining the unimportance ratings. While we saw above that about 60% of respondents viewed divisional events and camping ministry as important, only about 25% said that they were unimportant factors influencing their continued involvement. The issue of having Salvationist friends was rated almost identically on the importance scale, but a lower number of young adults (15%) rated this issue as unimportant, indicating that the overall importance of this issue is likely more significant than camping and divisional events.

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Young Adult Opinion Research

Issue Finding a Salvationist spouse Desire to follow the example of my parents Being involved in the S.A. helps answer the big questions of life Wanting to pass on my faith to my kids My experiences in SA camping ministry Divisional events such as youth councils Having Salvationist friends My agreement with the SA's ethical positions My personal commitment to SA mission The teaching I received was helpful in my walk Involvement in church activities Having meaningful opportunities for involvement Having a supportive church family My personal relationship with God Having positive role models in my church

57

NA / not important 43.8% 42.8% 29.4% 26.7% 26.2% 25.0% 15.8% 15.5% 13.2% 12.1% 9.5% 6.1% 6.1% 5.3% 4.9%

Gender Differences There are some significant gender differences regarding the importance of particular positive influences among current Army attenders. The results are ranked below in order of the significance of the gap between the genders.

Influences Rated Higher by Males Commitment to SA mission Meaningful opportunities for involvement Desire to follow parents' example Finding a Salvationist spouse Agreement with the SA's ethical positions Influences Rated Higher by Females Having Salvationist friends Wanting to pass on my faith to my kids A supportive church family Involvement in church activities SA involvement helps answer life's big Qs Positive role models in my church Teaching I received was helpful in my walk Influences with Negligible Gender Differences Divisional events such as youth councils Experiences in SA camping ministry My personal relationship w God

Important / Very Male Female 74.0% 66.7% 80.4% 73.2% 35.9% 33.3% 44.1% 41.7% 56.7% 54.7%

M/F Difference +7.4%M +7.1%M +2.6%M +2.5%M +2.0%M

Important / Very Male Female 51.9% 64.8% 57.3% 63.7% 82.5% 88.7% 70.9% 76.1% 30.4% 35.4% 82.5% 86.8% 69.9% 73.0%

M/F Difference +12.9%F +6.4%F +6.2%F +5.2%F +5.1%F +4.3%F +3.1%F

Important / Very Male Female 59.2% 60.4% 57.8% 58.5% 89.4% 89.3%

M/F Difference +1.2%F +0.6%F +0.1%M

Personal commitment to Army mission and meaningful opportunities for involvement were rated as important by 7% more males than females. Nearly 13% more female respondents rated having Salvationist friends as important. The importance of passing on the faith to one’s

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58

children and having a supportive church family also rated higher among females. The influence of divisional events, camping ministry, and one’s personal relationship with God were rated nearly equal by male and female respondents.

Gender Differences in Influences on Involvement Among SA Attenders 90% 85% 80% 75% 70% 65% 60% 55% 50% 45% 40% Having Salvationist friends

Commitment to SA mission

Meaningful opportunities for involvement male

Wanting to pass on A supportive church my faith to my kids family

female

Regional Differences The regional differences in the ratings of influences on involvement are more significant than the gender differences reviewed above. The influences are rated below according to the total variance in the responses from the three regions.

The largest regional differences concern the importance of divisional events and camping ministry, with nearly 23% more respondents from the East rating divisional events as important when compared to respondents from the Central region, and a spread of 18.4% regarding the importance of camping ministry. There is also a considerable gap between the East and the Central regions regarding the influence of meaningful opportunities for involvement. In general, more respondents from the East rated the influences in question as important, and fewer in the Central region. The Western response was particularly lower on the issues of wanting to pass on faith to children, desire to follow parents’ example, and the possibility of involvement helping to answer the big questions of life.

There appears to be less disagreement on the relational influences, noted above as the top three issues from across the Territory. One’s personal relationship with God, having a supportive

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59

church family, and having positive role models are three of the four influences with the least regional disparity of the issues considered. The two involvement factors, which were numbers 4 and 5 Territorially, are rated considerably higher in the East.

Central

East

High / Low Variance

66.3% 51.9% 74.6% 57.1% 53.4% 71.8% 81.5% 67.7% 85.5% 54.3% 62.8% 67.6% 62.0% 50.8% 60.6% 76.1% 71.0% 81.7% 35.9% 46.5% 40.8% 73.9% 67.2% 77.5% 71.7% 65.9% 76.1% 27.2% 35.9% 36.6% 26.4% 35.4% 35.7% 84.8% 84.0% 93.0% 82.6% 84.0% 90.1% 58.7% 59.1% 66.2% 89.1% 87.9% 93.0%

Variance from Mean

West

Divisional events such as youth councils Experiences in SA camping ministry Meaningful opportunities for involvement Wanting to pass on my faith to my kids Agreement with the SA's ethical positions Involvement in church activities Finding a Salvationist spouse Teaching I received was helpful in my walk Commitment to SA mission Desire to follow parents' example SA involvement helps answer life's big Qs A supportive church family Positive role models in my church Having Salvationist friends My personal relationship w God

East

Central

Importance rating

West

Influences on Involvement

+2.0% -3.7% +3.3% -7.2% +4.2% -0.2% -5.2% +1.1% +0.5% -6.0% -6.1% -2.5% -3.0% -2.6% -0.9%

-12.4% -7.4% -10.5% +1.2% -7.0% -5.3% +5.4% -5.7% -5.3% +2.7% +2.9% -3.3% -1.6% -2.2% -2.1%

+10.4% +11.0% +7.3% +6.0% +2.8% +5.4% -0.2% +4.6% +4.8% +3.4% +3.2% +5.7% +4.6% +4.9% +3.0%

22.7% 18.4% 17.8% 13.3% 11.2% 10.7% 10.6% 10.3% 10.1% 9.4% 9.3% 9.0% 7.5% 7.5% 5.1%

Regional Differences in Influcences on Involvement, SA Attenders 15%

10%

5%

0% West

Central

East

-5%

-10%

-15% Divisional events such as youth councils Meaningful opportunities for involvement Agreement with the SA's ethical positions

Experiences in SA camping ministry Wanting to pass on my faith to my kids

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There are also some significant differences in the percentage of respondents who rated certain influences as “unimportant” in the three regions. While nearly half of respondents in the West and Central regions said their desire to follow their parent’s example was unimportant in keeping them involved, the only 29.6% of the Eastern respondents felt this was unimportant. Again, divisional events are viewed quite differently across the Territory, with 30.5% of Central respondents indicating that these were unimportant, compared with 22.8% of the Western respondents, and only 12.7% of the Eastern respondents. Also, the three relational influences identified above (God, church family, and role models) show low levels of variance across the Territory.

Desire to follow parents' example Divisional events such as youth councils SA involvement helps answer life's big Qs Finding a Salvationist spouse Agreement with the SA's ethical positions Wanting to pass on my faith to my kids Teaching I received was helpful in my walk Experiences in SA camping ministry Involvement in church activities Having Salvationist friends Meaningful opportunities for involvement My personal relationship w God Positive role models in my church Commitment to SA mission A supportive church family

46.7% 48.1% 29.6% +5.3% 22.8% 30.5% 12.7% +0.8% 30.8% 32.3% 18.6% +3.6% 52.2% 38.6% 46.5% +6.4% 10.9% 20.5% 7.0% -1.9% 33.7% 24.0% 22.5% +6.9% 9.8% 16.0% 5.6% -0.7% 28.6% 28.2% 18.3% +3.5% 10.9% 11.5% 4.2% +2.0% 17.4% 17.4% 11.3% +2.0% 5.4% 8.5% 2.9% -0.2% 5.4% 6.8% 1.4% +0.9% 4.3% 6.9% 2.8% -0.3% 14.1% 12.9% 11.3% +1.4% 6.5% 6.9% 4.2% +0.6%

High / Low Variance

East

Central

Variance from Mean

West

East

Central

Unimportance rating

West

Influences on Involvement

+6.6% -11.9% 18.5% +8.5% -9.3% 17.9% +5.1% -8.6% 13.7% -7.2% +0.7% 13.6% +7.7% -5.7% 13.4% -2.7% -4.2% 11.2% +5.5% -4.8% 10.4% +3.2% -6.7% 10.3% +2.6% -4.6% 7.2% +2.1% -4.1% 6.2% +2.9% -2.7% 5.6% +2.3% -3.1% 5.4% +2.2% -1.9% 4.1% +0.1% -1.5% 2.9% +1.0% -1.6% 2.6%

Age Differences Age has an even more significant impact on the value that young adults place upon various influences in their life. Of particular interest is the difference in the value placed on divisional events, with a 41.3% difference between the importance rating of 16-18 year olds and that of 3035 year olds when it comes to divisional events such as Youth Councils, and a 33% difference in the importance rating given to experiences in camping ministry. The only influence with a significantly higher importance rating among older responders was “finding a Salvationist spouse.”

It is interesting that the influence of positive role models was rated as important by fewer older respondents. Nearly 95% of 16-18 year olds said role models were important, but only 73% of 30-35 year olds agreed. Another trend that needs to be noted is the declining importance placed on the influence of teaching. We will see a corresponding increase in concern regarding the quality of teaching as respondents age (see “Issues of Concern” below).

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Young Adult Opinion Research

Influences on Involvement

Importance Rating

61

Variance from Mean

16-18 19-24 25-29 30-35 16-18 Divisional events such as youth councils Experiences in SA camping ministry Finding a Salvationist spouse Positive role models in my church SA involvement helps answer life's big Qs Teaching I received was helpful in my walk Having Salvationist friends Agreement with the SA's ethical positions Desire to follow parents' example Wanting to pass on my faith to my kids Involvement in church activities A supportive church family My personal relationship w God Meaningful opportunities for involvement Commitment to SA mission

76.3% 63.2% 26.3% 94.7% 29.7% 78.9% 68.4% 50.0% 26.3% 52.6% 68.4% 89.5% 92.1% 71.1% 71.1%

66.7% 65.4% 34.7% 87.6% 38.5% 73.3% 59.0% 60.0% 40.0% 62.5% 77.1% 89.5% 90.5% 78.8% 66.7%

52.9% 58.8% 58.2% 82.4% 27.9% 70.6% 61.8% 57.4% 30.9% 62.7% 75.0% 80.9% 88.2% 74.2% 70.6%

19-24

25-29

35.1% +18.6% +8.9% -4.8% 32.4% +8.2% +10.4% +3.9% 52.6% -16.6% -8.3% +15.3% 73.0% +10.3% +3.2% -2.1% 21.6% +0.3% +9.0% -1.5% 62.2% +7.7% +2.1% -0.7% 52.6% +8.0% -1.4% +1.3% 44.7% -3.0% +7.0% +4.3% 32.4% -6.1% +7.6% -1.5% 56.8% -6.0% +3.9% +4.0% 73.0% -5.0% +3.8% +1.6% 89.2% +2.2% +2.3% -6.4% 84.2% +3.3% +1.7% -0.5% 73.0% -3.2% +4.6% +0.0% 71.1% +1.2% -3.2% +0.7%

30-35 -22.6% -22.5% +9.7% -11.4% -7.8% -9.1% -7.8% -8.3% +0.0% -1.9% -0.4% +1.9% -4.5% -1.3% +1.2%

High / Low 41.2% 33.0% 31.9% 21.8% 16.8% 16.8% 15.8% 15.3% 13.7% 10.1% 8.7% 8.6% 7.9% 7.8% 4.4%

Age Differences in Ratings of Influences on Involvement, SA Attenders (Variance from Mean) 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% -5% -10% -15% -20% -25% 16-18

19-24

Divisional events such as youth councils Finding a Salvationist spouse SA involvement helps answer life's big Qs

25-29

30-35

Experiences in SA camping ministry Positive role models in my church Teaching I received was helpful in my walk

Most of the answers which scored the highest overall – the influences of relationships and involvement – showed lower amounts of variance with age. While the influence of positive role models showed a significant variance in its importance rating (above), it showed the lowest amount of variance in its unimportance rating (below).

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Young Adult Opinion Research

Influences on Involvement

Unimportance Rating

Finding a Salvationist spouse SA involvement helps answer life's big Qs Divisional events such as youth councils Experiences in SA camping ministry Agreement with the SA's ethical positions Wanting to pass on my faith to my kids Desire to follow parents' example Teaching I received was helpful in my walk Commitment to SA mission Meaningful opportunities for involvement A supportive church family Having Salvationist friends Involvement in church activities My personal relationship w God Positive role models in my church

62

Variance from Mean

16-18 19-24 25-29 30-35 16-18

19-24

25-29

63.2% 29.7% 13.2% 18.4% 13.2% 36.8% 50.0% 5.3% 5.3% 13.2% 7.9% 10.5% 13.2% 2.6% 5.3%

+2.1% -11.4% -6.1% -7.6% +2.5% -1.0% -9.3% +0.2% +2.8% -5.3% -0.6% +3.0% -4.6% -0.6% +1.5%

-14.0% -5.9% -2.6% +17.8% +4.7% +14.4% +1.6% +15.4% -8.2% +8.1% -7.9% +0.9% +1.6% +3.2% +2.6% +4.1% +3.7% +0.7% -5.1% +5.4% +3.5% -5.4% -1.8% 3.4% +1.4% +0.4% +3.5% -0.1% +1.7% -4.2%

47.5% 22.1% 20.0% 20.2% 18.1% 27.9% 36.2% 12.4% 15.2% 2.9% 4.8% 18.1% 5.7% 4.8% 5.7%

31.3% 30.9% 30.9% 29.4% 7.4% 20.9% 47.1% 14.7% 16.2% 3.0% 8.8% 13.2% 11.8% 8.8% 5.9%

39.5% +17.8% 51.4% -3.8% 40.5% -13.0% 43.2% -9.4% 23.7% -2.4% 29.7% 8.0% 48.6% +4.5% 16.2% -6.9% 13.2% -7.2% 13.5% +5.0% 0.0% +2.5% 18.4% -4.5% 10.8% +2.8% 5.3% -2.7% 0.0% +1.0%

30-35

High / Low 31.8% 29.2% 27.4% 24.8% 16.3% 15.9% 13.8% 11.0% 10.9% 10.6% 8.8% 7.9% 7.4% 6.2% 5.9%

Influence of Positive Role Models on SA Attenders 15%

10%

5%

0%

-5%

-10%

-15% 16-18

19-24 Importance Rating

25-29

30-35

Unimportance Rating

REASONS FOR JOINING A NEW CHURCH: FORMER SALVATIONISTS We asked those former Salvationists who have now joined another church to tell us what drew them to the church that they now attend. Nearly 95% of respondents identified the quality of the teaching as an important influence on their decision. About 80% rated the worship experience and the supportive church family as important or very important.

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The issue of sacraments is worth noting, because of its controversial status in current Salvation Army discussions: about 57% of respondents indicated that they appreciate the sacramental aspect of their new church. Otherwise, it is also important at this point to note the scores given to denominational factors. First of all, there is huge drop in the responses outlined in the table below when it comes to denominational events and camping programs. Almost no respondents rated these as important draws. However, about half indicated that they identify with the denomination of the church they now attend.

Issue quality of the teaching quality of the worship experience having a supportive church family ethical/moral standards Friends my age having positive role models in my church helps answer the big questions of life finding a church my spouse and I agree on having meaningful opportunities for involvement I appreciate the sacramental aspect of worship the focus on mission I identify with the denomination good programs for my children ministry opportunities denominational events such as retreats, etc denominational camping programs

important / very important 94.8% 82.8% 79.3% 77.6% 74.1% 72.4% 65.5% 63.8% 58.6% 56.9% 56.1% 51.7% 48.3% 46.6% 3.4% 1.7%

The unimportance ratings for the same set of issues further support the idea that worship and teaching were key issues for these former Salvationists in finding a new church. Only 3.4% of respondents said the quality of the worship experience was unimportant in drawing them to their new church, and on l.7% said the quality of the teaching was unimportant.

ISSUES OF CONCERN WITH THE SALVATION ARMY: SA ATTENDERS After identifying the positive influences on their involvement with the Army, active Salvationists were asked the following question: Which of the following issues concern you as a younger person involved with The Salvation Army today?

They were then given a list of issues and asked to rate their level of concern according to the following scale: 1 = not concerned with this; 2 = not very concerned; 3 = may be an issue; 4 = I am concerned about this; 5 = I am very concerned about this The chart below ranks the issues according to the level of concern expressed by Salvation Army attenders (those who said they were “concerned” or “very concerned” about these issues).

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Young Adult Opinion Research

Issue our ability to attract outsiders lack of authentic discipleship for people my age lack of people my age in my corps opportunities for involvement of younger people declining membership leadership structures in my corps quality of Christian teaching in the SA the issue of 'conformity' in SA culture relevant worship division between 'spiritual' & 'social' mission concerns over hypocrisy in the SA feeling that TSA is more focused on itself than on the kingdom divisional/territorial leadership structures the officer appointment system legalistic spirituality the SA's ethical positions (euthanasia, homosexuality, etc.) the SA's lifestyle standards (abstinence from alcohol, etc.) financial integrity of the organization the SA's position on the sacraments the uniform

64

concerned / very concerned 68.6% 61.4% 58.3% 57.6% 57.6% 54.5% 51.7% 51.5% 51.5% 51.0% 48.3% 46.0% 38.8% 36.7% 34.1% 33.0% 32.1% 31.2% 31.1% 27.7%

The first thing to be noted about this data is that the overall response rate is not nearly as strong as it was for the “positive” influences discussed above. The highest rated issue on this list is only 68.6%, whereas there were seven positive influences rated higher than 68% on the positive influences list. This suggests that there is not one overwhelming issue that concerns SA attenders in the Territory.

Secondly, the classic Army issues which most people assume to be very controversial were among the lowest concerns of SA attenders. The uniform, the sacraments, and lifestyle standards were rated as concerns by less than a third of all responders. The percentage of respondents who rated these issues as “unconcerning” supports this, with nearly half of all SA respondents indicating that they are not concerned or not at all concerned with these perennial issues.

Issue the SA's lifestyle standards (abstinence from alcohol, etc.) the SA's ethical positions (euthanasia, homosexuality, etc.) the uniform the SA's position on the sacraments

not concerned / NA 48.9% 48.1% 47.0% 44.7%

Three of the top five issues relate to the declining numerical strength of the Army, with the number one concern being the Army’s ability to attract outsiders, number five being declining membership, and number three being the lack of young adults in local corps. The other two top five issues relate specifically to the place of young adults in the Army: the lack of authentic discipleship for young adults and the lack of opportunities for involvement of young adults.

The issues of worship and teaching, rated so highly by those who have gone on to other churches, were noted as concerns by about half of the respondents. Finally, it is also interesting to note that respondents indicated more concern for corps leadership structures (54.5%) than for divisional and territorial leadership structures (38.8%).

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Gender Differences Male respondents showed higher levels of concern about most of the issues identified in the survey, with only two issues being rated significantly higher by female respondents. The issues are outlined below in order of the disparity between the male and female respondents.

Issues Rated Higher by Males the issue of 'conformity' in SA culture the SA's position on the sacraments divisional/territorial leadership structures lack of authentic discipleship for people my age quality of Christian teaching in the SA feeling that TSA is more focused on itself than on the kingdom declining membership division between 'spiritual' & 'social' mission the SA's lifestyle standards (abstinence from alcohol, etc.) leadership structures in my corps financial integrity of the organization the officer appointment system Influences Rated Higher by Females opportunities for involvement of younger people lack of people my age in my corps Influences with Negligible Gender Differences the SA's ethical positions (euthanasia, homosexuality, etc.) concerns over hypocrisy in the SA legalistic spirituality the uniform our ability to attract outsiders relevant worship

Concerned / Very Male Female 60.2% 45.3% 37.9% 26.4% 45.1% 34.6% 67.0% 57.2% 55.9% 48.4% 50.0% 43.4% 61.2% 55.3% 53.9% 49.1% 34.7% 30.2% 57.3% 52.8% 33.0% 29.7% 37.9% 35.8%

M/F Difference +14.9%M +11.4%M +10.5%M +9.8%M +7.5%M +6.6%M +5.8%M +4.9%M +4.5%M +4.5%M +3.3%M +2.0%M

Concerned / Very Male Female 52.4% 61.0% 56.3% 59.7%

M/F Difference +8.6%F +3.4%F

Concerned / Very Male Female 32.0% 33.3% 47.6% 48.7% 34.0% 33.3% 28.2% 27.7% 68.9% 68.6% 51.5% 51.6%

M/F Difference +1.3%F +1.2%F +0.6%M +0.5%M +0.4%M +0.1%F

It is particularly interesting that female respondents indicated higher levels of concern regarding opportunities for involvement, given that it was noted above that females tend to be less involved in most areas of ministry (see above on gender differences in involvement). Males indicated more concern regarding leadership structures at both the divisional / territorial level (+10.5%) and the local corps level (+4.5), a difference which may be related to the fact that males are more involved in leadership positions (see above on gender differences in involvement). Males also indicated significantly more concern for the issue of conformity in Army culture and the sacraments, as well as the related issues of discipleship and teaching.

Concern was relatively equal on a number of questions, including ethics, uniform and relevant worship.

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Gender Differences in Issues of Concern Among SA Attenders 70% 65% 60% 55% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% the issue of 'conformity' in SA culture

the SA's position on divisional/territorial the sacraments leadership structures MALE

lack of authentic discipleship for people my age

opportunities for involvement of younger people

FEMALE

Regional Differences The clear regional pattern that emerges is one of increasing concern as one heads East. That is, on every issue in the survey, the Western respondents showed lower than average levels of concern, and the Eastern respondents showed higher than average levels of concern. The level of concern in the Central region was somewhere in the middle on every issue. While the overall concern levels across the Territory did not exceed 70% of respondents on any given issue, there were six issues which were identified as concerns by more than 70% of Eastern respondents, the highest being the Army’s ability to attract outsiders, which was rated as a concern by 83.9% of those in the East.

Salvation Army lifestyle standards, which scored as a low concern Territorially, was rated as a concern by 53.8% of Eastern respondents, and only by 22% of Western respondents. Concern over the uniform and the sacraments was also over 25% higher in the Eastern region than in the Western region. What is interesting about this trend is that it is the Western part of the Territory where the fewest Army attenders wear uniform, and it is also the Western part of the Territory where some form of sacramental worship is most likely to be practiced in Army corps. So the lack of concern about sacraments and uniform in the West does not necessarily mean that Western young adults are content with the traditional Army positions on these issues. Rather, it may be that they are unconcerned about such standards because they do not observe them. Corps leadership structures were identified as a concern by three quarters of Eastern respondents, but only by 44% of Western respondents.

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Young Adult Opinion Research

East

West

Central

East

High / Low Variance

the SA's lifestyle standards leadership structures in my corps the SA's ethical positions financial integrity of the organization relevant worship the SA's position on the sacraments the uniform legalistic spirituality lack of people my age in my corps quality of Christian teaching in the SA opportunities for involvement of younger people divisional/territorial leadership structures feeling TSA is more focused on itself than on kingdom declining membership concerns over hypocrisy in the SA the issue of 'conformity' in SA culture our ability to attract outsiders division between 'spiritual' & 'social' mission the officer appointment system lack of authentic discipleship for people my age

Variance from Mean

Central

Concern rating West

Issues of Concern

67

22.0% 44.0% 24.2% 27.8% 42.9% 23.1% 22.0% 26.4% 52.7% 47.8% 57.1% 33.3% 38.9% 60.4% 45.1% 50.5% 68.1% 50.5% 34.1% 64.8%

40.0% 59.1% 40.9% 31.1% 58.3% 36.4% 30.3% 37.9% 59.8% 53.8% 56.1% 47.0% 56.1% 54.5% 55.3% 56.1% 68.2% 55.7% 39.4% 60.6%

53.8% 75.4% 54.9% 57.8% 69.7% 49.5% 48.0% 51.9% 75.0% 69.7% 77.5% 54.7% 59.7% 75.2% 63.3% 67.7% 83.9% 65.6% 49.0% 74.8%

-16.6% -15.5% -15.8% -11.1% -14.1% -13.2% -11.4% -12.4% -9.8% -9.3% -6.4% -11.7% -12.6% -3.0% -9.5% -7.6% -5.3% -6.7% -6.7% -1.9%

+1.4% -0.4% +0.9% -7.8% +1.4% 0.0% -3.1% -0.8% -2.7% -3.3% -7.5% +2.0% +4.5% -8.8% +0.7% -2.0% -5.2% -1.6% -1.4% -6.1%

+15.2% +15.9% +14.9% +18.9% +12.7% +13.2% +14.5% +13.2% +12.5% +12.6% +13.9% +9.7% +8.1% +11.8% +8.8% +9.6% +10.5% +8.3% +8.2% +8.0%

31.8% 31.4% 30.7% 30.1% 26.8% 26.5% 26.0% 25.5% 22.3% 21.9% 21.4% 21.4% 20.8% 20.6% 18.3% 17.2% 15.8% 15.0% 14.9% 14.2%

Regional Difference in Levels of Concern Regarding Traditional "Army Issues" 20%

15%

10%

5%

0% the SA's lifestyle standards

the SA's position on the sacraments

-5%

-10%

-15%

-20% West

Central

East

the uniform

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Age Differences Almost every issue included in the survey received an higher concern rating in among older respondents than among younger respondents. On a number of issues there are significant differences in the percentage of older versus younger respondents who identified a particular issue as a concern. While only 27% of 16-18 year olds are concerned about the quality of teaching in the Army, that number jumps to over 50% among 19-24 year olds, and reaches 63.2% among 30-35 year olds. A related issue is that of discipleship, and again we see that less than half of 16-18 year olds are concerned about this, but over three quarters of 30 to 35 year olds are concerned. It may be that the Army is doing a satisfactory job of providing teaching to teens, but struggles to provide teaching with greater depth that would reach older young adults as they progress through post-secondary education and the early stages of a career.

Concerns over leadership at both the corps and divisional/territorial level increase with age. As we saw above (see age differences in involvement), older young adults are more likely to be involved in local leadership positions, and they likely begin to struggle with leadership structures as they become personally involved in them.

The exceptions to the general pattern of increasing concern with age come in connection to the issues of uniform, lifestyle standards, and the Army’s ethical positions. Concern with these issues peak in the 19-24 age category. The five issues with the greatest variance among the age groups are displayed in the graph below.

Age Differences in Issues of Concern Among SA Attenders (Variance from Mean) 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% -5% -10% -15% -20% -25% 16-18

19-24

quality of Christian teaching in the SA legalistic spirituality lack of authentic discipleship for my age

25-29

30-35

leadership structures in my corps the issue of 'conformity' in SA culture

Territorial Young Adult Research Project: Young Adult Opinion Research

Issues quality of Christian teaching in the SA leadership structures in my corps legalistic spirituality the issue of 'conformity' in SA culture lack of authentic discipleship for my age declining membership divisional/territorial leadership structures the SA's lifestyle standards division btw. 'spiritual' & 'social' mission relevant worship feeling TSA is more focused on itself concerns over hypocrisy in the SA the SA's ethical positions the officer appointment system the uniform financial integrity of the organization lack of people my age in my corps our ability to attract outsiders the SA's position on the sacraments opportunities for involvement of younger

Concern Rating 16-18 19-24 25-29 30-35 27.0% 52.4% 55.9% 63.2% 37.8% 50.5% 58.8% 71.1% 18.9% 34.3% 29.4% 50.0% 37.8% 50.5% 52.9% 65.8% 48.6% 55.2% 69.1% 76.3% 54.1% 46.7% 72.1% 71.1% 37.8% 31.7% 41.2% 55.3% 18.9% 41.0% 27.9% 30.6% 43.2% 49.5% 52.9% 62.2% 40.5% 49.5% 57.4% 57.9% 37.8% 44.8% 49.3% 52.6% 40.5% 52.9% 42.6% 55.3% 27.0% 40.0% 29.4% 26.3% 29.7% 37.1% 33.8% 42.1% 27.0% 32.4% 26.5% 21.1% 27.0% 36.2% 25.4% 34.2% 54.1% 54.3% 64.7% 63.2% 62.2% 72.4% 70.6% 65.8% 27.0% 29.5% 29.4% 34.2% 54.1% 59.0% 58.8% 57.9%

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Variance from Mean High / 16-18 19-24 25-29 30-35 Low -22.6% +2.8%+6.3% +13.5% 36.1% -16.7% -4.1%+4.3% +16.5% 33.2% -14.2% +1.1% -3.7% +16.8% 31.1% -13.9% -1.3%+1.2% +14.0% 28.0% -13.7% -7.1%+6.8% +14.0% 27.7% -6.9% -14.3% +11.1% +10.1% 25.4% -3.7% -9.8% -0.3% +13.8% 23.5% -10.7% +11.4% -1.7% +1.0% 22.0% -8.7% -2.4%+1.0% +10.2% 18.9% -10.8% -1.8%+6.0% +6.6% 17.4% -8.3% -1.4%+3.1% +6.5% 14.8% -7.3% +5.1% -5.2% +7.4% 14.7% -3.7% +9.3% -1.3% -4.4% 13.7% -6.0% +1.4% -1.9% +6.4% 12.4% +0.3% +5.6% -0.3% -5.7% 11.3% -3.7% +5.5% -5.3% +3.5% 10.8% -5.0% -4.8%+5.7% +4.1% 10.7% -5.6% +4.7%+2.9% -1.9% 10.2% -3.0% -0.5% -0.6% +4.2% 7.2% -3.4% +1.6%+1.4% +0.4% 5.0%

ISSUES OF CONCERN WITH THE SALVATION ARMY: OTHER CHURCH ATTENDERS We also asked respondents who have left the Salvation Army and gone to another church about their concerns with The Salvation Army. The specific question asked was: How significant were each of the following issues in your decision to stop worshipping at the SA? 1 = not significant at all, 2 = not very significant, 3 = may have played a role, 4 = significant, 5 = very significant The response was quite weak overall, with only two issues being rated as “significant” or “very significant” by more than 50% of respondents. Again, as with the concerns of SA attenders, this suggests that there is no one issue which is driving most people away from the Salvation Army.

The number one answer among respondents was “I was looking for a church to meet my needs.”

Obviously the implication of this response is that the Army was not meeting the needs of these young adults. Given that the second highest rated issue was lack of solid teaching, and the fifth highest rated issue was a lack of authentic discipleship for young adults, it would seem that teaching is a key area where these young adults felt that the Army was not providing adequately.

If we recall that 95% of this same group of respondents indicated that they were drawn to their new church by the quality of the teaching, and also consider that teaching and discipleship came

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up often in the interviews (see report 3), there is an indication that teaching and discipleship are key areas which need focus in the Army’s ministry to young adults.

Issue looking for church to meet my needs lack of solid Christian teaching feeling that SA is self-absorbed leadership structures in my corps lack of discipleship for my age group concerns over hypocrisy in the SA growing conviction that den. are not import. concerns over hierarchical leadership of SA exposure to other Christian traditions concerns over worship style lack of people my age in my corps the SA's position on the sacraments lack of confidence in div/terr leaders the uniform moved to new community and didn't connect concerns over legalistic spirituality the SA's lifestyle standards feeling that I didn't fit the Army mold division btw. spiritual/social mission discomfort with military imagery guilt over expectations of corps people financial integrity of organization officer appointment system lack of opp. for involvement the SA's ethical positions

Significant / very 58.6% 53.4% 50.0% 50.0% 50.0% 48.3% 48.3% 46.6% 46.6% 46.6% 44.8% 37.9% 37.9% 36.2% 35.1% 34.5% 32.8% 32.8% 32.8% 24.1% 22.4% 17.2% 17.2% 12.1% 6.9%

About half of the respondents identified leadership structures in their corps as a key problem, while 46.6% said the hierarchical structure of the Army was a significant factor influencing their decision. Again the three traditional “big issues” – uniform, sacraments, and lifestyle standards – did not rate among the top issues, although this group expressed higher levels of concern about these issues than SA attenders did.

ISSUES OF CONCERN WITH THE SALVATION ARMY: NON-ATTENDERS Those who have stopped worshipping at the Army and do not currently attend any church were asked the same question, and given a slightly different list of issues to rate as to their significance in influencing their decision to leave.

Again the ratings came in low, with only two issues rated as significant by more than 50% of the respondents. Sixty-five per cent of respondents said that a feeling that they didn’t fit the Army mold was significant in influencing their decision to leave. It is interesting that this issue, which was only identified as significant by 32.8% of those who attend another church, was rated as the top issue by non-attenders. The next issue was concerns over hypocrisy, an issue which is commonly cited by former Christians as a criticism of the Church.

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Issues of leadership structures rated near the top as well, with concerns over hierarchical leadership structures and corps leadership structures identified as significant by 47.5% and 45% of respondents respectively. Lack of solid teaching is also one of the top issues among this group of respondents, with 45% saying that teaching was an issue for them.

Interestingly, although many SA attenders expressed concern about the lack of young adults at their corps, only 17.5% of non-attenders said this was a significant factor influencing their decision to leave the Army. The question of opportunities for involvement is similar, with SA attenders expressing significant concern and non-attenders saying it was not an issue which caused them to leave.

Issue feeling that I didn't fit the Army mold concerns over hypocrisy in the SA concerns over hierarchical leadership of SA lack of solid Christian teaching issues with leadership in my corps issues with the SA's lifestyle standards guilt over expectations of corps people discomfort with exclusive claims of Christianity lack of confidence in div/terr leaders issues with the SA's ethical positions not interested in involvement with church concerns over worship style division btw. spiritual/social mission issues with the SA's position on the sacraments officer appointment system lack of people my age in my corps lack of opp. for involvement discomfort with military imagery doubts about the existence of God looking for other ways to spend my time spouse/partner not interested in SA

Significant / very 65.0% 60.0% 47.5% 45.0% 45.0% 40.0% 37.5% 32.5% 32.5% 32.5% 30.0% 27.5% 25.0% 20.0% 17.5% 17.5% 15.0% 15.0% 10.0% 7.5% 5.0%

IDENTIFICATION WITH SALVATION ARMY TERMS: SA ATTENDERS We gave all respondents a list of Salvation Army terms and asked them to indicate if they personally found these terms meaningful. Respondents were asked rate each term on a five-point scale, as follows: 1 = not meaningful at all, 2 = not very meaningful, 3 = somewhat meaningful 4 = meaningful 5 = very meaningful The response indicates a great deal of ambivalence toward Salvation Army terminology. Seven out of the eleven terms used in the survey were identified as meaningful by less than 50% of Salvation Army attenders. Four terms – “territory,” “citadel,” “division,” and “corps sergeantmajor” were identified as meaningful by less than 30% of respondents.

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The highest response was generated by the term “mercy seat”, which was identified as meaningful by three quarters of respondents. “Soldiership,” “officership,” and “salvation war” scored in the 50 to 60 per cent range. mercy seat soldiership officership salvation war junior soldier corps articles of war territory citadel division corps sergeant major

Meaningful / very meaningful 75.8% 57.2% 56.2% 52.5% 44.5% 43.4% 42.6% 27.9% 26.8% 26.4% 26.1%

not meaningful / not at all 10.6% 21.6% 21.5% 27.5% 35.5% 32.5% 34.7% 41.1% 49.1% 39.2% 50.0%

These results are not insignificant. While the continued use of such terms may seem trivial to some, the fact that most young adults no longer find them meaningful suggests that Salvation Army culture is losing its traction among younger members. It also suggests a gap between traditional Army culture – which persists in many Army circles, including “official” contexts – and the young adult culture in the Army. It is very significant, for example, that only 57.2% of respondents indicate that “soldiership” is a meaningful term. Soldiership remains the official membership standard for the Army, and yet just over half of SA attenders identify with the term.

Finally, I would suggest that the fact that “division” and “territory” scored so low is further support for the idea that younger Christians are not concerned with denominational structures.

Gender Differences A comparison of male and female responses to these Army terms shows a clear trend. Males identify more with traditional Salvation Army culture than females. The only word which generated more of a positive response among females was “junior soldier,” and the difference was slight - only 0.6%. Male responses were over 10 per cent higher for “articles of war” and “territory,” about 8% higher for “officership,” “soldiership,” “mercy seat,” “salvation war,” and “division.” articles of war territory officership soldiership mercy seat salvation war division corps corps sergeant major citadel junior soldier

Male 52.1% 37.0% 63.3% 64.9% 82.2% 59.4% 33.3% 49.0% 31.8% 29.0% 46.2%

Female 39.9% 25.3% 54.4% 56.3% 73.9% 51.3% 25.3% 42.4% 26.6% 27.8% 46.8%

Difference +12.3%M +11.6%M +8.8%M +8.6%M +8.3%M +8.1%M +8.0%M +6.6%M +5.2%M +1.2%M +0.6%F

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What are the reasons for such a difference? Do males have a stronger affinity for militaristic imagery? Is there a connection between these differences and the fact that females are less involved in the Army than males (see above on involvement)? These are questions that need to be asked as the Army seeks to strengthen its connection to young adult women.

Gender Differences Identification with Salvation Army Terms among SA Attenders 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% articles of war

territory

officership Male

soldiership

mercy seat

Female

Regional Differences There are also clear regional differences in the responses to Salvation Army terminology.

Respondents from the East responded more positively than the other two regions to every single term. Respondents from the Central region had the lowest responses to the terms overall, while those in the West were normally somewhere between the Central and Eastern responses.

Because there were more responses from the Central part of the Territory than those from the East and West, the overall results were closer to the results seen in the Central region. For example, if we look at the term “soldiership” – which had the greatest variation among the regions, we see that 77.9% of Eastern respondents indicated that it was a meaningful term for them, and 67.9% of Western respondents said the same. However, only 49.2% of the Central respondents said “soldiership” was a meaningful term.

There are some terms which received similar scores in the Central and Western parts of the Territory. For example “corps” was identified as meaningful by about 43% of Central and Western respondents, but the response in the East was much higher, at 68.3%. Similarly, “citadel” was identified as meaningful by 27.5% of Western respondents, and 28.8% of Central

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respondents, but a much higher number (47.2%) of Eastern respondents indicated that it was meaningful. The chart below illustrates the differences for the five terms which showed the greatest variation overall.

49.2% 25.0% 37.1% 43.9% 22.7% 24.4% 41.7% 28.8% 53.8% 50.0% 77.1%

77.9% 51.9% 62.9% 68.3% 47.5% 48.2% 64.1% 47.2% 71.6% 66.2% 82.6%

+2.9% -2.4% -0.8% -8.7% -2.7% -5.6% -4.0% -7.0% -0.8% +2.6% -3.0%

-15.8% -12.2% -12.5% -7.8% -11.0% -9.1% -9.2% -5.7% -8.5% -9.4% -1.2%

+12.9% +14.6% +13.3% +16.6% +13.7% +14.7% +13.2% +12.7% +9.3% +6.8% +4.3%

High / Low Variance

67.9% 34.8% 48.8% 43.0% 31.1% 27.9% 46.9% 27.5% 61.4% 62.0% 75.3%

East

West

Central

East

Variance from Mean

Central

soldiership territory articles of war corps division corps sergeant major junior soldier citadel officership salvation war mercy seat

Meaningful / Very

West

SA Terms

28.7% 26.9% 25.8% 25.3% 24.7% 23.8% 22.4% 19.6% 17.9% 16.2% 7.3%

Regional Differences in Identification with Salvation Army Terms among SA Attenders (Variance from Mean) 20%

15%

10%

5%

0% West

Central

East

-5%

-10%

-15%

-20% soldiership

territory

articles of war

corps

division

What this means is that the cultural gap between young adults in the corps and traditional culture is most significant in the Central part of the Territory. This may be due to the fact that many corps in the Central and Western parts of the Territory no longer use these traditional Salvation

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Army terms, where as Eastern corps have tended to hold on to the language of traditional Salvationism to a greater extent. However, this does not simply mean that the East is retaining more young adults because they still identify with Army culture, nor does it mean that the Central part of the Territory is retaining more young adults because it is more progressive. In fact, the ministry unit survey identified the Western region of the Territory as the strongest when it comes to young adults (see report 1). What it does mean is that young adults, particularly in the Central and Western parts of the Territory, need to either rediscover and re-appropriate traditional Salvationist language, or find new language to express their Salvationism, if a distinctly Salvationist expression of Christian faith is to remain viable.

Age Differences The data for the various age groups among SA attenders indicates that young adults tend to identify less with Army terminology as they age. The largest variance came with the response to the term “junior soldier,” which 74.2% of 16-18 year olds said was meaningful, while only 37.5% of 30-35 year olds said it was meaningful. Significant gaps between older and younger respondents were also found in relation to the terms “division,” “corps,” and “territory.”

There are a couple of exceptions. “Articles of war” and “corps sergeant-major” were identified as meaningful by a higher percentage of 30-35 year olds than 16-18 year olds.

Age Differences in Identification with Salvation Army Terms among SA Attenders (Variance from Mean) 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% -5% -10% -15% -20% 16-18

19-24 junior soldier

division

25-29 corps

territory

30-35 articles of war

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There are also a number of terms in which the meaningfulness rating peaked among the respondents in their 20s. So “corps,” for example, was identified as meaningful by 56.5% of respondents age 19-24 and 54.4% of respondents age 25-29, compared with 47.1% of 16-18 year olds and 37.5% of 30-35 year olds. The same is true of “articles of war.”

Terms junior soldier division corps territory articles of war salvation war citadel mercy seat soldiership corps sergeant major officership

Meaningful / Very 16-18 19-24 25-29 30-35 74.2% 54.1% 48.4% 37.5% 35.7% 36.6% 38.5% 18.2% 47.1% 56.5% 54.4% 37.5% 42.3% 38.5% 36.5% 23.5% 38.7% 56.7% 47.5% 45.7% 70.0% 55.3% 60.0% 52.9% 34.4% 37.6% 34.0% 20.7% 88.9% 75.2% 80.6% 78.4% 72.7% 66.7% 64.5% 60.0% 24.1% 34.1% 35.1% 28.6% 61.8% 64.8% 64.5% 56.8%

Variance from Mean High / Low 16-18 19-24 25-29 30-35 +20.6% +0.6% -5.2% -16.0% 36.7% +3.5% +4.3% +6.2% -14.0% 20.3% -1.8% +7.7% +5.5% -11.4% 19.0% +7.1% +3.3% +1.3% -11.7% 18.8% -8.4% +9.5% +0.3% -1.4% 18.0% 10.4% -4.2% +0.4% -6.6% 17.1% +2.7% +6.0% +2.3% -11.0% 16.9% +8.1% -5.5% -0.1% -2.4% 13.6% +6.7% +0.7% -1.5% -6.0% 12.7% -6.3% +3.6% +4.6% -1.9% 10.9% -0.2% +2.9% +2.5% -5.2% 8.1%

IDENTIFICATION WITH SALVATION ARMY TERMS: OTHER CHURCH ATTENDERS We asked the respondents who have left the Army for other churches to respond to the same question about the same set of Salvation Army terms. As we would expect, the percentage of respondents in this group identifying these terms as meaningful is much lower than among Army attenders. All but one of the terms were rated as meaningful by less than 30% of respondents, and seven of the terms were rated as meaningful by fewer than 15% of the respondents. mercy seat salvation war corps soldiership officership articles of war junior soldier citadel territory division corps sergeant major

Meaningful / very meaningful 46.6% 27.6% 20.7% 19.0% 13.8% 12.1% 10.3% 10.3% 6.9% 6.9% 5.3%

not meaningful / not at all 36.2% 56.9% 62.1% 62.1% 58.6% 74.1% 72.4% 86.2% 81.0% 81.0% 86.0%

IDENTIFICATION WITH SALVATION ARMY TERMS: NON-ATTENDERS Surprisingly, those who no longer attend any church responded more positively to the list of Salvation Army terms than those who have joined another church. While the meaningfulness ratings among non-attenders are similar to those among other church attenders, they are slightly higher in most cases. Nearly half of non-attenders still find meaning in the term “mercy seat,” and 30% say that “corps” is a personally meaningful term for them.

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Also, if we look at the “not meaningful / not at all” percentages of non-attenders, it is evident that a lower percentage of non-attenders have identified Army terms as not meaningful. Among those who attend another church, there were four terms identified as not meaningful by over 80% of respondents, while the highest not meaningful rating among non attenders was 76.9%. mercy seat corps officership salvation war junior soldier soldiership citadel corps sergeant major division articles of war territory

Meaningful / very meaningful 48.7% 30.8% 21.1% 20.5% 20.5% 17.9% 17.9% 15.8% 15.4% 12.8% 12.8%

not meaningful / not at all 38.5% 51.3% 57.9% 66.7% 56.4% 64.1% 61.5% 65.8% 61.5% 76.9% 61.5%

Identification with Salvation Army Terms: Comparison of Other Church Attenders and Non-Attenders 35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0% corps sergeant major

junior soldier

corps

OTHER CHURCH ATTENDERS

division

citadel

NON-ATTENDERS

IDENTIFICATION WITH THEOLOGICAL TERMS: SA ATTENDERS We also asked respondents to rate the meaningfulness of some basic theological terms, using the same scale as noted above. The response to most of the terms was overwhelmingly positive.

“Resurrection” and “Trinity” were rated as meaningful by over 90% of respondents, while “atonement,” and “sanctification rated in the mid-eighties. Slightly lower was “covenant,”

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which 79.5% said was meaningful. The surprising finding of this part of the survey was that only 57.2% of SA attenders said the term “sin” was meaningful. Further, 21.6% of respondents said “sin” was not meaningful or not at all meaningful. It is difficult to understand how 85% of respondents could say the term “atonement” was meaningful while only 57% identified “sin” as meaningful, as it is impossible to discuss the atonement without reference to sin. resurrection Trinity atonement sanctification covenant sin

Meaningful / very meaningful 97.0% 94.0% 85.5% 83.8% 79.5% 57.2%

not meaningful / not at all 0.4% 0.8% 6.5% 5.3% 8.0% 21.6%

Gender Differences Males responded more positively to every one of the theological terms on the list, although the difference between male and female responses to “Trinity” and “resurrection” was marginal. The largest difference between the genders was in the response to the term “sin,” with 64.9% of males indicating that it was a meaningful term for them, and 56.3% of females. “Sanctification” was rated as meaningful by 8.3% more males than females, and “atonement” and “covenant” were 7.5% and 6.7% higher respectively.

Male 64.9% 89.3% 90.1% 85.0% 94.3% 97.1%

sin sanctification atonement covenant Trinity resurrection

Female 56.3% 81.0% 82.6% 78.3% 93.7% 96.8%

Difference +8.6%M +8.3%M +7.5%M +6.7%M +0.6%M +0.3%M

Regional Differences The regional differences in the responses to the theological terms are not nearly as strong as those to the Salvation Army terms, except in relation to “sin.”

East

West

Central

East

High / Low Variance

Variance from Mean

Central

sin covenant sanctification atonement Trinity resurrection

Meaningful / Very

West

SA Terms

67.9% 79.5% 83.5% 86.3% 93.5% 97.8%

49.2% 78.6% 84.1% 86.3% 93.2% 96.2%

77.9% 85.9% 88.4% 90.0% 91.5% 97.2%

+2.9% -1.8% -1.8% -1.3% +0.7% +0.8%

-15.8% -2.7% -1.3% -1.2% +0.4% -0.9%

+12.9% +4.6% +3.1% +2.5% -1.2% +0.1%

28.7% 7.3% 4.9% 3.8% 1.9% 1.6%

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As is shown in the table above, 77.9% of respondents in the East indicated that “sin” was a meaningful term to them, and 67.9% of Western respondents said the same. This is much higher than the Territorial score of 57.2%. That Territorial score would seem to have been due to the fact that only 49.2% of Central respondents said that “sin” was a meaningful term.

Regional Differences in Identification with Theological Terms among SA Attenders (Variance from Mean) 15%

10%

5%

0% sin

covenant

sanctification

atonement

Trinity

resurrection

-5%

-10%

-15%

-20% West

Central

East

Age Differences The age differences uncovered in relation to theological terms are, in most cases, quite different from the age differences in the responses to the Army terminology. While older respondents were less likely to identify Army terms as meaningful, they were more likely to identify theological terms as meaningful. This was particularly true for terms which are particularly important for Army theology – “sanctification” and “covenant.” There is little variation in response to the terms “Trinity” and “resurrection,” but even here more of the older respondents identified the terms as meaningful. The one exception to this trend is the term “sin,” which younger respondents were more likely to identify as meaningful than older respondents.

Terms sanctification atonement covenant sin Trinity resurrection

Meaningful / Very 16-18 19-24 25-29 30-35 73.0% 83.8% 97.0% 92.1% 74.2% 86.3% 96.7% 94.7% 75.0% 79.6% 87.9% 91.9% 72.7% 66.7% 64.5% 60.0% 92.1% 93.3% 97.1% 97.4% 97.4% 95.2% 100.0% 100.0%

Variance from Mean 16-18 19-24 25-29 30-35 -13.5% -2.6% +10.5% +5.6% -13.8% -1.7% +8.7% +6.7% -8.6% -4.0% +4.3% +8.3% +6.7% +0.7% -1.5% -6.0% -2.9% -1.7% +2.1% +2.5% -0.8% -2.9% +1.9% +1.9%

High / Low 24.0% 22.5% 16.9% 12.7% 5.3% 4.8%

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What is the cause of this trend? Is this simply part of the normal process of faith development?

Perhaps terms such as “sanctification” and “atonement” become increasingly meaningful as Christians enter their twenties. Or, is it the case that the younger generation of young adults is not receiving the same level of teaching on these subjects as those who are now in their late twenties and early thirties?

Age Differences in Identification with Theological Terms among SA Attenders (Variance from Mean) 15%

10%

5%

0%

-5%

-10%

-15% 16-18

19-24 sanctification

atonement

25-29 covenant

sin

30-35 Trinity

resurrection

IDENTIFICATION WITH THEOLOGICAL TERMS: OTHER CHURCH ATTENDERS Former Salvationists who have gone on to other churches rated the theological terms in a similar way to current SA attenders. The terms were ranked in the same order of meaningfulness by both groups, and the scores were similar, although those attending another church tended to rate most terms slightly lower.

The notable differences relate to the terms “covenant” and “sin.” “Covenant” was rated as meaningful by 70.7% of those who now attend another church (9% lower than SA attenders), and “sin” was identified as meaningful by only 19%. This is quite a shocking statistic. In fact, 62.1% of respondents in this group said that “sin” was not meaningful or not at all meaningful.

This suggests that the lack of certainty surrounding the idea of sin is not limited to Salvation Army circles, but is part of a larger trend in the contemporary Church. It is a surprising trend, because the reality of sin is in fact a crucial piece of the gospel. My hope is that there was some misunderstanding on the part of the respondents when they rated the meaningfulness of this term, because the lack of identification with the term “sin” is quite alarming.

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Meaningful / very meaningful 94.8% 93.1% 86.2% 82.8% 70.7% 19.0%

resurrection Trinity atonement sanctification covenant sin

81

not meaningful / not at all 0.0% 1.7% 6.9% 8.6% 17.2% 62.1%

IDENTIFICATION WITH THEOLOGICAL TERMS: NON-ATTENDERS The non-attenders, as we would expect, were less likely to rate the theological terms as meaningful. The highest score was for “resurrection” (82%). What is perhaps more surprising is that a higher percentage of these non-attenders said “sin” was meaningful term for them than those who attend the Army or another church (see the chart below).

Meaningful / very meaningful 82.1% 76.9% 66.7% 66.7% 64.1% 59.0%

resurrection Trinity covenant sin atonement sanctification

not meaningful / not at all 12.8% 12.8% 25.6% 20.5% 15.4% 23.1%

Identification with Theological Terms: Comparison of the Three Groups 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% resurrection

Trinity

atonement

SA attenders

sanctification

other church attenders

covenant

non-attenders

sin

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CONFIDENCE IN THE ARMY’S FUTURE: SA ATTENDERS The final question we asked respondents was “How confident are you in the Army’s future?”

They were asked to rate their confidence on a five-point scale (very confident; confident; not sure; not very confident; not confident at all). While there is a fair amount of uncertainty about the Army’s future among young adult attenders, only a small percentage are willing to say that they are not confident in the Army’s future. About half of SA attenders indicated that they are confident or very confident about the Army’s future. About a third said they were not sure, and fewer than 20% said they were not very confident or not confident at all.

Confidence in the Army's Future: SA Attenders

not confident at all, 4.6% not very confident, 12.5%

very confident, 12.2%

confident, 37.3% not sure, 33.5%

Gender Differences Males are less confident about the Army’s future than females, although the differences are not extreme. About 5% more males than females indicated that they were not very confident or not at all confident about the Army’s future. The largest difference between the genders is in relation to the “not sure” category, which was the answer given by 36.7% of females and only 29.1% of males.

not confident at all not very confident not sure confident very confident

Males 7.8% 15.5% 29.1% 35.9% 11.7%

Females 2.5% 10.1% 36.7% 38.0% 12.7%

Difference +5.2%M +5.4%M +7.6%F +2.1%F +1.0%F

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A slightly higher percentage of females indicated that they are confident or very confident about the Army’s future. This makes sense if we recall that the data on issues of concern with The Salvation Army indicated that males were more concerned about most issues than females.

Confidence in the Army's Future Among SA Attenders: Gender Differences 40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0% not confident at all

not very confident

not sure males

confident

very confident

females

Regional Differences Regionally, confidence in the Army’s future is highest in the East, where 57.1% of respondents indicated that they are either confident or very confident in the Army’s future. Uncertainty is highest in the West, where 45.7% of respondents indicated that they are not sure about the Army’s future. The Central region had a higher percentage of respondents than the West indicate that they are confident or very confident, but also had the highest percentage of nonconfident responses. That is, 23.7% of respondents from the Central region said they were either not very confident or not at all confident in the Army’s future, compared with 10.9% in the West and 7.1% in the East.

West

Central

East

3.3% 7.6% 45.7% 32.6% 10.9%

6.9% 16.8% 29.0% 38.2% 9.2%

1.4% 5.7% 35.7% 38.6% 18.6%

-0.6% -2.4% +8.9% -3.8% -2.0%

+3.0% +6.8% -7.8% +1.7% -3.7%

-2.4% -4.3% -1.1% +2.1% +5.7%

High / Low Variance

East

Variance from Mean

Central

not confident at all not very confident not sure confident very confident

Response

West

Confidence in Future

5.4% 11.1% 16.6% 6.0% 9.4%

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Confidence in the Army's Future among SA Attenders: Regional Differences (Variance from Mean) 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% West

Central

East

-2% -4% -6% -8% -10% not confident at all

not very confident

not sure

confident

very confident

Age Differences The statistics for age differences on the question of confidence in the Army’s future show that confidence is lower among older young adults than it is among younger young adults. The largest shift in the responses came in the “not very confident” category, with only 2.6% of 16-18 year olds and 23.1% of 30-35 year olds choosing this answer. An almost equally significant shift is seen in the data for those answering “confident.” While 47.4% of 16-18 year olds indicated that they are confident in the Army’s future, that number diminishes to 28.8% among 25-29 year olds and 30.8% among 30-35 year olds. There is also an 11.3% drop between 16-18 year olds and 30-35 year olds in the percentage of respondents indicating that they are “not sure” about the Army’s future.

Terms not confident at all not very confident not sure confident very confident

Meaningful / Very 16-18 19-24 25-29 30-35 2.6% 4.8% 4.5% 7.7% 2.6% 5.8% 19.7% 23.1% 39.5% 37.5% 33.3% 28.2% 47.4% 40.4% 28.8% 30.8% 7.9% 11.5% 13.6% 10.3%

Variance from Mean 16-18 19-24 25-29 30-35 -2.3% -0.1% -0.4% +2.8% -10.2% -7.0% +6.9% +10.3% +4.8% +2.9% -1.3% -6.4% +10.5% +3.6% -8.0% -6.1% -2.9% +0.7% +2.8% -0.6%

High / Low 5.1% 20.4% 11.3% 18.6% 5.7%

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Confidence in the Army's Future Among SA Attenders: Age Differences (Variance from Mean) 15%

10%

5%

0%

-5%

-10%

-15% 16-18 not confident at all

19-24 not very confident

25-29 not sure

30-35 confident

very confident

CONFIDENCE IN THE ARMY’S FUTURE: OTHER CHURCH ATTENDERS As we would expect, respondents who have left the Army have a lower confidence in the Army’s future. Less than fifteen per cent of those who have joined another church are confident or very confident about the Army’s future. Of that same group, nearly half are either not very confident or not confident at all about the Army’s future, and about 40% are not sure.

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CONFIDENCE IN THE ARMY’S FUTURE: NON-ATTENDERS The results from non-attenders are actually more positive than the results from those who attend other churches. Over 35% of those who don’t attend any church are confident about the Army’s future. About the same percentage said they are not very confident or not at all confident, and 28.2% indicated that they are not sure about the Army’s future.

CONCLUSION These surveys touched on a wide range of issues. I have attempted to summarize the major findings of the research in this report, and I hope that some cohesive themes and issues have been identified. The bulleted highlight-points noted in the introduction represent what I believe are the most prominent themes. Other important aspects of the research are obviously the differences among the SA attenders in relation to gender, age, and involvement. A response to some of these important themes has been attempted in the recommendations report.

The greatest weakness of this research has to be the low number of responses received from former Salvationists. Although hundreds of email invitations were sent out, and a strong response was anticipated, it seems that many former Salvationists were simply not interested in participating, even after multiple invitations. The information gathered from former Salvationists is interesting, and hopefully representative, but it cannot be taken to be “scientific.”

Nevertheless, correlating this information with the themes that emerged from the interviews (see report 3) provides us with a reasonable measure of confidence that we can identify some priorities for the Territory in seeking to strengthen its ministry to young adults.

THE TERRITORIAL YOUNG ADULT RESEARCH PROJECT

REPORT 4: SUMMARY OF INTERVIEWS AND FOCUS GROUPS

INTRODUCTION Throughout 2008 and into early 2009, a series of interviews and focus groups were conducted with current and former Salvationists from across the Canada and Bermuda Territory. These interviews were intended to supplement and complement the data that was gathered from the young adult opinion research surveys. While the surveys measured young adult responses to set questions, the interviews were free-flowing conversations which allowed young adults to tell their story in their own words. This approach allowed us to engage more deeply with young adults about issues raised in the surveys, and any other issues that they might think are significant.

This report will present a summary of the interviews and focus groups, with the hopes of making a contribution towards the third goal: determining discernible patterns in attrition across the Territory.

It is a great challenge to summarize the hundreds of hours of conversations that were held during the course of this project, and any attempt to do so is bound to leave out some interesting points of view and fascinating stories about what it is like to be a young adult in the Army.

This report will present the material in terms of five themes which cover the major issues that were raised repeatedly and consistently by interviewees across the spectrum of gender, age, and region. Each of these themes also came out in discussions with both current and former Salvationists. The five major themes are: • • • • •

Authentic Discipleship Unity in Mission and Diversity of Expression Distrust of Salvation Army Structure A Variety of Views on Soldiership and Membership The Need for Changes to Officership

Following the discussion of the themes, a proposed “typology of leavers” is presented and discussed as one way of attempting to summarize the various reasons that people leave The Salvation Army.

PARTICIPATION A total of 159 people participated in interviews and focus groups across the Territory, either in person or by phone. Seventy seven of the interviewees were female, and eighty-one were male.

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Twenty four were aged 16 to 18, forty-eight were aged 19-24, thirty-five were between 25 and 39, and fifty-two were over 30.

As was the case with the online surveys, it proved difficult to find former Salvationists who were willing to take the time to participate in the project. Therefore the majority (122) of the participants in the interviews were people who are currently active in the Army on some level.

Thirty-seven former Salvationists participated.

By division, participation was as follows: BC 24

AB 24

PRA 14

OGL 21

OCE 31

QUE 5

MAR 10

NL 27

BER 3

THE FIVE MAJOR THEMES 1. AUTHENTIC DISCIPLESHIP A constant theme of the interviews was the call for “authentic discipleship.” Both current Army members and those who have left expressed concerns about the way they were discipled as young people growing up in the Army. The criticisms of Army discipleship from those who were interviewed centred around a) the things they were taught and b) the quality of the relationships they had with people in their church.

Teaching The quality of teaching in the Army was a source of frequent concern from both current and former Salvationists. A young Salvationist male from the Western part of the country reported, I remember being floored by the enthusiasm I saw among young people at other churches when I was younger. Youth there were talking to one another about Biblical things. We aren’t willing to talk about Biblical things, like other churches do. And I think that’s because that’s because outside of corps cadets there was no teaching for us.

Another person, indicating that they hadn’t had much instruction growing up in the Army, said “I more or less put things together for myself.” A Winnipeg resident who no longer attends the Army said he believes is may be due to the Army’s anti-intellectual roots. “Compare the Mennonite community, who historically were very anti-intellectual, but now are the second most educated group in the Winnipeg area (behind the Jews).”

A 16 year old Ontario girl had this to say about her youth group: “There’s no focus on the Bible part. There’s nothing spiritual at all. We just go paint-balling.” And a girl with a Baptist background who has been attending the Army while at university shared the following observation: “sometimes there is a great community but often not a lot of theological depth; we hang out, but when we do discuss theology it’s not “meaty.””

Another young woman with officer parents indicated that poor teaching was “the final straw” which sent her looking for another church.

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In six years I had never heard a sermon from the Bible (i.e. based on a passage of the Bible). Even the scripture readings were pieced together from different parts of the Bible.

The quality of the teaching was really bad. One sermon was read right out of a book. I want to hear from the Bible.

She ended up looking for another church where she could find more challenging biblical content.

A young man with a similar story reported that “The Army is all “gentle Jesus” and none of the hard stuff is dealt with; just the nice stuff. I want a church that is taking a stand for truth instead of watering it down so as not to offend.”

Another former Salvationist who has done some theological education said, Most Army pastors you talk to have horrible theology. When you’ve got pastors preaching on the rapture because they are reading the Left Behind series, I mean, that is ridiculous. That is the kind of stuff I grew up with. They are preaching from Max Lucado. It’s like they are “pop Christians.”

Among many other similar stories that I could share, I will give one more example, from a former Salvationist in the Maritimes. It highlights a very important aspect of the concern for teaching: the young adults I met are not interested in simply getting answers fed to them. They want to engage in a dialogue, where their questions are respected and not dismissed with simple formulas. This person found that the people he interacted with in the Army knew standard Army doctrine, but could not engage him in a meaningful discussion when he was asking questions about the Bible.

When I was 22 years old, I was reading the Bible and had questions, but no one would answer them. The leaders don’t know the Bible – they know how to play the cornet, but they don’t know the Bible, so how can they disciple someone if they don’t know the Bible? What they know is they follow the articles of war and the doctrines. I was a young man, married, had my first child, and I just wanted someone to chat with, to give me some advice, but there was just no one.

Others expressed the concern that the teaching they had received in their local corps had more to do with Army culture than with biblical Christianity.

I almost think Junior Soldiership and that kind of thing is like brainwashing kids. I find it weird. You learn a heck of a lot about the Army, and not a lot about the Bible, about who God is, and how to be a part of the community. I taught Sunday School for a long time as a teenager, and for a while did the Junior Soldier classes, and it was a lot of “Army” stuff. It was a lot of “meet William Booth,” and “in eighteen whatever, blah, blah, blah,” in a really “cartoony” way. Actually, it didn’t even really get to the values of the Army. It was like teaching a creepy little history class. Like the same way we are taught about “the Amerindians in 1886”- like a caricature of our history. It misses the point.

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On the positive side, it needs to be said that every graduate of Booth College that I met had wonderful things to say about the teaching they received there. Even those who left the Army after their time at Booth College were very thankful for the education they received. A former Salvationist gave the following report: WCBC had fabulous teachers. I loved it. I only planned on doing the one year program, but I fell in love with it and went back for the four year program. In the first year, there were a lot of challenges to basic beliefs. A lot of people lost their faith. I eventually came full circle - after having questioned my faith, I came to a deeper faith without avoiding the questions. The people at WCBC were great. They let us have different ideas.

As with the young man above who wanted to be able to ask questions and have an honest dialogue about the Bible, this young woman really valued the fact that WCBC faculty let the students have “different ideas.” Most younger people are of the same mind. They want a bit of breathing room in their thinking. Another grad said indicated that the difficulty they faced was transitioning out of the stimulating and open WCBC environment and back into a local corps.

I really liked WCBC. It’s not too “Army-centric.” They covered all aspects of the Christian faith. It was really challenging. WCBC most definitely was going in the right direction. The issue was us coming out of there, going back into the Church, and having no voice and no avenue for ministry; not even a willingness to hear new ideas or discuss things…For us WCBC laid a strong foundation; but it almost made it impossible for us to remain in the Army.

The point that this young person is making is not that WCBC itself made it difficult to remain in the Army, but that the critical theological skills they gained at WCBC were not appreciated in the corps they attended after graduating.

Relationships The other major side of the issue of discipleship is the relationship side. Participants often expressed disappointment in the quality of relationships that they had with leaders and potential mentors in their home church.

One girl from an Eastern corps reported that she felt as if her leaders in the band were only interested in the fact that she played an instrument, and they had no real concern for her and her spiritual growth.

What about my spiritual life? It’s like they don’t care about that. They just want you there for what you do. I was playing in the band for a whole year and the bandmaster didn’t even know my name.

A similar story came from a former Salvationist who now works in full time ministry in another denomination:

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My two years at [Ontario corps] were the worst experiences of my time in the Army. They just treated me as a commodity…they expected you to do whatever they said, and to be there at the drop of a hat; It was a time in my life when I needed pastoral care. I tried to meet with [Corps Officer] six times and he cancelled on me every time. He eventually said that since I was a mature Christian I just needed to continue on in ministry and he brushed me aside.

Another issue that came up a number of times was respect. Particularly, people in their late teens indicated that they felt as if their concerns and passions were continually pushed aside by the leaders of their local corps. For example, a young woman indicated that her corps was supposed to have monthly youth services, but these were put off any time there was another special event on the calendar. The result was that, in that particular corps, only about half of the scheduled youth Sundays actually took place. Another young person expressed disappointment that so few adult members showed up for their youth Sundays. In both situations, the result was that the young people in question felt disrespected and undervalued. So I heard young adults saying things like, “We’re not good enough for anyone,” “A lot of people look down on you because you’re young,” and “No one really listens to us.”

Others reported that they had a hard time getting any respect if they weren’t musical or if they weren’t from an “Army family.” A young Pentecostal couple who formerly attended various corps across the Territory said “Many times at various corps we are asked “Who is your father?” and “Who do you know?” If you don’t know people, you don’t get a connection with people at the corps.” Another young woman who has recently found her way back to the Army after attending another church for a couple years said that she always felt out of place at the corps where she grew up because she was not musical.

I really feel like I “didn’t fit the mold” of the Army growing up. I didn’t play an instrument. I wasn’t a good singer. I didn’t fit in. My mom made me go to music camp, and I hated it. The first day we had to be tested. One year after I’d been away for a few years, they tested me and I couldn’t remember any theory, so I got put into grade one.

But then as soon as I got into the classes I totally remembered what I was doing; meanwhile I was in a class with a bunch of little kids; it was really humiliating!

Specifically, from those who left, I had numerous reports that no one from the Army had ever contacted them to see what had happened to them. A young man who now attends another Church, whom I interviewed this past February, said, “I haven’t been [to the Army] since May, and I haven’t got one phone call. I was there for seven years, band, worship band, Bible study, meal programs…no one called me to see if I was OK.” Another couple had been part of a church plant that failed, and they were very upset that no one from the Army (before our interview) had ever contacted them. “After the church plant failed, no one de-briefed us; no one asked what had gone wrong, what could be learned from it; even though they had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars.” Going into that church plant, this couple felt they were on their way to officership, but they have since joined another church.

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2. UNITY IN MISSION AND DIVERSITY OF EXPRESSION The mission of the Army is the Army’s biggest potential asset in its ministry to young adults. In the course of my travels I did not meet a single person who was indifferent to the mission of the Army. While there were some differences between participants as to the specifics of Army mission, in general all the participants loved the idea of the Army’s mission. They expressed excitement and enthusiasm for the idea of a Christian faith that is expressed in practical service to those who are suffering. The mission of the Army still grabs the attention of young adults, and many find its ideals and goals to be inspiring.

However, the reality of involvement in the Army often fails to live up to those ideals. Many reported that they had no real opportunities for mission at their local corps. Others were frustrated and discouraged by leaders when they tried to suggest new and innovative mission opportunities.

The question of the Army’s mission is intertwined with the question of the Army’s identity, and this is where many of those I interviewed located the real problems with the Army’s missional practice. For the young adults I spoke to, the mission is the thing that ought to drive the identity of the Army. That is, they see questions of Army identity as secondary to (or determined by) the question of Army mission. What they see in current Army circles is that questions of identity are taking precedence over questions of mission.

A young woman who joined the Army as a young adult, and has been very active in a number of leadership roles, put the issue in very stark terms: “The Army is idolatrous about itself; about the uniform, about the band. I have seen this personally. There are some SA songs that I won’t sing because they are idolatrous and they make me uncomfortable.” Another Salvationist said, “The Salvation Army right now has an unhealthy preoccupation with our name, our sub-culture, our appearance, our reputation. We are all about preserving the organization - at all costs. Younger generations simply say “so what?”” A number of people also noted that this “preoccupation” led to unhealthy denominational pride, and said this became an issue when they started to interact with Christians from other denominations.

I was raised to think The Salvation Army was better than other denominations, and this pride caused me to embarrass myself in interactions with other Christians. Eventually I realized that I was wrong, and this really shook me up. I felt like I’d been sold a bill of goods.

A young woman shared a similar story of her encounter with other denominations and other faiths as she began to study religion at university.

I found the Army almost arrogant, as a tradition. It was like, “We have the answers,” and yet in my experience, we very clearly didn’t. The Army actually seemed very irrelevant. Especially the older generations – they are very arrogant about “being Army.” I’ve found the Army has a very weird idea of its own superiority to other denominations.

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The issue of “identity” and “distinctives” was a particularly touchy issue for those young adults that I met who were part of “non-traditional” corps. These young people often had the feeling that the larger Army didn’t know what to do with them because they didn’t look or sound like a “normal” Army corps.

A young leader in a new corps discussed the mistrust that he experiences when he tries to talk about his ministry. “When I discuss my ministry with other Army churches, I feel that I am on trial. There are so many hoops that they want us to jump through. It’s all about the question “Is it Army?” That’s all they care about.” Another person who is part of a church plant had this to say: “Is the Army more concerned with flag-waving than with mission? Sometimes I think the Army would rather have 5 soldiers waving the flag than a lot of people involved in mission in their community.” For these young leaders, and many young adults across the Territory, what matters is the mission, not the packaging. If they are reaching their community with the gospel, and engaging in mission to marginalized people, then in their opinion they are more “Army” than many traditional corps. As one person put it, “We are inherently Army without putting up the Red Shield.”

A young person from Western Canada summarized the attitude of many of the young adults I met: “Why can’t the Army just be “Heart to God, hand to man”? Why do all these other things have to be uniform? Can’t we allow for diversity, and just stick to the essential mission?” They would like to see a genuine appreciation for diverse expressions of the one mission of the Army.

Yet for many of those same people, it is the love the Army’s mission that keeps them involved, in spite of the fact that they often feel less than supported by their fellow Salvationists. “I don’t like the trappings - I just think they are dumb,” said a young man from Central Canada, “but I can’t escape the mission. I love the idea of moving to neighbourhoods where others are moving out.”

Reflecting on the way that young adults are clearly interested in Army mission (and often not enthusiastic about denominational identity markers), one youth leader said the following: Instead of trying to woo people with our status, the shield, the uniform (in short, the denomination), we should woo people to justice issues and changing lives, fighting for others’ freedom…So the idea is to have people join the mission, not the institution.

3. DISTRUST OF SALVATION ARMY STRUCTURE Most of the participants expressed distrust towards Army leadership structures. As a generation, young adults are skeptical of institutional authority, and Salvation Army leadership structures are perceived to be highly centralized, bureaucratic, and inflexible. Participants often had particular stories to relate, which typified what they believed to be unfair decisions made by leadership.

Normally this distrust was aimed at headquarters, but corps leadership structures were also a source of concern for many. In some cases, such experiences played a key part in influencing a young adult’s decision to leave the Army and find another place of worship and service. This is a very important topic, and occupied a significant portion of my interview time. One of my

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interviewees even claimed, “Almost all the people I know who have left the SA have been affected by the power structure.”

For example, an officer’s son who now worships at another church identified the appointment system of the Army as a particular issue that pushed him away from the Army.

My parents have repeatedly been appointed to “problem” corps, where they are expected to clean up the mess. Then after a few years, after they’ve got the corps back on its feet, they are moved on to another mess. The worst was when they got moved from [corps name]. They were just finishing a huge building project. After struggling for years in an out of date building, and putting in countless hours to get the new building up, they were moved before the project was even complete! They didn’t get to see the fruit of their labours. They asked for an explanation from the DC, and all he said was, “It was time for a move.” That is just not good enough. We deserved an explanation. It didn’t make any sense, and it made me really angry.

A young woman from the Western part of the Territory shared similar thoughts: “Leadership should be more transparent. When they make decisions, they should tell people why. It is not acceptable for us to be told to listen just because they say so.”

A young couple were doing full time ministry for the Army, and began with high hopes, due to a wonderfully supportive DHQ team. However, a change in DHQ staff led to a time of intense frustration for them.

Our DC, was very supportive and helpful. He spearheaded the program we were a part of. But then his DSP and DSBA were moved, and the new people were a disaster. It was so bad we saw Officers in open revolt against them at officer’s retreat. The DSP was just terrible; funding was lost because she ignored paperwork. It didn’t seem right that these people were put in that position, because they were obviously unqualified. But it took a really long time before anything was done. In the meantime, our ministry suffered.

A young officer acknowledged similar problems with frequent changes at headquarters: “The Army has a leadership culture organizationally…that results in the "goal posts" changing every 3-4 years. We flip-flop all the time on decisions, vision, direction, etc. The organizational system is irrelevant to younger generations.”

A young woman who used to do full time ministry for the Army shared how the professional environment in which she now works operates on a very different organizational structure, one in which skill and ability determine one’s authority, not simply position. “In my work, my boss only feels like my boss when the big decisions are made. Skill and ability are what matter; not age, and not gender. People don’t just take orders.” Her experience in the Army was that she was not taken seriously because she was a woman, and because she was young. She is now in a career which involves much more responsibility and leadership than she was given in the Army.

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Another young man on the prairies who has also left the Army and moved into a very successful professional career made a similar contrast between his current environment and his time in the Army.

I just didn’t feel like I had any room to breathe. When I did push for stuff it didn’t go anywhere. My current job is also constricting at times, but every once in a while you win one. You can progress by inches. I didn’t have that experience in the Army.

Others expressed frustration that local leadership was not empowered to make decisions on important issues. It doesn’t make sense to them that decisions about their local church are made by someone in a different city, or even a different province. “The best person to deal with a situation is the person who is there,” said a Salvationist from Eastern Canada.

A young man who is now part of a local leadership team in another church shared similar sentiments: The local church just doesn’t have any say or ownership. A congregation should be able to run itself- have its own dreams, its own procedures. Before you can do anything you’ve got to make a proposal, send it to DHQ and THQ, it’s got to get approved on so many levels. I value the denominational support, but trying to run them all the same and use the same formula in every town it is not going to work. It is not working - they are shutting down churches all over the place. It is scary, and it hurts…The central leadership aspect is the big issue. There needs to be less of a big brother hand.

Finally, there is a common opinion among younger adults that there too much top-down accountability on minor issues, and very little accountability when it comes to serious problems with officers. One woman I met identified a particular incident as her reason for leaving the Army, and said it was because Army leadership failed to deal with a difficult situation involving her corps officer.

There was no leadership accountability with what happened. The pastor fell into inappropriate behaviour, and nothing was ever done about it. It was never even said out loud, even though the whole congregation knew what was going on, and wanted to do something about it. There was no action taken...They were left in charge of the church for a long time after. It was never acknowledged. No discipline to stop the situation or at least acknowledge that it had happened. If there’s no accountability on that level, how am I going to be held accountable for my actions? Give or take two years from that incident, and all of the young adults who were there have gone.

Another woman who grew up with officer parents said the way her parents were treated by Army leadership has given her a bad view of the Army. “There are a lot of pretty crappy Army dynamics around here. Some of my negative view of the Army comes from watching my parents, and how they fought for things, and how they suffered for it.”

But as with all of the common themes I am summarizing here, her story is not unique to those who have left. There are many young adults who remain involved in the Army, but are deeply

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concerned about leadership and accountability issues. One Salvationist who is heavily involved said.

I’ve been disillusioned by some of the stuff I saw going on, and headquarters wasn’t dealing with it. I know that there are officers having affairs. I know there are officers drinking. I was discouraged because last spring I was just waiting for the moves to come out and hoping to see that some of these people would get moved.

These comments are important, because they point out that young people are not against authority of any kind. In some cases, they are calling for more authority to be exercised.

However, they want authority to be exercised in the context of meaningful relationships. That is, they want accountability from leaders who know who they are, and who are genuinely concerned about them and about their spiritual well being. A young man who is still involved, but unsure of his future with the Army, related to me the story of how he decided he no longer wanted to be involved in traditional uniform-wearing music sections.

The “incident” that sparked my departure from band was when someone in the band got after me for the way I was dressed. I think I had forgotten my tie at home, or my hat, or something like that. What bothered me was that this was not a person who I had a strong relationship with. All of a sudden he was yelling at me about my clothes, when he hadn’t really shown any interest in me up to that time. When I left it didn’t feel like a big loss in terms of relationships.

If authority is exercised in a heavy-handed way, and does not take place in a context of meaningful relationships, that is the response that can be expected from this generation. They will simply walk away.

4. A VARIETY OF VIEWS ON SOLDIERSHIP AND MEMBERSHIP Participants are of varying opinions about the question of soldiership and membership. On the one hand, some hold to a traditional Army view of the value of soldiership, and believe that soldiership and covenant need to be re-emphasized in order to strengthen the Army. Others believe soldiership is valuable but should be an optional form of Christian life in the Army, with committed non-soldiers given equal opportunity for involvement. Others raise practical and theological questions about soldiership itself and are unsure if it has any value.

Those Looking to Re-assert the Centrality of Soldiership A minority of the young adults I spoke to who are active in the Army feel that soldiership needs to be re-asserted as central to corps life. The young adults in this group include some “traditional” Salvationists along with some of the “radical” expressions of Salvationism.

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A youth pastor identified low expectations placed on a generation of young people as the problem, and stated that younger teens are signing up for soldiership because they are given responsibilities and challenged.

There is a big gap at our corps of people in their 20s. They missed leadership opportunities, because everything was given to them. They were catered to too much, and they didn’t learn to give back. Therefore they are not willing to do the work. You need to give people responsibility so they take ownership. A lot of younger teens at [corps] are getting into uniform, joining the band and so on, and are given responsibility.

A young woman in the Western part of the Territory suggested that there is nothing wrong with soldiership.

I don’t think we should lower our standards. If people aren’t enrolling it’s not a problem with soldiership. I wouldn’t change it. I really enjoy the militant part of the Army. I like the uniform…I want to keep fighting. Our goal is to conquer, and we can’t give up.

Those who believe Soldiership is One Way Among Others A more common opinion among interviewees was that soldiership has value, but that committed Christians who are not soldiers should be treated equally in local corps ministry. Young adults of this persuasion tend to think soldiership should be presented as one way of Christian living, but they are concerned about the elitist overtones that come with having different “levels” of membership.

So, as I interviewed people I heard comments such as, “What is the meaning of soldiership? Why do we have different “levels” of membership in our Church?” and “Soldiership is OK but it shouldn’t mean that others are “less” members of the Church.”

A young man who came to the Army from a Pentecostal background said he thought soldiership could be a great expression of Christianity, but he had a problem with the way it was practiced.

“There seems to be a lot of focus placed on wearing that uniform. It’s like it’s a whole other level of Christianity when you have your uniform on. That bothers me, because automatically you’re putting up these walls within your church.”

The most common issue that people raised with soldiership was the way that they were pressured into becoming soldiers at a young age, and they didn’t understand what they were doing. The story of this young adult is surprisingly common: “I was pressured into uniform at 14. The covenant didn’t mean anything to me. I wouldn’t even say I was a Christian until I was 17.”

A former Salvationist recounted the struggles that she had gone through after becoming a soldier at a young age. “I was a soldier at 13! How could I have understood it at that age? I thought one cigarette, one drink, would send me to hell. After I had sex for the first time I freaked out. I thought I was going to hell. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to live as a Christian. I didn’t know how to be forgiven.”

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Those who have Serious Questions about Soldiership Some of those interviewed think there are serious problems with soldiership, and would not be bothered if it faded away altogether.

A person in their late teens who attends an Army corps told me, “I don’t want to be a soldier. We only have two uniformed Salvationists at our church. I don’t even understand the uniform. It is not emphasized, and it is not taught.” A young Salvationist leader said that she has a hard time justifying the soldier’s covenant. “I can’t argue biblically why someone should be a soldier.

Most churches have baptism as their form of membership. That can be argued from scripture.

Soldiership is similar but can’t be argued biblically.”

And of course, some who have left had some sharp questions about soldiership, particularly because, in their experience, it had led to all sorts of hypocrisy: “There is so much hypocrisy among soldiers – it kept pushing me further and further out the door…I went to visit my friend in [large corps]. We hung around with all the people from the corps. Some of them were living together [and not married]…we would go to all these wild parties, and there would be drinking – but it was all about the image and having a big band on Sunday.”

“There are a lot of “closet” drinkers in uniform; they want to be in the band but don’t think there’s anything wrong with the occasional drink; so they just do it quietly and pretend they don’t. This is silly. I don’t have time for that.”

A young man who was formerly a youth group leader, but no longer attends, told the following story: “I was working at a bar for a while a couple years ago. A middle aged guy from the corps came in, but I didn’t see him at first. He is a Bandsman, and has been in uniform for decades. Someone else took his order, then asked me to deliver the beer to him. I went over and suddenly realized it was this guy I’d known all my life! I never told anyone, of course, but it really bothers me to see that kind of hypocrisy. It is just silly that he is sneaking around having a drink while no one is watching.”

5. THE NEED FOR CHANGES TO OFFICERSHIP Sad as it may be, officership has come to have somewhat of a bad reputation among young adults. Officership is not looked on positively, and many younger people are biased against officers in general. This unfavourable view of officership can be linked to a) the examples of officership that they encounter, b) questions about training and appointments.

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Disillusioned by Examples It may be that the biggest deterrent to officership among young adults is the example of current officers. One young man said, simply, “You don’t hear a lot of officers talk about how wonderful the Army is.” Many people seem to have encountered officers who were not happy in their ministry, or at least were more than willing to voice their complaints about life as an officer.

But the issue goes deeper than that. It is not simply the case that young people hear officers complaining. They also just have a bad impression of officers. They feel that there are not very many examples for them to look up to, and not many officers who they would want to emulate.

A Salvationist from Ontario said, “People don’t want to be associated with officers; to be an officer you have to associate with them, and people don’t want to be seen as part of that.”

Another current Salvationist gave the following stark assessment of what he believes is a systemic mediocrity among officers: “The officer system is a system that rewards and perpetuates mediocrity. It involves submitting to mediocre leaders who I view as the inhibitors of mission. It perpetuates mediocrity.”

A first-generation Salvationist explained the way she has been continually disappointed by the examples of officership that she has encountered.

I was inspired by stories the early Army when I joined. There were stories of young people who were making a real difference in the world. But I’ve been more and more disappointed ever since. There are so many officers out there who don’t have either a passion or a forte. That is so sad. Majors who have been serving a long time, but have no passion. I tried to recruit officers to help with [youth discipleship program] and so many just had nothing to share. They are too busy, or not willing to invest in youth. There have been very few officers that I would choose to follow. Yet there is a huge shortage coming, and everyone knows it. But the officers we have aren’t models.

Sometimes these impressions are liked to particular concrete experiences involving officers. One former Salvationist reported a disturbing incident involving his officer in his hometown. “I actually saw (Corps Officer) ejected from the Valu-Mart for arguing with the staff about the price of something. They (the officers) were just old and cranky.”

Another former Salvationist who now pastors in another church reported how, one of the last things she did was serve on a committee for THQ. She was the only woman and the only layperson on the committee, and felt constantly demeaned and undermined by the male officers who she was supposed to be working with.

They mocked me, and snickered at me during the meetings. I came home and cried to my boyfriend and said, “I can’t work in the Army.” All I did was fight these men the whole time. Instead of them asking me to give my input based on my experience, it was like, whatever I said, they were dismissive, and saying…“No, you can’t know that,” “No, you don’t understand.” It was awful.

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Questions about training and appointments From interviews with people across the Territory, I found that there were many young adults who had a negative impression of the Training College. While most people acknowledge that things are changing, there are still many people who are apprehensive about officership precisely because they are turned off by the idea of going to CFOT. Some of the following comments are rather blunt. However, they are representative of the views of CFOT that were expressed in the interviews. I think it is important that the perceptions of young adults about officer training be honestly presented, so that Salvationists can consider how they might move towards addressing the issues.

A young person who grew up in the Army but now serves in another church said the following: When I was done school I went into full time ministry [in a corps]. Going back to training college was so unappealing. Even when I was looking for more education, training college would never have been it. And I feel like I hear that more and more from young people in the Army. You are seeing a lot more people do MDivs. Young people have more education, and training college is a joke to them.

Again, while there has been discussion of “flexible training,” there are still plenty of stories circulating like the following one, which make young adults skeptical as to whether their previous education would be taken into account by the CFOT process: My sister had some cadets at her corps, and they didn’t have any theological education but they both had undergrads, and they were getting A pluses in everything. And they said they had been asking if they could do something at a masters level but they were told no. And they were writing the equivalent of first year college papers. It was just such a waste of their time. That’s just annoying.

Another young person who is committed to becoming an officer confessed that he and his wife have hesitated for a number of years because they are hoping that there will be more significant changes to training.

Why would I go to Winnipeg when I can learn here at [local seminary]? We’ve heard stories of spiritual abuse at CFOT, like people being disciplined on hearsay and things like that… They want to fit you into a mold. We’re trying to wait until it gets better.

But the concerns about training were not the most common objection to the conditions of officership. The deterrent which was mentioned more often than anything in the interviews was the appointment system. Young adults simply do not trust the appointment system, and they are hesitant to believe that the appointments that are made are really “God’s will.”

A young man who may have officership in his future said this about his generation:

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“People don’t want to give up control of their lives to desk jockeys. People don’t trust the leaders to make the decisions about the so-called “greater good” of the Army. They have seen a lot of bad appointments made, and there is a lot of distrust.”

Someone from a very different context shared a similar assessment of the way that younger people view officership and the appointment system: There is no way that our youth are going to give their life to…who?[since the players are always changing] We refuse to acknowledge this is an issue. Youth don’t trust the outfit.

They have seen too many bad decisions, mix ups, and bad appointments. There is no trust there.

For many, the issue is expressed in terms of a concern to be given opportunities to do specialized ministry, rather than signing up for an open-ended life-long commitment to serve in a variety of contexts. Someone who has worked with Salvationist youth for many years identified this issue: People don’t feel that the Army is open to their specific calling. Younger people tend to have specific ideas about the kind of ministry they feel God is calling them to. Officership may end up causing them to relinquish their calling, because they will have to go and serve wherever they are sent. [name withheld] was an officer for 5 years and got out. He felt called to youth ministry, and he wasn’t given the opportunities to do that, so he left.

So this is the biggest barrier to people getting into officership.

A young leader who is seriously considering officership confessed, “I’m afraid that there won’t be any space for me as a leader – that my gifts won’t be recognized. I’m open to officership – if it will be the best way for me to impact the body of Christ.” And an officer who has worked with lots of young adults put it this way: “Youth know who they are and what their gifts are.

Officership involves submitting to someone who doesn’t know you or your situation.”

Another young leader who is currently in the Army is considering whether or not he should become an officer, or seek another avenue for full time ministry, said: The big issue for us is giving up the right to choose where we will live…We don’t know the Salvation Army in the rest of Canada, so we don’t know what it would be like. I don’t know if I could relate to people in different parts of the country. Leadership today is not like it was in Booth’s day. He had a circuit and he went around and preached. Today officers are like CEOs. It takes time and expertise to run a corps. You can’t just move people and expect it to work.

Everyone understands that ministry involves a life of sacrifice. In the past, most people viewed submission to the appointment system as a necessary sacrifice for the greater good of the Army and the gospel. However, many people have come to question whether the appointment system is at all effective or fair, and therefore they are not sure whether or not the particular sacrifice they are being asked to make is really for the sake of the gospel. In other words, we should not assume that these young adults are simply not willing to count the cost and take up their cross.

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They are looking to do ministry effectively, and they are questioning if the Army’s system is going to be a help or a hindrance to their fulfillment of the mission.

THE LEAVERS: WHY DID THEY LEAVE? It is very difficult to summarize the myriad stories that I heard from people who have left The Salvation Army. Each person is unique, and encounters the Army through a particular set of events, circumstances, and relationships. We cannot point to a simple cause or a single issue which has been the major factor influencing people to leave the Army.

However, it is helpful to try to classify the “leavers” in some way, in order to understand the types of situations that are behind a given person’s decision to leave the Army. In doing so, we can gain some clarity into how we might deal better with each type of person and situation.

TYPES OF LEAVERS The chart below provides one way of organizing the stories of the “leavers.” First of all, we can put an individual’s reasons for leaving into two broad categories: conviction-based and circumstance-based. That is, some people leave because of a strong conviction about a particular issue, while others leave simply of circumstances in their life.

Secondly, for each of those two categories, we can distinguish between those who are antagonistic towards the Army and those who are amicable towards the Army. Often the antagonistic leaver is someone who left amid a personal conflict, while the amicable leaver was able to leave on good terms.

Antagonistic Amicable

Current Relationship to the Army

Reasons for Leaving Conviction-based Left the Army due to a significant conviction about a particular issue or set of issues (might be theological / ethical or methodological), and is antagonistic towards the Army. Likely left in the midst of a conflict. May have tried to raise concerns about particular issues and was ignored or dismissed.

Left the Army due to a significant conviction about a particular issue (might be a theological / ethical issue or a more methodological issue), but left on good terms. Decided to “agree to disagree” and move on. No significant relational conflict.

Circumstance-based Left the Army due to a personal conflict of some kind. Often a clash with leadership which has caused the person to lose confidence in the Army. No significant doctrinal, ethical, or methodological reasons for leaving.

Left the Army due to personal circumstances (such as a unique ministry opportunity, relocation to a new community, marriage to someone from another tradition). For various reasons involvement in the Army wouldn’t work in a new situation. No hard feelings toward the Army.

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For example, one young woman noted the Army’s position on homosexuality as a significant factor in her decision to leave. “I have a lot of gay friends,” she said. “I will never tell my homosexual friends they are going to hell.” Another noted that he was denied leadership opportunities because he wasn’t in uniform. “I wanted an opportunity to lead. I had been there 8 years, but they said I had to put on a uniform to do it.” In both of these cases, the individuals involved sought to challenge the existing positions of the Army in their context, and left in frustration. They both left out of conviction that the Army’s positions or practices weren’t right, and they are currently antagonistic towards the Army.

Yet some others leave for reasons of conviction and yet remain amicable, with no hard feelings toward the Army. A young man who grew up in the Army and is now Roman Catholic had nothing bad to say about the Army, in spite of the fact that he obviously has come to accept a very different set of theological convictions. “My story of leaving The Salvation Army,” he says, “wasn’t really because of The Salvation Army.” Another who has joined a mainline Church after coming to a more liberal theological perspective, says he doesn’t want the Army to change, but wishes it to go on doing mission in its own distinctive way.

Circumstance-based reasons for leaving, on the other hand, relate to changing situations in the life of the young adult which make attending the Army undesirable or difficult. If the circumstance in question is a personal conflict, this may well lead to an antagonistic relationship with the Army in general. So one young man who used to be a youth group leader reported that conflicts with corps leadership pushed him out the door: “I had no problems with the teachings of the Army...But the leadership I always had a problem with. I was running the youth group with another guy. We go absolutely zero support from the people of the church.” He is an example of an antagonistic circumstance-based leaver.

But often, someone who leaves because of circumstances remains amicable towards the Army, although they no longer worship there. So one young person who no longer attends any church reported that her job only gave her one Sunday off every six weeks, and so she had gotten out of the habit of attending. She has no particular issue with the Army and might attend again if her circumstances. A young Ontario couple reported that when they moved to a new city, they just didn’t connect with the corps, and found another local Church where they had great opportunities to serve. “When we move we’ll just look for a good church, whether it is Army or not.”

This typology is not perfect, and often an individual’s story may involve elements of more than one type. By viewing the “leavers” in this way, however, we can see that there are some situations in which there isn’t really anything that can be done to prevent a person from leaving.

The stories of “antagonistic circumstance-based” leavers are the ones which could most readily be prevented, because they normally arise out of conflict situations. Providing young adults with more of a voice and more ownership of the decision-making process, both locally and at higher levels of administration, might help to address these kinds of situations. Salvationists need to make room for the creativity, passion, and “outside-the-box” thinking that younger people sometimes bring to the table. I heard numerous stories of people who left the Army because they were continually prevented from trying new and creative ministries. There is no reason for this kind of stifling of creativity. Yet there is a widely held feeling that the Army has no place for

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creative leaders. A former Salvationist told me that he feels as if “talented people tend to be criticized, scrutinized, and often leave because they don’t ‘fit the mold’. Anyone who bucks the system will be pushed out.”

Those circumstance-based leavers who remain amicable towards the Army hold out the strongest possibility of returning to the Army at some time. Often they left because they relocated to a new community, and didn’t connect with the Army corps, or found another church much more attractive. Strengthening the quality of corps life across the board would be one way to attempt to address this trend.

If we look at the “conviction-based” category of leavers, there are some convictions which the Army cannot alter. When a person undergoes a theological conversion, and embraces a Roman Catholic theology, or a liberal protestant perspective, or even an evangelical Calvinist position, there is not much that can be done to accommodate them in the Army. What is more troubling is that there are cases when people leave on the basis of the Army’s own convictions, which they believe the Army is denying in practice. The example of a woman leader who left the Army because she felt that married women leaders were not respected should cause great alarm to Salvationists, who pride themselves on their heritage of full equality in ministry. Yet I met three women from very different parts of the Territory who said this was something which contributed to their decision to leave the Army.

Point of Focus: The “Frustrated Leader Leaver” If I could identify a particular “type” of leaver which the Army should be concerned about, it would be those I describe as the “frustrated leaders.” These might have left for a mixture of circumstantial and conviction-based reasons, but in all cases they are people who were heavily invested in the Army as young leaders, and yet left because they felt frustrated and hemmed in

by Army culture and structure.

One former Salvationist leader who now leads in another church said, “Maybe it’s not a matter how many the Army is keeping but who they are losing.” In my travels I met some very talented and capable leaders who left the Army because they felt that there just wasn’t any room for them.

They are now thriving in ministries in another denomination.

A typical story comes from a young woman who struggled for years in the Army as a leader. She strongly believed that she was called to make a difference in the Army, even though she was continually frustrated by her interactions with other leaders. Eventually, after a particularly difficult episode, a couple of trusted spiritual mentors suggested to this person that maybe she needed to move on.

Someone in my support group said to me, “I feel like you are trying to spread your wings out and just be what God wants you to be, and people keep pushing them back in.” And I was like, “That’s exactly how I feel.” And that is how I felt whenever I tried to do anything beyond my local church.”

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Out of this struggle, she came to a decision to find a ministry outlet in another denomination, where she now has been given more responsibility than she was ever given in the Army.

When we combine stories such as the one above with the fact that many current young leaders in the Army are concerned that there will be no room for them and their passions in the Army, there is strong cause for concern. It would seem that the Army should be engaging with young leaders and finding ways to free them up to follow their passions within the Army culture and structure.

If changes are not made, it is likely that more capable leaders will find their way to other denominations and organizations where they have more freedom.

CONCLUSION – CAUSE FOR HOPE This report has given voice to a lot of concerns and criticisms of the current state of the Army.

There is, of course, reason to hope, and I did meet some wonderful young Salvationists who continue to hope that there is a future for them in the Army. Some are committed to staying the course no matter what, and others are hopeful for change in the years to come.

The strongest reason for the Army to be hopeful for the future is that the idea of The Salvation Army still has an almost universal appeal. As indicated above, I did not meet one young adult who objected to the mission of the Army. Even young people who have left the Army are still excited about the heritage of the Army, the strong emphasis on mission, and the combination of evangelicalism and a commitment to social justice.

In that sense, one could say that the young adults I met, both inside and outside the Army, are calling for the Army to be more true to its founding vision and roots. This does not mean, of course, they want what has come to be known as “traditional” Salvationism. They are looking for a dynamic expression of Christian faith in action. Some of them have left the Army to seek this in other denominations, because they did not find it in reality in their local corps.

Their stories are a call to reform and renewal for the Army. The last word goes to a former Salvationist, who wanted this challenge to be heard by the Army: “Henri Nouwen says your future will depend on how you decide to remember your past.

That’s where the Army is right now.”

TERRITORIAL YOUNG ADULT RESEARCH PROJECT

RECOMMENDATIONS One of the goals of the Territorial Young Adult Research Project was to recommend action that can be taken to address the issue of young adult attrition in The Salvation Army. The recommendations presented here take the form of seven “Territorial Priorities” for ministry to young adults. This is not a strategic plan, but rather a conceptual framework - based on the findings of the entire research project – upon which a more detailed plan might be built.

Each priority is presented with a brief description. This is followed by a rationale, which establishes the links between the priority as presented and specific findings of the project.

Finally, for each priority, a set of suggestions for implementation have been provided. These are practical suggestions as to ways in which the Territorial priorities might be realized.

The priorities and the suggestions for implementation were developed with input from approximately 40 young adults from across the Territory, who read early drafts of the research reports and submitted feedback.

TERRITORIAL PRIORITIES

PRIORITY #1: FOSTERING AUTHENTIC DISCIPLESHIP Authentic discipleship means discipleship which takes place in the context of meaningful relationships. Young adults are looking to be in discipling relationships that are characterized by genuine care, interest, and transparency. This includes being given opportunities to serve according to their gifts and passions. Young adults are also looking for substantial teaching as one aspect of authentic discipleship, and they consider it very important that they be given room to ask questions and engage in dialogue on important matters of faith.

RATIONALE • Discipleship and teaching were identified as significant concerns in the young adult surveys. Both current and former Salvationists expressed a desire for stronger teaching and discipleship (see Report 3, pages 64, 69-71).

• Authentic discipleship was one of the five major themes of the interviews (see Report 4, pages 88-91) SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION • Raise awareness among all Salvationists about the importance of relational discipleship • Promote mentoring and equip Salvationists for mentoring relationships • Encourage each officer and local leader to take on at least one young adult mentee • Provide leadership opportunities for young adults where they can serve according to their gifts and passions

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o Find ways to assure young adults that they are valued for who they are, not simply for what they can do in the corps Strengthen the teaching ministry of officers and gifted lay leaders by o Making biblical and theological education a priority o Asking local Salvationists to provide more support to corps officers so that officers have more time to devote to study / teaching preparation For example, involving more lay volunteers in community service ministry to relieve the burden on officers o Identify gifted lay teachers and give them opportunities to teach Seek to promote a balance of common Christian teaching and Salvation Army distinctives o Honest and transparent teaching about distinctive Salvation Army positions in relation to the broad spectrum of Christian denominations, so that Salvationists understand their distinctive beliefs and are not troubled by exposure to other Christian traditions

Special focus: Soldiership as Discipleship Many young adults are ambivalent about soldiership (see Report 3, pages 71-76, and Report 4, pages 96-98). If soldiership is to continue as a viable and vibrant form of membership for Salvationists, the recommendation of this report is that a significant effort be made to present soldiership as a form of discipleship. Young adults are interested in discipleship, but soldiership as they know it today is perceived to be a onetime rite of passage which provides entrance to certain ministries.

Some suggestions that were received from young adults about reforming and renewing soldiership as a form of discipleship are: • Correct the “event-oriented” and “rule-oriented” models of soldiership • Counter the tendency to view soldiership as a “gateway” to certain ministries or benefits • Promote the use of mentors / sponsors in soldier preparation o i.e., a one-year preparation period, working with a mentor, rather than (or in addition to) a “classroom” approach o Provide a shame free “way out” at the end of soldier training for those who decide they do not wish to sign the covenant • Affirm that there are other valid ways of living a Christian life (in answer to concerns about “elitist” overtones to soldiership)

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PRIORITY #2: FOCUS ON EMPOWERING SMALLER CORPS Most of the corps in the Territory are small corps, and small corps tend to have a more difficult time attracting and retaining young adults. A concerted effort needs to be made to support small corps in their ministry to young adults, and to help them to understand that they actually have some advantages over larger corps. Young adults are looking for relational discipleship, and leaders in small corps have an opportunity to give a great deal of attention to the young adults that they have, investing more one-on-one mentoring time, and providing leadership opportunities for young adults that might not be found in a large corps. It should be a priority for the Territory to help small corps to recognize the resources that they do have available to them.

In addition to this, regional (area, divisional, territorial) networking plays a very important role in keeping young adults in smaller corps connected to the larger Army.

RATIONALE • According to the 2007 attendance data, used as the basis for the ministry unit survey in this project, approximately 45% of the corps in the Territory have an average attendance of less than 50.

• Corps size was found to be the most significant factor influencing young adult attrition (see Report 2, pages 18, 22-24, 28-30).

• As discussed above, authentic discipleship is a key priority for young adults (see Report 3, pages 64, 69-71, and Report 4, pages 88-91). Salvationists in smaller corps have an opportunity to invest in deep discipling relationships with their young adults.

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION • Help small corps to embrace what they can do: o Provide serious mentorship and leadership opportunities for younger people o Develop strong relationships with the young adults who are there o Make investing time in young members a priority • Divisional / regional networking is an essential support for smaller corps o Provides a sense of belonging to a larger movement o These do not necessarily need to be large expensive events – just events with opportunities for building a network of relationships for support, discipleship, mentoring, and mission. o Area or divisional gatherings once a month or once a quarter for young adults o Try to build grassroots networks, rather than divisonally-led programs • Divisional / Territorial leadership training programs could be very beneficial to young adult leaders from small corps (i.e., along the lines of the former excel program).

PRIORITY #3: FOCUS ON THE POST-SECONDARY TRANSITION About two thirds of the young adults who leave the Army do so before the age of 25, and the transition to postsecondary experiences often provides the opportunities to leave. A particular focus on helping young adults to navigate this transition would certainly be beneficial. This involves giving attention to the particular challenges of young adults who are at this stage in life: providing space for creative and critical thinking, giving young adults “room to breathe” as they

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begin to find independence from their parents, and making an effort to connect young adults with a supportive church family when they relocate for educational or career opportunities.

RATIONALE: • The ministry unit survey found that two thirds of reported “losses” of young adults from Army corps took place before age 25 (see Report 3, pages 39-45).

• Outside research confirms that much religious “switching” takes place during a relocation (see Report 1, pages 9-10).

• Participants in the interviews expressed concern that there wasn’t sufficient room for dialogue and discussion (see Report 4, pages 88-90) SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION • Be intentional about making connections between corps re: students moving into the area o Notifying the corps officer; having someone from the corps make contact on more than one occasion.

• Provide teaching / discipleship for those in postsecondary education which gives space for dialogue, critical thinking, discussion, and questioning. o Recognize that this is a healthy and fruitful aspect of growth in faith o Small group settings will likely be most helpful for this kind of engagement • Make room for the enthusiasm, creativity, and innovation that come from people under 25 –value their passion and provide opportunities for them to express it. o Be prepared to respond graciously and appropriately if creative initiatives do not turn out well.

Special Focus: Booth College A number of Booth College students and graduates participated in the interview process.

This included both current and former Salvationists. All of them had outstanding things to say about their time at Booth and the quality of education they received (see Report 4, page 90).

It would seem that Booth College could play a vital part in helping to strengthen the Army’s ministry to young adults, particularly in connection with the post-secondary transition and the issue of teaching. Salvationists and former Salvationists have expressed a desire for quality teaching, and according to the participants in this project, Booth College does provide quality Christian teaching for young adults.

Booth College is already making efforts to raise its profile among Salvationists, and these might be strengthened if there were a way to build appreciation and ownership for Booth’s important place in the Territory among grassroots Salvationists. As noted above, however, this kind of education brings with it critical thinking skills, and Salvationists must be prepared to welcome dialogue, discussion, and questioning from post-secondary graduates. Otherwise they may look elsewhere for ministry and worship opportunities.

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PRIORITY #4: BUILD UNITY IN MISSION AND ENCOURAGE DIVERSITY IN EXPRESSION Young adults are still attracted to the mission of the Army, but they are divided on the traditional trappings of denominational identity. Unity will not be found in such things as worship style and mode of dress, but it could be fostered around the common mission of the Army. Official endorsement of diversity of “form” or expression would be helpful in making the younger generation feel that they are an important part of the Army. This would mean affirming and celebrating younger Salvationists who are creatively engaging in the mission in ways that don’t necessarily “look Army.”

RATIONALE • The young adult opinion research found that there was a significant amount of ambivalence among young adults towards traditional Salvation Army terminology (see Report 3, pages 71-76). This suggests that traditional Salvation Army culture is losing traction with younger people.

• Unity in mission and diversity of expression was one of the 5 major themes of the interviews and focus groups (see Report 4, pages 92-93).

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION • Engage young adults in dialogue on the essentials of mission, and the negotiables of “form” or method.

• Public affirmation by leaders (at all levels) of those who are being creative and trying to do things differently.

• Work to reconcile local differences between corps (i.e., in the same city or region) over variations in method. o Get leaders from “traditional” and “non-traditional” corps together to share stories and build trust and understanding. o Salvationists with different approaches to ministry should be telling each others’ stories and celebrating each others’ successes in ministry • Leaders can communicate that mission is a priority over institutional identity • Work for diversity of expression at official Army events, so that younger adults feel that they are an important part of the broader Army culture.

PRIORITY #5: INCREASE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MISSION Since young adults are enthusiastic about Army mission, more ways must be found to engage them in mission opportunities. This might mean local, divisional, and territorial initiatives. Short term mission trips, either overseas or within the Territory, can help to build a sense of unity with the wider Salvationist family. Another very important part of this initiative will be reconnecting local corps life with community & family services, as well as social services ministry units.

Young adults should easily be able to find mission opportunities in their local corps, but they often reported that this was not the case.

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RATIONALE • Young adults, even those who have left the Army, are enthusiastic about the Army’s mission, and yet frustrated with the lack of mission opportunities in their local corps (see Report 4, pages 92, 105).

• 57.6% of Salvationist young adults expressed concern about a lack of opportunities for involvement of younger people (see Report 3, page 64).

• A Salvationist conception of discipleship should include a strong emphasis on mission.

Ensuring opportunities for mission is an essential part of fostering authentic discipleship.

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION • Promote local community service opportunities for young adults (not just Kettles).

• Seek input from young adults for ideas about how the Army could be meeting needs in the local community, and give them ownership in trying to introduce new initiatives.

• Work to establish strong connections between local corps and social ministries.

• Promote area or divisional short term mission trips.

Special Focus: Engaging Young Adult Women The young adult surveys uncovered some interesting disparities between males and females with regard to involvement in Army ministry.

• • • • •

Males are more involved in every area of ministry than females, except children’s ministries (see Report 3, page 52).

A significantly higher percentage of males reported that they are involved on their local church mission board (page 52).

Females identify less with Salvation Army terminology (page 72-73).

A higher percentage of females reported that they were concerned about opportunities for involvement (page 65).

Three former Salvationists from different parts of the country reported that they were not taken seriously as leaders because they were women, and that this was a contributing factor in their decision to leave the Army (page 104).

While the causes of this apparent “gender gap” are not easily identified, it is clear that young adult women are less involved, less engaged, and more concerned about opportunities for involvement. Salvationists need to be aware of this situation, and make a special effort to ensure that mission and leadership opportunities are provided for young adult women.

PRIORITY #6: REMOVE REAL AND PERCEIVED BARRIERS TO OFFICERSHIP Officership has a bad reputation among young adults, and that needs to change in order for the Army to meet its leadership needs in the future. Changes are needed in order to remove both real and perceived barriers to officership for young adults. This will involve both a) making all

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officers aware of their role in influencing the perception of young adults about officership b) changing the conditions of officership, with particular attention to training and the appointment system.

RATIONALE • The need for changes to officership was one of the five major themes of the young adult interviews. The main barriers to officership identified in the interviews were the example of officers themselves, the officer training system, and the appointment system (see Report 4, pages 98-102).

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION • Find ways to build ownership for officer recruitment among all officers o Share the stories found in Report 4 (p. 99) to raise awareness among officers that their attitudes towards ministry in the Army can be a significant barrier.

• Update officer training. o Actively seek to counter the ‘bad reputation’ of CFOT by telling the story of the changes that have taken place. o Dialogue with young adult officers and cadets about their experience, and ask for their recommendations on how officer training could be improved. o Provide more options for alternative training.

Create standard procedures and criteria for flexible training, and make these procedures and criteria public, so that potential officers will have some clear indication of how their past education and experience will be taken into account.

• Restore trust in the appointment system o Continue and expand changes to the appointment system to provide for more transparency and consultation on the officer side and the local corps side o Provide more of an assurance to potential officers that they will be able to serve according to their gifts and passions Consider the creation of “tracks” or officially recognized specialization within officer ranks (i.e., social, pastoral, youth).

Special Focus: Short Term Service Opportunities Young adults don’t tend to think in terms of one life-long career. This makes officership difficult to envision for many potential leaders. Feedback from the interviews indicated that short term full-time service opportunities would be welcomed by young adults, both as an alternative to officership, and as a possible “testing the waters” before making a lifelong absolute commitment.

Several people mentioned the former Lieutenant program as one way of accomplishing this, and wondered if a similar option could be resurrected, possibly under another name (Envoys?). Otherwise, increased lay ministry positions could fill the same need.

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PRIORITY #7: BUILD TRUST WITH LEADERSHIP For young adults, the authority of a leader is established relationally, not positionally. Salvation Army leadership, because of its hierarchical position-based structure, is currently in a deficit position when it comes to the trust of young adults. Young adults tend to be skeptical of institutions of all kinds. Army leaders, at all levels, should recognize that the trust of younger members must be earned and re-earned in the context of relationships. Leaders need to seek to find ways to build trust with younger Salvationists by cultivating strong relational ties. This means providing opportunities for interaction, being transparent about decision making processes, and trying to find ways to give young adults a forum to have their views heard by Army leaders.

RATIONALE • The literature review identified that trust in religious leaders and institutions has deteriorated rapidly in the past few decades (see Report 1, pages 7-8).

• Distrust of Salvation Army structures was one of the five major themes of the interviews (see Report 4, pages 93-96).

• In the young adult surveys, leadership structures were rated as a concern by more than half of the active Salvationist participants, and just under half of the former Salvationists (see Report 3, pages 64, 70, & 71).

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION • Work towards building trust with Salvation Army leadership by o Increasing transparency in decision making processes o Providing consistent and official outlets for younger members to bring their perspective to leadership A youth symposium Young adult representatives on boards at all levels A young adult advocate – territorially and / or divisionally – who would have a regular audience with leaders • Building stronger relational ties between leaders and the grassroots o longer appointments in leadership positions to enable deeper relationships o When THQ or DHQ staff are visiting a corps, make an effort to hold an event where they can interact directly with young adults in an informal setting.