3 Valuegenesis Update ISSUE NO. 5 RESEARCH INFORMATION SUMMARY Hello? So…where have we been? The John Hancock Center for Youth and Family Ministry at La Sierra University wants to update you on our UPDATE. We know we have been irregular in our submissions or research updates; however, we truly have not forgotten you or the invaluable data that Adventist schools have provided the Valuegenesis 3 research project. In this Issue: ABOUT VG3 RESEARCH Personal Piety, survey instrument, validity, census size and racial diversity, beliefs, orthodoxy, behaviors, school attitudes Q&A Contact: V. Bailey Gillespie, Ph.D., John Hancock Center for Youth and Family Ministry [email protected] SPONSORED BY The North American Division Office of Education ! Since our last UPDATE — The Home and Valuegenesis — the research team has been very busy completing a number of other research projects that have been equally exciting and rewarding and provide essential data on adult church members that used many of true scales identified in the Valuegenesis research. We have been working closely with the North American Office of Education to get back on track with more regular updates. During the interim we have completed research on the Adventist World NAD edition of the Adventist Review, the Adventist Review, as well as the North American Division Church Member Research assisted by research teams in the South Pacific Division, Inter-American Division, South American Division, TransEuropean Division, and the Asia-Pacific Division. These teams have completed their studies for the General Conference. So while we have been absent with our Valuegenesis work, other things have finally been completed and we are back with a regular schedule of updates that help us understand the young people in Adventist schools in our Division. Soon we will have North American Division Union reports available through your conference educational superintendent. Personal Piety and Spiritual Life Growing up as a spiritual/religious person can be a challenge, especially when it comes to the teen age years. But growing towards God has been a challenge for everyone. Commitment to God is a biblical concern.The prophet Jeremiah was found wavering in his commitment as the Babylonians were coming close to Jerusalem, Ezekiel, the young adult prophet of the Old Testament found that his faith was challenged when he found his beloved was dead, but continued working for God as he was directed. Young people have the same challenges—to make their lives of commitment consistent and faith building. Valuegenesis research continues to explore personal religious life and those things that build it and in contrast, things that might be detrimental to that personal religious growth. This edition of our Valuegenesis UPDATE is targeting the personal life of our youngest Christians. NEWSLETTER ̶ Valuegenesis3 Research Update ̶ page 1 3 Valuegenesis August, 2013 ̶ Number 5 Latest research information Church Attendance Patterns Are Important Most research in personal spiritual/religious growth at some time focuses on church attendance patterns. There is a close relationship to church attendance and strong faith and personal loyalty to one’s church and its beliefs. The chart below indicates patterns for church attendance. Note that more than 1//2 of these students attend church about once a week. When students were asked to identify their feelings toward their church the Adventist students stated that there were “satisfied” and “very satisfied” with the Seventh-day Adventist church. ! 6th 7th-8th 9th-10th 11th-12th 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Two to three x/ month Once a week More than once a week 0% Once a month or less 60 % 80 % 10 6th grade 7th-8th grade 9th-10th grade 11th-12th grade 42% 40 % 38% 37% 39% 38% % 23% 25% 5% 0% 20 39% 38% 36% More about the religious life of students! 59% enjoy reading about religion. 33% admit to going to church only to meet friends. 1/4th of high school juniors and seniors never participate in a 5% 9% 7% Dissatisfied 14% 17% Neutral family altruistic projects. 1/4th of all Adventist students never experience family worship. 41% of all Adventist students say private prayers are an NEWSLETTER ̶ Valuegenesis3 Research Update ̶ page 2 Satisfied important part of their religious life. 1/4th of all Adventist students say they have a strong sense of God’s presence 37% say any music that praises God is appropriate for use in my congregation. Very satisfied Just facts more & 3 Valuegenesis No: 5 -̶ 2013 Information you can use Information about Loyalty 50% 45% 1990 2000 2010 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% -5% No chance Small chance fair chance Good chance Excellent Chance One of the most important questions (Q.126) in the study has to do with the bottom line of church loyalty. “When you are 40 years old, do you think you will be active in the Adventist Church?” Comparing all three Valuegenesis studies from 1990 through 2010 a full 75% of all Adventist students in all studies believe that the chances of their staying in the Adventist Church are good to excellent. ! Q.123 asks under what conditions would you consider leaving your local Seventh-day Adventist church or other denomination to worship in another congregation or another faith? Question 2000 2010 When sermons are boring 5% 11% When church is cold and unfriendly 25% 39% When there are no activities for young people 9% 13% When worship services are not meaningful 20% 34% When the music is not the kind I like NA 2% Q.33 asks students to think about how strongly they consider spirituality, morality, or religiousness when choosing a friend. The answers are important to understanding the power of peer pressure and the influence of their friends on their personal relationship with God. Definitely = 25% Some impact = 39% Not sure of impact = 17% Little impact = 12% No impact = 7% NEWSLETTER ̶ Valuegenesis3 Research Update ̶ page 3 3 Valuegenesis No.: 5 - 2013 Information you can use Adventist Attitudes The insights from research share that beliefs and behaviors are often closely related. In addition, attitudes and behaviors too are connected. The Valuegenesis research team developed a series of questions that target the students’ attitudes toward the Adventist church in general. And since perceptions often determine one’s attitude which impacts both loyalty to the church and commitment to its mission and message, this scale has proved to provide insight into this area. We have used this approach in all three of the Valuegenesis research projects and the results are both interesting and helpful. This scale contains statements concerning life-affirming and life-denying choices as well as insights into the enforcement to which they could respond with seven answers ranging from “not true” to “very true.” These statements are often framed in a negative way; however upon factor analysis of this scale we discovered a strong relationship between these issues, and a reliable scale was formed which helps us see how the enforcement of Adventist choices impact their attitudes towards the church in general. Here is a comparative and trend analysis of this significant scale. (All-grade totals from Adventist students only in Adventist schools provides the core information for the chart below. Percentages reflect the top three responses on a seven point scale. Questions 1990 2000 2010 Adventist rules and standards serve a useful purpose 66% Some adults insist on certain rules and standards for younger Adventists that they do not observe themselves 46% 47% 40% Non-Adventists laugh when they hear what Adventists are forbidden to do 39% 50% 40% The feeling is conveyed in the Adventist church that how one behaves is more important the what one believes 44% 45% 36% Emphasis on Adventist rules and standards is so strong that the message of Christianity gets lost 38% 41% 30% Adventists are loaded down with too many restrictions 29% 27% 31% Students breaking a school standard or rule in Adventist schools are punished too harshly 27% 26% 22% Adventist rules and standards just don’t make sense 18% 17% 16% 41% 39% People respect Adventists for their high moral standards Do you have a copy of our latest publication? Hey! Love them and they will come is an important book for anyone who wants to have new ideas and how-to concepts to get your young people involved in religious ife. Order now for $9.95 s + postage @[email protected]. By. V. Bailey Gillespie and Timothy Gillespie published by AdventSource. NEWSLETTER ̶ Valuegenesis3 Research Update ̶ page 4 3 Valuegenesis No.: 5 - 2012 Information you can use A Life of Prayer Personal Piety Of the many spiritual experiences we looked at in our research, prayer formed a large portion of the questions which is only logical since prayer is the earliest and most practiced religious behavior that exists. It is both learned early, practiced throughout the whole age cycle and provides the most personal religious experience most people enjoy. It is encouraging to see that Adventist students in Adventist schools in all grades see importance in regular prayer. We asks the question, “How often do you pray other than at church or before meals?” Below a twenty-year look at answers to this question. Once a day or more Weekly or more 100% 90% 90% 80% 87% 73% 67% 70% 60% Never 66% 53% 50% 40% 30% 20% 5% 10% 0% 1990 3% 2% 2000 2010 Religious Influences We repeated in our survey in 2010 the questions that identified the religious influences that impacted their lives the most. In 2000 Valuegenesis surveys Adventist students in Adventist schools identified five of their most important influences. Personal Devotions ranked in the top five. In order they were, “the family I grew up in,” “attending Adventist schools,” their “mother’s” and “father’s faith,” and “personal devotions was tied with “short-term mission projects, the youth pastor, and “Week of Prayer at school. In 2010 there was a different response. The influence that scored the very best was, “Attending an Adventist school. (49%)” “Personal devotions” scored 34% and was not even in the top 10. However, when you combine the “somewhat” and “very much” categories, 72% for Personal Devotions compared with 79% with “attending an Adventist school.” This places personal devotions again in the top 5 using this broader grouping. ! In the Intrinsic and Extrinsic scales of religiousness, a scale in which Adventist young people score by far the majority in the Intrinsic or “good” religion category, there are a number of questions directly relating to students’ prayer life. Since we did not look at these questions in 1990, we can only compare 10 years of change in the Adventist youth. On the next page is a chart that illustrates the comparison. NEWSLETTER ̶ Valuegenesis3 Research Update ̶ page 5 3 Valuegenesis All About Personal Spiritual Life No.: 5 - 2012 Information you can use The principal determinant for church attendance is parental attendance and parental religious values. Question 2000 2010 It is important to me to spend time in personal thought and prayer 74% 75% I have often had a strong sense of God’s presence 62% 58% I pray mainly to gain relief and protection 53% 56% Prayer is for peace and happiness 63% 58% Prayers I say when I’m alone are as important to me as those I say in church 66% 65% Prayer — Once a day or more for all students Trend over 20 years 100% 80% 72% 60% 40% 66% 54% 20% 0% 1990 2000 2010 So what… Personal religious life is an important concern and one that involves everyone who ministers to young people— teachers, pastors, youth pastors, lay children’s leaders, and of course all parents. Research beyond Valuegenesis has shared insights that support our findings too. For example: Church attendance is strongly related to the religious behavior of a youth’s parents. In fact, the principal determinant for church attendance is parental attendance and parental religious values. Youth’s attitudes toward church depend on past religious education, attitudes of leaders, and beliefs. Children and youth need opportunities to be involved as active participants and leaders in the life of the church. Youth need meaningful participation to help them relate their religious education and practice to everyday life. The Bible gives us insights too. “Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25 NIV) NEWSLETTER ̶ Valuegenesis3 Research Update ̶ page 6
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