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FEATURE
icture a Seventh-day Adventist
church somewhere with 200 members
attending. Over time, 100 of these
members will leave the church and in a
sense be replaced by 100 new members — and then
some. (The Adventist Church is one of the fastestgrowing
denominations in the world, and the fastest
in the United States. 1 )
But the 100 church members who leave — the ones
who used to worship and fellowship, eat haystacks,
and sing “Side by Side” with us: Why do they leave?
WHAT WE
PREVIOUSLY
THOUGHT
fewer
than1in 5
left because they no
longer believe in some
teaching of the church.
Past studies indicated that if someone
left the Adventist Church, it was almost
always because of bad experiences or
relationships, not because they changed
their beliefs.
In a 1998 report, “Why Do Adventists
Quit Coming to Church?” prepared by
the Center for Creative Ministry, Adventist
researcher Monte Sahlin wrote:
“Three out of four leave for reasons having
to do with their relationships with
people and groups, while less than one in
five leave because they no longer believe
in some teaching of the church.”
Sahlin cited the work of other Adventist
researchers, including Roger Dudley,
director of the Andrews University
Institute of Church Ministry. “Generally
speaking,” said Dudley, “poor interpersonal
relationships in the church” were
the primary reason members left.
“Very few people,” added Gottfried
Oosterwal, then-director of the Institute
of World Mission at Andrews University,
“indicated that they had left because
of a disagreement over doctrine. Many
had questions and doubts, but no basic
disagreements with the main tenets of
the Adventist faith.”
Even more emphatic was Harold K.
West, Florida Conference ministerial
director, based on his 1975 study of
departing church members. “There was
absolutely no proof,” said West, “that
anybody left the church because they no
longer believed in the doctrines.”
Interviews with former Adventists
supplemented the center’s 1998 report.
“After my baptism,” said one former
member, “I would wait each week in the
foyer. No one would talk to me, no one
spoke.”
“The church I attended,” said another,
“was so cold I could ice-skate down the
aisles.”
3 of 4
left for reasons
having to do with their
relationships with
people and groups.
Compared
to previous
studies, the
shift toward
beliefs as the
leading reason
for leaving was
striking.
June 2013 • GLEANER
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