Faculty Mentor(s)
Adviser Dr. Bonnie Perry
Reader Dr. Frank Moore
Project Type
EdD Colloquium - ONU
Scholarship Domain(s)
Scholarship of Discovery, Scholarship of Faith Integration
Abstract
The greatest decline in church attendance of any age group has occurred among Millennials, which are individuals born between 1980 and the early 2000s. This decline in Millennial church attendance has created great concern among church leaders about the future of the church. Church leaders have struggled to understand Millennials, which has led to an inability to attract and maintain Millennial participation in the church. The purpose of this study was to determine what, if any, characteristics caused Millennials to be attracted to certain Assembly of God churches in Illinois and not others. The population for the current study was comprised of 27 Assembly of God churches in Illinois that were designated as high attraction churches, and 27 designated as low attraction churches. An online quantitative survey was administered to pastors and Millennials aged 18 to 34 from the participating churches. The four research questions used in the current study explored the experiences and preferences of the Millennial participants. The researcher found four statistically significant characteristics that were most related to Millennial church attendance in high attraction Assembly of God churches in Illinois, the presence of a strong discipleship ministry, the presence of intentional ministry geared towards Millennials, the presence of technology, and an openness to innovation and change. The current study provides church leaders with a knowledge and understanding of the preferences and characteristics that attracted Millennials to high attraction Assembly of God churches in Illinois.
Permission Type
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Attracting Millennials: An Examination of Millennial Participation in Assembly of God Churches
Wisner Auditorium
The greatest decline in church attendance of any age group has occurred among Millennials, which are individuals born between 1980 and the early 2000s. This decline in Millennial church attendance has created great concern among church leaders about the future of the church. Church leaders have struggled to understand Millennials, which has led to an inability to attract and maintain Millennial participation in the church. The purpose of this study was to determine what, if any, characteristics caused Millennials to be attracted to certain Assembly of God churches in Illinois and not others. The population for the current study was comprised of 27 Assembly of God churches in Illinois that were designated as high attraction churches, and 27 designated as low attraction churches. An online quantitative survey was administered to pastors and Millennials aged 18 to 34 from the participating churches. The four research questions used in the current study explored the experiences and preferences of the Millennial participants. The researcher found four statistically significant characteristics that were most related to Millennial church attendance in high attraction Assembly of God churches in Illinois, the presence of a strong discipleship ministry, the presence of intentional ministry geared towards Millennials, the presence of technology, and an openness to innovation and change. The current study provides church leaders with a knowledge and understanding of the preferences and characteristics that attracted Millennials to high attraction Assembly of God churches in Illinois.