Date of Conferral
2020
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Management
Advisor
Salvatore Sinatra
Abstract
The number of millennials attending church appears to be decreasing dramatically with each successive generation. The problem is that 60% of young Christians are leaving the church either permanently or for an extended period once they reach 15 years of age. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to examine practices pastoral leaders rely on to retain millennial parishioners. The key research question centered on the leadership practices pastoral leaders use to retain millennial parishioners after age 15. Additionally, this research examined (a) whether millennials believe that pastors are able to support their spiritual needs, (b) the expressed reasons for millennials leaving the church (c) whether pastoral leaders involve millennials in the routine operation of their respective churches (d) practices that could be used by pastoral leaders to retain millennials (e) whether pastoral leaders believe they need additional training to collaborate effectively with millennials and (f) challenges pastoral leaders face when attempting to engage with the millennial population. Additionally, three themes emerged: Pastoral leaders and millennials who actively attend church, agreed that intentional relationships, relevant topics that aided in spiritual growth, and leadership opportunities in the church, were instrumental in retaining millennials and made it possible for positive social change to be effectual.
Recommended Citation
Carter, Patrick, "Exploring Practices Pastoral Leaders Use to Retain Millennial Parishioners" (2020). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 10102.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/10102
