Date

12-19-2023

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Chair

Micah Meek

Keywords

Millennials, previously church-affiliated, church exodus, absent generation

Disciplines

Religion

Abstract

This project identified the reasons church-affiliated millennials in Tyler, Texas, have exited the church after reaching adulthood and have failed to return in significant numbers. To capture the reasons for this generational church exodus, area millennials were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey. To participate in the survey, millennials must have regularly attended an Evangelical or Catholic church during childhood and adolescence and stopped attending church after age eighteen. The survey invitation was distributed through emails and the social media platform Facebook. The invitation contained an embedded hyperlink that directed participants to Survey Monkey. All survey results reside on the Survey Monkey platform. This project’s survey results were compared with those of previously published national surveys. The reasons given by Tyler-area millennials for exiting the church are like the national surveys. Compared to national surveys, the percentage of Tyler-area millennials who exited the church at eighteen is higher than nationally surveyed millennials. The results of this project revealed unique reasons for Tyler area millennials exiting the church. By appropriately responding to these results, church leaders will avoid the conjecture often associated with the millennial generation’s church exodus. More importantly, the results of this project will give area church leaders greater insight and knowledge on how to address these issues and reengage with this absent generation properly. Millennials, previously church-affiliated, church exodus, absent generation,

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