Latest MormonLeak: Ministering to YSA

[rockpond]

MormonLeaks published this document today.  It's a report titled Ministering to Young Single Adults prepared by Elder Batemen with assistance from a handful of other general authorities.

It's from 2005 and should not come as a surprise to anyone who has served in a ward or stake leadership position in the past ten years (probably not a surprise to any active adult member).

The opening paragraph discusses the high inactivity rate of our young single adults.  The report goes on to detail the reasons (they believe) for this inactivity rate.  And, of course, it discusses what local leaders can do to help minister to YSA.

In terms of the numbers, the one that most stands out to me is that they believe they are losing 45,000 of these young single adults every year.  That's about half of the increase in membership (for the relevant years) of new children of record.  Very sad.

From my perspective, there have been changes at the local level since this report.  And I think that all levels of leadership have made great efforts to better minister to the YSA.  Hopefully, that 45,000 number has dropped in the 11 years since this report was written.

[bsjkki]

5 minutes ago, rockpond said:

MormonLeaks published this document today.  It's a report titled Ministering to Young Single Adults prepared by Elder Batemen with assistance from a handful of other general authorities.

It's from 2005 and should not come as a surprise to anyone who has served in a ward or stake leadership position in the past ten years (probably not a surprise to any active adult member).

The opening paragraph discusses the high inactivity rate of our young single adults.  The report goes on to detail the reasons (they believe) for this inactivity rate.  And, of course, it discusses what local leaders can do to help minister to YSA.

In terms of the numbers, the one that most stands out to me is that they believe they are losing 45,000 of these young single adults every year.  That's about half of the increase in membership (for the relevant years) of new children of record.  Very sad.

From my perspective, there have been changes at the local level since this report.  And I think that all levels of leadership have made great efforts to better minister to the YSA.  Hopefully, that 45,000 number has dropped in the 11 years since this report was written.

My anecdotal evidence would suggest it has gotten worse but I could just be more aware of the issue. My peer group is currently the parents of this age group and I would say the majority of their single adults are inactive. It is amazing how the numbers switch around if their children are married.

[Duncan]

I read it too, my thoughts are what Zenos said several times in Jacob 5, "it grieveth me". People do come back though so that's good!

[HappyJackWagon]

32 minutes ago, bsjkki said:

My anecdotal evidence would suggest it has gotten worse but I could just be more aware of the issue. My peer group is currently the parents of this age group and I would say the majority of their single adults are inactive. It is amazing how the numbers switch around if their children are married.

I agree that in my view the attrition rate has gotten worse. In my area...much worse.

While I think that leaders, both local and general, recognize the problem and have the best intentions of increasing engagement among these YSA, I really don't see that any substantive initiatives (other than possibly the missionary age change which I think postpones the attrition) to address the core issues.

What are the core issues? I think this article is interesting. http://faithit.com/10-things-wont-find-church-attract-millennials-frank-powell/

My main takeaway from this leak is that it is really sad that this stuff has to be leaked. Why does it need to be leaked? Because the church chooses not to share this information with the church at large. If they did they may get more diversity in feedback that they could consider AND they could seek the support of parents and loved ones in finding solutions.

[bsjkki]

2 minutes ago, HappyJackWagon said:

I agree that in my view the attrition rate has gotten worse. In my area...much worse.

While I think that leaders, both local and general, recognize the problem and have the best intentions of increasing engagement among these YSA, I really don't see that any substantive initiatives (other than possibly the missionary age change which I think postpones the attrition) to address the core issues.

What are the core issues? I think this article is interesting. http://faithit.com/10-things-wont-find-church-attract-millennials-frank-powell/

My main takeaway from this leak is that it is really sad that this stuff has to be leaked. Why does it need to be leaked? Because the church chooses not to share this information with the church at large. If they did they may get more diversity in feedback that they could consider AND they could seek the support of parents and loved ones in finding solutions.

I agree the church has a problem not wanting to discuss these issues publicly. I feel they are being discussed by Bishoprics and Stake Presidencies and in regional meetings behind closed doors. A more open approach could increase a diversity of helpful solutions and  help identify what is causing this problem. (You will notice, "mothers" are excluded from the above meeting structure.)

[hope_for_things]

52 minutes ago, rockpond said:

MormonLeaks published this document today.  It's a report titled Ministering to Young Single Adults prepared by Elder Batemen with assistance from a handful of other general authorities.

It's from 2005 and should not come as a surprise to anyone who has served in a ward or stake leadership position in the past ten years (probably not a surprise to any active adult member).

The opening paragraph discusses the high inactivity rate of our young single adults.  The report goes on to detail the reasons (they believe) for this inactivity rate.  And, of course, it discusses what local leaders can do to help minister to YSA.

In terms of the numbers, the one that most stands out to me is that they believe they are losing 45,000 of these young single adults every year.  That's about half of the increase in membership (for the relevant years) of new children of record.  Very sad.

From my perspective, there have been changes at the local level since this report.  And I think that all levels of leadership have made great efforts to better minister to the YSA.  Hopefully, that 45,000 number has dropped in the 11 years since this report was written.

I work in business, and in the business world the demographic that all marketers are really focused on is the Millennial and younger generations.  Why is this so important in the business world?  Because if you can't attract new customers in these younger demographics, then you will go out of business in the near future.  If the church doesn't learn to effectively attract these generations of people then this is a slowly dying enterprise.  

I find it sad, and I don't think the brethren have the answers.  Their recent special firesides and meetings that are specifically focused on these demographics are evidence that they know this is a problem.  Their strategy seems to be out of touch.  I know they hate it when people say they are out of touch.  How can people that spend so many hours engaging with these individuals be out of touch with their needs?  Well, just an idea, maybe they aren't really listening to what the needs of these people are.  Maybe they are listening but they can't understand or empathize or even comprehend the issues at hand.  Maybe they do understand, but they are unwilling to change because they believe they are standing for principles that can't be compromised.  Whatever the reason, the evidence is that they aren't effectively connecting with these younger generations.  

[rockpond]

12 minutes ago, HappyJackWagon said:

I agree that in my view the attrition rate has gotten worse. In my area...much worse.

While I think that leaders, both local and general, recognize the problem and have the best intentions of increasing engagement among these YSA, I really don't see that any substantive initiatives (other than possibly the missionary age change which I think postpones the attrition) to address the core issues.

What are the core issues? I think this article is interesting. http://faithit.com/10-things-wont-find-church-attract-millennials-frank-powell/

My main takeaway from this leak is that it is really sad that this stuff has to be leaked. Why does it need to be leaked? Because the church chooses not to share this information with the church at large. If they did they may get more diversity in feedback that they could consider AND they could seek the support of parents and loved ones in finding solutions.

I agree - I don't think that the real issues of inactivity are being addressed here.

The one recommendation that caught my attention was #6:  When a YSA unit exists in a stake, all YSA's should automatically be assigned to it.  And the report mentions that they have had great success with this in Idaho.  Interestingly, my stake still operates in the exact opposite of this recommendation.  YSA records default to their home conventional ward.  If they attend the YSA unit in our stake, they can request that their records be moved into that YSA ward.  But, if they ever stop attending for (I think for more than 3 weeks in a row) their record is sent back to their conventional ward.

[Johnnie Cake]

This leak won't come as a surprise to anyone who has been plugged into the challenges facing the Mormon Church...however for those who have been in denial, this is an important document since it confirms that not all is well in Zion and it gives us an idea of just how bad things really are in reality.

The new document confirms that in 2004, "...there were 851,000 young single adults (YSAs), ages 18-30 years, in the United States and Canada. Best estimates suggest that 550,000 of these individuals were less active." That comes out to a 65%.inactivity ratio or stated differently that 35% were still engaged in 2004...I know its only gotten worse since then.

This only confirms that what the church has to offer is not working for millennials...

Edited March 21, 2017 by Johnnie Cake

[bluebell]

19 minutes ago, HappyJackWagon said:

I agree that in my view the attrition rate has gotten worse. In my area...much worse.

While I think that leaders, both local and general, recognize the problem and have the best intentions of increasing engagement among these YSA, I really don't see that any substantive initiatives (other than possibly the missionary age change which I think postpones the attrition) to address the core issues.

What are the core issues? I think this article is interesting. http://faithit.com/10-things-wont-find-church-attract-millennials-frank-powell/

My main takeaway from this leak is that it is really sad that this stuff has to be leaked. Why does it need to be leaked? Because the church chooses not to share this information with the church at large. If they did they may get more diversity in feedback that they could consider AND they could seek the support of parents and loved ones in finding solutions.

My take away is 'wow, our church is a pretty straight arrow if this is the kind of stuff they are leaking!'    Especially considering that, like rockpond said, most of it was already known by members.  

It's kind of the equivalent of someone 'leaking' a RS presidency or bishopric meeting.  

[stemelbow]

15 minutes ago, HappyJackWagon said:

I agree that in my view the attrition rate has gotten worse. In my area...much worse.

While I think that leaders, both local and general, recognize the problem and have the best intentions of increasing engagement among these YSA, I really don't see that any substantive initiatives (other than possibly the missionary age change which I think postpones the attrition) to address the core issues.

What are the core issues? I think this article is interesting. http://faithit.com/10-things-wont-find-church-attract-millennials-frank-powell/

My main takeaway from this leak is that it is really sad that this stuff has to be leaked. Why does it need to be leaked? Because the church chooses not to share this information with the church at large. If they did they may get more diversity in feedback that they could consider AND they could seek the support of parents and loved ones in finding solutions.

I would say the same for me.  It seems to have gotten worse since 2004.  I was heavily involved with the young men in our ward for the past 10 years.  Essentially all the young men have left the Church.  I'd wager the problem remains because the issues today for young people is the inability to relate with Church as they socially disagree with the strict policies of Church and can easily see the problems with the history and doctrine that is largely ignored by the Church.  Anyway, this is not going to change due to some study and write up with weak ideas to fix it.  There remains a need for an overhaul in program and teaching. 

[Gray]

5 minutes ago, Johnnie Cake said:

This leak won't come as a surprise to anyone who has been plugged into the challenges facing the Mormon Church...however for those who have been in denial, this is an important document since it confirms that not all is well in Zion and it gives us an idea of just how bad things really are in reality.

The new document confirms that in 2004, "...there were 851,000 young single adults (YSAs), ages 18-30 years, in the United States and Canada. Best estimates suggest that 550,000 of these individuals were less active." That comes out to a 65%.inactivity ratio or stated differently that 45% were still engaged in 2004...I know its only gotten worse since then.

This only confirms that what the church has to offer is not working for millennials...

35%, not 45%

[rockpond]

1 minute ago, bluebell said:

My take away is 'wow, our church is a pretty straight arrow if this is the kind of stuff they are leaking!'    Especially considering that, like rockpond said, most of it was already known by members.  

It's kind of the equivalent of someone 'leaking' a RS presidency or bishopric meeting.  

I think the only part that will come as a surprise to many is the numbers that we are losing.  I think there are some members (right here on these boards, for ex) who have denied that such a problem exists with YSA members.  But it is clearly a significant problem.

[Gray]

2 minutes ago, stemelbow said:

I would say the same for me.  It seems to have gotten worse since 2004.  I was heavily involved with the young men in our ward for the past 10 years.  Essentially all the young men have left the Church.  I'd wager the problem remains because the issues today for young people is the inability to relate with Church as they socially disagree with the strict policies of Church and can easily see the problems with the history and doctrine that is largely ignored by the Church.  Anyway, this is not going to change due to some study and write up with weak ideas to fix it.  There remains a need for an overhaul in program and teaching. 

It's also not going to change by chiding people about stricter Sabbath observance. 

[rockpond]

4 minutes ago, bluebell said:

My take away is 'wow, our church is a pretty straight arrow if this is the kind of stuff they are leaking!'

Ryan McKnight's stated goal with MormonLeaks is just "transparency".

[stemelbow]

1 minute ago, Gray said:

It's also not going to change by chiding people about stricter Sabbath observance. 

How long has it been since they decided to really focus on getting members to observe the Sabbath more strictly?  A couple of years?  I wonder if there's been any sign of improvement and benefit for the Church? 

[bsjkki]

3 minutes ago, bluebell said:

My take away is 'wow, our church is a pretty straight arrow if this is the kind of stuff they are leaking!'    Especially considering that, like rockpond said, most of it was already known by members.  

It's kind of the equivalent of someone 'leaking' a RS presidency or bishopric meeting.  

Known by members but not openly acknowledged by leadership. I agree it's not an astonishing bit of information and doesn't show leadership doing anything nefarious or controversial. 

[Johnnie Cake]

44 minutes ago, hope_for_things said:

I work in business, and in the business world the demographic that all marketers are really focused on is the Millennial and younger generations.  Why is this so important in the business world?  Because if you can't attract new customers in these younger demographics, then you will go out of business in the near future.  If the church doesn't learn to effectively attract these generations of people then this is a slowly dying enterprise.  

I find it sad, and I don't think the brethren have the answers.  Their recent special firesides and meetings that are specifically focused on these demographics are evidence that they know this is a problem.  Their strategy seems to be out of touch.  I know they hate it when people say they are out of touch.  How can people that spend so many hours engaging with these individuals be out of touch with their needs?  Well, just an idea, maybe they aren't really listening to what the needs of these people are.  Maybe they are listening but they can't understand or empathize or even comprehend the issues at hand.  Maybe they do understand, but they are unwilling to change because they believe they are standing for principles that can't be compromised.  Whatever the reason, the evidence is that they aren't effectively connecting with these younger generations.  

Millennial's refuse to be micro managed...and that is what the church is selling...micro management...this younger generation doesn't like being told what to do and how to do it...they've taken a much greater say in how they run their own lives... the church has made major inroads into so many facades of the choices that individuals make in their lives...its become suffocating...and the younger generation is saying NO You won't tell me how many earings I can wear, that baring my shoulders is wrong...when I don't even wear garments, that getting a tattoo is a sin when it impacts no one but themselves...they refuse to have an organization tell them who they can or can't love and what constitutes marriage and they are pushing back and I don't see the church ever giving in to allow them to live their life without the church wanting to micro manage every aspect of their life and this is what is pushing this generation away...the very thing that the church is is what is driving them away...I don't see this trend ever reversing itself.

Edited March 21, 2017 by Johnnie Cake

[stemelbow]

6 minutes ago, bluebell said:

My take away is 'wow, our church is a pretty straight arrow if this is the kind of stuff they are leaking!'    Especially considering that, like rockpond said, most of it was already known by members.  

It's kind of the equivalent of someone 'leaking' a RS presidency or bishopric meeting.  

Nobody knew how much are being lost yearly, or how many were considered less active. No one knew how big the problem was or is--that's why we have to ask is it better or worse now.  Of course we can all see the young adults are leaving or fading away in droves. 

Saying that makes me wonder where in the world Scott Lloyd has gone.  He used to always get after people who said people were leaving in big numbers and percentages.  Anyway, he must be taking a break. 

[Johnnie Cake]

8 minutes ago, Gray said:

35%, not 45%

:  would you believe that I was a straight A math student?  Probably not...but I really was...good catch thx

[Gray]

8 minutes ago, stemelbow said:

How long has it been since they decided to really focus on getting members to observe the Sabbath more strictly?  A couple of years?  I wonder if there's been any sign of improvement and benefit for the Church? 

I want to say maybe a year? But my sense of the passage of time gets more out of wack the older I get

I doubt it's made a dent. 

[Gray]

7 minutes ago, stemelbow said:

Nobody knew how much are being lost yearly, or how many were considered less active. No one knew how big the problem was or is--that's why we have to ask is it better or worse now.  Of course we can all see the young adults are leaving or fading away in droves. 

Saying that makes me wonder where in the world Scott Lloyd has gone.  He used to always get after people who said people were leaving in big numbers and percentages.  Anyway, he must be taking a break. 

He is taking a break, he announced it several weeks back. 

[stemelbow]

1 minute ago, Gray said:

He is taking a break, he announced it several weeks back. 

Intermittent showing up here makes you miss some events.  I'll cheer when he comes back. 

Edited March 21, 2017 by stemelbow

[rockpond]

21 minutes ago, bsjkki said:

Known by members but not openly acknowledged by leadership. I agree it's not an astonishing bit of information and doesn't show leadership doing anything nefarious or controversial. 

I don't think anyone should be looking for these leaks to be nefarious or controversial.  That's not McKnight's aim.

[bluebell]

16 minutes ago, rockpond said:

Ryan McKnight's stated goal with MormonLeaks is just "transparency".

I get that.  I don't know if i believe it, but i understand that's what he has stated. 

It would be interesting if our society has reached a stage where people are willing to spend so much of their own time and energy to create transparency for transparency's sake and not to serve any other purpose.  

It is rare for people to expend limited resources like energy and time for no personal pay off.

[stemelbow]

1 minute ago, bluebell said:

I get that.  I don't know if i believe it, but i understand that's what he has stated. 

It would be interesting if our society has reached a stage where people are willing to spend so much of their own time and energy to create transparency for transparency's sake and not to serve any other purpose.  

It is rare for people to expend limited resources like energy and time for no personal pay off.

What would you suppose would be his personal pay off?  Curious of your thoughts.  Notoriety? 

I'd agree, though, that humans and their actions are also far more complex than stating one intent with nearly everything.  We all weigh things, find balance, make our way due to many considerations.