The Event Effectiveness Question — Does Attendance Equal Retention?

Is participation in large youth events (conferences, camporees) a reliable predictor of long-term church engagement?

in reviewEvidence B · 67/100medium confidence

Executive summary

Adventist youth ministry invests millions annually in large-scale events: the 2024 International Pathfinder Camporee drew **over 60,000 attendees** from **100+ countries** to Gillette, Wyoming, with the 2019 edition generating an estimated **$25 million economic impact** alone ([NAD, 2024](https://www.nadadventist.org/news/more-60000-youth-set-camp-gillette-wyoming-week-long-event-filled-learning-worship-and); [Gillette News Record, 2023](https://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/news/local/article_f88...

Evidence trail

Sources

1
youthministrycurriculum.com
2
fulleryouthinstitute.org
3

Research records show their editorial state, evidence score, confidence, and source trail so readers can judge how settled each finding is.

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digitalcommons.andrews.edu

journals.sagepub.com

amazon.com

wyomingpublicmedia.org

digitalcommons.andrews.edu

adventistresearch.info

gycweb.org

engage.lcms.org

reporter.lcms.org

rsisinternational.org

digitalcommons.andrews.edu

swau.edu

gillettenewsrecord.com

aua.ac.ke

Record details

Evidence score: 67/100
Sources: 20
Words: 3,618
Created: 2026-02-28

Topics & regions

eventsconferencescamporeesretentionprogrammingcost-effectivenessNorth AmericaAustraliaSouth PacificGlobalAfricaEurope