The Conservative-Progressive Natural Experiment — Do GYC Participants Show Higher Retention?

Executive summary

The question of whether theologically conservative youth programming (exemplified by Generation of Youth for Christ, or GYC) produces higher long-term retention rates than progressive or traditional approaches represents one of the most consequential — and empirically unresolved — questions in Adventist youth ministry. Cross-denominational evidence from the sociology of religion consistently associates theological conservatism and strictness with higher retention rates, but direct Adventist-spec...