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LIVING RESEARCH PROJECT / LRP-183

Hearts and Hands — What Is the ROI of ADRA Programs on Local Church Growth?

“What is the ROI of Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) programs on local church growth?”

Developing evidenceReviewed 7 March 2026In review
EVIDENCE STRENGTH65/100

A review of the evidence, not a measure of whether a finding is true.

Explore the findings
adrahumanitarianchurch-growthroidevelopmentmissionGlobalInter-AmericaAfricaAsia

Executive Summary

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), with $120.7 million in total revenue in 2024, operates 422+ projects across 96 countries, benefiting nearly 20 million people during the COVID-19 pandemic alone. Despite this massive humanitarian footprint, the direct return on investment (ROI) in terms of local church growth remains essentially unmeasured. No publicly available study systematically correlates ADRA program locations with membership accession rates. ADRA's mandate as a professio...

Key findings

ADRA's Financial Scale and Reach.

- Total support and revenue: $120.7 million.

U.S. Government grants (direct): $69.9 million (58% of revenue).

U.S. Government grants (subrecipient): $8.2 million.

Program services: $105.2 million.

Fundraising costs: $3.4 million (2.8% efficiency ratio).

- Total support and revenue: $98.5 million.

Adventist Worldview

Contextual mission discernment

This LRP supports prayerful, evidence-informed action: discern the field, test responses humbly, and adapt for mission without compromising conviction.

Use this research as a stewardship aid, not as a replacement for Scripture, prayer, pastoral discernment, or local listening.

Editorial posture

Use this research as a stewardship aid for Adventist mission. God grows His church; data helps leaders understand where faithful response, care, and mission attention may be needed.

Adventist confidence
Low
Theological risk
Not recorded
Ideological risk
Not recorded
Biblical / Adventist anchors
Research serves the church's worship, witness, discipleship, care, and stewardship under Scripture.
Methods may learn from public data and social science, but Scripture, Adventist doctrine, and mission set the interpretive boundaries.
Review gate: this LRP should be interpreted by an Adventist editor before it shapes public copy or high-stakes Mission Intelligence actions.

Cautions Before Applying

Use this LRP as a stewardship prompt, then test it against local data, pastoral knowledge, and the mission context.
Check for counter-evidence or local exceptions before turning this into policy.
This finding is graded low confidence.
The evidence behind this paper sits in the "Developing" band — the lighter of the two grades in use across the library.

Applicability: Use when an entity shows strategic response pulse weakness or when this LRP's tags match the local diagnosis.

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