THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
AN ANALYSIS OF STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES,
OPPORTUNITIES, AND THREATS (SWOT)
Roger L. Dudley
The Strategic Planning Committee of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has been gathering data to use in helping the Adventist church move into the future in a manner that will maximize its mission to the world. In the spring of 2003, the commission employed the Institute of Church Ministry (ICM) of the Theological Seminary at Andrews University to conduct a SWOT analysis among leaders of the church in the world field. The plan was to request the presidents, executive secretaries, and treasurers of each of the world divisions and of each of the world unionsBas well as the presidents of major colleges and universities and the chief executives of selected Adventist medical centersBto complete a questionnaire that would reveal their views on the state of the church. Given their positions of responsibility and the global nature of the sample, it was presumed that their combined views would represent a fair picture of the present condition of the church.
In 2006, the Strategic Planning Committee decided to replicate the 2003 survey to determine what changes, if any, had taken place in the church over a three-year period and once again commissioned the Institute of Church Ministry to collect the data and analyze the results.
The Questionnaire
The 2003 questionnaire contained 81 statements to which respondents could respond on a five-point scale from Anot very important or not much of a concern@ to Amost important or most crucial or greatest danger.@ The statements were divided into four parts and clearly labeled as Astrengths,@Aweaknesses,@Aopportunities,@ and Athreats.@ The first two categories related to
matters that are essentially internal to the church while the last two relate to external opportunities or dangers confronting the church.
The 2006 questionnaire was different in several respects. First of all, the 81 items were reduced to 51 items by eliminating items that scored the lowest in the previous project. This was done to make room for a different set of questions. Secondly, the statements were no longer separated by the four SWOT parts. Rather they were mixed together and listed under topic or theme areas such as AOrganization/Leadership,@AMessage and Doctrine,@AMembership,@AEducation,@AMinistry and Evangelism,@ASabbath School,@AOther Ministries,@AFinance,@AGrowth,@AResources: Personal,@AResources: Material,@APersonal Devotion,@ and AReligious Freedom.@
The third difference was the change in response options due to wording all items as sentences. Options were on a five-point scale from Astrongly disagree@ to Astrongly agree.@
A fourth difference was the addition of 22 questions to measure the extent of various General Conference initiatives. These were under the headings of AFollow-up Plans,@ADeveloping Leaders,@ Evangelistic Outreach,@AFive Million Each Win One,@ and ASow One Billion.@ The items were chosen by ICM and the Strategic Planning Committee working together with consultation from specialists in the various areas. A copy of the questionnaire is attached to this report where the full wording of each statement or question can be seen.
Data Collecting
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The questionnaire, along with a letter of request from Matthew Bediako, secretary of the General Conference, was mailed in December 2006 to the church leaders identified above. Surveys were sent to 444 individuals all over the world who were requested to return them directly to ICM. Securing the responses from such a widely-scattered sample proved to be extremely difficult. Five e-mail reminders were sent by ICM to non-respondents between January and June of 2007. Copies of the questionnaire were attached to the reminder e-mails. Two appeals were sent directly from the General Conference Secretariat. The final data cut-off was made in August of 2007.
By the August cut-off, 282 individuals had returned usable surveys. This represents a 64% return rate from the 444 sent outBa better-than-average response in a project this wide-spread and complicated. This positive response ensures confidence that the results do well represent the voice of the world-wide church and validates the lengthy collection process. Below is a list of the sources of the 282 questionnaires:
1. Division Presidents 8
2. Division Secretaries6
3. Division Treasurers 5
4. Union Presidents77
5. Union Secretaries78
6. Union Treasurers58
7. Educational Institutions20
8. Medical Institutions 13
9. Unidentified 17
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In addition to a break down by position, the following list displays the sources by divisions:
ECD15
ESD10
EUD27
IAD19
NAD40
NSD12
SAD34
SID18
SPD13
SSD23
SUD12
TED37
WAD12
GENERAL CONFERENCE ATTACHED 1
Unidentified9
Findings of SWOT Items 1-51
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# Theme Question Responses Percent Valid%
The 51 SWOT questions have been analyzed in two different ways. First, frequencies were calculated, and the combined percentages of those choosing options 4 and 5 (somewhat agree and strongly agree) were arranged in descending order. Second, means for each question were calculated and again arranged in descending order. This supplies two ways of viewing the most important strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Printouts from both of these methods are attached to this report (means at the end). However, inspection reveals that the two lists are generally in the same order with only slight variations. Therefore, the comments that follow will be based on the frequencies of those reporting Asomewhat agree@or Astrongly agree.@
In Table One below which lists the frequencies, the first column lists the number of the question so that easy reference to the questionnaire can be made to determine the full wording of the sentence. The second column displays which of the thirteen themes contained the particular question. The next column has an abbreviated label for the question. AResponses@ show how many respondents answered that particular question. The next column is the percentage that chose option 4 or 5. The valid column reveals what the percentage would be if non-respondents to that question were eliminated from the calculations. Thus it must always be equal to or higher than the percentage column.
TABLE ONE
RANKING OF FREQUENCIES BY OPTIONS 4 PLUS 5
# / Theme / Question / Responses / Percent / Valid %5 / Message and doctrine / Message hope / 270 / 95.7 / 97.1
34 / Growth / Loss of youth / 269 / 95.4 / 95.7
29 / Finance / Tithe-sharing / 268 / 95.0 / 95.4
6 / Message and doctrine / Health message / 266 / 94.3 / 95.0
8 / Message and doctrine / Bible based / 265 / 94.0 / 94.6
13 / Membership / Multi-cultural / 264 / 93.6 / 94.6
21 / Ministry and Evangelism / Global Mission / 254 / 90.1 / 90.4
38 / Growth / Radio to closed areas / 253 / 89.7 / 90.0
44 / Growth / Secularism hard / 253 / 89.7 / 90.4
7 / Message and doctrine / 28 fundamentals / 252 / 89.4 / 90.0
18 / Education / Education system / 251 / 89.0 / 89.3
23 / Sabbath School / Age levels / 251 / 89.0 / 89.3
10 / Message and doctrine / Members believe / 250 / 88.7 / 89.0
35 / Growth / New-growth areas / 249 / 88.3 / 89.6
12 / Membership / World presence / 248 / 87.9 / 88.9
27 / Other Ministries / Internet/TV / 248 / 87.9 / 88.3
33 / Growth / Post-modern society / 248 / 87.9 / 88.6
48 / Resources: Material / Culturally adapted materials / 246 / 87.2 / 87.5
40 / Growth / Access technology / 245 / 86.9 / 87.5
1 / Organization/Leadership / Organize/unity / 243 / 86.2 / 87.1
22 / Sabbath School / Study guides / 243 / 86.2 / 86.5
50 / Personal Devotion / Lack Bible study & prayer / 239 / 84.8 / 85.4
9 / Message and doctrine / EGW unity / 237 / 84.0 / 84.6
39 / Growth / New-people groups / 234 / 83.0 / 83.6
24 / Sabbath School / Benefit spiritual life / 232 / 82.3 / 82.9
32 / Finance / Worldwide poverty / 230 / 81.6 / 81.9
41 / Growth / More languages / 230 / 81.6 / 82.1
20 / Ministry and Evangelism / Outreach programs / 229 / 81.2 / 81.5
17 / Education / Higher education / 226 / 80.1 / 80.4
19 / Ministry and Evangelism / Educate ministers / 226 / 80.1 / 80.4
37 / Growth / Openness to message / 220 / 78.0 / 78.9
36 / Growth / Poor retention rates / 211 / 74.8 / 75.1
28 / Other Ministries / ADRA / 206 / 73.0 / 73.3
25 / Other Ministries / Satellite evangelism / 196 / 69.5 / 70.0
45 / Growth / Ethnic rivalries / 196 / 69.5 / 70.0
49 / Resources: Material / Lack contextualized materials / 191 / 67.7 / 68.0
46 / Resources: Personnel / Youth decline ministry / 164 / 58.2 / 58.8
2 / Organization/Leadership / Layers/mission / 163 / 57.8 / 58.6
11 / Message and doctrine / Challenges/EGW / 163 / 57.8 / 58.6
16 / Membership / No spirit congregation / 152 / 53.9 / 54.3
14 / Membership / Lay dedication / 148 / 52.5 / 52.9
43 / Growth / Larger % of population / 147 / 52.1 / 52.7
26 / Other Ministries / Adventist World / 129 / 45.7 / 46.1
30 / Finance / Financial resources / 125 / 44.3 / 44.6
47 / Resources: Material / Literature for young people / 124 / 44.0 / 44.1
3 / Organization/Leadership / Leader training / 121 / 42.9 / 42.9
4 / Organization/Leadership / Nurture/disciple / 120 / 42.6 / 42.6
31 / Finance / Informed members / 114 / 40.4 / 40.7
42 / Growth / People in transition / 106 / 37.6 / 37.7
51 / Religious Freedom / Decreasing tolerance / 103 / 36.5 / 36.8
15 / Membership / Permeate society / 82 / 29.1 / 29.6
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It will be necessary to examine the actual question (questionnaire at the end of this report) to determine if the agreement is about a strength, weakness, opportunity, or threat. The greatest agreement (95.7%) was on a strength: AThe overall message of the Church is one of hope.@ The second (95.4%) concerned a serious weakness: ALoss of young people to the Church is a major concern.@ The third reverts to a strength in the finance theme: AThe tithe-sharing plan is a positive asset to the Church@ (95%).
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Four others garner agreement in the 90% range. AThe health message promotes longer and healthier lives@ (strength). ADoctrines are seen by its members as Biblically based@ (strength). AA multi-cultural church is a positive factor in mission@ (strength). AGlobal Mission has helped us focus on unentered areas@ (strength).
One has to go to the eighth-ranked item to find an Aopportunity@ statement: AThe Church can reach closed areas through radio@ (89.7%). One more step brings the first Athreat.@AMaterialism and secularism are making evangelism more difficult@ (89.7%). So of the first ten rankings, seven are strengths and one each for weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Agreement is generally high though. Seven statements were agreed on by at least 90%, twenty-three in the 80% range, three in the 70%s, three in the 60%s, and six in the 50% range. Only nine elicited agreement from fewer than half of the respondents. In general, if a positively-stated item has low agreement, it can be considered a weakness. AAdventist World reaching a majority of members@ (a weakness at 45.7%). AThe Church not limited by financial resources@ (a weakness at 44.3%) ASuitable literature available for young people@ (a weakness at 44.0%). AAn adequate program for leadership training@ (a weakness at 42.9%). AThe Church has effective nurturing/discipleship programs@ (a weakness at 42.6%). AMembers are well-informed how offerings are used@ (a weakness at 40.4%).
The lowest three fall below the 40% mark. AOur churches are engaged in programs for people in transition@ (a weakness at 37.6%). AIn our area there is decreasing tolerance for religious freedom@ (a threat at only 36.5%) Lowest agreement of all (only 29.6%) is for the item AMembers have a tendency not to group together but to reach out and permeate society.@ This is a major weakness.
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Theme Question Response %
A decision was made by the committee to word all sentences in the positive. Therefore, items which might indicate weaknesses were phrased as positive. This means that to discover areas of weakness, it is necessary to look at low percentage of agreement as pointed out in the previous paragraphs. Thus, items lowest on the scale call for careful study to see what areas should be strengthened.
As an alternative way to view these results, Table Two lists the descending order of agreement (options 4 and 5) within each of the thirteen themes. That way it is easier to view strengths and weaknesses within each particular theme.
TABLE TWO
RANKING OF FREQUENCIES BY OPTIONS 4 PLUS 5
WITHIN THE THIRTEEN THEMES
Theme / Question / Response / %1 / Organization/Leadership / Organize/unity / 243 / 86.2
2 / Organization/Leadership / Layers/mission / 163 / 57.8
3 / Organization/Leadership / Leader training / 121 / 42.9
4 / Organization/Leadership / Nurture/disciple / 120 / 42.6
5 / Message and doctrine / Message hope / 270 / 95.7
6 / Message and doctrine / Health message / 266 / 94.3
8 / Message and doctrine / Bible based / 265 / 94.0
7 / Message and doctrine / 28 fundamentals / 252 / 89.4
10 / Message and doctrine / Members believe / 250 / 88.7
9 / Message and doctrine / EGW unity / 237 / 84.0
11 / Message and doctrine / Challenges/EGW / 163 / 57.8
13 / Membership / Multi-cultural / 264 / 93.6
12 / Membership / World presence / 248 / 87.9
16 / Membership / No spirit congregation / 152 / 53.9
14 / Membership / Lay dedication / 148 / 52.5
15 / Membership / Permeate society / 82 / 29.1
18 / Education / Education system / 251 / 89.0
17 / Education / Higher education / 226 / 80.1
21 / Ministry and Evangelism / Global Mission / 254 / 90.1
20 / Ministry and Evangelism / Outreach programs / 229 / 81.2
19 / Ministry and Evangelism / Educate ministers / 226 / 80.1
23 / Sabbath School / Age levels / 251 / 89.0
22 / Sabbath School / Study guides / 243 / 86.2
24 / Sabbath School / Benefit spiritual life / 232 / 82.3
27 / Other Ministries / Internet/TV / 248 / 87.9
28 / Other Ministries / ADRA / 206 / 73.0
25 / Other Ministries / Satellite evangelism / 196 / 69.5
26 / Other Ministries / Adventist World / 129 / 45.7
29 / Finance / Tithe-sharing / 268 / 95.0
32 / Finance / Worldwide poverty / 230 / 81.6
30 / Finance / Financial resources / 125 / 44.3
31 / Finance / Informed members / 114 / 40.4
34 / Growth / Loss of youth / 269 / 95.4
38 / Growth / Radio to closed areas / 253 / 89.7
44 / Growth / Secularism hard / 253 / 89.7
35 / Growth / New-growth areas / 249 / 88.3
33 / Growth / Post-modern society / 248 / 87.9
40 / Growth / Access technology / 245 / 86.9
39 / Growth / New-people groups / 234 / 83.0
41 / Growth / More languages / 230 / 81.6
37 / Growth / Openness to message / 220 / 78.0
36 / Growth / Poor retention rates / 211 / 74.8
45 / Growth / Ethnic rivalries / 196 / 69.5
43 / Growth / Larger % of population / 147 / 52.1
42 / Growth / People in transition / 106 / 37.6
48 / Resources: Material / Culturally adapted materials / 246 / 87.2
49 / Resources: Material / Lack contextualize materials / 191 / 67.7
46 / Resources: Personnel / Youth decline ministry / 164 / 58.2
47 / Resources: Material / Literature for young people / 124 / 44.0
50 / Personal Devotion / Lack Bible study & prayer / 239 / 84.8
51 / Religious Freedom / Decreasing tolerance / 103 / 36.5
Looking at this table, it can be seen which item in each theme has elicited the most agreement.
Organization/LeadershipOrganizational system fosters unity
Message and DoctrineOverall message of hope
MembershipMulti-cultural church a positive factor
EducationExtensive educational system benefits Church
Ministry and EvangelismGlobal mission helps focus on unentered areas
Sabbath SchoolStudy guides for age levels crucial for youth
Other MinistriesInternet, TV, & Publications essential outreach
FinanceTithe-sharing plan a positive asset
GrowthLoss of young people a major concern
Resources: PersonalDeclining number of youth prepare for ministry
Resources: MaterialNeed for culturally adapted evangelistic materials
Personal DevotionSmall percentage involved in Bible study and prayer
Religious FreedomDecreasing tolerance for religious freedom
Findings on Follow-up Plans
As mentioned before, a major difference from the 2003 project was the addition of questions other than the SWOT items. The first set asked: AWhen a public evangelistic series is held in your area of administration, and new converts are added to the church, what follow up plans are currently in place?@ Respondents were given a list of five items (#52-56) to which the options were: 1 = We always do that; 2 = We often do that; 3 = We sometimes do that;
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4 = We never do that. For reading ease, Table Three combines the percentage choosing 1 or 2 to represent those who carry out the practice on a regular basis and compares it with the percentage who never do that. The failure of the two figures to add to 100% indicates those who sometimes carry out the practiceBoption 3 (The complete list of frequencies for the entire questionnaire are attached to the end of this report).
TABLE THREE
FREQUENCY OF FOLLOW-UP PLANS
Follow-up Plans / Always/often / NeverQuestion # / Question / Responses / Percentage / Responses / Percentage
52 / Personnel to new converts / 118 / 41.8 / 25 / 8.9
53 / Church for new converts / 128 / 45.4 / 33 / 11.7
54 / Support follow-up / 106 / 37.6 / 35 / 12.4
55 / Spiritual guardians / 106 / 37.6 / 41 / 14.5
56 / Follow-up instruction / 114 / 40.4 / 24 / 8.5
It is a matter of concern that less than half of entities always or often provide any of the follow-up plans. Even the most frequentBproviding a church structure for new convertsBis done by only about 45% of the areas. Appropriations to support follow-up activities and assignment of spiritual guardians always or often take place in only a little over a third of the fields (37.6%). Personnel to coordinate ministry to new converts and material for follow-up instruction fall in the middle with about 40% participation. These rather low figures may suggest why new converts do not get integrated into congregations and, too often, fall away. This situation deserves some serious consideration.
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On the other hand, relatively small percentages never take any of these actions. But even these figures ranging from 8.5% to 14.5% (for spiritual guardians) can mean serious loss when applied to the thousands of baptisms that take place. It appears that the largest percentages say they sometimes but not often carry out follow-up procedures. Sometimes, of course, is a rather vague term that could disguise very little.
Findings on Developing Leaders
This next set of questions sought to determine how well the Church is doing in developing future leadership in various areas. The questionnaire asked: AAs established leaders in all fields move to new positions or retire, a constant supply of new leaders is required. What practices are followed in your area of administration? In responding to the list below: 1 = This system is already in place and operating,
2 = We are currently working on developing such a plan; 3 = We do not have such a plan at present@
The instructions were followed by a list of seven items (#57-63). Table Four compares those who have a working plan with those who don=t. The omission of those who are somewhere in the stages of developing a plan accounts for the failure of the two percentages to total 100%.
TABLE FOUR
FREQUENCY OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PLANS
Developing Leaders / System in place / No system or planQuestion # / Question / Responses / Percentage / Responses / Percentage
57 / Classes in leadership / 97 / 34.4 / 78 / 27.7
58 / Experienced mentors / 73 / 25.9 / 105 / 37.2
59 / Materials on leadership / 91 / 32.3 / 97 / 34.4
60 / Sponsor to conferences / 139 / 49.3 / 54 / 19.1
61 / Support advanced degrees / 147 / 52.1 / 39 / 13.8
62 / Training executives / 89 / 31.6 / 83 / 29.4
63 / Orientation for new positions / 109 / 38.7 / 76 / 27.0
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The practice most likely to be in place is support for workers taking advanced degrees in leadership areas. Still, only slightly over half of the administrations do this, but another third are working on developing such a plan. Just behind this item at slightly less than half is sponsoring selected individuals to attend leadership conferences. Other practices are in place in only the 31% to 39% range. The most undeveloped plan is assigning experienced mentors to work with promising candidates. Only about a fourth do this, and 37% are not even developing such a plan. The area of leadership development appears to be weak and needs some serious attention if capable leaders are to be ready for service when the current leaders retire.
Evangelistic Outreach
Questions 64-66 explored the current status of public evangelism in the various unions or divisions. Question 64 asked: AIn your view, what percentage of the churches in your union or division conducted some form of evangelistic event during the previous year?@ Table Five below shows the frequencies, the percentages, and the valid percentages if non-respondents had been eliminated. The Missing System is the 9 who did not answer this question. The results rest on the 273 usable answers.