Over a third of SDA ministers who entered the ministry in 1987 “either resigned or were dismissed” by July of 1997.

Even more alarming: More SDA ministerial students are failing to enter the SDA ministry or are dropping out of it than are remaining.

Of 83 SDA ministerial students who attended SDA colleges in 1987, most (48) either never entered the pulpit at all or were gone from it by 1997. Only 35 remained.

These statistics are published by two SDA researchers -- Jack E. Bynum, Ph.D., professor of sociology at Southern Oregon University, and Douglas R. Clark, Ph.D., professor of biblical studies at Walla Walla College in the SDA stronghold of College Place, Washington.

Their research appears in the October 2000 issue of Ministry, the SDA “International Journal for Pastors” under the title, “Indicators of Ministerial Resilience: The Dropout Dilemma,” pages 12-15.

Furthermore, some of these 35 surviving ministers or “persisters,” write Bynum and Clark, “may also drop out in the future. Seventy percent of Ministerial Persisters reported that they have considered dropping out of the [SDA] ministry.”