Top Factors Contributing to Turnover Rates in the Pacific Northwest Youth Pastorates

Abstract

This thesis deduces the top three factors affecting turnover rates in the Pacific Northwest. The role of the youth pastor has only come about within the last century. With this information, it is understandable why job descriptions and the consensus on what a youth pastorate does can be vague and easily dismissed. However, this thesis contends that increased material and emotional support must be given to youth pastorates from one's supervisor and coworkers. In this study, I mimic the survey done by Roger McKenzie in 1997 and use the theories of adult development and the theory of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction to survey youth pastors within the greater Seattle area. Through the data collected in this survey, I extrapolate the top three factors explaining why a youth minister leaves a church position before guiding church leadership to prevent this problem—age thirty transition, their “call” changes, and their interpersonal workplace relationship.