Factors Responsible for the Youth Leaving fhe Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana: A Study of the Obuasi District of the Ashanti Presbytery

Abstract

The goal of the study was to identify the causes of the drop in young membership in the Obuasi District of the Ashanti Presbytery of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana. Three research questions were formulated to guide the study. Employing a mixed methods design, 25 youth members were recruited conveniently from E.P. church at Obuasi District for the quantitative data collection. Additionally, purposive sampling strategy was used to collect data from eighteen E.P church officials with interviews until data saturation. A questionnaire from self-structured instruments and semi-structured interview guide were used for data collections. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were employed for quantitative data analysis while Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used for qualitative data. The lack of employment prospects within the E.P. church (72%) and financial uncertainty of the youths (62%) were cited as the main reason for the drop in church youth participation. Hence, the study recommend that the E.P. church should create policies that address the demand for youth employment while concentrating on its primary mission of spreading the gospel.