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Welcome to Global Y.M. Research.

This site provides information about the dissertation research of Paul G. Kelly, Ph.D., New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 2009. The research project was entitled:

Ministry Objectives across Cultures for Middle Adolescents: A Delphi

Dissertation Committee Chair was R. Allen Jackson, Ph.D., Professor of Youth Education. For more information about Dr. Kelly, click here.

As youth ministry grows all over the world, resources from one culture are being applied to others. How is youth ministry different from culture to culture, and how is it the same? Finding objectives that are highly valued across cultures would be very helpful in understanding what resources and training will have the most value across cultures.

The purpose of this research project was to identify the most important youth ministry objectives utilized across multiple cultures for middle adolescents from fifteen to eighteen years of age. For this study, the Delphi technique was utilized to develop a consensus of opinion among 102 experienced youth ministry practitioners from twenty-seven countries from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America.

The study identified seven youth ministry objectives the participants rated as essential for youth ministry with middle adolescents. The objectives rated as most important by the participants include:

  1. Disciple youth to follow Christ in every area of their lives;
  2. Teach youth to see Christianity as a relationship with Jesus Christ;
  3. Guide youth to build faith that will last for a lifetime;
  4. Disciple youth to the point that they can disciple others;
  5. Lead youth to repent and turn to faith in Christ for their salvation;
  6. Guide youth to spend time with Jesus in prayer and Bible study as a way of developing their relationship with him;
  7. As youth leaders, be honest, genuine, and sincere in relating to youth.

All participants regarded a number of other youth ministry objectives as important. The following pages provide a further description of the study, a discussion of the results, and an analysis of the results.

For questions, comments, or further information, contact us at info@globalymresearch.com.