Global YM ResearchStudy in Cross-Cultural Youth Ministry

Youth ministry can be described as the intersection of adolescent development with biblical discipleship within a particular cultural framework. The essential youth ministry objectives suggested by this study are weighted heavily toward discipleship. While discipleship is a lifelong pursuit, the youth ministry practitioners in this study seem to indicate that faith formation is the most important investment of youth ministry into the lives of middle adolescents.

The highest-rated objective for the panel (and for five of the six regional groups) was “Disciple youth to follow Christ in every area of their lives.” A possible explanation for the high ratings of this objective across the groups is that middle adolescents are given to partial commitment. The Book of James warns believers about being “double-minded,” (James 1:8) that is, following Christ half-heartedly. Middle adolescent Christians may be particularly given to distractions in their spiritual lives. The middle adolescent brain is developing. Higher-level reasoning and decision-making skills are forming for middle adolescents. Guiding middle adolescents toward total life discipleship seems timely.

Two of the essential youth ministry objectives appear to define how discipleship is to be directed. First, the objective “Teach youth to see Christianity as a relationship with Jesus Christ” defines Christianity for the middle adolescent. While the Bible includes standards for living, Christianity is not primarily a set of rules or rites to follow. Christianity is, as indicated by the participants of the study, a relationship with Jesus Christ. Discipleship of youth, then, should guide them into a relationship with Christ. While developing a relationship with Christ would not be limited to adolescence, the relational nature of adolescence would seem to indicate that this issue of discipleship is of particular importance to youth. Second, the youth ministry objective “Guide youth to spend time with Jesus in prayer and Bible study as a way of developing their relationship with him” defines how a relationship with Christ can be developed and maintained.

Two additional essential youth ministry objectives seem to define the goal of a life of discipleship. First, the objective “Guide youth to build faith that will last for a lifetime” is the statement most clearly targeted at youth. The development of a faith relationship with Christ in adolescence is building a foundation for life. Helping youth to develop faith that helps them deal with the pressures of adolescent life is valuable. The goal identified by the panel, however, is to aid youth to acquire the faith they will lean on throughout their lives. Second, the panel indicated the value of youth being able to grow to the point that they can disciple others as well. Paul told his disciple Timothy, “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Tim. 2:2). The implications are that discipleship in middle adolescents is not complete until young people can pass along the teachings they have learned to others also.

Because the study was delimited to evangelical believers, the importance of leading youth to faith and repentance should be expected. However, given the reluctance of many segments of the church to engage in evangelism, one might expect the objective “Lead youth to repent and turn to faith in Christ for their salvation” to be more of a cultural issue. The manner in which middle adolescents should be led to repentance and faith likely would vary between cultures. However, this panel of experts saw leading youth to faith as essential.

One statement in the essential youth ministry objectives focused on the character of the youth leader rather than the goal to be achieved in the life of the middle adolescent. The research indicates that the youth leader must be trustworthy: “As youth leaders, be honest, genuine, and sincere in relating to youth.” The honesty, genuineness, and sincerity of the youth leader are likely important considerations due to the vulnerable nature of middle adolescents. While youth may be physically adults in many ways, they have little experience in the adult world. Trust is perceived to be of importance because of their status. While having trustworthy leaders seems advantageous for people of any age, listing the trustworthiness of leaders as an essential for adult ministry across cultures seems unlikely. According to the research, the character of the youth leader is an essential objective. What youth leaders are is of more importance than what they do.

A Discipling Model of Youth Ministry

The model of youth ministry defined by this study, then, is a discipling model. The model might be described as follows: A trustworthy youth leader leads youth to repent and place their faith in Jesus Christ. He or she guides the youth to following Jesus with the passion of their whole life, realizing that they are investing themselves in a relationship with Christ, not a set of rites or rules. They are led to pursue their relationship with Christ through a growing life of prayer and personal Bible study. As they grow in their faith, they begin to disciple others as well. The leader is guiding the youth not just to address issues of life today but to develop a faith that will provide the foundation for their entire lives.

The manner in which this discipleship is accomplished will vary from culture to culture, but the importance of each element of the discipleship model is needed for youth ministry globally.

Conclusion

In this study the Delphi technique was utilized to identify essential youth ministry objectives for middle adolescents across cultures. Over one hundred youth ministry practitioners from twenty-seven countries and six continents participated in the study. The study utilized three surveys to gain a consensus among the participants of the most important objectives. In round one, the participants submitted over 500 individual responses to the question, from which a list of 159 unique responses was derived. In round two, the participants rated each response from one (“unimportant”) to seven (“very important, essential”) on a Likert scale. From the mean scores of the 159 statements, a list of 96 objectives was drawn. Each of these objectives received a mean score of 5.70 or higher. In round three, participants again rated the ninety-six statements on a one to seven Likert scale. While all objectives received mean scores to indicate that they were important, seven youth ministry objectives received a mean score of 6.50 or higher, indicating that they were considered essential.

Youth ministry as defined by the objectives discovered in this study is an enterprise of discipleship. The seven essential youth ministry objectives for middle adolescents clustered around the idea of discipling youth. One objective specifically addressed the importance of repentance and faith (evangelism). Another objective addressed the trustworthiness of the youth leader. Statistical analysis showed high agreement among the six regional groups (Africa, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Europe, Latin America, and North America) for five of the seven objectives. The other two objectives showed high agreement among five of the six regional groups.