Assessing The Effectiveness of Youth Discipleship Strategies - Timmeon Spencer Final Year Thesis

Assessing the Effectiveness of Youth Discipleship Strategies 1
Running Head: Assessing the Effectiveness of Youth Discipleship Strategies
A Quantitative Study on Assessing the Effectiveness of Youth Discipleship Strategies
currently practiced within the Church of the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District in
Guyana
By
Timmeon Spencer
Caribbean Nazarene College
In Partial Fulfillment of the requirement for
Course: PT 461 Research Methods II
Lecturer: Ms. Cathy Mc Almont
Date: April 28th, 2022

Abstract
The Church of the Nazarene Guyana, founded in 1945, has historically been known for its
youthful and vibrant nature, particularly through the Nazarene Youth International (NYI)
which nurtured leaders. However, recent years have witnessed a decline in youth leadership
and membership, echoing a global trend within the Church of the Nazarene. The current
District Superintendent in Guyana attributes this decline to a lack of focus on discipleship, a
lack of follow-up, and a shortage of willing church leaders. This research aims to assess the
effectiveness of youth discipleship strategies within the Church of the Nazarene Demerara-
Essequibo District and provide recommendations for building the next generation of
Nazarene leaders. The study investigates reasons for youth attrition, obstacles to youth
leadership, the importance of youth discipleship among youth leaders, current discipleship
strategies, and their relationship to youth attrition and leadership development. The study,
with a sample of 29 youth leaders from active Nazarene churches, reveals that approximately
49% of respondents attribute youth departure to "non-church reasons" such as work
responsibilities and migration. Moreover, 26% of respondents believe that youths don't step
into leadership roles due to feeling unqualified, highlighting the potential impact of effective
discipleship. The research also emphasizes the unanimous view that youth ministry is highly
important within the Church. Despite no significant correlations found between discipleship
strategies and youth attrition or leadership development, the study underscores the need for
quality over quantity in discipleship efforts. It suggests that churches and the district should
prioritize youth discipleship and invest in training and mentorship programs. Additionally,
promoting consistent prayer, planning, and support for youth ministry can aid in retention and
leadership development. In conclusion, the research calls for a renewed vision for youth
discipleship, implementation of a district-wide discipleship drive, incentivizing successful
programs, and strategic planning at the local church level. While the study did not reveal
significant correlations, it underscores the importance of effective, high-quality youth
discipleship to address the challenges faced by the Church of the Nazarene Guyana,
particularly within the Demerara-Essequibo District.
Definition of terms:
Since this project asses the effectiveness of youth discipleship strategies practiced by
youth leaders in the Nazarene churches in the Demerara-Essequibo District in Guyana, it is
essential to clarify the terms utilized in this research. To this end, listed are the definition of
terms used to explain the key terms in this study.
Youth: A person between the ages of 15 and 24 years (United Nations, 2013).
Disciple: One who knows God personally and pursues Jesus passionately, modeling
everything in their life after the character and priorities of Christ (Sonlife, 2018).
Discipleship: The process of leading someone to know God personally and to pursue Jesus
passionately, whilst teaching them to model everything in their life after the character and
priorities of Christ (Sonlife, 2018).
Youth Discipleship: The author defines this as the process of leading youths to know God
personally and pursue Jesus passionately, while teaching them to model everything in their
life after the character and priorities of Christ.
Discipleship Strategy: The formation of activities designed for spiritual maturity (Barna
Group, 2015).
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, were taken from the Holy Bible: New
International Version (NIV), copyright 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Table of Contents
Chapter I: Introduction ........................................................................................................... 6
Context of The Project ........................................................................................................... 6
Background of The Study ...................................................................................................... 6
Purpose of Study ................................................................................................................... 8
Problem Statement ................................................................................................................. 8
Research Questions ................................................................................................................ 8
Hypotheses ............................................................................................................................. 9
Limitations ............................................................................................................................. 9
Summary .............................................................................................................................. 10
Chapter II: Literature Review .............................................................................................. 10
Theoretical Foundations ....................................................................................................... 10
Pedagogy in Youth Discipleship ..................................................................................... 10
Sociology in Youth Discipleship ..................................................................................... 11
Theological Foundations ...................................................................................................... 12
Practical Theology ........................................................................................................... 12
Relational Theology ........................................................................................................ 15
Systematic Theology ........................................................................................................ 16
Measuring Youth Ministry Health ....................................................................................... 17
Main Causes of Youth Decline in the Church ..................................................................... 19
Main Causes of Decline in Youth Leadership Development in the Church ........................ 20
Common Discipleship Strategies Used in Churches Today ................................................. 22
Youth Development and Discipleship.................................................................................. 22
A Jesus Strategy for Discipleship......................................................................................... 24
Summary .............................................................................................................................. 28
Chapter III: Methodology and Design ................................................................................. 29
Research Design ................................................................................................................... 29
Sample Group ................................................................................................................... 29
Instrument ......................................................................................................................... 29
Description of Data Collection Process ............................................................................... 30
Pearson Correlation Formula ............................................................................................... 30
Ethical Considerations ......................................................................................................... 31
Summary .............................................................................................................................. 31
Chapter IV: Results or Findings .......................................................................................... 33
Presentation Of Findings .................................................................................................33-44

Summary .............................................................................................................................. 44
Chapter V: Discussion/Interpretation, Recommendations, Conclusion .......................... 46
Discussion of Analysis ......................................................................................................... 46
Recommendations ................................................................................................................ 53
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 55
REFERENCES....................................................................................................................... 58
APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................60-77
Chapter I: Introduction
Context of the Project
The researcher will conduct this senior-year thesis research in the Church Of The
Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District in Guyana. The Church Of The Nazarene Demerara-
Essequibo District has been in existence for 77 years ever since its establishment in 1945.
Since its establishment in 1945, the church had always been a very youthful and vibrant
church, with its youth arm, Nazarene Youth International (NYI), a key driving force in
producing its leaders. This was no surprise as section 9; article 810.202 of the Church of the
Nazarene’s manual 2017-2021 reads “The NYI develops and implements a variety of
ongoing ministries and special events to mentor and equip young people to be leaders for
Christ and His church.” Furthermore, the researcher has come to observe that most of the
pastors and leaders who have and are currently serving in senior ministerial roles in the
Demerara-Essequibo District in Guyana have all professed to have passed through the
Nazarene Youth International. In recent years, though, and like most other denominations in
the modern-day Caribbean, the Church of the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo district has been
challenged with a state of youth leadership and membership decline. When observing this
dilemma, it is apparent to the researcher that there is a great need for intervention to tackle
both the issues of youth leadership and youth membership decline.
Background of Study
Youth discipleship and the development of youth leaders are popular topics within
Christianity today, especially in the Caribbean church context. There seems to be a high
demand for youth leaders and pastors as older leaders and pastors are either out of touch with
the necessities of contemporary ministry styles, retiring, or dying. Unfortunately, though
these demands are high, there seems to be little to no success in meeting these demands. Why
is this so? According to official global statistics released by the Church Of The Nazarene
Research Services in February of 2022, it shows that between 2020 and 2021, the overall
membership of the youth declined globally by 9.1 %, while the overall responsibility of the
youth declined globally by 5.9 %. Taking a closer look at these statistics, the researcher
observed that the Mesoamerica Region; one of the six world regions represented in the
Church Of The Nazarene globally, of which Guyana is a part, and the region with the second
largest youth population had been amongst the main contributors to this global decline. In
doing the comparisons, the researcher noted that the overall youth membership of the
Mesoamerica region declined by a whopping 15.6 % or 15,717 youths, and the overall youth
responsibilities declined by 4.6 % or 3,195 persons. Unfortunately, these statistics only serve
to mirror the situation of the Nazarene churches in Guyana, i.e., their youth membership is
declining and there seems to be a failure in the leadership development of their youth.
In a telephone interview with the current District Superintendent for the Demerara-
Essequibo District in Guyana, the leader acknowledged that the church had been plateaued
for a while and indeed is experiencing a youth decline. The district superintendent (DS)
believes that a lack of focus on discipleship is a great reason for the decline in youth;
expressing his worry and frustration in the fact that the denominational structure is there, but
somehow the church cannot seem to get it right. Asked what other reasons, if any, have
contributed to the decline, he lamented a lack of follow-up and a lack of willing church
leaders. These two responses only serve to magnify the reason for the researcher’s research.
Finally, when questioned on whether a strategically reinvigorating focus on youth
discipleship would help to prevent the decline and leadership underdevelopment of the youth,
the DS agreed that on a national level, a sustained focus on youth discipleship would not only
prevent the decline and leadership underdevelopment of youths in the church significantly
but would also help bring longevity to the mission of God and sustainability to the
denomination in Guyana.
Purpose of Study
This research seeks to assess the effectiveness of the youth discipleship strategies practiced
(or not) to gain insight into the discipleship drive to the youth by the Nazarene denomination
in Guyana and if necessary, make recommendations on effective strategies which can be
adapted to disciple and prepare the nation’s youth and build the next generations of Nazarene
Leaders on the Demerara-Essequibo District.
Problem Statement
Intentional youth discipleship is an essential tool that can be used to spur the growth
and development of the Church of the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District in Guyana.
However, it is unknown the extent to which the severe decline of the youth leadership and
membership in the Demerara-Essequibo District may be indicative of a lack of effective
youth discipleship strategies.
Research Questions
The researcher aims to conduct a quantitative research study on the topic of “Assessing
The Effectiveness Of Youth Discipleship Strategies Currently Practiced Within the Church
Of The Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District in Guyana.” To successfully conduct this
research, the researcher has developed choice questions that will guide the research. These
questions include:
1. What are some of the reasons for youths leaving the Church of the Nazarene?
2. What are some of the reasons for the current youths in the Church of the Nazarene
Demerara-Essequibo District not elevating to serve or lead?
3. How important is youth discipleship perceived to be among youth leaders in the
Church of the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District?

4. What are the current discipleship strategies being practiced by youth leaders within
the Church of the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District in Guyana?
5. Are there any associations between the current youth discipleship strategies practiced
with both the exodus of youths and the development of new youth leaders within the
Hypothesis
In being able to determine “yay or nay” in this research, the researcher has identified
a simple as well as a null hypothesis by which this research will be carried out and tested.
These hypotheses are:
H1. With effective discipleship strategies, youths would not leave the church.
H10 . Effective discipleship strategies have no effect on the exodus of youth
H2 With effective discipleship strategies more youth leaders would be developed.
H20 Effective discipleship strategies have no effect on the development of youth leaders.
Limitations
This study was hindered by various factors. The sample group for this research was
originally set for twenty-nine (29), the number of churches in the district. However, due to
persons not completing the researcher’s questionnaire, the research was limited to seventeen
(17) churches. It was structured for at least one youth leader for each church; however, a
couple of churches have no youth leader, and thus the pastor had to answer the questionnaire.
This was not a problem because data could be coded in a manner that allowed software to
differentiate between answers. The problem came with the realization that several churches
were not represented due to no active youth ministries and or pastors. As a result, this
affected the exploration of the assessment. The researcher estimates that the limited sample
size resulted in data being skewed for several different interactions explored, thereby
reducing the depth of study which could be derived. Perhaps a more detailed study would
have unearthed more pertinent information through a more thorough data collection
methodology including interviews.
Summary
The Church Of The Nazarene Guyana, established in 1945, has historically been
known for its youthful and vibrant nature, with the Nazarene Youth International (NYI)
playing a significant role in producing leaders. However, recent years have seen a decline in
youth leadership and membership in the church, echoing a global trend within the Church of
the Nazarene. The current District Superintendent in Guyana attributes this decline to a lack
of focus on discipleship, a lack of follow-up, and a lack of willing church leaders.
The purpose of the research is to assess the effectiveness of youth discipleship
strategies within the Church of the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District and make
recommendations for effective strategies to build the next generation of Nazarene leaders.
The problem statement highlights the importance of intentional youth discipleship and its
potential to spur church growth. However, it is unknown whether the decline in youth
leadership and membership is linked to ineffective discipleship strategies.
The research questions focus on the reasons for youth leaving the church, the reasons
for youth not stepping into leadership roles, the perceived importance of youth discipleship
among youth leaders, current discipleship strategies, and any associations between these
strategies and the exodus of youths and the development of new youth leaders.
The study has limitations, primarily due to a reduced sample size, as not all churches
in the district had active youth ministries and youth leaders. This limited the depth of the
study and prevented a more comprehensive exploration of the issues.
Chapter II: Literature Review

When considering the constant decline of youth in churches, it becomes essential to
note that effective youth discipleship speaks to the ability and process of equipping and
developing youths to become more like Christ and live out their purpose as part of the body
of Christ, personally and intentionally. Developing disciples needs to occur inside a healthy,
active local body of believers. Effective youth discipleship incorporates appropriate strategies
to ensure that a youth ministry connects with and stays connected with its youth and the next
generation.
Theoretical Foundations
Exploring the theoretical foundations of developing an effective youth discipleship
strategy that promotes youth leadership development and membership increase includes an
understanding of valuing how to integrate theology and ecclesiology into the practice of
youth ministry. This aspect of the research analyzes overarching views of the world through a
biblical lens. To this end, this research's theoretical framework requires interaction with two
key disciplines (pedagogy and sociology) and a proficient comprehension of systematic
theology.
Pedagogy in Youth Discipleship
Pedagogy is the method and practice of teaching. Youth ministries are often
challenged by how to teach emerging generations effectively. However, as frameworks for
youth discipleship are developed, youth leaders must recognize the overlapping functions of
discovery, integration, and application, which impact pedagogy. In the church and ministry
context of emerging generations, this researcher believes youth ministries will flourish with a
transformational approach to pedagogy. Theoretically, transformational learning involves
meaningful shifts in students' established beliefs and assumptions. Ultimately,
transformational learning will yield transformative discipleship. Discipleship to youth should
move beyond the youth's shallow experiences, which hinder them from becoming spiritually
mature. Effectively implementing robust and in-depth discipleship requires a commitment to
cultivating transformative pathways to discipleship. Pedagogically, youth leaders can develop
a specific repertoire of the topics they teach.
Teaching and learning in youth ministry will take on various forms and occur on
many levels. Additionally, youth ministry leaders can form concrete interpretations and
generalizations of the larger society, culture, and spiritual formation impact through a
sociological lens. Still, it is incumbent upon ministry leaders to utilize all legitimate means
and technologies to actualize transformative discipleship (Erickson, 2013, p.976).
Sociology in Youth Discipleship
Essential to the theoretical foundations of this research is understanding the
implications of youth culture. According to McGarry, studying youth culture is particularly
helpful because it can serve as a barometer of where broader culture is heading (McGarry,
2019, p.10). It is unrealistic to think that youth ministries can disciple emerging generations
while ignoring their unique behaviors, norms, and values. To this end, churches and youth
leaders must know youth culture to build cultural bridges over which the gospel can travel
and break down cultural barriers that hinder the gospel from being heard (McKnight, 2021,
p.33).
The Apostle Paul is the pioneer in analyzing and utilizing culture as a theoretical
foundation for discipleship. In 1 Corinthians 9:22, Paul said “I became all things to all
people, that I might save some by all means.” For Paul to become all things to all people, he
had to comprehend the culture he proposed to disciple entirely. McKnight highlights that
Paul did not change the message but changed the methods and means of evangelism and
discipleship (McKnight, 2021, p.38). If the Demerara-Essequibo District are to be effective in
the strategies geared toward youth discipleship, it must be realized by understanding the
emerging generations within the context of their culture.

Spiritual leaders are often challenged to model collecting, summarizing, and
organizing theology. However, a systematic approach to theology will help youth ministry
teachers avoid the usual watered-down, emotional approach to teaching. Systematic theology
in youth ministry will enable students to take the truth placed in their heads, move it to their
hearts, and help them see how it changes their lives in the real world (McKnight, 2021,
p.103).
Theological Foundations
The basis of this research is grounded in the Word of God and formed by practical
and relational theology. The theological goal of spiritual leaders is to model and develop
younger church leaders and members in the art of practiced faithfulness, whilst growing in a
loving relationship.
Practical Theology
The spiritual leader of a youth ministry is responsible for critically examining and
interpreting biblical books and themes, identifying the systems that form Christian faith, and
making Christian discipleship applicable and practical for today's young believers. The youth
leader must demonstrate the ability to aggregate and express the Christian faith's beliefs and
doctrines. Ultimately, ministry to youth and young adults thrives when ministry leaders
emphasize the integrative work of practical theology. Not only does youth ministry matter
but it must be considered and implemented from biblical and practical perspectives. Effective
youth leaders must find correspondence between the asymmetrical perspectives of social
psychology and theology (Jacober, 2011, p.13).
Practical theology is realized in youth ministry when the academic enterprise of
theology connects with practice which opens a dialogue to consider the intersection of
theology in everyday life by reflecting critically upon learning from and endeavoring to
renew, reform, and strengthen Christian practice (Jacober, 2011, p.13). To this end, this
research suggests that youth ministries become effective disciple-making church entities
when they assist their youths to develop spiritual disciplines or habits that stir their affection:
their love for God and their neighbors (McKnight, 2021, p.126).
Youth ministry and youth leaders are called to intentionality. They should actively
seek to join God's work in maturing adolescents, in which love, justice, and mercy unite to
nurture them (individually, communally, and eternally) through the transformative power of
Christ (Jacober, 2011, p.29). A Christocentric approach to practical theology qualifies the
need for churches and youth ministries to commit to the Great Commission by prioritizing
discipleship in everything they do (McGarry, 2019, p.29). Christocentric discipleship is
recognized as one of the main functions of the church. St. Matthew 28:20 is about making
disciples by teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded. Young Christians are
not excluded from discipleship. Instead, youth disciple-making is commonly emphasized in
the Old and New Testaments alike.
Old Testament & Youth Discipleship
Biblically, youth discipleship is not a new phenomenon. It dates to the late seventh
century during King Josiah's reign, which reigned about 640 – 609 BC. Youth ministry was a
principal component of Jewish identity, and the Old Testament abounds with examples of
Israel's commitment to its young (McGarry, 2019, p.19). Prominent Hebrew leaders like
Moses (Deuteronomy 6:4-9), Samuel (Judges 2:7- 10), Asaph (Psalm 78:1-8), and Ezra
(Nehemiah 8:1-3); all reminded the Israelites about the importance of training youth in the
principles of the faith. However, Joshua's generation did not focus on youth ministry; instead,
they focused only on adult discipleship. The results of Joshua's negligence regarding youth
ministry were catastrophic. The people lived faithfully under Joshua's leadership, but
unfortunately, their children did not fear the Lord or serve Him (McGarry, 2019, p.28).
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is the first example of a leader reminding the religious
community not to neglect their responsibility to train future generations in the faith. The
context of this passage finds the people of Israel shortly after being freed from slavery in
Egypt. God had performed many miracles. He reassures His people of His love, presence,
provision, and promises. Moses was the leader who witnessed the emergence of a new
generation that grew up under his leadership. He intended to communicate Israel's
foundational identity to the next generation of God's chosen people (McGarry, 2019, p.21).
The Deuteronomy account highlights the idea that parents have a direct responsibility to
partake in the discipling of their children.
Another Old Testament scripture promoting empowered spiritual formation for
forthcoming generations can be found in Psalm 78: 1-8. In this account, Asaph, a well-known
Levite, expressed his concern about the Israelites' responsibility to pass down their faith in
God and knowledge of God's redemptive work in their history to their young and generations
to come. Like Moses' charge to Israel's people, Asaph admonishes parents to be the first
partakers in this responsibility. However, Asaph extends his direction to members of the faith
community. Asaph hopes that such instruction and modeling by parents and members of the
faith community will grant the next generation a firm foundation and help them avoid the sin
and rebellion of previous generations (McGarry, 2019, p.14). The Old Testament is evidence
of the need for practical theology in youth ministry.
Discipleship is not intended to transfer biblical knowledge in a purely academic way,
nor simply is it an intellectual exercise. On the contrary, discipleship has always been
intensely personal. Jesus as a Rabbi was personally involved with his disciples. The disciples
were able to walk with Jesus closely as He modeled the principles of Christian living. It is
believed that Jesus began His ministry in His thirties. His chosen disciples, who eventually
matured and became the church's twelve apostles, were thought to be young adults. McGarry
suggests that it is most probable that the disciples were in their late teens through their early
twenties (McGarry, 2019, p.45). As a preverbal example of a youth pastor leading a youth
ministry, he focused part of His church on the next generations.
Relational Theology
While the Old Testament speaks to youth discipleship's practical theology, which
explains what needs to be done, the New Testament speaks to how youth discipleship is
accomplished through relational theology. According to the authors of Relational Theology:
A Contemporary Introduction, relational theology has roots in the Pietist, Arminian,
Wesleyan, Holiness, and Pentecostal traditions of Christianity, which focus on the
interactivity or mutuality of the God-human relationship (Montgomery, 2017, p.7). Through
the lens of relational theology, it is seen, the divine sovereignty of God. New Testament
scripture highlights God's love that reaches, relates, and responds to repentant and prayerful
believers (Montgomery, 2017, p.8). As believers practice to be more Christ-like, relational
theology can encourage loving interactions and character traits that help the believer actualize
authentic discipleship.
New Testament and Youth Discipleship
The Gospels provide many examples of relational theology in youth discipleship. In
the Gospels, Jesus the teacher established mentoring relationships with His disciples. Each
disciple developed a personal relationship where they had a front-row seat to Jesus' healing
ministry, teachings, and demonstrations of His power (Mitchell, 2018, p.60). The disciples
left what was familiar, and they embarked on a personal journey to shadow their teacher and
learn how to live as He lived. St. Mark 16:20 affirms Jesus' model of discipleship established
through relationship. The twentieth verse says that “the disciples went out and preached
everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed His word by the signs
accompanying it." The point of emphasis is that Jesus worked with the disciples. He did not
just give the disciples many facts and activities and send them on their way. The words
“worked with” suggest that Jesus helped the disciples to mature in the faith and go forth and
repeat the process of disciple-making confidently.
Matthew's gospel is another example of how Jesus models disciple-making through
relationships. In the gospel, according to Matthew, Jesus spends significant portions of His
ministry investing in Peter and other disciples. Peter's proximity to Jesus results in a
meaningful and accountable relationship. Jesus' modeled approach for disciple-making
centered on relational investments that were not merely based on teaching his believers truth
and doctrine. According to McKnight (2021), youth leaders should teach students truths of
the faith. The facts of Christianity should be taught in ways that help young Christians see the
reality of Jesus in every moment of every day.
Systematic Theology
Discipleship is not merely information transfer; it is life transfer. Systematic
Theology will enable youth leaders to establish suitable systems, priorities, and
infrastructures before beginning ministry (DeVries, 2008, p.53). Youth leaders should be
flexible and willing to develop best practices for designing a sustainable youth ministry. Too
often, spiritual leaders are more focused on picking curriculums that are attractional in nature.
Some youth ministers have sadly taken on the idea that youth ministry keeps young believers
busy. As a result, they neglect to choose programs designed uniquely for cultivating youth
discipleship among younger Christians (DeVries, 2008, p.66). Therefore, youth ministry with
an uncomplicated process creates space for relationships, engages students in ministry and
mission, fosters less dependency on programs, and operates with great intentionality (Geiger
and Borton, 2009, p.20).
Additionally, youth ministry leaders cannot forget that planning lessons and activities
are critical in programmatic design and implementation. Great lessons begin with planning
and, more specifically, effective thematic planning, which includes planning a sequence of
objectives for each class over an extended period (Lemov, 2015, p.133). Ministry leaders
should remain fluid in implementing tasks to ensure that students mature spiritually. Lastly,
regarding youth ministry's programmatic design and implementation, leaders should
remember that students love to be challenged to prove they can do things, compete, and win
(Lemov, 2015, p.431). Therefore, youth leaders should not hesitate to challenge them.
Exhorting young believers only confirms what they can do and helps them gain confidence in
their ideas, realizations, and opinions.
For systematic theology to have its optimum effect, youth leaders must ensure
equitable access to every young believer. While designing the "just-right" curriculum, the
youth worker must create various entry points for students. Every young person comes to
youth ministry with different spiritual and cultural competencies. Therefore, it is essential
that every student has equitable access to the spiritual formation process, and this begins with
various entry points to the curriculum. Equity in student ministry requires putting systems
where every student has an equal opportunity to realize full maturity in the faith. The primary
focus is understanding the unique challenges and barriers faced by individual students or the
population of students and providing additional support to help them overcome them.
Programming plays a significant role in ensuring that the ministry's young members can
identify the next phase of discipleship (Geiger and Borton, 2009, p.70).
Measuring Youth Ministry Health
Measuring the Health of Youth Ministry is not the focus of this paper, however,
knowing how to diagnose the state of one’s youth ministry is especially important, as it is
directly related to how active the church is regarding youth discipleship. Cochran (2016)
highlights in an article five ways to measure the health of youth ministries. This is helpful for
this study because a discipling church is a healthy church while the opposite is also true; an
unhealthy church is not discipling. Chances are that it has plateaued or is in decline if it is not
discipleship-driven. Here are the five measuring points according to (Cochran, 2016).
Measurement #1: Youth Ministry Attendance
Healthy things grow, and this includes youth ministries. A growing attendance is a
health indicator. It is not the only one, but it is a good one! Similarly, declining attendance is
usually a sign that something is wrong. Youth ministry attendance is measured because
attendance matters!
Measurement #2: Youth Baptisms
This is an important measurement for a Youth Ministry because it represents youths
taking their next steps in their walk with Christ. Youth leaders want students to take
ownership of their faith by taking one step at a time, and baptism is one of those steps. It’s a
public declaration of faith and deepens a youth’s connection to the church as a whole.
Measurement #3: Weekend Engagement
If youths are only connected to a youth ministry, they will graduate from the church
when they graduate high school. This is not the case however when they are connected to the
church body as a whole. Youth ministries measure how well they are doing by measuring the
percentage of youths who attend church and serve on the weekend. This should be one of the
most important metrics.
Measurement #4: Leadership Increase and Growth
If new leaders are not being birthed and its current leaders are not growing, neither is
its youth ministry. The church measures new leaders and their leadership growth because the
leaders are the most important part of their youth ministry. Furthermore, it is not believed that
God will send more youths than the youth groups are ready to care for, so it is important to
grow in youth leadership before growing in youths.
Measurement #5: New Youths

Youth Ministries should want to grow by reaching unchurched families, not those
who are simply being transferred from another church. One way to measure where the growth
is coming from is by measuring new youths. As long as new youths are connecting to your
ministry that is a sign that it is growing. As matter of a fact, Scripture itself shows us in many
occurrences that the addition of new people to God’s church is important. After all, God did
mandate his church to go and reach the lost. One notable example of this can be found in
Acts 16:5 which reads “So the churches were being strengthened in the faith and were
increasing in numbers daily.” New students are an indicator of a healthy youth ministry.
Main Causes of Youth Decline in the Church
A study from Lifeway Research (2019), found 66 percent of church-attending
teenagers drop out for at least one year as an adult. Of those who dropped out, 31 percent say
they came back and now attend church regularly again. But 39 percent currently attend
infrequently, and 29 percent of church dropouts say they currently don’t attend at all. This
means 7 in 10 teenagers who used to frequently be part of our congregations but dropped out
for a season never made their way back as regular attendees. For Ben Trueblood, director of
the student ministry at Lifeway Research and author of Within Reach: The Power of Small
Changes in Keeping Students Connected, this research should concern church leaders and
lead to action. Here are the most frequently given reasons youths give for dropping out of
church according to Lifeway Research :
1. I moved to college and stopped attending church. (34 percent)
2. Church members seemed judgmental or hypocritical. (32 percent)
3. I didn’t feel connected to people in my church. (29 percent)
4. I disagreed with the church’s stance on political/social issues (25 percent)
5. My work responsibilities prevented me from attending. (24 percent)
6. I never connected with students in the student ministry. (23 percent)

7. I simply wanted a break from church. (23 percent)
8. I was only going to church to please others. (22 percent)
For those who left, they no longer saw the church as a priority and there was a disconnect
between themselves and others in the congregation.
Main Causes of Decline in Youth Leadership Development in the Church
Many churches today are already fighting the dilemma of youth church
dropout/exodus. “No longer are young people staying in the church” is the cry.
Unfortunately, this dilemma has gotten worst as now, not only are young people leaving the
church, but those who are remaining are not willing or showing interest in wanting to
serve/volunteer and or lead in their church’s youth groups, leaving many youth ministries to
go inactive or non-functioning due to the lack of personnel to run the ministry. This dilemma,
the researcher believes, is due to the lack of Youth Leadership Development in the Church.
With this being established, the researcher will now examine the main causes of this decline
in youth leadership in the church.
According to Alexander (2013), the need for youth leadership development is always
present. However, many churches are having trouble getting youths to volunteer to lead and
stay engaged in leading. This is a front-burner issue that the church has to figure out because,
at the heart of the matter, leadership is an essential component of the discipleship process in
someone’s life. Plainly put, leadership is discipleship, as there can be no Christian leadership
without discipleship and no discipleship without leadership.
Understanding this, here are some main reasons according to (Alexander, 2013),
youths aren’t volunteering to lead in the church and subsequently aren’t growing in their
relationship with God:
Don’t Feel Needed – Many youths come to church week in and week out, they have an
incredible experience and go home thinking, “All of this happens every week without me,
what do they need me for?” Churches need to provide a vision for youths to volunteer and tie
it to the spiritual growth process of the church.
They Think the Pastor/s Should do it – Some people simply have an unbiblical view of the
church that the Pastor/s should do everything. Unfortunately, many churches have only
reinforced this with a heavy staffing model and in so doing built a culture that says, “Only
professional/qualified Christians can do ministry.” Churches need to equip, empower, and
release their youth.
Poor Past Experience – Many youths have served in the past and had bad experiences. They
weren’t supported, encouraged, cared for well, or set up to succeed and they’re not sure they
want to put themselves in that position again.
Don’t Feel Qualified – Many youths don’t feel qualified or worthy to volunteer to serve at a
church. The church needs to help its youths to understand that they are gifted and created to
serve…even in the church.
Too Much Commitment – Some youths are at a stage of life where they are overly
committed to other things and don’t have the time to volunteer to serve in the church.
Churches need to provide these young people with easy low commitment opportunities to
serve and perhaps a bit of coaching to move towards a sustainable pace in their lives.
Fear of Commitment – Some youths simply are afraid that if they serve once then they’re in
it for life. They’re afraid of making a commitment that never ends. Sadly, many churches
have only reinforced this fear for young people as they see many examples of leaders in
churches today who take permanent residence in positions that they are serving in.
Difficult to get Involved – The number one complaint heard from youths who want to
volunteer to serve in churches but don’t, was that the process was too hard to get involved
(they had to take multiple classes, or be of a certain age or level, or be a member of the
church prior to volunteering), or no one ever called them back.

Common Discipleship Strategies Used in Churches Today
There are many diverse kinds of discipleship strategies available today for churches
that have worked for others before them. In any type of discipleship, the goal should always
be the same. That is, to equip and develop people to become more like Christ and live out
their purpose as part of the body of Christ personally and intentionally. According to (The
Barna Group, 2015, p.10), common discipleship strategies practiced today by American
churches include Sunday school classes, small groups, mentoring, Bible study, Christian
book study, youth group meetings, and prayer meetings.
Youth Development and Discipleship
To understand the nature of youth discipleship, it is imperative first to understand
children's social, emotional, and cognitive development. As one explores learners'
development, Jeanne Ellis Ormrod, an educational psychologist, spoke to the accepted
ideology that children learn society's norms and rules and determine acceptable versus
unacceptable behaviors through socialization (Ormrod, 2000, p.89). Cole and Nielson take
this idea further in Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry when they assert that the purpose of
discipleship in youth ministry is leading, teaching, and modeling to our students what it
means to be a lifelong learner following and growing in Jesus Christ (Cole and Nielson,
2016, p.42). The implication is that only teaching the Bible, theology, and doctrine will not
support disciple-making among young people. Furthermore, the mere fact that youth
development is highly social, spiritual leaders cannot neglect to tend to the highly relational
aspect of disciple-making with youth.
Relationships matter and were also a core element of Jesus' ministry model. Jesus
championed effective disciple-making in the lives of those he encountered. To this end, it is
imperative to include various national thinkers on youth development and discipleship to put
all things into perspective as consideration is given to shaping a child's natural and spiritual
growth. Likewise, youth leaders and spiritual leaders should maximize every opportunity to
initiate a relationship with students, actively identifying sin and idolatry in their lives, and
joyfully invading their hearts and minds with the biblical gospel of Jesus (Cole and Nielson,
2016, p.53).
David Olshine, the author of Youth Ministry: What's Gone Wrong and How to Get it
Right, purports that Christian parents are the primary spiritual nurturers of their families; the
church and youth ministry is secondary and supplemental, not vice versa (Olshine, 2013,
p.15). This claim is supported and extended by Jeanne Ormrod. Ormrod said that others also
influence a child's personal, social, and moral development outside the home, such as
teachers, spiritual leaders, and peers (Ormrod, 2000, p.76). God's book is clear: spiritual
training is primarily and directly driven and motivated first and foremost by faith-driven
parents to their kids, not by the church. To this end, Olshine suggests that ministries that
focus on children and youth should complement the good values parents are teaching at
home, and they cannot afford to ignore family systems. Olshine's insight led this researcher to
conclude that healthy youth ministries always point children and families to following Jesus,
the foundation of youth discipleship (Olshine, 2013, p.13). The disciple-making theory is
growth: individual growth equates to an increase in youth ministry and ultimately, an
increase in youth leaders and the corporate body of believers. Consequently, the departure of
youth from the church and the idea of youth discipleship indicates a disconnect between
youth and present-day youth discipleship practices.
When churches attempt to interrupt the alarming decline of youth participation in
church, the first impulse is to completely change how they implement youth ministry. Many
youth ministry leaders believe that young believers stop going to church because it's not
attractive enough. As a result, youth leaders begin frantically trying to become a trendier
youth ministry, hyper-focused on training young believers to have a more contemporary

worship experience, or resort to changing the teaching style by watering down the gospel.
However, the research does not indicate that any of the qualities above will improve a
church's ability to retain and grow youth. According to David Olshine, one problem of
American youth ministry is that the models of ministry and methods lack intentionality and
are non-sustainable (Olshine, 2013, p.54).
If churches desire to improve ministry to youth, they should reject all attractional,
entertainment-driven approaches to youth ministry. Youth ministries need to get back to a
Christocentric discipleship mandate. Olshine highlights some essential steps to be intentional
about ministry to young people, which include but are not limited to: the church's mission
statement involving disciple-making; compatibility between the youth ministry and the
church's mission statements; committing to mentor and coach youth ministry leaders, parents
and students; using Jesus' style of disciple-making exemplified in the gospels; integrate rites
of passages for young people that acknowledges and celebrates their spiritual development
and having the ability to understand that authentic discipleship precedes evangelism in the
context of ministry to young people.
A Jesus Strategy For Discipleship
When the researcher thinks of effective discipleship, the researcher thinks about a
Jesus-driven discipleship strategy. In a paper by Marquez (2017), the writer expands on the
discipleship method that Jesus utilized in His ministry on Earth. Here are the six aspects of
this discipleship method according to (Marquez 2017, p.10-27)
Aspect #1: Calling
Luke's account of Jesus' invitation to become His disciple is an important part of the
story, as it explains why the disciples left everything behind and followed Jesus (Luke 5:1-
11). Jesus wanted Peter to understand that he was chosen by God to be His servant and that
God chooses all people regardless of their value within society. This was more than a calling
to a better grasp of God's word, but a calling to a new life in Christ (Marquez 2017, p. 11).
Aspect #2: Teaching
Jesus' main tool in discipleship was teaching. The word “teaching” brings to many
peoples’ minds pictures of classrooms, rulers, textbooks, and lectures. This is not referred to,
however, when Jesus’ teaching methods are spoken of. He used basic teaching principles and
traditional direct teaching through parables but also used teachable moments, which are
serendipitous events where the teacher takes advantage of a situation and uses it to instruct
his or her pupils. After telling several parables about the kingdom of heaven, Jesus asked His
disciples, "Have you understood all these things" (Matt 13:51). Jesus used a simple principle
of teaching: Asking questions. He also recognized that not all His teaching would be
understood or accepted, and sometimes all that can be done is to share the information and
hope that something is received, understood, and incorporated into the student's life. Jesus
used teachable moments to teach the disciples spiritual lessons, such as the story of the
Centurion's faith in Matt 8:5-13. Jesus agreed to go to the centurion's home and heal the
servant, but the centurion had an interesting answer: "Lord, I am not worthy that You should
come under my roof." Jesus was amazed and recognized a mighty faith within the centurion,
teaching the disciples what true faith looks like and how it can be found in an unlikely person
(Marquez 2017, p.13-17).
Aspect #3: Modelling
There were times in the ministry of Jesus when speaking the words was not enough to
instruct and prepare the disciples. It was at those times that Jesus modeled what He wanted
the disciples to learn. His example created a picture for the disciples that would not be soon
forgotten. Jesus' last moments before the crucifixion included a great lesson that the disciples
desperately needed: the lesson of humility. He rose from His place at the table and began to
wash their feet, the job of a lowly servant. This lesson was not just worded but also included
a picture, and when Jesus said, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you
also ought to wash one another's feet” (John 13:14), the disciples were challenged to reflect
on their hearts and to see why they were not willing to serve one another (Marquez 2017,
p.19-20).
Aspect #4: Discipline
Jesus and His disciples faced a difficult situation when a man came to Jesus distressed
because a demon was tormenting their son. Jesus instructed His disciples to cast out the
demon out of the boy but the disciples were unable to cast the demon out. Jesus was
disappointed in the disciples' inability to cast out the demon, and they came to Him privately
to ask why they had been unsuccessful. Jesus told them that their faith was smaller than a
mustard seed, but did not leave them without hope. He told them how they could be
successful the next time they faced a similar situation, but only by prayer and fasting (Matt
17:21). The lesson was that Jesus taught his disciples through disappointment and restored
them after failure (Marquez 2017, p.20-21).
Aspect #5: Mission
Jesus called His disciples to serve God, and they were given a mission to accomplish:
do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter the city of the Samaritans, but go to
the lost sheep of the house of Israel and preach, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the
dead, cast out demons (Matt. 10:5-15). He also gave them the Great Commission, which was
to make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. The
disciples knew that Jesus had the power and authority to command them and to provide them
with everything they needed to accomplish the task (Marquez 2017, p.23-24).
Aspect #6: Vision

At crucial moments in the discipling experience, it became necessary for Jesus to give
the disciples a clear understanding of what the future held for them as His followers. Jesus
needed to cast a realistic picture of what was to come for them. Sometimes that picture was
not a positive one. It was observed that when Jesus shared about His disciples’ betrayal and
His Death it brought anger and sadness, but when shared about Resurrection, the researcher
notices that it brought great hope (Marquez 2017, p.25)
The researcher notes in the conclusion of this sub-heading, that regardless of what the
discipleship strategy is that youth leaders and pastors are using, what is important is that it
includes the elements that were just expounded upon which Jesus utilized.
Summary
The purpose of this chapter was to understand what factors influence youth
discipleship. The researcher started his discourse by laying out both a theological and
theoretical foundation that should dictate how discipleship is practiced. It is impossible to
talk about discipleship and not have a theological foundation since its central focus is Christ,
but it is also important to note that because it involves people, there must also be a
sociological and systematical approach to reaching this goal, hence, the theoretical basis
needed. Establishing the base of his research, this researcher then proceeded to look at
“Measuring Youth Ministry Health.” Now while this is not the focus of this paper as the
researcher stated, knowing how to diagnose the state of one’s youth ministry is especially
important, as it is directly related to how active the church is regarding youth discipleship.
The researcher then proceeded to look at both the “Decline of Youth in Church” and “Decline
in Youth Leadership Development in Church,” highlighting the main causes for each area.
Fourthly, the researcher examined the “Common Discipleship Strategies Used in Church
Today” as these are what is assumed by the researcher to be shared by the respondents of the
survey. Fifth and sixthly, the researcher delved into “Youth Development and Discipleship”
where the theoretical nature of this research was expounded upon, followed by looking at
“The Jesus Strategy to Discipleship” which of course gave credence to the theological base of
discipleship.
Chapter III: Research Methodology and Design
The researcher’s methodology was quantitative. It collected the data through
quantitative and close-ended questions and the data was analyzed using statistics,
mathematical, and computerized tools.
Research Design
Sample Group
The group that was used in the conducting of this study was 29 youth leaders from the
29 functioning Nazarene churches across Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo District. Where
youth leaders could not be sourced, the pastors of the churches were asked to participate. The
sample group was not zoned as it was determined unnecessary for the study following the
researcher’s realization that some zones would not be represented at all.
A verbal request was made to the District Superintendent, Reverend Krishna Singh
for permission to conduct this study. This request was approved and published in writing by
him due to its relevance to the church in November 2022. In researching the district, the
group will be accessed via WhatsApp messages to complete the survey. Where necessary,
respondents will have access to the researcher in case of any difficulties as they completed
the survey via Google Forms.
Instrument
The instrument of choice used by the researcher for data collection was the
questionnaire. These questionnaires were constructed based on the aim of the study and
therefore required no external permissions to be used. The questionnaire was designed to not
be long, which contributed to its truncated nature. It consisted of twenty-six (26) questions
which also included questions aimed at demographics. The rest of the questions were
designed and organized to follow as logical a pattern as possible to allow for easy reading
and answering. The period for drafting the survey lasted approximately ten (10) days. These
questions were then vetted by Mr. Neves Critchlow, a University Lecturer of Statistics with
vast experience in research methodology. Unsuitable questions were removed and
longwinded questions were designed to be more direct. Most importantly, the survey was
organized to answer the research questions.
Description of Data Collection Process
The data collection process for this research study was expected to last the course of
four (4) weeks. However, the researcher would have reduced this timeframe to two (2) weeks
due to the dissemination challenges. A few calls were made by the researcher to be facilitated
by pastors or secretaries of various churches and also by the district youth council. In some
other scenarios, the researcher had to be very creative in strategies to get full participation
from youth presidents and/or pastors. Many of the respondents did not mind as they had
known the researcher through past activities and understood the urgency that needed to be
taken.
After the collection process was completed, the analysis of the data began. The
method of analysis was fully computerized. The researcher fulfilled intentions by using the
Microsoft Excel statistics toolpak to assist in the data analysis as part of the computerized
method of analysis. The statistical test chosen for analysis was the Pearson Correlation Test
which is intended to test the strength of the association between two variables and the
direction of the relationship.
The Pearson Correlation Coefficient formula
The Pearson Correlation Coefficient formula is as follows:

Where,
• r = Pearson Coefficient
• n= number of pairs of the stock
• ∑xy = sum of products of the paired stocks
• ∑x = sum of the x scores
• ∑y= sum of the y scores
• ∑x2 = sum of the squared x scores
• ∑y2 = sum of the squared y scores
Additionally, the Regression Testing option in the Data Analysis toolpak on
Microsoft Excel was also utilized to cross-check analyses and interpret the correlation value
to arrive at a p-value and to help the researcher in rejecting or accepting the null hypothesis.
After data analysis, the writing of the report and the suggestion of recommendations will be
done.
Ethical Considerations
The gathering of data meant that participants exposed some level of their personal
information to complete the questionnaire, however, this personal information is held in the
strictest confidentiality in keeping with the code of ethics. To help obscure the answers of
individuals, the names of individuals were not required and the ages of individuals were
required as groups instead of the actual age. The raw data collected were only handled by the
researcher. This ensured that the anonymity of answers remained to prevent issues of guilt or
even potential discrimination by leaders.
Summary
In Chapter III, the research methodology and design employed for the study are
outlined. The researcher's methodology was quantitative, involving the collection of data
through quantitative and close-ended questions, with subsequent analysis conducted using
statistics, mathematical, and computerized tools.
The study involved a sample group of 29 youth leaders from functioning Nazarene
churches in Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo District. In cases where youth leaders were
unavailable, pastors of the churches were asked to participate. The sample group was not
zoned, as it was considered unnecessary, ensuring broader representation. Permission to
conduct the study was obtained from the District Superintendent, Reverend Krishna Singh,
due to the study's relevance to the church. Data collection was facilitated through WhatsApp
messages and Google Forms for surveys. The primary instrument for data collection was a
questionnaire designed specifically for the study. This questionnaire, comprising 26
questions, including demographic inquiries, was created to be concise and logically
structured for easy comprehension and completion. The survey's development took
approximately ten days and was reviewed by Mr. Neves Critchlow, a University Lecturer
with expertise in research methodology, for refinement. The data collection process was
initially planned for four weeks but was shortened to two weeks due to dissemination
challenges. The researcher employed creative strategies to ensure full participation, including
assistance from pastors, secretaries, and the district youth council. After data collection,
computerized analysis began, using Microsoft Excel's statistics toolpak and the Pearson
Correlation Test to assess the relationship between variables. The formula for calculating the
Pearson Correlation Coefficient was explained, comprising variables such as "r," "n," and
sums of products and squared scores. Regression Testing in Microsoft Excel was also utilized
for cross-checking analyses, determining p-values, and assisting in accepting or rejecting null
hypotheses. The chapter concludes with the mention of the subsequent steps involving the
writing of the report and the formulation of recommendations.
To safeguard participants' personal information, the questionnaire did not require
names and used age groups instead of specific ages. The researcher managed and maintained
the raw data to ensure anonymity and prevent potential issues of guilt or discrimination.
Chapter IV: Data Analysis
Demographics
This research assessed the demographics of its respondents. Demographics such as
the age and gender of respondents were assessed. These respondents were people either
actively participating in youth ministry or who were assigned to the ministry by the church.
In the case where there was no official youth leader, the Pastor participated in the survey. The
first demographic that was assessed was the youth leaders’ age distribution. In data analyzed
using Microsoft Excel Analysis Toolpak, and a bar chart produced using the same software, it
became evident that (62.5%) of the participants were under the age of 35, whilst 37.5 percent
were over the age of 35+. Further analysis of the participants’ age distribution under the age
of 35 years old revealed that approximately 31 percent of them were between the ages of 20-
24 years old, 25 percent were between the ages of 25-34 years old - an equal split of 12.5 for
the age group 25-29 years and 12.5 percent for the age group 30-34 years old existed and 6
percent of participants were between the ages of 15 to 19 years old.

Chart 1 Shows the Responders Age Distribution as a percentage
Gender
The second demographic which was assessed was the youth leaders’ gender
distribution. In data analyzed using Microsoft Excel Analysis Tool Pak, and a bar chart
produced using the same software, the gender distribution of participants was 56 percent in
favor of females and 44 percent of males. Although this statistic may be skewed due to some
churches not being represented in the survey, it represents the general trend of the district
where women outnumber men in many of the local churches.
Chart 2 shows the gender distribution of the respondents as a percentage.

Research Question 1: What are some of the reasons for youths leaving the Church Of
The Nazarene Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo District?
In being able to assess the effectiveness of discipleship, one must have something that
is serving as the measuring rod. In this researcher’s project, one of those measuring rods is
seen to be that of youth church exodus. Thus, the researcher seeks to assess what are some of
the reasons for youths leaving the Church of the Nazarene Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo
District. The graph below shows what respondents think are some of the reasons for youths
leaving the Nazarene Church in the Demerara-Essequibo District.
Reasons for Youths Leaving the Nazarene Church in Guyana

Other 2: Lack of commitment
Other: Some got pregnant and married

They moved out of the area where the church is located
Church members seem judgemental or hypocritical
Lack of opportunities to serve
They did not feel connected to their church
The work responsibilities prevented them from attending
They were only going to church to please others
The Church is overprotective
Church is too boring
The church is not relevant to their careers and interest
The Bible is not taught clearly or correctly
Christianity seems too exclusive
The church feels unfriendly to those who…
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Chart 3 shows the reasons that respondents of both active and inactive youth ministries
believe youths leave the Church of The Nazarene Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo District
Research Question 2: What are some of the reasons for the current youths in the
Church Of The Nazarene Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo District not elevating to serve
or lead?
Just as stated in research question one, the researcher believes that to be able to assess
the effectiveness of discipleship, one must have something that serves as the measuring rod.
Another one of those measuring rods in this researcher’s project is that of youth leadership
development. Thus, the researcher seeks to assess what are some of the reasons for the
current youths in the Church of the Nazarene Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo District not
elevating to serve or lead. The graph below shows what respondents think are some of the
reasons for the current youths of the Nazarene Church in the Demerara-Essequibo District not
elevating to serve or lead.
Reasons Youths are not Elevating to Serve in the Nazarene

Church in Guyana.
They don't feel needed
They think the pastor/s alone should do it
They don't feel qualified
They had poor past experiences serving
They are too committed to other responsibilities
Fear of getting involved (failure, lack of support)

They are frustrated with the process (too many loop holes
to jump through)
Other: Serving in the Church is not seen as important
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Chart 4 shows the reasons that respondents of both active and inactive youth ministries
believe the youths in The Church of the Nazarene Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo District
are not elevating to serve.
Research Question 3: How important is youth evangelism perceived to be among youth
leaders in the Church Of The Nazarene Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo District?
The purpose of this research was to assess the effectiveness of youth discipleship
strategies across the Church Of The Nazarene Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo District in
Guyana. However, this research question seeks to assess how important youth discipleship is
perceived to be among youth leaders. To determine this, questions concerning, the

importance, the growth status, the activity status, and youth involvement were asked. The
first graph below shows how respondents feel about the importance of youth discipleship in
the Demerara-Essequibo Nazarene district. When asked how they felt about the importance
of youth evangelism, data indicates that 100 percent of them felt that youth ministry was of
utmost importance.
Youth Discipleship Importance
18% Very Important
Important
Neutral
Not Very Important
Not Important at all
82%
Chart 5 shows the percentage of respondents of both active and inactive youth ministries
who believe that youth discipleship is important.
Secondly, the graph below shows the percentage of active versus inactive youth
ministries across the Demerara-Essequibo district of Guyana. The graph below shows that of
the 17 out of 29 that were represented in the responses received by the researcher, 58.8
percent of them have active youth ministries, with 41.2 percent being registered as inactive.
That means that out of 17 churches, only 10 of them have active youth ministries.
Chart 6 shows the activity status of Youth Ministries across the Demerara-Essequibo
District of Guyana as of April 2023
The final graph highlighted in this section gives information on the belief of youth
leaders and Pastors concerning the growth status of the youth ministry. Previous data
highlighted that many youth ministries in the district were defunct, but the graph below tells
us that 40 percent of respondents believe that their youth ministry is expanding, although this
pie chart does not indicate the rate at which those ministries are expanding. The chart also
indicates that 30 percent see their youth ministries as stagnant or stagnating, while 30 percent
indicated that their youth ministries are on the decline. Overall, 60 percent of the seventeen
youth ministries in the Church of the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo of Guyana have already
begun to show signs of decline and are in fact declining in some cases. This paints a gloomy
picture of youth ministry in the Nazarene Church of Guyana.

Chart 7 shows the growth status of active youth ministries across the Church Of The
Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo district of Guyana according to the respondents of
functioning Youth Ministries.
Research Question 4: What current youth discipleship strategies are being practiced by
the youth leaders of the Church Of The Nazarene Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo
District?
To answer this question, respondents (both youth leaders of active and inactive youth
ministries) responded to a question that asked them which methods they utilized or once
utilized for youth discipleship. Respondents chose as many methods as they could use from
the list of possible answers. These options were specific examples based on the broad
categories of discipleship highlighted in the literature review. Each answer had a possibility
of being chosen ten times by youth leaders of active youth ministries and seven times by
youth leaders of inactive ministries, however, the bar graph below shows the popularity of
each method by the two sets of respondents based on their responses to the question. Out of a
possible ten times, ‘youth group meetings’ was the most popular way of evangelism by
respondents as it was chosen 7 times. On the other hand, out of a possible seven times,
‘Sunday School Classes, Prayer Meetings, and Mentoring’ were all tied for the most popular
way of evangelism by respondents as they were chosen 5 times.
Chart 8 shows the popularity of the discipleship strategies used among respondents of
active youth ministries.
Chart 9 shows the popularity of the discipleship strategies once used among the
respondents of inactive youth ministries.
Sub-question: What discipleship events have you or your church hosted successfully in the
last five years?
In addition to the general information, to ascertain whether respondents generally
were willing to venture outside of their general discipleship strategies to keep and develop
youth, they highlighted events that either their churches or themselves were responsible for
hosting in the last 5 years. These events were not specifically highlighted as youth
discipleship strategies but were events that the church played a significant role in executing
and had the possibility of being styled discipleship-wise to capture youth. The graph below
shows the various events. Again, this data had to be captured by two groups of respondents,
namely; youth leaders of active youth ministries and youth leaders of inactive youth
ministries within the Church Of The Nazarene, however, due to the nature of the
questionnaire question, the researcher’s information will be presented as one graph. Vacation
Bible School (VBS) was the most popular event in the discipleship event in the district with
eleven (11) of the seventeen (17) respondents indicating that their church has successfully
hosted at least one within the last 5 years. Concerts are also popular events within the district.
Seven (7) respondents indicated that they have hosted a concert successfully. Sporting events
and camps are the next most popular events being chosen five (5) times and four (4) times
respectively. The other event that was identified in a smaller count was leadership
development training which had a count of three (3). Another option included as “other” saw
two responses which included “Interactive and open Nyi discussions with practical
approaches to all aspects of life,” and “Impromptu speech.”
Chart 10 shows the successful events executed by the churches of ten respondents with
active youth ministries in the last five (5) years

Chart 10 shows the successful events executed by the churches of the seven respondents
with inactive youth ministries in the last five (5) years
Research Question 5: Are there any associations between the current youth discipleship
strategies practiced with both the exodus of youth and the development of new youth
leaders within the Church Of The Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District in Guyana?
In assessing the effectiveness of youth discipleship strategies, one must acknowledge
that the principal way of doing so must be one’s ability to retain and develop that youth into a
leader. Therefore, the sub-question that can be answered is whether there is a relationship
between discipleship strategies and the number of youths retained as well as the development
of leaders in the Church Of The Nazarene. The data pertaining to this question and others
associated with it were answered through the analysis of data using Microsoft Excel
Statistical Toolpak. Here the data was subjected to Pearson’s Correlations test which
analyzed whether they were correlations between discipleship strategies practiced by youth
leaders in active youth ministries in the Church Of The Nazarene Guyana; Demerara-
Essequibo District with both the retaining of their youths, and the development of their
youths into leaders. Using this test, associations between different variables observed were
analyzed, the first one being the association between the frequency of discipleship strategy
and the number of youths being retained in the church. This retention of youths was
represented in the survey as the “current ministry health of the active youth group.” This
information is presented in the table below. The Correlation yielded a p-value of 0.55.
Therefore, the result was not statistically significant and the researcher did not reject the null
hypothesis and concluded that there is no significant association between the frequency of the
type of discipleship strategy and the number of youths leaving the church.
SUMMARY OUTPUT
Regression Statistics
Multiple R 0.444444444
R Square 0.197530864
Adjusted R Square -0.203703704
Standard Error 1.900292375
Observations 4
ANOVA
df SS MS F Significance F
Regression 1 1.777777778 1.777777778 0.492307692 0.555555556
Residual 2 7.222222222 3.611111111
Total 3 9
Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-value Lower 95% Upper 95% Lower 95.0% Upper 95.0%
Intercept 1.388888889 1.846752238 0.752071047 0.530469858 -6.557044667 9.334822445 -6.557044667 9.334822445
X Variable 1 0.444444444 0.633430792 0.701646415 0.555555556 -2.280988281 3.16987717 -2.280988281 3.16987717
Table 1. Showing Correlation Analysis Output for interaction between frequency of the
type of discipleship strategy practiced by youth leaders of active youth ministries and the
number of youths leaving the church.
Using Pearson’s Correlation test again, associations between different variables
observed were analyzed. The first variable that was analyzed was the association between the
frequency of discipleship strategy and the number of youth leaders being developed yearly.
This information is presented in the table below. The Correlation yielded a p-value of 1.
Therefore, the result again was not statistically significant and the researcher was unable to
reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is no significant association between the
type of the frequency of discipleship strategy practiced and the number of youth leaders
being developed yearly.

SUMMARY OUTPUT
Regression Statistics
Multiple R 0
R Square 0
Adjusted R Square -0.5
Standard Error 1.58113883
Observations 4
ANOVA
df SS MS F Significance F
Regression 1 0 0 0 1
Residual 2 5 2.5
Total 3 5
Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-value Lower 95% Upper 95% Lower 95.0% Upper 95.0%
Intercept 2.5 1.536590743 1.626978434 0.245268092 -4.111416354 9.111416354 -4.111416354 9.111416354
X Variable 1 7.40149E-17 0.527046277 1.40433E-16 1 -2.267697101 2.267697101 -2.267697101 2.267697101
Table 2. Showing Correlation Analysis Output for interaction between frequency of the
type of discipleship strategy practiced by youth leaders of active youth ministries and the
number of youth leaders being developed yearly.
Summary
Chapter IV of the research project focuses on data analysis, specifically assessing the
demographics of the respondents and addressing five research questions related to youth
discipleship within the Church Of The Nazarene Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo District.
1. Demographics: The chapter begins by discussing the demographics of the
respondents, including age and gender. Data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel
Analysis Toolpak. Among the youth leaders assessed, 62.5% were under the age of
35, with the majority falling in the 20-24 age group. Gender distribution showed 56%
females and 44% males, reflecting the trend in local churches.
2. Research Question 1: This section examines the reasons for youths leaving the
Church Of The Nazarene Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo District. Respondents
provided insights into the perceived reasons for youth departure.
3. Research Question 2: The study investigates the factors preventing current youths
from elevating to serve or lead within the Church. Respondents shared their views on
these obstacles.
4. Research Question 3: This question explores the importance of youth evangelism as
perceived by youth leaders. All respondents indicated that they view youth ministry as
highly important. The chapter also discusses the activity status of youth ministries,
revealing that 58.8% are active and 41.2% inactive.
5. Research Question 4: It delves into the current youth discipleship strategies
practiced by youth leaders, both active and inactive. Respondents highlighted the
methods they use for youth discipleship, with 'youth group meetings' being the most
popular among active youth ministries, and 'Sunday School Classes, Prayer Meetings,
and Mentoring' being the most popular among inactive ministries.
6. Sub-question: Respondents were also asked about discipleship events hosted
successfully in the last five years. Vacation Bible School (VBS) was the most popular
event, followed by concerts, sporting events, camps, and leadership development
training.
7. Research Question 5: The final part of the chapter explores the potential associations
between current youth discipleship strategies and the exodus of youth and the
development of new youth leaders. The analysis found no significant associations
between the frequency of discipleship strategies and the number of youths leaving the
church or the number of youth leaders being developed.
In summary, Chapter IV provides a detailed analysis of the demographics of
respondents, along with their views on youth ministry, the reasons for youth departure,
discipleship strategies, and successful events. The chapter concludes by assessing
associations between discipleship strategies and the outcomes of youth retention and
leadership development.
Chapter V: Discussion, Recommendations, Conclusion
Discussion of the Analysis
The discussion is an elaboration of the data analysis. The purpose is to bring clarity to
the analysis by offering explanations for the trends observed in data and supporting it by
reason or with literature. The structure of this section will follow that of the analysis where
the researcher will explain the demographics, then move on to research question one and then
work his way down to the final research question. Included in the discussion of the analysis
will be the sub-questions that would have been asked as well.
The Demographics
The demographics were data collected on the age brackets and gender of the
respondents. These demographics were not important to the overall outcome of the study as it
stands. However, it showed that there was an almost equal blend of men and women youth
leaders in the district. Unlike pastoral ministry where there are generally more men who
participate, both men and women are needed for youth ministry. While in seemingly good
standing for now, the church needs to continue to funnel both men and women who are
interested, capable, and trained to operate in youth ministry as it is a feeder to the general
church congregation. The qualities of both men and women are necessary for the processes of
teaching, training, and nurturing the next generation of church leaders across the district.
Another variable identified under the demographics was age. Respondents identified
their age group and statistics showed that the vast majority of them – approximately two-
thirds of respondents were under the age of 35 years old. The other third was over the age of
35 years. This bodes well for the state of youth ministry because it means that youth
ministries are an area that younger people are willing to be involved in. It also indicates that
the longevity of the youth ministry is likely to continue. On the other hand, could this be the
reason why some ministries across the district are not active? Were they being led by younger
men and women who, without the experience of major adversity, were not able to cope with
the burden of leadership? This is an interesting question that perhaps can be explored. The
lack of older leaders could be a signal that older men and women are not too keen on taking
up youth ministry for any one of a multitude of possible reasons. Still, though, there are
advantages to having both younger and older leaders as part of the ministry.
Research carried out by (Spisaka, Grabo, Arvey, et. al., 2014), showed that there is an
unconscious bias concerning the age of leaders. Younger leaders tend to be associated with
change and innovation while older leaders were associated more with more stability. These
perceptions perhaps also carry some truth, and can both co-exist in a stable and healthy
relationship if both groups of leaders are endorsed in youth ministry. One other point to note,
though not statistically important is the little presence of the respondent who was listed in the
15-19 age group. It is not a surprising statistic since most youth leaders are those who have
already transitioned out of their teenage years; however, the presence of the respondent may
be indicative of the church’s ideology concerning who can and cannot lead. It appears as
though those deemed fit to lead will be allowed to lead even if they’re the same age as their
peers. Again, this bodes well if harnessed correctly, as young people are better placed to
connect with and serve their peers since they too have commonalities.
Research Question One: What are some of the reasons youths are leaving the Church Of
The Nazarene Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo District?
In being able to answer the problem statement, it was important for the researcher to
find out what exactly are some of the reasons for the youth exodus observed in the Church of
the Nazarene Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo District. Elaborating on the data retrieved, it was
surprising to the researcher that approximately 49 percent of the respondents believe that
‘non-church reasons’ were the main cause of youths leaving the church, namely “work
responsibilities and migration from church area.” This astonishing finding only indicates
more to the researcher that discipleship has to be more than the church building rather, it
must be an intentional, relational, loving, Godly, and unconfined lifestyle that every believer
of Christ should adopt. This way, even if youths are not coming to the building for these
aforementioned reasons, they are still being discipled.
Research Question Two: What are some of the reasons for the current youths in the Church
of the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District not elevating to serve or lead?
This is indeed a rising phenomenon not just in the Nazarene Church but all churches
across the world. Churches are struggling to find, develop, and keep youth leaders. From the
data presented in the previous chapter, 26 percent of the responders’ answers to this question
was that of ‘feeling unqualified.” Now while some may credit this feeling to being young or
afraid, the researcher can also see the role that discipleship could play in tackling such a
feeling. It is mentioned in the Gospel account of Matthew chapter 4 and verse 19, that Jesus
said to His disciples “Come follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” This scripture
reference did bore fruit as was seen later down in the New Testament that these same
disciples whom Jesus called, were indeed fishers of men (making disciples and winning men
to Christ. It, is important to note that this didn’t just happen overnight, they were afraid,
unqualified, rough necked but still, Jesus discipled them and developed them into leaders that
would fish for men. The researcher says this to emphasize on the point discipleship fixes
feelings of unqualifiedness. The next most responses only validate the researchers’ discourse
with approximately 18 percent of the respondents feeling that a “fear of getting involved
(failure, lack of support) is another major reason that youths are not elevating to lead. The
researcher wishes to conclude that these are all things that effective discipleship can fix.
Research Question Three: How important is youth discipleship perceived to be among
youth leaders in the Church Of The Nazarene Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo District?

To elaborate on the data provided, all of the respondents (both those with active and
inactive youth ministries) stated that youth discipleship is important to the church. This was
not surprising as one of the Nazarene Church’s strategic pillars is intentional disciple-making
as stated in Matthew 28:19-20. It is likely that this is communicated consistently to church
congregations and various church leaders. How this strategic pillar is actualized may be
another discussion, but there is no debate that it is known by all involved based on the results
provided.
To add some depth to the question being answered, data was compiled to help support
the need for and importance of youth discipleship across the district. In distributing the
questionnaires, the ability, and inability of youth leaders to participate in the survey was
documented and a reason for that was sought. Where a church didn’t have a youth leader, the
pastor for the respective church was asked to complete the questionnaire. Data revealed that
of the 17 of 29 questionnaires received, 41 percent of the district’s youth ministries were
inactive for one reason or another while 23 percent were periodically active as they did not
meet consistently, leaving 36 percent of the district youth ministries being fully active. It is
without a doubt that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have still posed a significant
hurdle to many youth ministries across the district in restarting their youth ministries. It is
well documented that youth thrive on community, friendships, and social interactions
(Owensby, 2020), therefore, it is not inconceivable that they too struggled to maintain the
mental fortitude necessary to lead other young men and women between the ages of 13-35
years of age. This ties into the researchers’s point about the ability of different age groups of
leaders being able to co-exist based on their strengths and weaknesses and the needs of the
ministry. Still, to have 41 percent of youth ministries inactive strikes a telling blow to the
district’s chances of growth and survival as an organization and must be addressed. This
statistic lends credence to why youth discipleship is important for the church at this point in
time. The church will not survive without it.
This leads to the data that was presented in chart number 7 which showed that 60
percent of the participants who indicated that their youth ministries are functioning believed
that their youth ministries were either stagnant or contracting. Is there any greater reason
outside of the fact that discipleship is the key to building the church and developing youth
leaders? Youth ministries in the Church Of The Nazarene Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo
district are in need of youth leaders. The church is in need of youth leaders. Youth ministry is
a feeder to the main congregation of every church. Along with Sunday School, youth
ministry is the developmental school for the leaders of the church. Without them, the church
struggles. Youth discipleship is therefore of paramount importance in the district as the youth
ministry structures are in danger of collapsing without effort to retain and develop its youths
into leaders. More discipleship and tailored efforts to meet and transform the lives of young
people are what is needed for the church, and even more so for Guyana; the Demerara-
Essequibo district of the Nazarene Church.
Research Question Four: What youth discipleship strategies are being utilized by
respondents?
There are many different types of discipleship strategies that are utilized, some of
which are Sunday school classes, small groups, mentoring, Bible study, Christian book study,
youth group meetings, and prayer meetings to name a few (The Barna Group, 2015).
Respondents were asked about the types of discipleship strategies that they utilized. The
examples presented can be identified as being a practical example of one of the broad types
of discipleship strategies described by (Barna Group, 2015). Of all the options available to
respondents, the use of youth group meetings as a discipling tool was the most popular
option. The option of youth group meetings as the most popular discipleship tool is no
surprise to the researcher as more youths are likely to attend an activity on Fridays/ Saturdays
in the case of a youth group meeting. With this being said, however, this finding may further
explain the struggle to both keep and develop youths into leaders. If the researcher may, it
was recorded that of the seventeen survey respondents, 7 of them don’t have a functioning
youth group, and of the ten that do, 4 of these numbers don’t frequently meet. This, therefore,
says, that if youth group meetings are the main form of discipleship tool used by leaders, then
11 churches are already deprived in some way or the other, and one can assume that it is a
great probability that this is also reflected in the other churches who were unable to answer
the questionnaire.
With this information in mind, churches should then be clamoring for consistency in
the ears of youth ministry leaders as it seems to be the best chance for discipleship to take
place.
Another popular strategy of evangelism that respondents utilized was discipleship
through Sunday School Classes. The majority of respondents saw this as an easy way to
disciple and perhaps even thought it to be effective. While this can very well be true, it again
asks the researcher to think; “How consistent are they in facilitating these youth Sunday
School classes?” “How accurate/effective are they in facilitating these youth Sunday School
classes?”
Research Question Five: Are there any associations between the strategies utilized and the
number of youths saved?
The major part of the study is captured in this question. It seeks to determine whether
there were any associations between the strategies of youth discipleship utilized with both the
exodus of youth and the development of youth leaders. What this question revealed is the
effectiveness of the strategy used to retain youth and develop them into leaders. This,
therefore, enables the researcher to suggest workable strategies to rebuild youth ministries as
a solution to the declining overall Nazarene Youth population in Guyana. And whilst outside
of this study these strategies can be adapted to the general church population, helping them to
also retain and develop members into leaders. There were two major statistical analyses done
to determine how and whether there were associations or not. The first analysis, presented in
Table 1, showed that there was no significant association or correlation between the
frequency of youth discipleship strategy used by respondents to stop youths from exiting the
church. Of all of the strategies utilized, there was no clear-cut strategy that stood out as being
overly effective in youth exodus. This may be due to the reality that no one respondent uses
one strategy of discipleship in his/her youth ministry.
Table 2, when analyzed, it also showed that there was no significant association or
correlation between the frequency of youth discipleship strategies used by respondents with
the development of new youth leaders. Again, there was no clear-cut finding in showing that
the frequency of discipleship strategy (though inconsistent at times), affected the
development of new youth leaders in youth groups. In such as case, the researcher must yield
to the null hypothesis even though the researcher believes that the lack of statistically
significant data concerning this association is due to the limited respondents in the study. A
broader study that included a larger amount of churches may have granted better statistical
results. Another reason that comes to mind is that the data was not evenly distributed and was
almost homogenous, resulting in a skewing of the statistics on this test.
With this being said, the researcher wishes to comment on this finding. Massengale (2017),
and Nunn (2009) both shared a notion regarding evangelism that the researcher would like to
adopt in this discussion. They both shared that “evangelism is not necessarily about the
method used, but rather, about the relationship that one develops with each individual.” In
interpreting this with relation to discipleship strategies, the researcher can interpret this in his
own words to mean “discipleship strategies is not necessarily about the amounts utilized, or
even the frequency of its utility in this case, but more so about the quality of its utilization.”
Marquez (2017), in an article entitled “A Jesus Strategy For Discipleship,” highlighted six
key components of effective discipleship. Of these six, Marquez identifies ‘teaching’ as the
most effective way and highlights that people didn’t learn and came to be discipled by the
frequency of Jesus’ teaching, but rather by the quality of it. He used parables, experiential
activities, and proclamations. It was all in the quality over quantity. In the same way, the
researcher believes that just maybe the true test of the effectiveness of discipleship strategies
lies in the quality of how it is done as opposed to the quantity of when it is done.
Recommendations
The data were analyzed and indicated that there was no relationship between
discipleship strategies with both the number of youths leaving and the number of youths
being developed as leaders across the district. Despite this, however, it did indicate that the
level of discipleship across the district was very low, and while the finding found no
significant relationships/correlations, the researcher believes that this result may be due to the
skewness of the data, and thus believes that they are many indicators that can be taken from
the data received in the sample. The following recommendations, therefore, were derived
from this study based on statistics and from actual responses from participants when asked
what would make their youth ministry better:
Recommendations for the District:
1) A vision for youth and youth discipleship needs to be developed and disseminated by
the District to Pastors and their relevant congregations to show what is desired, and
expected and how the district plans to make youth a priority.
2) There needs to be a youth discipleship drive across the district that targets youth. The
researcher would recommend a sustained drive that is directed by the district with key
leaders from each church being correctly trained in the different components and
aspects of effective disciple-making.
3) The incentivizing/rewarding of persons and churches that are successful to increase
participation and a sense of rivalry across the district to increase by in.
4) On a local church level, Pastors need to find ways to resolve the lack of youth
ministries in each church. Where individual churches cannot handle a ministry, there
should be a focus on regional youth ministry. This way, youth are not excluded from
the benefit of growing and developing in Christ.
5) Training in youth ministry and discipleship is of paramount importance since this
influences the way that youth ministries are operated. As stated in the discussion of
findings, the problem sometimes is not that there is nothing is being done, but rather,
it is not being done the right way and such cannot yield the success it hopes for. Thus,
training in modern approaches to youth ministry, Jesus-driven discipleship strategies,
and how to care for youth should be prioritized.
Recommendations for the Local Church
1) Participation in frequent local discipleship efforts is important.
2) Discipleship events should always have transformation and strengthening as well as
the development of new leaders as primary goals, and not attendance. In other words,
quality over quantity.
3) Having trained personnel train more personnel in youth ministry discipleship
strategies at the local church level allows for an increase in members who can
effectively work in the ministry and allows continuity in the ministry if someone
leaves. This ensures that the ministry can survive the shocks and stresses that come
with day-to-day ministry.

4) A focus on mentorship is important for relationship building with individual youth to
help keep them engaged and willing to be part of the ministry that they are in.
5) More support from the church: It is evident that some churches have not placed as
much emphasis as they should on youth ministry, hence why they have collapsed or
are on the verge of collapsing. The church should prioritize youth ministry and seek to
support it in any way possible.
6) Consistent prayer for the youth ministry is important as the ministry will not grow
without it. Ultimately, the ministry belongs to God and He knows what is necessary
for its growth and sustenance. Praying for the youth ministry is imperative.
7) Proper planning of programs and use of spaces should be done to ensure that youth
feel prioritized and so that proper discipleship takes place. Youth should not be left to
do “whatever” as this leads to disengagement.
Finally, a proper discipleship program that helps lead new converts to a place of maturity
in Christ must be developed so that youth are not lost while doing church before they are
discipled.
Conclusion
This quantitative research study was designed to assess the effectiveness of youth
discipleship strategies across the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District in Guyana. To
successfully conduct this research, the researcher would have developed choice questions to
guide the research. These questions included:
1. What are some of the reasons for youths leaving the Church of the Nazarene?
2. What are some of the reasons for the current youths in the Church of the Nazarene
Demerara-Essequibo District not elevating to serve or lead?
3. How important is youth discipleship perceived to be among youth leaders in the

4. What are the current discipleship strategies being practiced by youth leaders within
the Church of the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District in Guyana?
5. Are there any associations between the current youth discipleship strategies practiced
with both the exodus of youths and the development of new youth leaders within the
Of these five research questions, it was discovering the associations between the current
youth discipleship strategies practiced with both the exodus of youths and the development of
new youth leaders within the Church of the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District” that truly
brought worth to this research project.
In ensuring that this assessment was best made, the researcher needed to understand what
factors influence youth discipleship. In doing this, the researcher gathered literature and
established both a theological and theoretical foundation that formed an epicenter through
which discipleship should be practiced. It was these pieces of literature that allowed the
researcher to accurately and unbiasedly construct his data collection instrument and make his
data presentation and analysis.
With this being said, the information gathered by the researcher following his
research revealed that there is no significant relationship between youth discipleship
strategies across the district with both the exodus of youth and the development of youth
leaders. Therefore, both null hypotheses “Effective discipleship strategies have no effect on
the exodus of youth” and “Effective discipleship strategies have no effect on the development
of youth leaders” are not rejected and remain the same. This conclusion was based on the
realization that there is no significant association between youth discipleship strategies and
number of youths leaving the church or being developed into leaders saved highlighted by
two p-values that were not significant (p-value 0.555 > 0.05), (p-value 1 > 0.05). However,
due to the skewness of the data collected, the researcher stands on the opinion that this
finding may not accurately represent the current discipleship issue of the Church Of The
Nazarene, Guyana; Demerara-Essequibo District. Other data collected showed the
importance of youth ministry to the district as it generally indicated that the youth ministry is
also in decline and requires urgent attention. The information gathered was used to make
recommendations that could be utilized by the district and local churches to help remedy the
issues associated with their youth ministries.

Reference Page
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volunteer-at-your-church/#.ZDNpM3bMK3D
Barna Group. (2015). New Research on the State of Discipleship. Retrieved from:
https://www.barna.com/research/new-research-on-the-state-of-discipleship/
Church Of The Nazarene, Inc. (2022). Statistics. Retrieved from Church Of The Nazarene,
Inc: https://nazarene.org/our-impact/statistics
Church Of The Nazarene, Inc. (2017). Manual 2017-2021. Nazarene Publishing House:
Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
Cochran, J. (2016). What You Measure Matter. Retrieved from:
https://www.ymlead.com/what-you-measure-matters/
Cole, C., Nielson, J. (2016). Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry. Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
DeVries, M. (2008). Sustainable Youth Ministry: Why Most Youth Ministry Doesn’t Last and
What Your Church Can Do About It. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books.
Erickson, J. M. (2013). Christian Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academics.
Geiger, E., Borton, J. (2009). Simple Student Ministry: A Clear Process for Strategic Youth
Discipleship. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group.
Jacober, E. A. (2011). The Adolescent Journey: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Practical
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Lemov, D. (2015). Teach Like a Champion 2.0. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
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church-and-8-reasons-they-stay/
Marquez, D. M. (2017). A Discipleship Model For Youth At The Paradise Adventist Church;
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https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dmin/348
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McKnight, T. (2021). Engaging Generation Z: Raising the Bar for Youth Ministry. Grand
Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications.
Mitchell, L. J. (2018). Black Millennials, and the Black Church: Meet Me Where I Am.
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Olshine, D. (2013). Youth Ministry: What’s Gone Wrong and How to Get it Right. Nashville,
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APPENDIX A
YOUTH DISCIPLESHIP SURVEY

Dear Respondent,
This questionnaire is being distributed to facilitate

the completion of the course Research Methods III, a course being
undertaken by Min. Timmeon Spencer; of whom is a final-year Pastoral
Studies student at the Caribbean Nazarene College and a Licensed
Minister of the Gospel in the Church of the Nazarene.
This thesis seeks to assess youth discipleship and its

effectiveness within the Church of the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District in
Guyana, and where necessary provide recommendations that will help the
denomination strengthen its youth arm. Your participation in this research is
completely
voluntary and all information provided is strictly confidential.
Thank you!
* Indicates a required question
1. Gender *
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
Male
Female
2. Age *
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35+
3. Which Nazarene Church(s) are you affiliated with? *

Tick all that apply
Mark only one oval.
Bartica Church of the Nazarene
Belle West Church of the Nazarene
Brickery Church of the Nazarene
Christiansburg Church of the Nazarene
De Willem Church of the Nazarene
Gold Hill Church of the Nazarene
Grove Church of the Nazarene
Henrietta Church of the Nazarene
Herstelling Church of the Nazarene
Hill Foot Church of the Nazarene
Industry Church of the Nazarene
La Grange Church of the Nazarene
La Parfait-Harmonie Church of the Nazarene
Mackenzie Church of the Nazarene
Meadowbrook Church of the Nazarene
Mocha Church of the Nazarene
North Ruimveldt Church of the Nazarene
Plaisance Church of the Nazarene
Queenstown Church of the Nazarene
R.B Hill Church of the Nazarene
Sisters Church of the Nazarene
Soesdyke Church of the Nazarene
South Ruimveldt Church of the Nazarene
Tuschen Church of the Nazarene
Uitvlugt Church of the Nazarene
Victoria Church of the Nazarene
Vreed-En-Hoop Church of the Nazarene
Wismar Church of the Nazarene
Yarrowkabra Church of the Nazarene

4. How long have you been affiliated with the above-mentioned

Church(s)? *
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
1-4 yrs.
5-10 yrs.
11-15 yrs.
16-20 yrs.
20 + yrs.
5. In what capacity are you answering this questionnaire? *

Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
Youth President/Vice President
Senior Pastor
Other:
6. Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour? *
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
Yes
No
7. Are you currently being discipled? *

Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
Yes
No
8. In your opinion, what age range best describes “youth”? *

Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
13-19
13-21
13-24
15-21
15-24
9. How long have you been involved in youth ministry? *

Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
0-1 yr.
2-4 yrs.
5-7 yrs.
8-10 yrs.
10 or more yrs
10. Does your church have an existing and functioning Youth Ministry? *
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
Yes (we meet weekly) Skip to question 11
Maybe (our meetings are not consistent)
No (we don't meet at all) Skip to question 27
CONTINUATION FROM QUESTION NINE (9)
If you are viewing this section, it is because you have selected the options "YES" or
"MAYBE" to question nine (9). Please answer the remaining questions as honestly and as
best as you possibly can.
11. How many youths are present in your church’s youth ministry
today? *
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
1-5
6-10
11-15
16-20
20 or more
12. How many youth volunteers do you have supporting you in leading
your youth Ministry?
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
none
2-3
4 and above
13. What do you think are some of the main reasons for youths leaving
the Church *
of the Nazarene?
Tick all that apply
Check all that apply.
They moved out of the area where the church was located
Church members seemed judgmental or hypocritical
Their work responsibilities prevented them from attending
They were only going to church to please others (family, friends, church members)
The Church was overprotective.
The church is not relevant to their career or interests The
Bible is not taught clearly or often enough Christianity
seems to exclusive
The church feels unfriendly to those who ask pressing life questions/doubt
Other:
14. What do you think are some of the main reasons for the youths that
remain in the church of the Nazarene, not wanting to step up to the plate to serve
or lead? *
They don’t feel needed

They are too committed with other responsibilities
They are frustrated with the process (too many loops to jump through)
Other:
15. How important, do you believe that discipleship is to the church? *

Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
Most Important
Somewhat Important
Neutral
Somewhat Not Important
Not important at all
16. How many times a month does your church engage in discipleship? *
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
Very often
Often
Sometimes
Not very often
Not at all
17. What are some strategies of discipleship that your church currently
utilizes? *
Sunday School Classes

Small Group discussions
Mentoring
Youth Group Meetings
Bible Study
Prayer Meetings
Christian book studies
Other:
18. Have you ever heard of the term Youth Discipleship? *

Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
Yes
No
19. How important do you think youth discipleship is in the

development of youths *
in the church?
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
Very Important
Important
Neutral
Not so important
20. As a youth leader, how engaged are you in discipleship specifically

tailored to *
youths?
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
Very Engaged
Engaged
Neutral
Somewhat Not Engaged
Not Engaged at all

21. What are some strategies of discipleship that you currently utilize
for youth *
discipleship?

Small Group discussions
Mentoring
Youth Bible Study
Prayer Meetings
Christian Book Studies
Sports Discipleship
Other:
22. What are some examples of successful discipleship events/initiatives

that your *
church has held to equip and develop its youth within the last 5 years?
Tick all that apply
Youth Camps
Vacation Bible School
Leadership Development Training
Sporting Events
Concerts
Other:
23. What made the previous discipleship events/initiatives successful for

you? *
Tick all that apply
The attendance was great

The teaching/equipping was excellent
Many Young leaders were birthed and developed following the event
We managed to pull off an event
All of the above
24. How many youth leaders are currently being developed through
your ministry *
annually?
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
None
1-2
3-5
6-10
10 and above
25. How would you honestly describe the current state of your church’s
youth *
ministry?
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
Expanding
Contracting
Stagnant
26. What do you think is necessary to grow or improve the current state
of your *
church’s youth ministry?
CONTINUATION FROM QUESTION NINE (9)
If you are viewing this section, it is because you have selected the option "NO" to question
nine (9). Please answer the remaining questions as honestly and as best as you possibly
can.
27. When was the last time your church had a functioning Youth
Ministry? *
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
1 year ago
2 years ago
3 years ago
4 years ago
5 or more years ago
28. How many youths were present in your church’s youth ministry in its
past years of being active? *
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
1-5
6-10
11-15
16-20
20 and above
29. How many youth volunteers did your Youth Ministry had working
along with the Youth President during the last time of being
functional? *
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
none
2-3
4-5
30. What do you think are some of the main reasons for youths leaving
the Church of the Nazarene?
They moved out of the area where the church was located
Church members seemed judgmental or hypocritical
Their work responsibilities prevented them from attending
They were only going to church to please others (family, friends, church members)
The Church was overprotective.
They church is not relevant to their career or interests
The Bible is not taught clearly or often enough
Christianity seems to exclusive
The church feels unfriendly to those who ask pressing life questions/doubt
Other:
31. What do you think are some of the main reasons for the youths that
remain in the Church of the Nazarene, not wanting to step up to the
plate to serve or lead? *
They don’t feel needed

They are too committed with other responsibilities
They are frustrated with the process (too many loops to jump through)
Other:
32. How important, do you believe that discipleship is to the church? *

Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
Most Important
Somewhat Important
Neutral
Somewhat Not Important
33. How many times a month does your church engage in discipleship? *
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
Very Often
Often
Sometimes
Not Very Often
Not at All
34. What are some strategies of discipleship that your church currently
utilizes? *

Small Group Discussions
Bible Study
Prayer Meetings
Other:
35. Have you ever heard of the term Youth Discipleship? *

Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
Yes
No
36. How important do you think youth discipleship is in the

development of youths in the church? *
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
Very Important
Important
Neutral
Not so Important
37. As a youth leader, how engaged were you in discipleship specifically

tailored to youths during the functional years of your church's youth
ministry? *
Mark only one
Mark only one oval.
Very Engaged
Engaged
Neutral
Somewhat Not Engaged
Not Engaged at all

38. What were some of the strategies of discipleship that were utilized
for youth discipleship during the active years of your Youth Ministry?
*

Small Group Discussion
Mentoring
Youth Bible Studies
Prayer Meetings
Sports Discipleship
Other:
39. What are some examples of successful discipleship events/initiatives

that your church has held to equip and develop its youth within the
last 5 years? *
Youth Camps
Vacation Bible School
Leadership Development Training
Sports Events
Concerts
Other:
40. What made the previous discipleship events/initiatives successful for

you? *
The attendance was great

The teaching/equipping was excellent
Many Young leaders were birthed and developed following the event
We managed to pull off an event
All of the above
41. How many youth leaders were being developed through the youth
ministry annually during its functioning period? *
Mark only one oval.
none
1-2
3-5
6-10
10 and above
42. What do you think is necessary to restore and grow your church's
youth ministry? *
Forms
APPENDIX B
Comments by Respondents of functioning Youth Ministries on what they think is
necessary to improve their youth ministry.
What do you think is necessary to grow or improve the current state of your
church’s youth ministry?
10 responses
Resources from Dristrict.

The youths of today shoukd be our primary focus not what we expect as norms. Society is
changing and we need to adapt alhough change is hard to reach out to them but we must hold
our foundation while doing so
I’m still trying to figure that one out also :)
Outreaches at various locations
More support from the church in bible miniseries and out reach programs with the intent of
also feeding participants attending, just as our lord and savior Jesus Christ did, because we
need to consider feeding the soul and body.......
The commitment of the executive members to the ministry of Youth.More activities that will
capacity their attention and interest.Improve the spiritual foundational understanding of the
Youths.
More community engagement
Youth programs
Prayer, discipleship and commitment
Youth curriculum
Comments by Respondents of functioning Youth Ministries on what they think is
necessary to restore and grow their youth ministry.
What do you think is necessary to restore and grow your church's youth ministry?
7 responses
A leader, support and a system

Yes
Passionate youths
A sports ministry
change of present location and commitment of the present youths
Training the current youth leaders in leadership skills and sound Bible teaching
More commitment from leaders

Assessing The Effectiveness of Youth Discipleship Strategies - Timmeon Spencer Final Year Thesis

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Assessing the Effectiveness of Youth Discipleship Strategies 1

Running Head: Assessing the Effectiveness of Youth Discipleship Strategies

A Quantitative Study on Assessing the Effectiveness of Youth Discipleship Strategies

currently practiced within the Church of the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District in

Caribbean Nazarene College

In Partial Fulfillment of the requirement for

Course: PT 461 Research Methods II

Lecturer: Ms. Cathy Mc Almont

Date: April 28th, 2022

District Superintendent in Guyana attributes this decline to a lack of focus on discipleship, a

49% of respondents attribute youth departure to "non-church reasons" such as work

discipleship, implementation of a district-wide discipleship drive, incentivizing successful

significant correlations, it underscores the importance of effective, high-quality youth

particularly within the Demerara-Essequibo District.

youth leaders in the Nazarene churches in the Demerara-Essequibo District in Guyana, it is

terms used to explain the key terms in this study.

priorities of Christ (Sonlife, 2018).

life after the character and priorities of Christ.

Presentation Of Findings .................................................................................................33-44

Context of the Project

Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District in Guyana. The Church Of The Nazarene Demerara-

both the issues of youth leadership and youth membership decline.

the necessities of contemporary ministry styles, retiring, or dying. Unfortunately, though

Finally, when questioned on whether a strategically reinvigorating focus on youth

in Guyana and if necessary, make recommendations on effective strategies which can be

Leaders on the Demerara-Essequibo District.

and development of the Church of the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District in Guyana.

membership in the Demerara-Essequibo District may be indicative of a lack of effective

youth discipleship strategies.

Of The Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District in Guyana.” To successfully conduct this

Demerara-Essequibo District not elevating to serve or lead?

3. How important is youth discipleship perceived to be among youth leaders in the

Church of the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District?

the Church of the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District in Guyana?

Church of the Nazarene Demerara-Essequibo District?

These hypotheses are:

H10 . Effective discipleship strategies have no effect on the exodus of youth

H2 With effective discipleship strategies more youth leaders would be developed.

methodology including interviews.

of focus on discipleship, a lack of follow-up, and a lack of willing church leaders.

The purpose of the research is to assess the effectiveness of youth discipleship

leadership and membership is linked to ineffective discipleship strategies.

study and prevented a more comprehensive exploration of the issues.

Chapter II: Literature Review

When considering the constant decline of youth in churches, it becomes essential to

Exploring the theoretical foundations of developing an effective youth discipleship

key disciplines (pedagogy and sociology) and a proficient comprehension of systematic

Pedagogy in Youth Discipleship

challenged by how to teach emerging generations effectively. However, as frameworks for

transformational approach to pedagogy. Theoretically, transformational learning involves

meaningful shifts in students' established beliefs and assumptions. Ultimately,

transformational learning will yield transformative discipleship. Discipleship to youth should

mature. Effectively implementing robust and in-depth discipleship requires a commitment to

cultivating transformative pathways to discipleship. Pedagogically, youth leaders can develop

a specific repertoire of the topics they teach.

and technologies to actualize transformative discipleship (Erickson, 2013, p.976).

Sociology in Youth Discipleship

Essential to the theoretical foundations of this research is understanding the

implications of youth culture. According to McGarry, studying youth culture is particularly

discipleship (McKnight, 2021, p.38). If the Demerara-Essequibo District are to be effective in

emerging generations within the context of their culture.

Spiritual leaders are often challenged to model collecting, summarizing, and

psychology and theology (Jacober, 2011, p.13).