Your story – A visionary Australian research project

Youthworks Institute and Scripture Union NSW recently hosted a research presentation and interactive workshop called Your Story. Graham Stanton (the founding principal of Youthworks College) presented the key findings and implications of a visionary research project featuring stories from over 400 Australian young people. The project explores questions around who and what has, and is, shaping their faith in their childhood, adolescence, and the present, by listening to young people narrate their faith story.

Here are some of their stories: [1]

• “Without my youth leaders and the accountability and consistency of my youth group, it is likely that I wouldn’t have continued navigating the Christian faith.”

Alice (17)

• “I think being too sheltered and forced to be in a Christian environment has put off many of my peers from Christianity. And I would be lying if I said that it hadn’t negatively swayed me too.”

Mei-Ling (16)

• “My youth minister wasn’t open to new ideas at all and only wanted to force his beliefs on us. He didn’t want us to think for ourselves and he was one of the main reasons I began the process of losing my faith.”

Sophie (20)

• “I made some really great friends here and met some really wonderful leaders. I brought some really big questions and felt that their gravity was honoured, so thanks.”

Samantha (16)

Four key findings

Graham presented some of these stories as well as the research findings and implications for ministry. Here are just a few of the key takeaways:

1.       Positive and contrary factors shape a young person’s faith journey. Young people are part of an ecosystem from which they can draw resources to strengthen their faith. For example, resources like churches, pastors, and friends. We can encourage young people to access all these resources.

2.       There is no silver bullet in youth ministry. As the research suggests, there is “No single factor or group of factors proved to be decisive in determining long-term commitment to faith.”[2]. We all look for the silver bullet in our discipleship of young people to bring them to Christ and grow in their faith. But as this research shows, as young people reflected on their faith, it’s not just one thing that influences them. They are part of an ecosystem with many supportive factors to enable them to grow. Therefore, while we rightly rejoice when our young person commits themselves to Jesus at KYCK, under the surface, there is a lot more going on in their faith journey.

3.       There is no poisoned chalice in youth ministry. “There is no single obstacle or challenge that alone will spell the end of a young person’s spiritual health.”[3] You may worry that a conversation or bible study you had with them caused them to give up their faith, but there is a lot more to it than that. There may be many contrary factors in their ecosystem that we could be aware of in our ministry.

4.       Developing an on-going relationship is vital. We all know this, but here is research that backs it up. “Which factor has the greatest influence over a young person, for better or worse? Your Story demonstrates that it is the quality of relationship they have with an adult.”[4] Faithful discipleship includes sharing the gospel and engaging with God's word, but without a trusting relationship with the young person, discipleship will rarely be effective.

Your Story is full of wisdom and grace as it honours the spiritual experiences of young people. It challenges anyone working with young people to be better listeners as we accompany young people in their stories of faith.

If you would like to go deeper, read the Key Findings booklet.

The Your Story research project was funded by Converge Oceania, a community of youth-orientated agencies that exist to support and equip the church in Australia and New Zealand to continue to reach and disciple young people.

[1] Participants are de-identified.

[2] Your Story, Hearing the faith narratives of young Australians, Key Findings, Converge, November 2024, p. 22.

[3] Your Story, Hearing the faith narratives of young Australians, Key Findings, Converge, November 2024, p. 23.

[4] Your Story, Hearing the faith narratives of young Australians, Key Findings, Converge, November 2024, p. 26.