Project Findings

Enhancing the faith of young people through resources and trainings that enable greater student leadership in youth and corporate worship gatherings.

At Baylor, we see continued hope for the church, especially through the eyes of young people. Youth have a strong desire to learn and a similar desire to come to the table as an equal member of the body of Christ, growing, serving, and leading their local congregations in active, enlivened worship. Listed below are three of the most significant takeaways from the project thus far:

Church/Program Buy-in: Over the span of this project, we have seen that youth are motivated to go beyond simply participating in church activities when they are given specific leadership opportunities. Our focus at Baylor has been to assess youth engagement through the lens of music and worship activities. What is encouraging from this viewpoint is that more youth are finding their way into the corporate worship life of the church through their leadership on the platform each Sunday. Many churches are actively investing in and encouraging their youth to lead (from a musical standpoint) in larger corporate settings. The byproduct of this involvement is genuine intergenerational buy-in from the churches and their members to think more inclusively about the make-up of who is leading each Sunday.

Transformation: The transformative process is apparent through the conversations we have already had just this year with church leaders whose students attended Worship Lab in July 2022. The leaders have reported that students returned from our summer program with new energy and a level of enthusiastic engagement. Many of the students have taken ownership of their teams and are eager to invest in extra work.

Building Bridges: One key observation from the team at Baylor is that students who have participated in Worship Lab over the past 4-5 years are now studying music, worship, and religion in universities around the country. Many students discovered their passion for church leadership through their participation in Worship Lab and their continued energy and interest beyond the life of the youth group is significant. As a Center whose vision is to foster growth and utilize Christian music to its God-given potential, we see the outcomes of the Building Bridges to the Future project as having already proven successful in creating a next generation of church leaders. Baylor hopes to continue this work and expand our efforts to provide the greatest impact possible.

Read a recent interview about our work on this project.