The Relationship between Youth Ministry Participation and Faith Maturity of Adolescents: Testing for Faith-Nurturing Characteristics in Youth Ministry as a Mediator Using Multiple Regression

Abstract

Relationships among level (i.e., frequency) of youth ministry (YM) participation, faith-nurturing characteristics of YM, and faith maturity were examined in 742 second-generation Korean American adolescents (SGKAAs) in 7th through 12th grade from 13 Korean American churches in California. Using Baron and Kenny's (1986) framework, this study tested the hypothesis that faith-nurturing characteristics of YM mediated the relationship between the level (i.e., frequency) of YM participation and faith maturity of adolescents. The significant relationship between the level of YM participation and faith maturity was significantly reduced in magnitude when faith-nurturing characteristics of YM were included in the model, providing evidence in this sample that faith-nurturing characteristics of YM were a partial mediator. The implications for YM are discussed. The present investigation demonstrates how multiple regression analyses can be used as one possible method for testing mediation effects involving YM and adolescent faith maturity.