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ABOUT THE STUDY

The RELATE Project investigated relationships, sense of belonging, identity, agency, and beliefs among 7,261 adolescents aged 13 to 24. This study involved surveys and focus groups conducted in various regions, including 1,994 participants in the United States, 1,004 in the United Kingdom, 1,768 in Mexico, 997 in India, 627 in Kenya, 447 in Uganda, 413 in Ethiopia, and 11 in Tanzania, thus covering a representative sample from Eastern Africa.

about Young Life

Young Life is a global nonprofit organization with a mission to introduce adolescents to Jesus Christ and help them grow in their faith. For 84 years, our mission has grown to one of the largest youth programs in the world, with over 100,000 volunteers knowing over two million kids by name in over 100 countries. Young Life offers over 10 specialized ministries to reach every kid from middle school, high school, college-age students, to special needs and deaf ministry, under-resourced communities and Catholic relations, and more. Simply put, we believe in the next generation and ensuring every kid feels a sense of belonging, meaning, and purpose. And we do this by building bridges of authentic friendships between adults who show up and model how much God loves them.

why now?

The people of Young Life have a common goal — to know Jesus, to know young people, and to make the name of Jesus known around the world. This comes from spending time with adolescents, listening without judgment, and walking through hard things with them. It comes from showing them that they are loved, just as they are. It also comes from understanding them — their culture, trends, and shifts in perceptions — so that our relational ministry efforts continuously afford us opportunities to introduce adolescents to Jesus and help them grow in their faith.

meet the team

We couldn’t do this alone. Young Life’s Research and Practice collaborated with Pinkston to make this research possible. We also had project advisors who brought in their expertise from different organizations to help guide The RELATE Project:

  • Abigail Rusert Ph.D., Institute for Youth Ministry
  • Emilio Reyes, OneHope
  • Jefferson Lee, Gloo
  • John Plake, Ph.D., American Bible Society
  • Josh Packard, Ph.D., Future of Faith
  • Judy Sweeney, Women Who Love Young Life
  • Kara Powell, Fuller Youth Institute
  • LaTasha Nesbitt, Ph.D., Fuller Youth Institute
  • Megan Bissell, Ph.D., National Catholic Educational Association
  • Michael Paul Cartledge, Ph.D., M.Div, MA, Princeton Theological Seminary
  • Phyllis Washington, Board of Trustees, Young Life
  • Susan Crenshaw, Young Life
  • Tanita Maddox, D.Min., Young Life

Project Team

  • Brooke Hempell, Sr. Vice President, Pinkston
  • Alexandra Whitford, Sr. Manager, Pinkston
  • Heather Cirmo, Vice President, Pinkston
  • Kim Nollan, Ph.D., Director of Evaluation and Research, Young Life
  • Arthur Satterwhite, D.S.L., Vice President Strategy, Young Life
  • Lauren Bocci, Vice President Marketing and Communications, Young Life
  • Gabe Knipp, Sr. Director Content and Buzz, Young Life
  • Chelsea Cannon, Director of Marketing, Young Life
  • Michael Sawyer, Manager of Tech and Insights, Young Life
  • Abbey Fagan, Programs Coordinator, Young Life

Aimee Richey, Project Manager, Young Life