Over the past few years, four of our YWAM Madison staff have pursued their Master’s degrees with the University of the Nations. They will be graduating in two weeks in Townsville, Australia. Paul Allen wrote this thesis for his Master of Arts in Leadership.
What Breaks God’s Heart?
History is full of cautionary tales for movements like YWAM. Often, movements that start with incredible freedom grow rigid as they age. Over time, they drift from the foundational practices that birthed their movement. Eventually, the drift becomes so great that innovators are rejected for doing the very things that originally birthed the movements they came from. How can YWAM avoid this fate and continue to release young missional entrepreneurs for generations to come?
How do YWAMers feel about their ability to Innovate?
Over the course of 6 weeks, 530 responses were collected to an online survey. The survey was offered in 3 languages: English, Spanish and Portuguese. Respondents were from 41 nations and serve in 158 YWAM operating locations. The survey explored YWAM’s cultural health in regards to the traits necessary for innovation to thrive. Factors such as gender, age, cross-cultural ministry, and leadership role were weighed comparatively to see how various groups felt about their ability to discover, share and implement new ideas.
Check out Paul’s thesis to read about his findings and the keys to building a culture of innovation by clicking this link.