Impact of Intentional Discipleship on Youths’ Lifestyle: A Case Study of God’s Care Missions, Okpo, Olamaboro Local Government Area, Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of intentional discipleship on youth lifestyles at God’s Care Missions (GCM), Okpo, Olamaboro Local Government Area, Kogi State, Nigeria. Driven by a pervasive moral and cultural decline among young people caused by unmonitored digital spaces, secular worldviews, and religious nominalism, this research evaluated the effectiveness of GCM’s holistic disciple-making framework. Four research questions and four corresponding null hypotheses guided the study. The inquiry was theoretically anchored on Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory and the Christian Discipleship Replication Paradigm. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. The population comprised youth directors, pastors, and missionary evaluators within the GCM Okpo network, from which a sample of 18 key stakeholders was selected using simple random sampling techniques. Data collection was executed via a researcher-developed instrument, the Influence of Discipleship on Youth Lifestyle Questionnaire (IDYLQ), validated by experts in practical theology and psychometrics. Descriptive statistics (Mean and Standard Deviation) answered the research questions, while Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) and Dependent Samples t-tests evaluated the hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The empirical results led to the rejection of all four null hypotheses, demonstrating that high-proximity, life-on-life mentorship (X=3.51) and systematic expository catechesis (X=3.50) generate statistically significant shifts (p < 0.05) in youth character and worldview schemas. Furthermore, involving youth in practical community service outreach (X=3.60) and covenant fellowship cell structures (X=3.56) successfully countered secular peer pressure and cured individualistic behaviors. The study concludes that GCM’s holistic framework effectively translates abstract theology into concrete lifestyle holiness, bridging the intergenerational communication gap within the mission. It is recommended that GCM expand its impact by structurally mandating that leaders devote at least 60% of their operational energy to relational mentoring and explicitly integrate spiritual tracking with agro-allied and digital vocational empowerment modules to foster self-reliance.