Staff Appointment: Dr Sarah Holmes

Announcing our new Director of Research, Dr Sarah Holmes.

"We are delighted to have Dr Holmes join our team. The impact her research has had on shaping our understanding of contemporary issues in the discipleship children and faith in households has been significant for the church. We are excited to release Dr Holmes to continue to support the church through much needed research. We look forward to seeing the new research centre at CYM forming in the coming months and years."

Principal & CEO, James Archer

"This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for me to be able to continue my research of children's ministry, now within the scope and reach of CYM. This will bring greater possibilities of equipping and empowering children's ministry workers in carrying out research and enhancing their research informed practice. And I'm really praying that we will all be able to use these research findings to have significant positive impact on the work which takes place with children in our churches in the UK and beyond..."

Dr Sarah Holmes

We asked Sarah some questions about the season ahead and her role as Director of Research, here's what she said...

What excites you about research?

"It's great to test out hunches or assumptions which many of us have about children, ministry or life in general! Being able to carry out research in methodical and robust ways can help us to more deeply understanding what is going on, why it's occurring and explore possibilities of how we can bring about positive change or improvement in the area we are researching."

What are you most looking forward to about your new role? 

"Getting to know the CYM community and exploring how we can work together to support the work which churches do with children and families. God has given me such a passion for seeing children move closer to him and I have worked in many different roles over the years - always keen to bring the message of Jesus to children and enable them to be active disciples of Christ. So I'm now really excited to be able to uncover research-informed insights which will support the church in this quest."

Why does the church need research? 

"We live in a constantly changing world and it feels like the lives of children and families have changed in significant ways in the past five years. And so it is really important that the church is aware of these changes so that we can continue to be relevant in the ministries we are involved in and best meet the needs of the children and families we are serving. I'm keen in this role to work collaboratively with the church - local, regional and national, to find out which specific areas need researching to ensure that the work we do is as resourceful to the church as possible."

What are your hopes and dreams for the research centre that you are going to be establishing? 

"My ultimate dream is to see many many more children and families encountering Christ and having their lives changed as a result. I pray that God will use this research centre as part of his plans and purposes for this. So my hopes and dreams are that we will listen to God and be attuned to his heart in the work we do, and work for his glory."

We can't wait to see all that God does through Sarah's work with us over the coming years.