Comparing variable applications to the development of a lay leader training process

The quantitative study was designed to compare variables that may be applied toward the development of a training process for lay leaders in the United Methodist Church. Specifically, the study was guided by the questions: (a) based on whether leadership training participants completed a self-administered spiritual giftedness inventory and a self-administered leadership and interactive styles inventory prior to training; what difference, if any, exists between responses to the pre-test leadership questionnaire and the post-test leadership questionnaire? and (b) based on the results of a self-administered spiritual giftedness inventory and a self-administered leadership and interactive styles inventory; what difference, if any, exists between responses to the pre-test leadership questionnaire and the post-test leadership questionnaire? A total of 51 lay leaders, from a population of 130 within the North District of the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, participated in the study. Each was randomly assigned to one of two groups. Both groups received training related to leadership. The treatment group completed a spiritual giftedness inventory and a leadership and interaction styles inventory prior to training, and the control group did not. Pre-test and post-test leadership questionnaires were administered to all participants, and differences in responses from pre-test to post-test were studied. Analysis of data on an ordinal basis employed non-parametric measures to determine central tendency and dispersion. The study was limited in nature as all responses were self reported and not based on behavioral observation. Results indicated a greater difference in pre-test and post-test responses for the group completing a spiritual giftedness inventory and a leadership and interaction styles inventory prior to training, when compared to the group that did not. A .05 significance level was used and statistical significance was achieved at 95%.