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Category Archives: Maintaining Quality Ministry

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Stuff Youth Ministers Like #6: The Dramatic Pause

By | May 21, 2012
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As a Youth Minister one of the biggest parts of your job description is to teach teens the faith. Now, if the previous statement came as a shock to you . . . umm . . . well . . . you may want to chat with your Pastor. If not, then you know the [...]

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Cultivating Hearts

By | May 16, 2012
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We may only have a small part in helping that fruit to grow – we only are guaranteed four years with them. We are only a small tool in the Hand of the Gardener. We may never see the fruit. It takes lots of work and lots of people to grow a successful community garden. But everyone and every tool plays a vital role.

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One Thing I Hated About Ministry

By | May 8, 2012
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Honestly, I hated that thing. And seriously why did it have to blink? It was as if it was taunting me:

“You know all those things you wanted to get done today? Not gonna happen.”

“I’m blinking, so you know you have messages, but you don’t know how many. Could be 1, or could be 10, but you’ll have to dial in to find out.”

“Hmmm . . . I wonder who left you a message. Maybe it’s a teen thanking you for a great Life Night. Or maybe it’s an irate parent.”

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Where’s Your Heart?

By | May 3, 2012
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I was tired of living paycheck to paycheck, so I took a part-time job as a personal trainer. (Cha Ching). Ready to make the big bucks, I shadowed around another trainer for a week. Finally, it was time for me to hit the floor and start working with clients. I motivated them as they did crunches. I drilled them as they worked their legs. I pushed them to improve their cardio . . .

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Smoothing Out the Wrinkles

By | May 1, 2012
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I have some friends who particularly notice if there are wrinkles in an altar cloth. I have always found their obsession with wrinkle free altar material a bit much, but the other day, I found myself looking at an altar and thinking—wow, that could use some ironing. In the scheme of the glory of Mass, [...]

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Multi-Generational Core: Communication

By | April 25, 2012
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Communication (or the lack of it) can often leave us frustrated like Abbot and Costello. We need to accept that the days of face-to-face communication are limited (unless you are using iChat or Skype). People are busier than ever juggling career, family, activities, volunteer commitments, school, faith, and personal lives. The tools we use to communicate make as much of an impact as the message we are sending. If we think one form of communication is all we need, we are wrong!

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Messy Game Ideas: Ketchup, Eggs, and Spam, Oh My!

By | April 19, 2012
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What do ketchup, spam, ho ho’s, peanut butter, eggs, soap, and pickles have in common? They make awesome games for youth ministry! Spring is fast approaching and for many in youth ministry that means (even more so now) teens will be away on vacation, involved in athletics, preparing for final exams and beginning their summer jobs. As always, families must coordinate schedules and get togethers. By the time it hits Sunday, most people are more likely to be found in bed rather than going to Mass. It is our job to get them there and to be excited about our faith. Why not spice up your life night with some wild and messy activities.

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The Value of an Apology

By | April 11, 2012
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We have a problem with a group of “mean girls” in our youth group. Only they’re not mean to their peers – they’re mean to me. “We don’t play games,” one told me last week, her Powderpuff Football Champion T-Shirt mocking me as she rolled her eyes.

They refuse to participate in any game, skit, or large group discussion. During moments of silence or prayer, I can almost always count on one of them to start giggling, and despite seating Core Members right in the middle of their group, they keep up a constant stream of chatter during the teachings. Worst of all, they always manage to foil our small group splitting techniques and all 5 of them sneak their way into the same small group every week.

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Catholisizing our Everyday Speech

By | March 21, 2012
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Sometimes it drives me crazy to hear the words coming from people’s mouths in ministry. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been corrected by others and have learned that the words I say really do matter. They can make a difference.

As youth ministers we have to believe this especially as we read WORDS in Scripture, listen to WORDS from homilies, talks, and teachings, sing WORDS to praise songs, and finally pray WORDS aloud at Mass, Life nights, or one-on-one. Call it consistency or advocacy, I’ve found that the more we are intentional with our words the better we will be serving in God’s ministry.

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How Often Do You Catch Teens Doing Something Right?

By | March 13, 2012
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As Youth Ministers and Core Team members, it’s vital that we walk daily with the teens we minister to. Sometimes that may mean catching them doing something wrong and lovingly correcting their behavior. But how often do we catch them doing something right? Imagine what our ministries could look like.