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Category Archives: Resource Updates

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Curriculum Guide Introduction

By | December 10, 2009

Welcome to the brand new Life Teen Curriculum Guide! The goal of this resource is to help you provide systematic and complete catechesis for your teenagers while providing opportunities for evangelization and transformation as well. Each Curriculum Guide contains a semesters-worth of catechetical Life Night outlines. From Spring 2007 through Fall of 2009, Life Teen published an eight semester curriculum based on the United States Council of Catholic Bishops “National Doctrinal Curriculum Framework

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Introducing Life Teen’s New Book for Parents: “Rocking the Catholic Cradle”

By | October 23, 2009

The joke among the parish staff was that the youth minister’s office has been relocated to the local Starbucks. While I was at the parish more than I was at Starbucks, it was noticeable that I spent time there every week. Not because of some crazed caffeine-addiction, but because it was the place for me to meet with teens, do Confirmation interviews and it was the spot to catch up with parents of the teens in our programs. Armed with my cup of coffee, laptop and Bible, I’d set myself up in

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Why Parent Life?

By | August 10, 2009

I have been lucky enough to be involved in the Parent Life ministry for over 15 years. My first encounter was as a parent attending a Parent Retreat. My experience that weekend put a profound and real love for Christ in my heart and a desire to serve and give back to my faith community starting with my daughter’s Life Teen program. Over the years, I have been blessed to see Parent Life Ministry in parishes throughout the country. I have witnessed how parishes and families have been changed because

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Out of the Box: Making the Most of Life Support (May 2009)

By | May 21, 2009

Wondering where all the teens went? If your typically vibrant youth ministry program has felt a little like a ghost town for the past month or so, don’t panic. May is traditionally one of the slowest months in youth ministry. Between proms, spring fever, finals and graduations, teens might not be around the Church as much. But the end of another school year brings another opportunity to recommit and refocus on relational ministry. Grab a couple of Core members and go where the teens are!

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Out of the Box: Making the Most of Life Support (October 2008)

By | October 6, 2008

New freshman, new Core members, new school year – with all this “newness” going on, it is good to have some constants. Your trusty Life Support box has arrived! I encourage you to take some time and look through the resources (and yes, play with the toy). As always, the written content of the Life Support box is also available in the “member resources” section of ym.lifeteen.com. I pray that the contents of this box blesses your ministry and allows this school year to be filled with

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Summer Programming Made Easy

By | April 16, 2008

As graduation season quickly approaches, we turn our attention to summer. The three months (give or take) of summer break present us with unique opportunities and challenges in youth ministry. Some programs shut down completely while others keep a full schedule all the way through the summer. As you begin to decide what your ministry will look like this summer – I humbly offer a couple of suggestions to keep in mind: Summer is not time for youth ministry hibernation! Teens have more time to

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New Life Support Resources, New Sections Coming Up

By | January 31, 2008

Last week our staff took a day off from our ordinary chores around the office to pack all of the Life Support boxes. The cardboard box that shows up in the mail at your parish also shows up on a 1000+ parishes the same week. So you can imagine that filling all those boxes is a big ordeal here in Mesa. Packing the that many boxes is repetitive, but it’s an exciting ritual for staff because it’s the culmination of a lot of hard work. So much time and prayer went into developing each of those resources! As

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Curriculum Confusion: Keys to a 4-Year Plan

By | June 19, 2007

“4-year plan? I don’t even know what I’m doing this Sunday!” Sound familiar? As much as I hate to admit it, when I was a youth minister the idea of putting together a 4-year, systematic plan for Life Nights seemed unlikely if not impossible. I thought I was doing great if I was planning the Life Night schedule three months in advance. The idea of a “curriculum” seemed more appropriate for a classroom than a youth ministry program, and while Life Teen encouraged it, I didn’t do