Every four months something glorious happened at my parish. I would unsuspectingly enter the youth ministry office in the morning to find something that would radically redefine the next several months. Amidst the piles of permission forms, half-written talks, and empty boxes of pizza it appeared like a colorful beacon of hope in an otherwise dreary and cluttered office:

The Life Support Box (cue angelic choir).

Ok. So perhaps ascribing the title of “beacon of hope” to the annual shipment of Life Teen’s high school resources is a bit lofty. But receiving those boxes full of Life Nights, Liturgy Planning Guides, retreats, and other youth ministry tools did bring new life into my ministry for the next several months. Having quality youth ministry resources at my fingertips saved time, energy, and frustration (for both me and my Core Team). In short, it made ministry a whole lot easier and a lot more fun.

For nearly 8 years I was privileged to be on the “receiving” end of the Life Support shipment. Recently, I was called to the “creating” side of those resources and am excited to serve the movement of Life Teen as Coordinator of Life Support.

My experience as a youth minister made me passionate about quality resources. In preparation for my new ministry I spent a great deal of time praying about what makes a quality resource and why it’s important. Through that prayer I realized what made Life Support so integral to my experience as a youth minister, and why it is so critical for a parish to invest in quality catechetical resources.

Fresh

Quality resources keep your ministry fresh. I have walked the path of “I am going to write an entire semester of youth nights myself,” and let me tell you, it’s a painfully long and lonely road. My ideas got stale, teens lost interest, and the Core Team got frustrated. Having the Life Support resources always provided a needed boost of inspiration, creativity, and life.

Truth

Your ministry needs to be rooted in the Truth. Our Church has beautifully spoken on many things. The depth and breadth of her teaching is immense – way more immense than you may have time to tackle in between parent phone calls, staff meetings, and high school football games. Every Life Night is full of references to the Catechism, Sacred Scripture, and writings from popes, Church Doctors, and Saints. They allow you to implement Life Nights rooted in the Truth without having to sacrifice time doing hours of research.

Fast-Paced

The world of a teenager changes fast. A catechetical resource written five years ago is already out of date, not because of the teaching it contains but because of how it is presented. Five years ago the iPhone was just a rumor, Twitter was in its infancy, and Lady Gaga hadn’t released her first album. The world of a teen changes rapidly – far more rapidly than we may have time to keep up with. If we want to preach the Gospel to a teen we have to understand where they are coming from. A good resource not only is rooted in the Truth, but also understands the context in which that Truth needs to be spoken. Every new Life Support shipment brings news about the latest teen trends and issues and incorporates them into the Life Nights. So even if you have never sent a tweet, still own an old Nokia 5100, and at one point thought Lady Gaga was a new line of baby clothing, you can still keep up with teen culture.

Not Just Average

The Kingdom of God deserves our best. This is the final and best reason your parish needs quality catechetical resources. Jesus didn’t ask his disciples to go “half-way” in their preaching. He asked that they give it their all. When we invite teenagers to a Life Night we must make sure we are never satisfied with presenting them with an “average” night. The Gospel deserves our best effort and so do the teens that need to hear it. It is a tall order, but with a quality resource (and steadfast prayer) we can rise to the challenge.

I am tremendously excited to serve you in your ministry. At Life Teen we are committed to providing the support and resources you need to make every Life Night, retreat, and youth gathering the very best it can be. Dare I even say that with the right resource your youth gatherings may becoming glimmering beacons of hope in the otherwise cluttered world of a teenager . . . or at least provide many opportunities for conversion and renewal in the life of your parish.

St Clare of Assisi Catholic Parish in Surprise is seeking a full-time Director of Music and Liturgy for a rapidly growing culturally diverse community of 3,500 registered parish homes with a new 2,000 seat church. The community is primarily English speaking with many young families as well as a large retirement community and big increase of parishioners from the north in the winter. The goals for the DML are to develop, through music and liturgy, an atmosphere of Catholic worship conducive to deepening the faith and participation of an active, prayerful and singing assembly including a variety of musical styles for younger and older liturgical assemblies, including Masses, devotions, Children’s liturgy, Life Teen and Edge programs and other ministries. This position will report directly to the pastor and is responsible for collaborating with clergy, staff, ministry leaders, volunteers, musicians and the liturgy committee to plan, execute and evaluate parish liturgies and music. The DML will also train and prepare choirs and musicians for each of the Masses; a funeral choir; children’s choir; Life Teen Mass; provide education for all liturgical ministers in liturgical norms; coordinate sound equipment personnel and maintenance; supervise the training of liturgical ministers; and perform other duties as requested by the Pastor. The DML must possess excellent organizational skills and effective working knowledge of computers, music software, sound boards and sound equipment. Salary will be commensurate with education and experience. This full-time position is benefit-eligible.

Minimum Qualifications: 5 years of previous experience coordinating Catholic liturgy and music; strong working knowledge of Catholic liturgy and liturgical documents; experience in ministry development and training of choirs and musicians; Bachelors Degree or higher in Music is preferred; experience with preparing and following a budget and utilizing diocesan resources; some ability in Spanish is useful for weddings and funerals; and must have a very good singing voice and an ability to play piano, organ or guitar. St. Clare’s is seeking someone who will make a commitment to serve for several years or longer.

]]> http://catholicyouthministry.com/director-of-music-and-liturgy-at-st-clare-of-assisi-in-surprise-az/feed/ 0 http://catholicyouthministry.com/summer-youth-ministry-program-team-at-catholic-mission-trips-inc-in-domestic-and-international/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=summer-youth-ministry-program-team-at-catholic-mission-trips-inc-in-domestic-and-international http://catholicyouthministry.com/summer-youth-ministry-program-team-at-catholic-mission-trips-inc-in-domestic-and-international/#comments Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:58:31 +0000 http://catholicyouthministry.com/?p=17655 Job Description

Current Open Positions for Summer 2012

• Summer Youth Ministry Program Team,

oCatholic Mission Trips has openings for our Summer Program Team. Applicants must be at least 20 years old, possess a deep love for the Catholic faith, a servants heart, and a willingness to endure minor sufferings all for the greater honor and glory of God. Youth Ministry experience is a plus. If you are interested please fill out and send in the application found on the web site. www.catholicmissiontrips.net/summer-staff-application

• Team Leaders

Must be at least 27 years old with prior mission trip experience and 2-3 years of youth ministry experience. (4 positions open) Team Leaders will direct the program team and implement evening program for all groups on the mission trip. Including music, games, skits, dramas, reflections, small group, and prayer.

• Catholic Musicians

We are also looking for dynamic Catholic musicians to lead the praise and worship during our summer mission trips. Applicants must know how to play the guitar and have prior experience leading music for youth ministry or college program. Fill out the summer staff application or contact Steve at steve@catholicmissiontrips.net for more information.

• Mission Trip Site Coordinators

Site Coordinators are responsible for coordinating the mission trip from each location. Site coordinators are most like Project Managers. They are in constant communication with all involved parties of the mission trip like the host parish priest, the building manager, the CMT team leader, the meal coordinator, and the transportation director. The site coordinator will make sure all logistical aspects of the mission trip are prepared in advance, functioning, safe, and smooth.

All positions are paid positions with travel, room and meals included. All team members will be required to do fundraising prior to the summer. Full time staff will spend time in the United States and also in a foreign country. All staff members must have a valid US passport. Training begins on May 20 with first mission trip starting June 3.

Questions? Email Steve at steve@catholicmissiontrips.net

During Lent, how will our Liturgies change? From the environment, to the music, will people notice a shift in season when they enter into our churches this Ash Wednesday or will they just notice that we don’t sing Alleluia or the Glory to God? If these are the only changes they encounter then we’ve missed the mark. There should be an environment created that we are truly entering the desert with Christ for forty days. We also need to ask ourselves how our music ministry will become more of a desert experience? Prayer with our ministers is number one. If it’s not a common practice every Sunday, we need to make it a priority.

Less Instruments

Maybe we decide to scale back the instruments a bit during lent and let the voices shine through a little more to better support the singing of the congregation. Although this is always a good idea and should be practiced commonly, Lent is a great time to practice musician restraint. The Church also asks that in this season, the instruments only be used to support the singing of the congregation (GIRM 313).

In regards to a Youth Liturgy, how can we live this out? It might be a good idea to not have any instrumental music during Lent such as instrumental verses or instrumental postludes after the Recessional Song. You may want to make it a practice at your parish to have only light percussion instead of a full drum set on all or most of the songs during lent. I hate to make the reference, but sort of an “Unplugged” version of the music ministry would be appropriate during this Lenten season to bring a greater expectation to the season of Easter we will soon celebrate.

Maybe you’re considering not using instruments at all on one Sunday during the season or just one instrument that introduces the song and supports the singing. Maybe you put away the electric guitar for the season and have your guitarist play an acoustic adding a different texture and sound. Two acoustic guitars can be well done if one plays a capo version of the chords in a different key or if one plays some lead parts and the other rhythm.

Of course, we need to remember that on Laetare Sunday, which is the fourth Sunday in Lent, we are called to a greater joy and expectation of the coming Easter season celebrating that we are almost to the celebration of the Triduum and Easter (GIRM 313). This Sunday can be celebrated with more joy and anticipation of Easter. Departing in Silence during Lent or on Passion Sunday is a valid option as well calling our youth to practice a silence that will lead them to a fuller desert experience.

Hold the Alleluia

A common mistake that musicians sometimes make is not going through ALL the lyrics of a song while planning the music. Many songs use the word “Alleluia” in them. “God of Wonders” or “I Can Only Imagine,” both have the word “Alleluia” in them, but it’s easily forgotten until you go to sing it and realize that it’s there. Take the time to analyze all the lyrics of songs before setting them in stone on a worship aide or telling your group that it’s one of the songs you’re singing that week and having to make a last minute change.

Theme Song

Having a set theme song for the season that is sung every week might also be a good idea. Ask your Presiders to try and tie in the focus of the song into the Mass. It can really help to bring the season alive.

Some examples are:

• Christ In Me Arise (Thomson) spiritandsong.com [Christ In Me Arise]
• Desert Song (Fraser) Hillsong Publishing [This Is Our God]
• Journey For Home (Bolduc) WLP [The Face of God, Voices As One]
• Lead Me Home (Maher) OCP [Welcome to Life, Spirit & Song II]
• Restored (Blakesley, Hart, Byrd) spiritandsong.com [From “The Commons: Restored”]
• Revive Us, O God (Manibusan) OCP [Power of Peace, Spirit & Song]
• Rise From The Ashes (Colson) Colsongs [craigcolson.com]

This lent, may we truly change our hearts and draw nearer to our Lord, especially through our Liturgies and the ways that we worship.

St. Stephen Catholic Church in Valrico, Fl. is seeking a Middle School Youth Minister who can effectively lead and grow our middle school program. The position is open for either two part-time or 1 full time candidate.

If you are passionate about Jesus, feel called to middle school ministry, are detail – oriented, possess strong organizational skills, are willing to work in a collaborative environment, and have a creative mind and show strong initiative, we would love for you to join our team.

An evangelical Catholic higher education institution based in Denver, CO, which instructs graduate students in Scripture, Catholic doctrine, and history is seeking an experienced Sales Representative to fill a newly established position and develop successful sales operations nationwide.

Reporting to the Chief Operations Officer of this Organization, the Sales Representative will promote a variety of programs aimed at helping dioceses and parishes across the country—e.g., Youth Ministries, Curriculum Development, Leadership at the Local Level, etc.

Primary Job Responsibilities:

• Drive sales strategies for the Institute’s parish programming products and services

• Meet and exceed all monthly sales goals and quotas

• Develop national territory and build/manage customer relationships at the diocesan and parish level

• Develop and implement marketing strategies that effectively communicate the Institute’s mission to prospective dioceses and Catholic parishes.

• Maintain and support the comprehensive database (ACT Software) of dioceses, parishes, individual contacts, and benefactors; tracking all ongoing contact notes.

• Harness the power of social media and other online methods for marketing and promotion of the Institute’s Mission.

• Represent the Institute at various conferences, programs and other gatherings of Catholic Youth Ministry.

Estimated travel will be 40% to 50% in the continental U.S.

Qualifications:

Must have a strong Catholic identity, holding and practicing everything that the Catholic Church teaches and an enthusiasm for evangelical endeavors.

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent, relevant training and experience and at least 3 years of applicable outside sales experience

Demonstrated ability to manage and develop business on a national level

Experience calling on diocesan leaders and parish level decision-makers preferred

Fully demonstrated sales skills including prospecting, networking, pipeline development, negotiating and closing complex sales involving multiple levels of decision-makers

Ability to work independently and manage a national territory effectively

Strong verbal and written communications skills and exceptional presentation skills

Winning personality (phone and in person) and good closing skills.

Proficient in use of technology including CRM systems, Microsoft Office products, social media, and online prospect development tools.

Consistent professional appearance, deportment, and demeanor

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:

This position will pay a base salary plus a competitive incentive pay program. In addition, a very good benefits package (including health insurance, paid holidays, and vacation) is provided.

]]> http://catholicyouthministry.com/natl-sales-representative-evangelical-institute-at-augustine-institute-in-denver-co/feed/ 0 http://catholicyouthministry.com/going-deeper-part-4-discipleship/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=going-deeper-part-4-discipleship http://catholicyouthministry.com/going-deeper-part-4-discipleship/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:55:40 +0000 Everett Fritz http://catholicyouthministry.com/?p=17637

I had lunch with two youth ministers from a local parish last week and there was something that they said that struck me. These youth ministers work at one of the larger parishes in our Archdiocese and have the reputation of running one of the most successful youth ministries. The conversation went something like this:

Me: How many teens receive the Sacrament of Confirmation each year at your parish?

Me: What?! 80%?! How did you manage that?!

This parish has been intentional, for several years, of developing discipleship groups with teens – small groups of teens that meet regularly to learn the faith and follow the example of an adult core member. The Core members disciple teens through Bible studies, fellowship and community, service projects etc. They have been intentional about shrinking their ministry down to small groups and because of this, they are reaching more teens with the Gospel than they ever had before.

Discipleship: Started by Jesus

Discipleship is nothing new. Jesus had the intention of spreading the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles all over the world. But he did not do this Himself. It is true that he had a large healing ministry, and he traveled around Judea meeting different people. At times, he had thousands of followers and he had over 70 who were relatively faithful followers of His. However, he put all of His attention on 12 men.

In Ancient time, if invited by a Rabbi, a Jew would live with a Rabbi for a number of years to learn from his way of life. The Jew would not only learn from the teaching of the Rabbi, he would learn from everything the Rabbi did. Jesus was the Rabbi of the 12 apostles. They learned from the way that he woke up every morning and started His day, from the way He approached prayer, from the way He handled conflict and the way that He taught and interacted with people. It was these 12 men who spread the Gospel all over the world. Jesus had a small group ministry. He trained others to do the work that He hoped to accomplish.

Discipleship: In a Youth Ministry Model

In the same way, we can model our youth ministry after the way that Jesus modeled his ministry. In youth ministry we offer programs, resources, Life nights, methods, conferences, rallies, mission trips, etc. All of these things only take us so far with teens. The heart of effective evangelization, catechesis, and the purification of youth culture is in discipleship – mentoring teens in personal relationships. People learn the faith from the example and witness of other people.

The first goal of any youth ministry should be personal holiness and spreading holiness to our adult leaders. Holiness and faith should then be modeled to the teens and the best way to do this is in personal relationships. For any youth ministry wishing to go deeper – discipleship requires us to select the teens who have potential to go deeper and mentor them in the faith through one-on-one regular communication or small group development.

Youth groups that do an excellent job in fostering vocations, preparing teens to live their faith in college and keeping upperclassman invested all spend a lot of time focusing on a small group of teens. The final step with teens is sending them out to recruit and disciple others, so that the Gospel spreads.

“Just Get 2” – The FOCUS Model

When I was in graduate school, Curtis Martin – the Founder of Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) – came and guest lectured in our class. FOCUS is the most successful college campus ministry organization in the world and it is rapidly growing throughout the United States. Curtis spoke about the goal of, “just getting two.”

He teaches his missionaries to each focus all of their attention on developing relationships with two college students. Through those relationships, the missionary would evangelize, catechize and prepare the college student to be sent out to serve the Church. Those two college students would recruit two more students each and next thing you know, the ministry grows. Curtis Martin said that they figured out, with this approach, they could reach an enormous amount of college students within 20 years.

The idea of discipleship remains the same through the centuries. Instead of focusing on inspiring many teens, focus most of your attention on a few. With those small group of teens, prepare them to be evangelists and strong in their faith. By doing that, you multiply your outreach exponentially and the Gospel spreads.

The Challenge of Depth

Youth Ministry is a challenging field and there is so much work to be done for His Kingdom, we can forget the most important thing – developing and sustaining souls in their relationship with Jesus Christ. If we create ministries that are a mile wide but an inch deep – we are not building up the Church. It may be easy to create enthusiasm in a lot of teens. However, if we do not develop their intellect, prayer lives and lead them to make sustained choices for Christ, we risk sending them to college where they will lose their faith after one class with a liberal professor or one fraternity party on a Saturday night.

Depth takes time, patience and a sustained, personal effort into the lives of the teens. We cannot sustain the Church in the future without developing the young Church today.

The role of the Food Service Coordinator is primarily one of Missionary Service. Participating in the life of the community as much as the timing of their job allows, the Food Service Coordinator joins in morning prayer, weekday Mass at least once a week, weekly Life Teen Holy Hour, as well as keeping a steady personal prayer life.

Some of the Responsibilities of the Food Service Coordinator are:

• Making Menus

• Taking Inventories

• Ordering food and supplies – working with Food Reps/Vendors to maintain equipment and secure best pricing

• Keeping records to track food costs per person

• Receiving food orders and managing fridge/freezer/storage

• Cooking meals for all weekend groups, Life Teen Events at Covecrest, and occasional weekday groups

• Overseeing Missionaries and Volunteers who help serve meals

• Keeping the Kitchen and Dining Room in order and clean to receive guests with radical hospitality

• Time management to have meals ready to serve on time

• Summer Camp Meal planning

• Ordering/Cooking/Cleanup for 900+ meals a day plus coordinating snacks for Parish Pow Wows during Summer Camp

• Coordinating scheduling of Service Crew and overseeing them in the kitchen, as well as walking with them/mentoring them throughout the summer

St. Marguerite d’Youville in Lawerenceville GA is looking for a creative and energetic Youth Minister to coordinate about 100 youth in a vibrant EDGE middle school ministry and a growing Life Teen High School ministry. This position is also responsible for coordinating the preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation. The ideal candidate is a practicing Catholic on fire for the Lord with a degree in theology, psychology, education, sociology or other relevant field, and has Catechist certification (or actively working toward certification), hands-on experience leading or co-leading a Catholic youth ministry program preferably using the Life Teen model. This is a part-time salaried staff position. Please send letter of interest and resume to youthministry@stmdy.com or mail to Nicole Hartman, St. Marguerite d’Youville Church, 85 Gloster Rd, Lawerenceville GA 30044.

As many of you know, last week we not only launched our Events Website, but also registration for the Catholic Youth Ministry Training Convention, the Life Teen Leadership Conference, and all three Life Teen Steubenville Youth Conferences.

Registration is coming along nicely for each, but I wanted you to be aware of one conference that is seeing higher than normal activity. The Life Teen Leadership Conference is already over half sold out! Please register for that today so you do not miss out on the chance to attend!

Speaking of selling out, we are close to having zero spots left for camp! Only a hundred or so remain for both Covecrest – Hiawassee in Georgia and Tepeyac in Arizona. Register for those today so your teens can experience the best week of their life.

Happy Tuesday! Let me know how I can help in anyway.