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Tag Archives: Community Building

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The Case for Unassuming Youth Ministry

By | May 19, 2011

The most effective parish youth ministries maintain what I call an “unassuming youth ministry” stance. This means that they know they need to re-earn attention, re-earn loyalty, and reconnect with teens and parents as if every day is the first day they started the ministry at the parish. Signs that We Have an Assuming Youth Ministry: – We start feeling successful or assume we are the only choice for teens. – We start comparing and assuming youth ministry at our parish as better than what

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Talking With > Talking About

By | March 28, 2011

I believe that who we talk about is a big indication of where our hearts are. If we spend a lot of time talking about God that normally means are hearts are alive for Him. If we talk about our families, it is a sign that family matters to us, even if it is messy at times. I always tell people interviewing someone to be the youth leader at a parish to note how many times the person talks about teens, as it is a good indication about the posture of that persons heart toward teens. The only problem

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How to Rock the Parish Bulletin

By | March 21, 2011

I visit a lot of parishes in the course of a year and I usually will pick up a parish bulletin to see what is happening. Since my passion squarely is with parish youth ministry, I always look at how the youth leader communicates with the community via the bulletin. First of all, let me say that I have seen some great examples and some epic fails on the part of my fellow Catholic youth ministers. If you ever struggle with the concept and wonder if it makes any difference at all, here are three ways

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They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Skinny Jeans?

By | February 28, 2011

I may take some heat for this with some of my close ministry friends, but here goes. I have attended several Catholic and non denominational youth leader gatherings over the past couple of years and I am always amazed at “the uniform” that many youth leaders and musicians utilize. Skinny jeans, plaid shirts and hip glasses are the rage. A lot of people can pull off wearing them and look great. Unfortunately, there are many who appear really awkward and fall into the group of “trying too hard to fit

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4 Catholic Youth Ministry Trends Worth Watching!

By | February 11, 2011

A few trends I am observing in Catholic Youth Ministry – let me know in the comments section if there are any more you think should be included.

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Why Not?

By | February 8, 2011

At times over the past few years, I have found myself serenaded by a chorus of “Why?” Why would we suggest this or that? Why did we start summer camps in the midst of a Church safe environment crisis? Why does Life Teen continue to grow even in the midst of youth ministry cutbacks in the Church? To all the members of the “Why Chorus” – I simply say you may want to change the tune to “Why Not?”

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Four Things You Can Do Right Now to Increase Teen Attendance At Your Next Event

By | January 28, 2011

At the start of my first assignment as a youth minister in a parish, I asked the teens what they wanted to do. They gave me a list of 42 events. So I took out a calendar and scheduled each one throughout our summer. We went from 15 teens attending to 85 teens active by the end of summer – here is what I did to boost attendance and what you can do to get more teens attending your events.

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Why I Just Stopped Coming to Your Youth Group

By | January 6, 2011

I’m an average teen. I am in 11th grade and I work a part time job at a local grocery store. I am Catholic and was confirmed last spring. I don’t come from a messed up family, just a family that is spun in many different directions each day.I have a few close friends who I have been friends with since I was in elementary school. Most of my other friends are people I know from the internet and are part of on online gaming group I hang out with online after school. I am a loyal person and once I become your friend, I am always your friend. I just stopped coming to your youth group.

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Move That Bus! 3 Elements of a Catholic Youth Ministry Makeover

By | December 28, 2010

What if you could take a week long break with your family and go to Disneyworld while a team of youth ministry “guru’s” came in and did an extreme makeover of youth ministry at your parish? When you returned and yelled – “Move that bus!”, and the bus rolled away – what would be different?

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No Plan B

By | November 21, 2010

Have you ever asked yourself the question – what was God thinking asking ME to serve in youth ministry? I have asked several people who I consider to be way down the road to holiness and who have been entrusted with being in charge of ministry if they have ever felt worthy for all that God is trusting them with? The unanimous answer has been that you never feel worthy of the trust God has placed in you.