St. Paul told us this would happen. “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I do not need you!’” (1 Cor 12:21) As a global youth ministry, we have been singing “We Are One Body” since World Youth Day 1993 (those of us in Denver that summer still have that song in our heads), and [...]
Go ahead – count them all up? Did you miss anyone? How about the parish secretary? How about the maintenance staff? Anyway that you look at it, ministry is a team effort. If you think you are in it alone, you are wrong. If you think you can do it alone, you will fail. That [...]
With everything else that demands our attention as youth ministers, with all the time that the Core already gives to the ministry, with our priests overbooked and overcommitted – why do a Core retreat? It is a valid question, but the answer is even more vital. The reason to include a Core retreat as part [...]
With everything else that demands our attention as youth ministers, with all the time that the Core already gives to the ministry, with our priests overbooked and over committed – why do a Core retreat? It is a valid question, but the answer is even more vital. The reason to include a Core retreat as [...]
On August 7th, Barry Bonds entered into history books as baseball’s All-Time Home Run Leader when he blasted number 756 in the right center bleachers at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Whether you like Barry Bonds or think he should have an asterisk next to his name, he is Baseball’s Home Run King. For some [...]
Years ago I was asking some teenagers who had stopped coming to Life Nights “why they had stopped?” (which is a dangerous question to ask – your self-esteem will take a hit). Their answer astonished me – they said, “Because we do the same thing over and over, Jason.” They then made fun of a [...]
I was on Core at a parish when our youth minister asked two fellow college guys to leave Core Team. The youth minister informed all of us on Core in the weekly Sunday afternoon meeting. I was stunned! These were both active Catholics with magnetic personalities that really connected with teens. An hour later at Life Night, she gave the same announcement to a room of 50 teenagers. It was an uproar!
This retreat is based on the book written by the late Michael Yaconelli. Michael Yaconelli was the owner and co-founder of Youth Specialties who tragically died in a car accident in October of 2003. His ideas and passion have changed youth ministry, as we know it. As a friend of Life Teen, Michael had experienced [...]