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Tag Archives: Discipleship

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New Ideas Welcomed – Sort Of?

What an exciting time for Catholic Youth Ministry! The reality is that teen culture continues to change. There are many new ideas and practices being developed to reach teens. Ever wonder why some ideas when first introduced aren’t received well by the rest of the Catholic youth ministry world? Here is an overview depicting acceptance of new Catholic youth ministry practices and the timeline it takes for the ideas or changes to be embraced, implemented,eventually rejected and then become legendary.

Blog

The New Busy – Is it Impacting Your Ministry?

I have talked to a lot of youth leaders and pastors this summer and I have grown keenly aware of a trend or direction in ministry. At a youth conference last weekend after I had complimented his choice for youth minister, a pastor of a parish attending shared a concern that his youth minister was spending a lot of time with teens at camps and conferences this summer. The pastor went on to tell me how the youth minister needed to realize that he needed to be careful not to let things like email and administrative aspects fail or to let the perception of the other parish staff seem like he wasn’t working. It immediately made me aware that even though the youth minister was really doing a great job in relational ministry (what we pray every youth leader will be doing a great job with) he was still being primarily or at least equally evaluated for his administrative skills or worse yet how it appeared to other staffers? It made me think of how our system of ministry can fail or be at odds with the one of the primary ministry postures of spending time with teens, not to mention spending time in prayer. It made me wonder if there is a “New Busy” that is zapping all the energy out of well intentioned youth leaders?

Liturgy Planning Guide

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – 11/14/2010

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Liturgy Planning Guide

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – 09/05/2010

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Life Night

Called to Action

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Goal of this Life Night The goal of this Life Night is to explain that our belief in God demands that we respond in faith. The teens will answer the question “how does my faith change me?” and commit to practical ways they can live their discipleship. About this night Scripture has many examples of people finding themselves in life-changing encounters with God. Each person had a choice to make—stay the same or change. In most cases, the person was so moved that he or she had no choice but to change.

Visit our new Edge Website: EdgeYouthMinistry.com

Edge Night

The Sower

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Objective:
 The middle school youth will understand their obligation to nourish and protect their faith, so that it continually grows and thrives. They also will understand their obligation to spread the message of Jesus and help others grow in their faith. Overview: As Christians, our faith in God is foundational. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Our moral life has its source in faith in God who reveals his love to us. St. Paul speaks of the “obedience of faith” as our

Visit our new Edge Website: EdgeYouthMinistry.com

Edge Night

A Call to Authenticity

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Objective:
 The goal of this session is to give the middle school youth the confidence to share their faith with their friends and to teach them that the best way to evangelize their peers is by being a living example of authentic faith. Overview: Most Catholics are surrounded everyday by non-believers. We have to assume that the majority of the people our middle school youth are surrounded by at school or in extracurricular activities, are unchurched. Challenging middle school youth to preach

Visit our new Edge Website: EdgeYouthMinistry.com

Edge Night

I Am Yours

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Objective:
This session will challenge the middle school youth to have confidence in the love God has for them and in their ability to live good and holy lives, so they become confident evangelists. Overview: The Good News that we are called to preach to all the nations cannot be preached authentically unless we first believe it for ourselves. The Good News we are preaching is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and has risen from the dead. If this fact is true, then we can believe all the promises

Life Night

I Got News For You: Catholic Evangelization

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Goal for the Life Night: This night will seek to answer the question “What is evangelization?” and show the teens how they are called to evangelize. This night will focus on the centrality of prayer in the mission of evangelization. Life Night at a Glance: Often times we have an idea that evangelization is only meant for the John the Baptists or the St. Pauls of the world. Evangelization is the task of all Christians. This night is truly the heart of the entire semester. Make sure to take time

Visit our new Edge Website: EdgeYouthMinistry.com

Edge Night

The Prayer of St. Francis

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Objective:
 Through the prayer of St. Francis, the middle school youth will come to understand how a strong prayer life is only truly effective if it is reflected in the way they live and the way they treat one another. Overview: St. Francis is known for his sayings, “It is no use in walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching” and “Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” These sayings summarize the life of St. Francis. He lived for others and he