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Tag Archives: Evangelization

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What Pawn Stars Can Teach Youth “Ministars”

By | July 8, 2011

The hottest show on cable TV in the US is a show called “Pawn Stars”. It revolves around a guy – Rick Harrison along with his father, Richard “The Old Man” Harrison, his son, Corey “Big Hoss” Harrison” and family friend Austin “Chumlee” Russell. Harrison gives viewers a behind-the-scenes peek into his Las Vegas business the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. In the process, he educates audiences on the history behind many of the unique items sold in the store. The show offers several useful analogies for

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5 Ways to Get the Most Out of the 2011 Life Teen Leadership Conference

By | June 25, 2011

This Monday over 450 teens will attend our annual Life Teen Leadership Conference. This year our conference is at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. If you are heading to Kansas for the conference – here are 5 ways you can make sure you have one of the best weeks of your life.   1.) Meet New People – You are attending a conference with hundreds of other top Catholic teens who are mostly all striving to grow in their holiness. Don’t just hang out with the people you are going to the conference

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Vibrant Youth Ministry Equals A Vibrant Parish

By | May 10, 2011

I’ve heard of recent surveys of “non practicing” Catholics tell an alarming statistic regarding the future involvement in the Catholic faith for current teens who are not involved in their parish during high school. Surveys are saying that only 3 to 10 percent of high school aged Catholic teens who are not active in some way with their parishes will become active Catholics in later years. In other words, for parishes that are waiting for people to get involved when they are older, the chances of

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No Static At All?

By | April 19, 2011

In the days before satellite radio and streaming music over your smart phone, there was good old AM radio. One of the features of AM radio was that the further you were away from the signal, the more static or fuzzy sounds you would hear. In the days before cable or satellite TV there was only broadcast TV with rabbit ears antennas that at times could give you a visual picture of static if you were too far from television broadcast towers. In terms of static in my spiritual journey, I have found

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W.I.J.D?

By | March 23, 2011

Most of you probably remember the WWJD bracelets that so many people were wearing 15 years ago. WWJD stands for “What Would Jesus Do?” It serves a reminder to apply how Christ lived to whatever situation we are facing. What if instead of asking what Jesus would do – we asked WIJD? “What is Jesus Doing?” What parts of our ministry are being blessed in tangible ways? In these parts, What is Jesus doing? What parts of our ministry are being pruned? In these parts, What is Jesus doing? Who are the

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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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Who Is Changing The Words In Your Bible?

By | March 10, 2011

Yesterday, the USCCB released a new edition of the Bible with revised texts. This is not something that happens that often. But on a personal level, I don’t know about you, but the more I read Scripture the more the words seem to change in my Bible. I know that in reality the words aren’t changing, it’s me that is changing and with each new read I discover a whole new way of looking at them. As Catholics we hear the entire Bible proclaimed at Sunday Mass every 3 years. If you attend daily Mass

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Scenes from a High School Gym

By | February 28, 2011

The other night I got to attend a high school basketball game. Somewhat accidentally, I ended up in the student section, which they had specially created for that particular game. Knowing a lot of the teens, I thought it would give me more opportunity to talk with them throughout the evening. Although it was good to be able to talk with a number of teens, it also afforded me the opportunity to observe. I watched as four girls flirted with one guy. I saw another guy with not just one, but two, rosaries around his neck. I also had a brief conversation with another teen about getting his driver’s license—a teen I had never met. I was reminded that, in general, teens are quite friendly.

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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?”