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Tag Archives: Parents

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Strong Catholic Families

By | February 24, 2011

I recently attended a youth ministry workshop on STRONG CATHOLIC FAMILIES. The presenter shared materials and findings based off of a National Study of American teenagers from Dr. Christian Smith at Notre Dame University. Some of the conclusions were… Only 12% of families pray together. The average couple only spends 4 minutes of uninterrupted time together a day. 71% of Jr. High and 61% of high school youth have never attended a religious retreat, rally, conference or mission trip.

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Contrary to Popular Belief: (Mis)perceptions in Youth Ministry

By | February 4, 2011

I’ve always liked the phrase “contrary to popular belief”. It gets your attention. It challenges your knowledge. What follows it can leave you feeling sheepish at your own ignorance or quite edified in your own intelligence. Traveling the globe doing ministry these past 15+ years, I’ve noticed a lot of – we’ll call them “trends” – in conversations with youth ministers. While some of what follows is bound to strike a chord (and probably a nerve) with some of you reading it, remember our primary goal: holiness. If our desire is to grow in holiness and improve the quality of the ministries we offer, we must constantly evaluate where we need to die to ourselves, our short-sightedness and our pride.

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Help for New Youth Ministers

By | October 4, 2010

A few weeks ago my diocese hosted a new youth minister orientation.  As I prepared for the day, it brought back a number of memories of my first years in parish life. There was a certainly a steep learning curve that first year and, honestly, in subsequent years as well. When I started my first [...]

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The Parent Trap? 4 Ideas to Involve Parents in Youth Ministry

By | May 31, 2010

Parents… they are either a youth minister’s biggest blessing or biggest struggle. I am sure that there are some parents you would clone (if the Catholic Church allowed cloning) and some parents that… well… you wouldn’t. As a youth minister, I spent more than my fair share of time either praising or bemoaning parents. As a movement of the Holy Spirit, Life Teen has been called to rethink our approach towards parents in the past couple of years. They are the “first and best” teachers of the faith. They can be our best supporters and advocates. Our ministry should be geared to helping them lead their teens closer to Christ.

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“Finding Yourself in Scripture:” Find It In Your Middle School Ministry

By | April 26, 2010

One of my favorite days in youth ministry (besides the times of amazing relational ministry, of course) was the day the delivery truck pulled up to the front door of the office and the newest Edge Support Box arrived. I loved tearing through the box and seeing what kind of cool toy… I mean resources… were included. For me, it was like Christmas morning.

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Relational Ministry: Outreach Events

By | February 15, 2010

As Core Teams and youth ministers we know that going to our teens’ events can make a big impact.  After a number of years in youth ministry, I think I have now been to nearly every sporting event the public school system has to offer. I have also seen some amazing plays, moving orchestra concerts [...]

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Introducing Life Teen’s New Book for Parents: “Rocking the Catholic Cradle”

By | October 23, 2009

The joke among the parish staff was that the youth minister’s office has been relocated to the local Starbucks. While I was at the parish more than I was at Starbucks, it was noticeable that I spent time there every week. Not because of some crazed caffeine-addiction, but because it was the place for me [...]

Spotlight Magazine

Spotlight Magazine, Volume 08: Year for Priests

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Spotlight Magazine is part of Life Support that provides readers with articles, updates, issue Life Nights, social Life Nights and much more! This valuable resource helps youth ministers and Core Members stay “plugged in” to the current trends in ministry and youth culture. Below is a list of what you’ll find in this issue. Table [...]

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Why Parent Life?

By | August 10, 2009

I have been lucky enough to be involved in the Parent Life ministry for over 15 years. My first encounter was as a parent attending a Parent Retreat. My experience that weekend put a profound and real love for Christ in my heart and a desire to serve and give back to my faith community [...]

Life Night

Knot My Family

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Goal for the Life Night: 
 To help the teens see themselves and their family from a different perspective from that of their parents (and siblings) and to enlighten the teens as to the effects their attitude and approach have on others within their family at home and within the family of faith. Life Night [...]