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Tag Archives: Planning

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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 and “interesting” talent shows.  I keep going because I know the impact that showing up can have in relational ministry.  Nevertheless, it’s taken me a lot of trial and error to get the hang of

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Dealing with the “Other Stuff” of Youth Ministry

By | February 11, 2010

When I first started in youth ministry I was green, youthful, and enthusiastic.  I attended Diocesan meetings excited, only to encounter tenured youth ministers who appeared burned out. The longer I stayed in youth ministry, the more I understood how people get burned out. On the outside I was as enthusiastic as ever, but in all honesty, I wanted to quit everyday. Not because of the teens–I loved them–but because of “other ministry stuff.” Let’s talk about that other stuff. I wish I knew

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Curriculum Guide Introduction

By | December 10, 2009

Welcome to the brand new Life Teen Curriculum Guide! The goal of this resource is to help you provide systematic and complete catechesis for your teenagers while providing opportunities for evangelization and transformation as well. Each Curriculum Guide contains a semesters-worth of catechetical Life Night outlines. From Spring 2007 through Fall of 2009, Life Teen published an eight semester curriculum based on the United States Council of Catholic Bishops “National Doctrinal Curriculum Framework

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4 Common Mistakes of Starting Life Teen (And How to Avoid Them)

By | April 29, 2009

As the youngest child in my family, I have found tremendous joy learning from my mistakes of my brother and sisters. If you are the youngest in your family you know what I’m talking about. Your older siblings make massive mistakes, and you just sit back thankful you’re not the one with the bar of soap in your mouth and enjoy the show. Many life lessons have been learned as the youngest. Mistake #1: Buying a prom dress because it was a good deal. A good deal isn’t always good looking. Mistake

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Think About It

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Objective:
 The middle school youth will understand how the moral law of God guides our decisions and actions. They also will understand how studying and following the example of Jesus can help us make better choices. Overview: “The moral law,” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “is the work of divine Wisdom. Its biblical meaning can be defined as fatherly instruction…. It prescribes for man the ways, the rules of conduct that lead to the promised beatitude; it proscribes

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Avoiding the Slow Burn[out]

By | July 16, 2008

I just got back from the first of my trips for this summer. I returned to an office that still hasn’t been cleaned from the last social Life Night in May and two unopened Life Support boxes. I returned to a husband asking me when we were going to find a weekend to fix the roof and a stack of phone messages from the secretary with questions about the trip to Six Flags next Friday. And yet, with all these things to do, on my first day back in the office in more than a week – I spent 3 hours looking

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Somebody help! My Youth Minister is a Control Freak!

By | May 27, 2008

WARNING: The following blog is not written for everyone – only type-A, “control freak” Catholics (like myself) need read on. The rest of you (who don’t admit it), might seek out a priest for Reconciliation (see Exodus 20:16). Now, it’s important to note that I’m not indicting you; I’m indicting myself. My first several years in ministry (and sadly, sometimes still today) my frequent attitude was “If I want it done right, I’ll have to do it myself”. That perspective is a common

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Summer Programming Made Easy

By | April 16, 2008

As graduation season quickly approaches, we turn our attention to summer. The three months (give or take) of summer break present us with unique opportunities and challenges in youth ministry. Some programs shut down completely while others keep a full schedule all the way through the summer. As you begin to decide what your ministry will look like this summer – I humbly offer a couple of suggestions to keep in mind: Summer is not time for youth ministry hibernation! Teens have more time to

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Tips on Managing Busy Summers

By | March 26, 2008

When I think of summer I think of Red Rover, Steal the Bacon, kickball, chalk cities, bike rides to the park, Barbies, forts, and camping trips. I remember having so much time on my hands I was bored. I was lucky to grow up on a cul-de-sac with a friend to play with every day of the week and a different house to sleep over each night. Summer was about fun not calendars, fund raising and permission forms. Summer was that moment when you threw your report card at your parents and ran outside to