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Tag Archives: Relational Ministry

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Some Parishes . . .

By | October 2, 2012
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Some parishes place too little value on relational ministry with teens. (Teens are relational in nature, if the Church doesn’t foster relationships with teens, they will find relationships elsewhere.)

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Are You Forming Teens Who “Shhhh”?

By | July 11, 2012
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Last week at Life Teen Camp Covecrest one of our summer missionaries shared with a group of youth leaders how he had been active with Life Teen in high school. He shared how things really didn’t click until he started helping with middle school kids with their Edge program. One night he leaned over to a group of middle school kids who were talking and making noise during one of the teachings and said “Shhhh.” He realized at that instant he had become a leader. He knew at that moment he wanted

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How to Breathe Life Into a Stagnant Youth Ministry

By | April 16, 2012
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Been a while since you changed the environment of a Life Night? Have the walls of your office become just a jog down memory lane or is it a reflection of the current group of teens? Have music playing, hang new banners, update photos and add some new paint to add new life to the spaces you hang out with teens at your parish. We serve in one of the most transformational ministries in our parishes – does the vibe of our space reflect that?

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It’s Easier To Reach Rising 9th Grade Students Now Rather Than Later!

By | April 10, 2012
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Once they start school in the fall and get involved in all kind of school activities, it will be much harder to reach those rising 9th grade students. Here are 5 things you can do to reach out to the rising 9th grade students at your parish: 1. Visit them in Edge or their current religious education classes before the end of school and invite them to attend Life Teen this summer. 2. Have a huge summer kick-off for rising freshman at the start of the summer. Send out invitations and announce

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A Youth Leader Must…..

By | April 9, 2012
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A Youth Leader Must…. 1. Make it about Christ and not themself 2. Strive to have ministry flow from their spirituality and not have spirituality flow from their ministry 3. Form a strong team of leaders who help them reach out to teens 4. Be living the Paschal Mystery (die to self and rising with Christ) daily 5. Be completely invested in the parish community 6. Know teens names 7. Be teachable 8. Earn and keep trust 9. Be humble and willing to get their hands dirty 10.

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How Often Do You Catch Teens Doing Something Right?

By | March 13, 2012
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As Youth Ministers and Core Team members, it’s vital that we walk daily with the teens we minister to. Sometimes that may mean catching them doing something wrong and lovingly correcting their behavior. But how often do we catch them doing something right? Imagine what our ministries could look like.

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Following the Rules: Relational Ministry

By | November 22, 2011

Take an honest look at yourself and ask how many times you pull out your cell phone during a youth ministry event. I would not have thought that I took it out a lot, only during those times that I thought was necessary. However, after one particular teen challenged me and said, “Oh, look, you’re bored and on your phone again,” I realized I was taking out my phone when there were down times in youth ministry.

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Parishnormal Activity

By | October 31, 2011

Is there Parishnormal Activity happening surrounding youth ministry at your parish? – do the Knights of Columbus accuse the teens of taking all their left over ketchup packets from last year’s Parish picnic? – is the key to the closet in the Parish Hall now attached to a Hockey stick because you as youth leader forgot to put it back at 11 o’clock one Sunday night after a 14 hour day? – do the volunteers no longer invite the teens to help stuff parish bulletins ever since “the incident” of 2009? -

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They’re More Nervous Than You: The Importance of the First Encounter

By | September 19, 2011

Have you ever stopped and thought about how difficult it is for a new teen to show up at your parish, perhaps knowing only one or two teens, or no one at all? I have often thought about how awkward it is for me to approach the new teen, and rarely did I realize how important that first encounter was for them.

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Are You Planking?

By | August 28, 2011

The past few months people keep sending me planking photos. Planking is an activity or game consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location. The hands must touch the sides of the body and having a photograph of the participant taken and posted on the internet is an integral part of the game. Players compete to find the most unusual and original location in which to play. The term planking refers to mimicking a wooden plank. Many participants in planking have photographed the