I am glad to hear that; we need people to continue to answer the Lord’s call to youth ministry. Maybe you are an almost-ready-to-graduate college student who wants to “take the world for Christ, or at least this city” or someone who is ready to switch careers. Here are two important things to consider if you want to be a youth minister.
In a homily I recently heard, the priest told a story about being challenged to recognize how good things were. He told us that in the busyness of trying to juggle everything it was easy to miss that the Lord’s goodness was abundant. It’s not a stretch to see how easy that is to do in youth ministry. We know youth ministry is hard work. We can be working on environments for Life Nights, trying to find a chaperone for a retreat, scheduling what events we’ll get to this week, checking
What are your hopes for youth ministry?
I want to help change the perspective of teenagers. When teenagers get involved in their faith in a youth group or when they come to an event like this, they think that they’re seeking God. They think they’re going out of their way for God, but very seldom do they pause to realize that God is already at work. God is seeking them. What God desires from them is that encounter, that sacramental encounter, which really is rooted in intimacy.
I need to make a disclaimer, if only to bring myself peace. I was probably less involved in the events of 9/11 than most anyone in the area. I had just moved to Long Island 18 months before. I didn’t know a lot of people. There is nothing that I did that was “heroic” or “spectacular.” I’m writing this from my own perspective. I’m not saying that anything I did was right or wrong. I’m not making any political statements. This is simply how I remember this event and its impact in
We’ve all been a part of the viral video phenomenon in recent years. Justin Bieber started his career because millions of people got excited about his videos and started sharing them with their friends. It can be easy for us to get excited about online videos…but maybe not as easy to get pumped up about raising money for a good cause. In January of 2011, the Life Teen youth group at Incarnate Word parish in Chesterfield, MO set out to raise $5,000 to support an organization whose mission is
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.
I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on how much Youth Ministry has evolved in the past several years. I know some of you reading this have been in ministry far longer than I, while many of you are relatively newer to the ranks. I began as a Core Member in 1991. Suffice to say, the Catholic Youth Ministry landscape has changed dramatically since then.
So at the risk of sounding like a grumpy old man, I thought I’d take some of you on a trip back in youth ministry time. Jump in the DeLorean and let’s get to it.