The Catechetical Review - Communicating Christ for a New Evangelization

Starting in Youth Ministry

Authored by Teresa Kehoe in Issue #34.3 of The Sower
Twenty years ago my parish priest expressed an ardent desire to have a parish youth group. He reserved the newly refurbished parish centre on Friday nights, advertised in the parish bulletin and patiently waited. About 10 years passed until the day when I came to him and suggested we start a parish youth group. My own children were of youth group age and I was concerned about the lack of provision for them to grow in the faith beyond the celebration of Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Delighted, he said yes and that was it—I was left to start up our parish youth ministry. I have to admit that at that time, I had energy and enthusiasm but no actual knowledge of what Catholic youth ministry should be other than what I had experienced, or read about in books about Christian youth work. I had been involved in youth ministry since I was 17 but each and every youth group had been so very different. If you are in England – does this sound familiar? I suspect so. Many of us volunteer or are asked to volunteer but we don’t really know if the Church has anything particular to say about what Catholic youth ministry is. We might read blogs, look at websites, find information which is local to the country or diocese in particular, read the key texts and authors in the field. But what does Holy Mother Church herself say? Does She say anything on the matter? The short answer is: She does.

The rest of this online article is available for current subscribers.

Start your subscription today!


This article is from The Sower and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of Maryvale Institute. Contact [email protected]

Articles from the Most Recent Issue

Children's Catechesis: The ABCs of Children’s Catechesis
By Sr. Mary Michael Fox, OP
As children, many of us learned the “Alphabet Song.” It is a universally known jingle that helps small children learn the ABCs of the English language. Other cultures use a different tune but the purpose is the same. At the start, a child merely repeats the sounds sung to him. In due time, he gradually learns that the sounds have corresponding... Read more
Youth & Young Adult Ministry: The Intentional Community of WorkCamp
By Christine Najarian
“Whenever you are united, you have marvelous strength. Whenever you are enthused about life in common, you are capable of great sacrifices for others and for the community.” [1] Immediately upon reading Pope Francis’ words in Christus Vivit (“Christ Is Alive”), I had them highlighted and underlined, with “WORKCAMP!” written emphatically in the... Read more
Applied Theology of the Body: Gender Ideology and Homosexuality
By Dr. Donald P. Asci
Pope St. John Paul II proclaimed the theology of the body (TOB) as perennial truths revealed by God through ancient biblical texts, but he also noted that this pedagogy of the body “takes on particular importance for contemporary man, whose science in the fields of bio-physiology and bio-medicine is very advanced” (TOB 59:3). [i] While he... Read more

Pages

Watch Tutorial Videos

We've put together several quick and easy tutorial videos to show you how to use this website.

Watch Now