Teaching About Catholic Youth Ministry

Presentation Outline

  1. Welcome and Prayer
    • If the group is small, have everyone introduce themselves and share what parish or school they are from.
    • Lead the group in a prayer of your own choosing.
  2. Description of Catholic youth ministry as detailed in Renewing the Vision: A Framework for Catholic Youth Ministry USCCB - (FLWY) - Renewing the Vision Table of Contents
  3. Group Reflection
    • Which of these goals and components of Catholic youth ministry are present in our community?
    • Which are missing?
    • Which of these components is a strength of our faith community?
    • Which is a weakness of our faith community?

“This is what is needed: a Church for young people, which will know how to speak to their heart and enkindle, comfort, and inspire enthusiasm in it with the joy of the Gospel and the strength of the Eucharist; a Church which will know how to invite and welcome the person who seeks a purpose for which to commit his whole existence; a Church which is not afraid to require much, after having given much; which does not fear asking from young people the effort of a noble and authentic adventure, such as that of the following of the Gospel.”

(Pope John Paul II. 1995 World Day of Prayer for Vocations)

Audience

While this short outline was developed to educate adult volunteers about comprehensive ministry with adolescents within a Catholic framework, it may also be used for youth leadership training. A PowerPoint presentation with presenter's notes called Catholic Youth Ministry Leadership Training serves an additional tool for your adult volunteers.

Materials Needed

Background

“What is needed today is a church which knows how to respond to the expectations of young people. Jesus wants to enter into dialogue with them and, through his body which is the church, to propose the possibility of a choice which will require a commitment of their lives. As Jesus with the disciples of Emmaus, so the church must become the traveling companion of young people...” (Pope John Paul II, World Youth Day 1995, Philippines)

The church must become the traveling companion of young people—and that’s what we mean by youth ministry. If, indeed, “it takes an entire village to raise a child,” then it certainly takes an entire church to journey with young people as they grapple with the Good News and respond in discipleship.

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops, in their 1997 document, Renewing the Vision: A Framework for Catholic Youth Ministry, identified three goals and eight components which provide direction for this ministry. Youth ministry, at it's best, is characterized by the following five hallmarks:

  • Discipleship
  • Connection
  • Giftedness and growth
  • Comprehensiveness
  • Entire church (parish) involvement