Comprehensive Youth Ministry
By Pat Roe

Before 1976, the Catholic Church had no youth activities. And the Catholic youths were not encouraged to participate in Protestant programs. So in 1976, the Bishops wrote A Vision of Youth Ministry. It initiated a new way of thinking and practice. It was the catalyst for a dramatic increase in new and innovative Pastoral practice with young people. This included:

• Appointing Youth Ministers
• Developing and making available high quality
  • Youth Ministry Training Programs
  • Youth Leadership Training
• Increase in Youth Ministry resources
• Attention to the needs of families

A study done in 1996 showed that adolescents who participated in Parish Youth Ministry programs:

• Identify faith and moral formation as a significant contribution to their life
• Have a profound sense of commitment to the Catholic Church
• Attend Mass regularly
• Show continued growth while they remain involved in youth programs

After two decades, three new challenges arose:

1. The changes in our society show a neglect of young people
   • Effects of consumerism and entertainment media encourage isolation
   • Families lack time together
2. New research provided insight into factors that make for healthy adolescents. Search Institute surveyed more than a quarter million adolescents in 450 communities across the U.S. This survey identified 40 essential assets for positive adolescent development. This showed that we need a more comprehensive approach to youth ministry!
3. The need to update "A vision of Youth Ministry" written in 1976.

In order to respond to these challenges and opportunities, the Bishops of the United States wrote Renewing The Vision. This book is a blueprint for the continued development of effective ministry with young and older adolescents. Its expanded vision and strategy challenges leaders and their faith communities to address these challenges and to invest in young people today. It called to make ministry with adolescents a concern for the entire community.

The Holy Father has emphasized repeatedly the importance of young people and ministry with them.

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 today the traveling companion of young people...(Youth: Sent to Proclaim True Liberation, World Youth Day 1995, Philippines).

Renewing the Vision takes up the Holy Father's words by focusing on three goals:

1. To empower young people to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in our world today.
2. To draw young people to responsible participation in the life, mission, and work of the Catholic faith community.
3. To foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person.

It takes the Whole Church!

• No one strategy, activity, or program is adequate to the task of promoting the three goals for ministry with adolescents
• The parish is where the Church lives. Parishes are communities of faith, of action, and of hope. They are where the Gospel is proclaimed and celebrated, where believers are formed and sent to renew the earth. Parishes are the home of the Christian community; they are the heart of our Church. Parishes are the place where God's people meet Jesus in word and sacrament and come in touch with the source of the Church's life.

COMREHENSIVE MINISTRY

• A framework for integration rather than a specific model.
• Provides a way for integrating ministry with adolescents and their families into the total life and mission of the Church.
• Recognizes that the whole community is responsible for this ministry.

Comprehensive Framework for ministry is designed to:

• Utilize each of the Church's ministries to achieve the three goals
• Provide developmentally appropriate programs and activities
• Promote personal and spiritual growth for the young & older people
• Enrich family life
• Promote the faith growth of families
• Incorporate young people fully into all aspects of church life
• Engage them in ministry & leadership in the faith community
• Create partnerships among families, schools, churches, & community organizations

Within this framework are seven themes that provide a continuous thread that ensures that ministry with adolescents utilizes all available resources and is all-inclusive.

• Developmentally appropriate
• Family Friendly
• Intergenerational
• Multicultural
• Community-wide Collaboration
• Leadership
• Flexible and adaptable programming

Components of Comprehensive Ministry uses each of the Church's ministries in an integrated approach to achieve the three goals.

• ADVOCACY - Bridging the Gap - Speak on behalf of young people
• CATECHESIS - More than CCD classes
• COMMUNITY - Comfortable & Connected - don't put people on the spot
• EVANGELIZATION - Helping youth know who Jesus is
• JUSTICE & SERVICE - Need to go together
• LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT - Both developing adult and youth as leaders.
• PASTORAL CARE - Both traumatic experiences & responses to them and prevention of traumatic experiences
• PRAYER & WORSHIP - Introduce lots of ways