Youth ministry is job of whole Church

"As a Church, we're not whole without young people," said Mary Harrison, associate director for youth ministry of the Albany diocesan Office of Religious Education. "We miss their wonderful gifts."

Ministry to young people, she said, has three goals: inviting them to grow as disciples; inviting them to full participation in the life and mission of the Church; and fostering personal and spiritual growth.

All involved

According to "Renewing the Vision: A Framework for Catholic Youth Ministry," the National Conference of Catholic Bishops' document on youth ministry, "Ministry with adolescents is a concern for the entire Church community, especially for leaders in parishes, schools and diocese."

To accomplish the three goals of youth ministry, "it will take the people and resources of the entire Church," the bishops state.

Mrs. Harrison agreed, noting: "The parish must own the responsibility. In a broad sense, the whole parish is the youth minister."

Parish efforts

The teams are made up of youth, young adults, adults and seniors who bring a diversity of life experiences, enthusiasm and wisdom, Mrs. Harrison said.

The range of life experiences of team members is especially important in ministering to youth in today's world, Mrs. Harrison said because "we're discovering today that young people are isolated due to the culture we live in. Very often, young people have little inter-generational experience. They feel the isolation. This isolation also causes adults to fear young people."

In addition to being inter-generational, youth ministry must be developmentally appropriate, family friendly and multicultural, the bishops state.

What works

"We have learned that no one strategy, activity or program is adequate to the task of promoting the three goals for ministry with adolescents, and that families, parishes and schools cannot work in isolation if the Church is to realize its goals," the bishops state.

The best way to promote youth ministry is a comprehensive approach, they continued, rather than "a single program or recipe for ministry. [That] provides a way for integrating ministry with adolescents and their families into the total life and mission of the Church, recognizing that the whole community is responsible for this ministry."

More than groups

"Youth groups in the context of youth ministry are fine because there are youth who want to get together," she said. "But if that's all the parish is doing, it's not enough."

She explained that the youth group model assumes that all teens' needs are similar: that they like to join groups, that they are all available at the same time and that one or a few adults can meet their needs.

Youth ministry makes different assumptions: that young people like to choose how they will be involved, that youth have hectic schedules, that many people doing a little can accomplish much, and that young people benefit from having a variety of adults to relate to.

Whole person

In ministering to the whole person, Mrs. Harrison said, the Church learns much about youth.

"They are hungering for meaning, purpose, connection and holiness," she said. "In ministering to the whole person, we realize that young people are just that -- young people, not adults. Our ministry responds to their development process."

(To learn more about comprehensive youth ministry, contact the Office of Religious Education at 453-6630.)

(11-05-98) [[In-content Ad]]