Adult Youth Ministry Formation:

Nat'l Conf. on Catholic YM
New Orleans · Dec.9-12

TAPT XXII REUNION MASS: Please remember in prayer the teens and leaders of the upcoming TAPT retreat, March 19-21. Family members, youth ministers, and former TAPTsters are all invited to attend the weekend's closing "Reunion Mass," which starts Sunday at appr. 11:15. Click here for more info
 

YM's networking survey: OYYA is exploring the possibility of organizing a simple, centrally-located, monthly gathering for youth ministry leaders. The goals would include:
+ Networking
+ Idea-sharing
+ Fellowship
+ Prayer
+ Knowledge about events & opportunities for development
+ Free coffee!

Interested? Please complete this quick survey on meeting days and times. Thanks!

CYX 2010 Theme- I am: Teens are constantly searching for identity. They are defined by the friends they share, the clothes they wear, their activities, their music, their culture, their FAITH. A single teen can complete that sentence a hundred different ways. CYX 2010 will help teens proclaim one more: I am a Catholic teen. click here for more

Source & Summit 2010: Immerse your teens in a Eucharistic-centered retreat, think about bringing them to Source & Summit 2010. This retreat weekend is jam packed with lively talks, inspiring music, celebration of Holy Mass, Reconciliation opportunities, small group workshops, fellowship and more! A presentation of St. John the Evangelist (St. John), Source & Summit is scheduled for April 23-25, 2010 at Andrean High School. Promo packets were recently mailed. If you need one or require additional materials contact P.J. Anderson at 219-365-5678 x254, and check out sourceandsummitretreat.org .

Is collaboration a skill we use to accomplish ministry? Or is ministry what we do to achieve collaboration? Kev writes about how about the importance of thinking OUTSIDE your ministry in Collaboration in Ministry: No Ministry is an Island!

'SEXTING': A recent survey, conducted by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com, uncovered that 20% of teens have either sent or posted nude or semi-nude pictures or videos of themselves, while another 48% said they have received such messages. Bill Stanczykiewicz, President & CEO of the Indiana Youth Institute, spoke about the subject on a recent interview on local radio station WLPR (89.1 "The Lakeshore").

> Interview: Bill Stanczykiewicz, IYI

Evangelization & Youth: At a recent Diocesan Pastoral Council meeting, the Council focused on the theme of Evangelization. Council reps surfaced ideas that involved youth. Bishop Melczek told reps that the engagement of youth is imperative, that they should be on all Commissions and involved in all aspects of Church life.

> Read the minutes of the Sep. 2009 Pastoral Council meeting
> DYC Statement on Youth Evangelization

Ever feel like the Catholic Church is at war with...each other?! Liberal, progressive, conservative, orthodox, traditional, social justice...sometimes it feels that we spend more time labeling ourselves by subgroups than by who we are: Catholic Christians. NFCYM Exec. Dir. Bob McCarty writes about this in a great article, "Can We Talk?" Click here

> The Key to Successful Youth Ministry: PARENTS!  If there’s one thing the NSYR reveals, it’s that the ministry we do with parents is the real key to the success of our ministry with young people.

Frank Mercadante, founder of Cultivation Ministries, appeared live recently on local radio- 89.1 WLPR-FM, "The Lakeshore." Frank, a nationally-known Catholic youth ministry consultant, was the facilitator of the 2007 Diocesan Youth Council Statement on Youth Evangelization, and many of you were fortunate enough to hear him speak at the 2007 Catholic Youth Xperience.

Frank spoke about the Millennial Generation and characteristics of today's teenagers. Much of the interview was inspired by the essay he wrote last fall entitled The Millennial Generation, Postmodernism & the Changing Face of Catholic Youth Ministry. I found this to be a must-read for anyone working in youth ministry today. While the radio interview was for a secular audience, I am confident you will find the subject matter engaging and relevant to your ministry. Get the interview here in MP3 format:

Frank Mercadante on Millennials

Catholic Youth raise over $22,000 to benefit flood victims: God's young Church shows once again that it is a beacon of hope! Children and teenagers from over twenty Catholic schools and churches in the diocese put their faith in action to benefit a variety of charities assisting flood victims in Northwest Indiana.
NWI Times story

Internet Issues: The emergence of social networking cannot be ignored. I've posted some resources at the "Internet Issues" section of the YM Library, including "Online student-teacher friendships can be tricky," and "Facebook and your youth ministry: Where does it fit?" (click here)

ICEBREAKERS: If you've never needed a icebreaker, getting-to-know-you-game, community-builder (whatever you call them!), etc., then clearly you're at the wrong website, because you're NOT a youth minister! If you didn't know about this page before, browse here and bookmark it. And thank me later for the tip!

Statement on Evangelization... A Diocese of Gary Diocesan Youth Council weekend forum on how teens can better evangelize their Catholic faith culminated in the Statement on Youth Evangelization, which is available online. Use it to explore ways to make yours a more vibrant, youth-friendly parish:

> CLICK HERE TO READ THE STATEMENT

> I want you to have access to as much information as possible, in order to be "armed" in the ongoing battle of working with God's young people! Parish youth ministry contacts, please e-mail me so I can keep you "in touch" with what's going on in YM! I will add you to an e-mailing list used to distribute facts, news, etc. about youth, resources, etc. YM is all about IDEAS, and I'll use the list to get you those ideas. Hopefully you can use those ideas to help you in your ministry. Let's work together to bring better ministry to God's teens!  Kev:  

> A summary of Youth Ministry Services provided by OYYA.
 

> "Youth Ministry Library" : Check out our list of great articles for adults working with youth!