<< A number of youth programs open special events to anyone, including teens from other parishes. Click "Around the Diocese" and check 'em out!
Evangelization
to, with, by, and for Catholic Teens:
Insights from the
Diocese of Gary Youth Council
Read what our
Diocesan Youth Council had to say about why teens participate- or
DON'T participate- in faith-based activities, including Mass and youth
ministry activities.
click here
High school teens are invited to attend TAPT, a Diocesan Catholic weekend retreat, held March 23-25 at Camp Lawrence, north of Valparaiso. Retreat activities include: talks, discussions, prayer, recreation, Reconciliation, and Eucharist. TAPT is designed to bring teens into a more intimate encounter with the Incarnate Jesus Christ. For complete details, click here
Registration opens Feb. 1!
OYYA presents “Youth Ministry University,”
a two day YM training program, on two consecutive Tuesdays, Apr. 17 & 24,
5:30-9:30pm both nights, at the Diocese of Gary Pastoral Center in
Merrillville. YMU trains YM coordinators, volunteers, and anyone working
with young people in middle and high school. The content is based on the
comprehensive model of YM advocated by the USCCB in Renewing the Vision: A
Framework for Catholic Youth Ministry. Read more...
Be sure to visit our
WYD webpage for links to the photo gallery, blogs and more that captured the spirit of this unforgettable pilgrimage!
Middle
School Youth Ministry: More Important Than Ever!: ministry with youth
in grades 6-8 (junior high or middle school youth ministry) has evolved
from “a good idea to have something to feed into your high school program”
to “essential if you hope to have anyone in your high school program.” Kev writes...
NFCYM Launches New Web Resource Area on Technology: The vision for youth ministry as identified by the U.S. bishops and others, clearly calls for the evangelization and catechesis of the young. The inculturation of the Gospel—in language and forms accessible to younger generations—is a complex, but essential task. The NFCYM has created a new resource area to provide guidance to pastoral ministers on the use of various technologies, and as an aid to pastoral ministers and diocesan, parish, and/or school personnel in determining appropriate boundaries in their use of technology within their ministry area and professional relationships with others.
Included is the new Recommended Technology Guidelines for Pastoral Work with Young People. These recommendations were developed by the NFCYM in consultation with the USCCB Secretariat for Child and Youth Protection and the Secretariat for Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth. I highly recommend this document for all youth ministers. Visit the resource area here: www.nfcym.org/resources/technology/index.htm
Presenting YM Coffee Talk!You are invited to join us on the first Monday of each month for YM Coffee Talk, a gathering for anyone in ministry alongside middle and HS youth. Not a meeting as much as a chance to pray together, support one another, share ideas, and ask "How are you?" And Kev picks up the tab for the first round of
beverages! It’s not only a great chance to feel supported in your ministry, but to also give you another tool to develop your ministry, and you as a minister. click here for more
Youth Ministry today: It's "out there": Using the Lukan account of the parable of the fishermen, Kev writes on how different YM looks today. "Go out and fish. Just don’t catch and release!" reminds us that we have to venture out into the deep, and then bring them back to shore. click here
'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").
> 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.
Using a careful discernment and consensus process, the Diocesan Youth Council arrived at this list. The DYC invites parish leaders to use this list as a discussion starter with youth. Some may agree with items on this list, some may disagree, but it could be the start of good discussions.
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:
> 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:
Evangelization
to, with, by, and for Catholic Teens: 
Middle
School Youth Ministry: More Important Than Ever!: ministry with youth
in grades 6-8 (junior high or middle school youth ministry) has evolved
from “a good idea to have something to feed into your high school program”
to “essential if you hope to have anyone in your high school program.”
Included is the new Recommended Technology Guidelines for Pastoral Work with Young People. These recommendations were developed by the NFCYM in consultation with the USCCB Secretariat for Child and Youth Protection and the Secretariat for Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth. I highly recommend this document for all youth ministers. Visit the resource area here: 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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?" (
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, 
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:
> 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: 
>