Adult Youth Ministry Formation, Networking, Support & Professional Growth:

YM Coffee Talk
First Monday of each month
4-5:30

Diocesan Ministry Congress
St. Thomas More, Munster
October 1-2

Diocese of Gary
Emmaus Pgm
Fall, 2010 (2pg PDF flyer)

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

OYYA Services

Implementing Youth Ministry: Parish Pastoral Council Commissions
 

Position Description:
Youth Ministry Leader

YM a big part of Diocesan Ministry Congress: The Diocese of Gary Ministry Congress is designed to bring together Church leaders from all ministries, united on a Mission much larger than we know. Youth ministers are invited to join ministry representatives from across Northwest Indiana on Fri. evening Oct. 1 and Sat., Oct. 2 at St. Thomas More (Munster) for prayer, inspiration, and formation. Features dynamic keynoter Fr. J-Glenn Murray, liturgy and prayer, and ministry experts from across the country. Adult YM leaders can enjoy workshops on reaching Millennials and recruiting new volunteers to help. You are also encouraged to bring your key HS-aged teen peer leaders. There will be a separate track for them on dynamic evangelization. click here for more information. (click Formation Sessions for more info on YM-related workshops)

Grásta Dé! 2010: Middle school youth from around the diocese will gather at the annual "Grásta Dé!" Middle School Youth Ministry Day on Sun., Oct. 24 from 1-7pm at Andrean HS, Merrillville. Grásta Dé! (Gaelic for "God's Grace") New in '10: a concert with Catholic rapper/speaker MashetiMoses! click here for more information

NCCYM 2010, New Orleans: Join thousands of your colleagues—youth and campus ministers, catechetical leaders, clergy, religious, musical artists and volunteers—for four days of inspiring keynotes, challenging workshops, dynamic prayer and worship, critical networking, extensive resources, and good-hearted entertainment. It's the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry (NCCYM), the largest adult conference for Catholic youth ministers in the country, coming Dec. 9-12 in New Orleans. click here for more

NCYC 2011, coming to Indy!  It's not too soon to start thinking about the 2011 National Catholic Youth Conference, coming to Indianapolis, Nov. 17-19. An unforgettable celebration of youth ministry in the USA! Think CYX, only x100! Preliminary planning info now available for group leaders. click here

THANK YOU! to all who made CYX 2010 an unforgettable Xperience of Christ! A special thanks to anyone who made a donation to the Opportunity Enterprises OE Lakeside Campaign. We raised nearly $1,000, which will be doubled by a matching grant. Truly HEROIC!

> Visit catholicyouthx.com and follow links to:
   - official 2010 photo gallery
   - Breath of the Spirit Award winner, Evan Dominguez (including the video)
   - Group Leader Evaluations

Youth Ministry in 2010: It's "out there": Using the Lukan account of the parable of the fishermen, Kev writes on how different YM is in 2010. "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

Bishop Melczek and the Diocese of Gary invite youth and young adults (16-30’s) on a pilgrimage to World Youth Day, August, 2011 in Madrid, Spain. Included: WYD festivities, including vigil and closing liturgy with the Holy Father. Additionally, the group will journey with Bishop Melczek on a memorable pilgrimage that will include visits to Lourdes & Avila, as well as religious formation, liturgy, and community building. itinerary & more...

'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

> 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.

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!