Jump to content
An Old School Catholic Message Board

Youth Ministry


catholicinsd

Recommended Posts

You still need someone to be in charge and keep everything organized. It all depends on their dedication and humiliity, bacause, I know as a youth minister one of the main things I have to do is hold core members accountable to the committment they have made. We also are continously reminding oureselves that it is not about us. I've yet to see what you are suggesting actually work well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went to a Parish where they had a Cell group system, with groups meeting to pray together, and take on responsibility for things like the offertory once every few months. One of the young people in the parish had taken the initiative to start a youth cell group (they were roughly 14-16) which worked really well. I think this was partly because he was a person of deep prayer and great leadership, and partly because the cell groups had clear structures for their meetings.

The young people wanted a youth group, and they actually asked their Priest to find an adult to run it, because they felt it needed someone who would help to give it direction and support. The priest asked the seminary, and I rolled up and really enjoyed doing it. I think the core group had all the skills to be able to do the running pretty much by themselves, but it probably wouldn't have worked as well without me and my successors to support and be someone to turn to for advice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've only heard of it working once, and it was only a stopgap sort of thing for a year or so. The CYO was being run by two 14-year olds. Now, they had plenty of help as far as chaperones and parents for transportation and legal issues, but they were the ones planning and executing the meetings on a week-to-week basis. They were the ones going to the diocesan offices to get forms, do paperwork, etc.

I want to make it clear: these were unusually gifted teenagers and an unusual situation. If it is at all possible, there needs to be a minimum of an adult chaperone/liason/etc. to keep everything in line, even if the functions are planned and executed normally by the teens. (My friend, now 23, is among 4-5 people running a youth group, studying for a theology degree, and working his tail off... Like I said, he's unusually gifted. And he lives at a retreat center, literally.) I think my buddy would agree that it's something you should like to avoid at that age.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

[quote name='catholicinsd' post='1085942' date='Oct 6 2006, 11:29 PM']
Hey Pham, I come to ask your opinion:
[b]
Can a Youth Ministry function with a core group of older kids in the place of Youth Minister? [/b]
[/quote]

+

No. But, having one this way is better than not having one at all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='kujo' post='1086317' date='Oct 7 2006, 04:24 PM']
In my humble opinion,

A youth minister will find it [i]extremely difficult[/i] (I stop short of saying [i]impossible[/i]) to do his/her job without a "core group" of teenagers who can function as his/her arms and legs within the youth group.

Similarly, it would be [i]extremely difficult[/i] (once again, not necessarily [i]impossible[/i]) for a group of teenagers to run a youth group. This comes from experience, for I was in a "core group" of teens that was asked (unofficially) to run a youth group while we waited for a new youth minister. It was draining, and I hate to say that we were not completely successful; however, we did accomplish a wonderful retreat and a few solid LIFE Nights.

Take this for what it's worth. I am a former youth groupie as well as a current youth minister, so I've been in both arenas and I can say with certainty that both are needed.
[/quote]
That sounds reasonable. I would be wary of saying that a group of teens [i]can't[/i] do it... they would simply have to be very dedicated and mature. It probably wouldn't work out in most situations. Especially since most of the teens leading it would only be around for four years at a time, even assuming that they were all in leadership positions from the time of their freshman years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...