What works in Youth Ministry is to minister the whole person
“I have come that you may have life and have it to the full”, what an attractive prospect for a young person. “Life to the full” can be interpreted in so many different ways; does it speak to you as getting everything you want, to be granted your heart’s desires or is it to experience life in a very real and unprotected way and yet come out the other side having relished your experience?
Youth Ministry for me is about reiterating Jesus’ invitation to have life to the full. How we offer that prospect to young people is crucial. The language we use and the relevance of the message we offer are paramount. For me growing up in a small rural parish it was the personal invitation to get involved that I responded to. It was the authenticity of the people of faith I met in my teenage years that impressed me. It was the witness and the joy of others that attracted me to the person of Christ at the heart of all the retreats, Masses or prayer groups I was ever involved in. I learned quickly from friends in faith that a friendship with Christ was a solid foundation to build my life on. Friends in faith were at peace and content as they journeyed through life. There was a trust in something greater.
When we want young people to grow in faith we ultimately want them to have a personal encounter with Christ, not to know about him but to actually know him. I feel passionately that to know the person of Jesus will transform your life.
That is why I chose to work in Youth Ministry; this work is about encouraging and nurturing young people’s relationship with Jesus Christ. This work encompasses all the bits and pieces of their life; family, school, relationships, health, addictions, depression, socialising, craic, sport, style, music, peer pressure even living 24/7 in a virtual world.
Holistic
What works in Youth Ministry is to minister to the whole person, to bring faith into all the areas of their young lives. A good model of young ministry is holistic, forming the spiritual yes, but also the physical, emotional, creative and intellectual.
Building up a relationship between leader and young person is a key element of youth ministry. If we get can get to know the young people we work with on a personal level they are more open to the message and experiences we present.
Events in isolation can be life-giving but they are not long lasting. Structures are needed at a local level, such as parish youth workers, to ensure we are able to minister to young people often and regularly. The work we do presents the Gospel in a tangible way through faithful leaders, loyal friends, good witnesses and by being genuinely interested in, and caring about the young people in our parish, diocese, group or organisation. I think it is obvious that we offer faith experiences that are authentic but cool, that are of a high standard and match the culture of our times.
We need to meet the young people where they are at and help them realise Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. If young people see other young people engaged and fulfilled they are attracted. If young people feel welcome and appreciated they are attracted. If young people are loved and respected they want more.
Their greatest desire is to be loved and the ultimate experience of love is found in Christ. What works well are pilgrimages such as Lourdes or World Youth Day, youth programmes such as the GIFT or Alpha, prayer groups run by young people, youth liturgies where young people are involved and youth initiatives such as the Pope John Paul II Award.
Teenagers
The Pope John Paul II Award set up in 2006 has engaged approx 12,000 teenagers in faith-based activities in their local parishes. Granted their individual experiences measure differently but I have met those whose faith has been transformed by doing this award.
Likewise I’ve met a young man after Lourdes whose life was changed forever, the young woman who found a youth group and never wants to leave it. I do not accept that young people are rejecting their faith or Church. So much of my experience has been the opposite.
I believe our greatest challenge is access to young people; how do we meet them, get to know them, minister to them, and invite them, as Christ did, to have life to the full. Young people have not rejected their faith if they have not first experienced it in a meaningful and relevant way.
Mass may not always be the starting point, young people need leadership, creativity, catechesis and authentic opportunities to meet the person of Christ and grow in faith. We have much work still to do in Youth Ministry in Ireland.
Yvonne Rooney is a qualified teacher who works as the Youth Coordinator for the Derry diocese.