Growing the Church Among Our Youth

Bishop meets with youth ministers from around the diocese to discuss ways to strengthen programs

MADISON  In today’s secular and media-driven society, coming of age in the faith can be a challenge for many teenagers, who are so vital to the life and growth of the Church. For this reason, Bishop Serratelli met with about 50 youth ministers from around the diocese Oct. 5 at St. Paul’s Inside the Walls here to discuss ways parishes can continue to strengthen their youth ministry programs.

“Young people are at an age and place in their lives where it is very critical we reach them,” the Bishop said. “After receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation, many of them do not participate in the life of the Church. Often times though, if they have a strong faith foundation, they stay with that. Even when they go off to college, they always return back to the faith.”

Father Paul Manning, diocesan vicar for evangelization and director of St. Paul’s and Brian Honsberger, assistant director of evangelization, helped lead the discussion among youth ministers.

The diocesan youth ministry office is a coordinated effort by a team from St. Paul’s. The people serving in that the office are Father Manning and Honsberger along with Ivannia Vega-McTighe, associate academic dean for evangelization; Pat Terranella, administrative assistant at St. Paul’s, and Eric Munoz, campus minister at Fairleigh Dickenson University and Drew University, both in Madison.

Most of the youth ministers in the diocese also serve as Confirmation coordinators or Confirmation catechists in their parishes and many of the young people who are members of the youth ministry began preparing for Confirmation during their freshman year in high school. The Bishop challenged the youth ministers to imagine, “What if the young people weren’t preparing for Confirmation, how would we get them in Church? In some dioceses, Confirmation sometimes happens before First Communion.”

Several youth ministers talked about how they kept young people active. At St. Patrick Parish in Chatham, which partners with St. Vincent Martyr Parish in Madison, Maggie Grady, youth minister, said, “It’s important to give the young people a sense of ownership. Once they get confirmed, they are the ones leading the retreats for the freshmen and sophomores. They become peer ministers and they get a sense of belonging to the Church.”

Throughout the diocese, the youth ministers all shared the success of young people staying involved because of retreats. The Antioch Retreat and SEARCH are still very popular retreats among young people because teenagers lead the retreats for other teenagers.

Jeff Beer, youth minister at St. Vincent DePaul Parish in Stirling, attributes belonging to youth group in helping him grow in his faith. “I was actually one of the teens who was on retreat teams, which eventually led me to serve my Church,” he said.

In addition to serving their peers at St. Rose of Lima Church in East Hanover, the parish has invited its 10th graders to mentor second graders. Stephanie Politi, youth minister, said, “The little ones see the teens as role models. The young people feel good about making a difference.”

Another discussion that came up is Mass attendance among young people. While they attend Confirmation classes and youth ministry meetings, sometimes they do not attend Mass on a regular basis. Phyllis Philips, youth minister at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Sparta, said, “We actually do attendance cards for the teens. At first, it seemed like they were going out of obligation but eventually they started to go because they wanted to get closer to their faith and Jesus. Some young people even bring friends to Mass. They started to have discussions and they realized youth ministry is not only just about having fun but also faithfully growing.”

Because parents play an important role in keeping young people involved, at Assumption Parish in Morristown, a teen/parent retreat is held as part of the Confirmation program. Lisa Sullivan, youth minister, said, “At first, both the parents and teens did not want to do this. I received so many emails from parents who couldn’t understand why they had to attend a retreat. But then when we held it, the parents were grateful we did, because it opened up a lot for parents to build a better relationship with their teens. I got even more emails from parents thanking me.”

At the end of the meeting, Bishop Serratelli told the youth ministers, “This is the beginning of the conversation about growing the Church among our youth. I am very encouraged. The work you do with youth is essential through the witness of your own lives and dedication. Young people have to first meet Jesus and then know about him. That’s what catechesis has to be.”