Comprehensive Youth Ministry Toolkit - Flocknote

Comprehensive Youth Ministry 

Toolkit 

Tools for Building Your Youth Ministry Framework 

Tool 1: Using the Comprehensive Youth Ministry Grid 

What is our current youth ministry response? Use this tool to inventory and 

assess your current youth ministry responses. 

Tool 2: Assessing Ministry Responsiveness 

How effective are our current youth ministry efforts? Use this tool to assess 

your response to youth within the component areas of ministry. 

Tool 3: Evaluating Your Programming Mix 

How balanced is our program? Use this tool to evaluate the balance and 

variety in your programming mix by looking at your ministry offerings and 

your use of resources. 

Tool 4: Developing More Responsive Youth Program 

How shall we respond to this need? Use the resources in this tool to choose 

and develop a ministry response to strengthen, re-design or create new 

programming. 

Tool 5: Designing Gathered and Small Group Programming 

How shall we design gathered programs? Use this to tool to design gathered 

and small group programs for youth and their families. 

Tool 6: Designing Individualized Programming 

How shall we design individualized program strategies? Use this to tool to 

design gathered and small group programs for youth and their families. 

Tools for Ministry in the Youth Setting 

Tool 7: Developmentally Appropriate Programming 

How can we respond to the developmental needs of youth? Use this tool to 

assess and tailor your program content and processes to the needs of young 

and older adolescents. 

© Center for Ministry Development 1

Tool 8: Asset-building for Positive Adolescent Growth 

How can we plan for building assets in youth and their families? Use this tool 

assess and plan for positive youth developmental efforts. 

Tool 9: Faith-building Assets for Adolescent Growth 

How can we incorporate faith-building throughout our youth ministry 

efforts? Use this tool to assess and plan for building the faith-formation 

assets from Renewing the Vision into your program efforts. 

Tool 10: Ministry to Youth of Ethnic Cultures 

How do we minister to the diversity of youth in our community? Use this 

tool to enhance your ministry efforts with youth from a variety of cultures 

and ethnic backgrounds. 

Tool 11: Promoting Multicultural Awareness and Understanding 

How can we promote multi-cultural understanding and appreciation? Use 

this tool to build multicultural awareness, appreciation and understanding 

into your youth ministry program. 

Tools for Ministry in the Family Setting 

Tool 12: Incorporating a Family Perspective in Youth Ministry 

How can we include the needs of families as we plan? Use this tool to assess 

current ministry efforts and to plan for ministry programs and strategies that 

incorporate a family perspective. 

Tool 13: Designing In-Home Family Activities 

How can we connect our ministries with the home? Use this tool to design 

and organize in-home family activities. 

Tool 14: Designing Family Programming 

What do we need to keep in mind as we plan family programs and resources? 

Use this tool to consider important elements when planning for family 

involvement. 

Tool 15: Ideas for Becoming Family-Friendly in Youth Ministry 

What can we do to respond to families of adolescents? Use this tool to 

consider a variety of ideas and strategies for becoming family-friendly. 

Tools for Ministry in the Parish Setting 

Tool 16: Building a Youth-friendly Parish Community 

How can we make our parish more youth-friendly? Use this tool to assess the 

climate, attitudes, practices and environment in your current community. 

Consider the ideas listed as strategies for building your parish community. 


Tool 17: Connecting Youth and Parish Liturgy 

How can we connect youth to our parish liturgies. Use this tool to plan for 

youth involvement in your communal worship. 

Tool 18: Involving Youth in Leadership 

How can we help youth to be leaders? Use this tool to prepare, place and 

support youth as leaders. 

Tool 19: Involving Youth in Decision-making and Planning 

How can we give youth a voice in our community? Use this tool to include 

youth in planning in your parish. 

Tool 20: Creating Intergenerational Relationships 

How can we connect youth to adults in our community? Use this tool to 

develop youth relationships in your intergenerational community. This 

includes: (1) meaningful involvement of adolescents in community life and 

leadership roles, and (2) mentoring relationships. 

Tool 21: Developing Intergenerational Opportunities for 

Faith Formation 

How can we connect our whole community together as we grow in faith? 

Use this tool to consider the variety of opportunities for ministry and faith 

formation for adolescents and the intergenerational community. 

Tool 22: Collaborating with Parish Ministries and Organizations 

How can we work with the organizations and ministries of our parish? Use 

this tool to plan for networking, cooperation and collaboration in your 

parish. 

Tools for Ministry in the Wider Community Setting 

Tool 23: Discovering the Resources in Your Community 

What are the resources in our community? Who else cares about youth and 

families? Use this tool to profile the congregations, schools, agencies and 

pastoral care resources in your area. 

Tool 24: Collaborating with Community Organizations 

How can we collaborate effectively with community organizations? Use this 

tool to determine your next steps in collaboration with community resource 

agencies. 

Tool 25: Becoming an Advocate for Youth 

How can we give youth a voice? How can we make a difference for youth 

and families, especially those most in need? Use this tool to develop 

advocacy strategies for youth and family issues and concerns. 


A Comprehensive Youth 

Ministry Toolkit 

This section is designed as a toolkit – filled with practical insights, ideas, and processes for 

understanding and applying the vision of comprehensive youth ministry described in the U.S. 

Catholic Bishops’ pastoral plan, Renewing the Vision – A Framework for Catholic Youth Ministry. It is 

organized around the four primary ministry settings of comprehensive youth ministry: adolescents, 

families, parish community, and civic community. 

Section Eight is designed to be used in a variety of ways by a variety of leadership in ministry with 

adolescents. Coordinators and teams can use the insights and tools to assess their current ministry 

efforts with young and older adolescents and plan for enhancing and strengthening their ministry. 

They can also use the insights and tools to improve a particular aspect of their ministry with 

adolescents, such as family-friendly or intergenerational. Individual program leaders can use the 

tools to develop or enhance one component of ministry with adolescents. 

An Essential Resource for Using Section Eight 

Renewing the Vision – A Framework 

for Catholic Youth Ministry 

All of the tools in Section Eight are designed to implement the comprehensive vision 

found in Renewing the Vision. Be sure to read the appropriate sections in Renewing the 

Vision before you apply the tools to your ministry. 


Part One 

Tools for Building Your 

Youth Ministry Framework 

Ministry with adolescents creates structures which address the changing needs and life 

situations of today’s young people and their families within a particular community. The 

comprehensive approach incorporates the following elements in developing ministry 

programming for adolescents. 

a diversity of program settings 

• age-specific programs for young and older adolescents 

• family-centered programs for the entire family, for parents, for foster parents, for 

grandparents raising children, and for adolescents 

• intergenerational parish programs 

• community-wide programs 

a balanced mix of programs, activities, and strategies which address the eight 

components of comprehensive ministry 

a variety of approaches to reach all adolescents and their families including 

• gathered parish, school, and community-wide programs 

• small group programs and small ecclesial community experiences 

• home-based programs, activities and resources 

• one-on-one and mentoring programs and activities 

• independent or self-directed programs 

a variety of scheduling options and program settings to respond to the reality of the busy 

lives and commitments of adolescents and their families (RTV 25) 

Key Features of a Comprehensive Framework 

A Diversity of Program Settings 

Comprehensive ministry with adolescents uses all four ministry settings – youth, family, 

church community, and civic community to respond to the needs of young people and to 

involve young people more fully in the life of the faith community. The four ministry 

settings are a distinctive feature of comprehensive youth ministry . 

A Balanced Mix 

Comprehensive ministry with adolescents balances and integrates the eight ministry 

components, four program settings, and program approaches so that youth ministry can 

reach all the young people and their families, and the resources of the community can be 

wisely used. A distinctive feature of comprehensive youth ministry is responding to the 


needs of young people through the eight ministry components. (See the Youth Ministry Grid 

in Tool 1 for a graphical representation of this integration.) 

A Variety of Approaches 

Comprehensive ministry with adolescents can be designed using three different program 

approaches: gathered programs, small group programs, or individualized programs, 

multiplying your programming options and reducing the reliance on gathered programs as 

the primary approach to ministry programming. Mixing and balancing the three program 

approaches ensures that comprehensive youth ministry is flexible and adaptable in 

responding to young people’s needs. 

Gathered Programs 

Gathered programs focus on participation in organized, assembled programs in youthonly 

settings, in family settings, parish community settings, or in civic community 

settings. Examples of gathered programs include youth meetings, social events, trips, 

retreats, liturgical experiences, parish events, family programs, intergenerational 

programs. The gathered approach to programming is probably the most common, but it 

is also the most overused and the least flexible in responding to the complexity of 

people’s schedules and the diversity of adolescent needs. 

Non-Gathered Programs 

Small Group Programs focus on designing programming using a small group 

setting of youth, families, or intergenerational groupings. Small groups provide great 

flexibility in addressing a wide variety of needs because of the variety of scheduling 

and site options (e.g., homes for learning programs, social service centers for service 

projects) that are available. Small group programming provides adolescents who 

cannot attend gathered programs because of school, work, or family schedules 

another alternative. Small groups can be utilized for evangelization programming, 

catechetical courses, prayer groups, self-help support groups, and bible study, to 

name a few. Small group settings allow easy use of video-based or video-assisted 

programs. 

Individualized Programs focus on design programming for individual or family 

use. Individualized programs provide great flexibility in responding to a wide variety 

of needs and removing scheduling and site requirements. They also provide 

adolescents who cannot attend gathered programs because of school, work, or family 

schedules another alternative. Individualized programs include home-based activities 

and resources, spiritual direction, mentoring, independent learning projects, peer 

ministry, and newsletters. 

A Variety of Scheduling and Setting Options 

Comprehensive ministry with adolescents is best implemented using a variety of program 

offerings organized in time formats and settings designed to meet the needs, schedules, and 

interests of youth and families. There is so much diversity in needs and so much competition 

for young people’s time that a youth ministry must be very creative in offering formats, 

settings and schedules that respond to the real life situations of young people. 

A variety of program schedules – weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, extended time, full day, 

overnight, weekend, weeklong, 3-6 p.m. weekdays 


A variety of environments for programming – parish facility, homes, retreat centers, 

community centers; 

Advantages of the Comprehensive Approach to 

Programming 

It clarifies the purpose of each program since each program meets different needs. 

Youth ministries which embrace the comprehensive model offer a variety of program 

content, but each program has a specific purpose. 

Interest-centered programming builds attendance patterns with multiple involvements of 

youth. Youth ministries which embrace the comprehensive model find that participation 

increases because of responding to needs, offering variety, and giving people the 

freedom to participate in the time and format which suits them best. Simply put, it fits 

the family and young people’s schedule better. 

Recruiting leaders is much easier since you are asking for a shorter-term commitment 

with more clearly defined responsibilities. The paradox in the comprehensive model is 

that you will need more volunteer leaders, but it will be easier to find them because you 

are clearer about their job and their time commitment. Like everyone else, leaders have 

busy lives. Experience has proven that a youth ministry which offers a variety of 

program content and program schedules will have an easier time finding leaders than a 

youth ministry which offers only weekly or year-long leadership roles. 

Specializing develops the talents and gifts of youth and adults more effectively, and there 

are more opportunities for expanded youth leadership. Effective youth ministries match 

the gifts and abilities of an adult or youth leader to a particular program, develop his or 

her competence and confidence in conducting the program, and then offer the program 

multiple times (in a year or over several years) for different groups of young people 

and/or families. This maximizes the investment of the leader and reduces leader turnover. 

The variety of programming offered in the comprehensive model offers more 

leadership roles for youth, more opportunities to plan and conduct programs, and more 

settings to minister to their peers. 

Youth get more involved with adult role models since the group size in each program 

tends to be smaller. In the large, gathered youth groups, young people may have only 

had contact with one or two adult role models for the entire year. In the comprehensive 

model, they have the chance to interact with a variety of adult role models in a variety of 

program settings. Even though the programs may be short term in duration, the adultyouth 

ratio is better, allowing for the development of more meaningful relationships 

which can continue after the program has concluded. Creative youth ministries have 

even developed mentoring programs or monthly small group meetings of an adult (or 

couple) and up to ten young people to provide a continuous support system for youth 

because of the short-term nature of programming in the comprehensive model. 

Programs can be allowed to die without endangering the rest of your offerings. By 

regularly evaluating programs, you can determine which ones are ineffective or have 

addressed a need which no longer exists and can therefore be dropped or redesigned. 


With the variety of program offerings, no one program carries the responsibility for the 

entire ministry. This allows for high degree of flexibility in addressing new needs. 

The comprehensive approach with its eight components create a natural management 

system. Each of the eight components could be coordinated by a task force or 

committee of youth and adult leaders who would be responsible for developing and 

conducting programming. A youth ministry team or council representing each 

component could coordinate the work of the various task forces or committees, set 

policies and directions, and evaluate programming. In smaller churches the eight 

committees could easily be substituted for one youth ministry team which coordinates 

the youth ministry, as well as planning and/or conducting programs. 

Resources for Comprehensive Youth Ministry 

101 Asset Building Ideas. (Poster) Minneapolis: Search Institute, 1998. 

130 Ways to Involve Parents in Youth Ministry. Loveland, CO: Group Books, 1994. 

Andress, Shelby I. Working Together for Youth – A Practical Guide for Individuals and Groups. 

Minneapolis: Search Institute, 1993. 

Asset-Building Resources: Uniting Communities for Youth, Parenting with a Purpose, Learning and 

Living, Tapping the Potential, Renewing Hope, Finding Focus. Minneapolis: Search Institute, 

1995. (Individual booklets) 

Benson, Peter. All Kids Are Our Kids – What Communities Must Do to Raise Caring and Responsible 

Children and Adolescents. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998, 

Benson, Peter, Judy Galbraith and Pamela Espeland. What Kids Need to Succeed. 1995. 

Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development. Great Transitions – Preparing Adolescents for a 

New Century. New York: Carnegie Corporation of America, 1995. 

DeVries, Mark. Family-Based Youth Ministry. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994 

Healthy Communities, Healthy Youth. (Poster) Minneapolis: Search Institute, 1998. 

Martinson, Roland. Effective Youth Ministry: A Congregational Approach. Minneapolis: Augsburg 

Press, 1988. 

NCCB. Renewing the Vision – A Framework for Catholic Youth Ministry. Washington, DC: Office 

of Publishing, 1997. 

Olson, Richard P. and Joe H. Leonard. A New Day for Family Ministry. Washington, DC: 

Alban Institute, 1996. 

Roehlkepartain, Eugene C. Building Assets in Congregations – A Practical Guide for Helping Youth 

Grow Up Healthy. Minneapolis: Search Institute, 1998. 

Roehlkepartain, Jolene. Building Assets Together – 135 Group Activities for Helping Youth Succeed. 



Tools for Comprehensive Programming 

Tool 1: Using the Comprehensive Youth Ministry Grid 

What is our current youth ministry response? Use this tool to inventory and assess your 

current youth ministry responses. 

Tool 2: Assessing Ministry Responsiveness 

How effective are our current youth ministry efforts? Use this tool to assess your response 

to youth within the component areas of ministry. 

Tool 3: Evaluating Your Programming Mix 

How balanced is our program? Use this tool to evaluate the balance and variety in your 

programming mix by looking at your ministry offerings and your use of resources. 

Tool 4: Developing More Responsive Youth Program 

How shall we respond to this need? Use the resources in this tool to choose and develop a 

ministry response to strengthen, re-design or create new programming. 

Tool 5: Designing Gathered and Small Group Programming 

How shall we design gathered programs? Use this to tool to design gathered and small group 

programs for youth and their families. 

Tool 6: Designing Individualized Programming 

How shall we design individualized program strategies? Use this to tool to design gathered 

and small group programs for youth and their families. 


Tool 1 

Using the Comprehensive 

Youth Ministry 

Grid 

One of the easiest ways to get a snapshot of your current ministry and identify areas for growth is to 

complete the Youth Ministry Grid. Use the following process to identify your current programs and 

potential resources. 

Step One – Identifying Current Programs 

The first step will be to identify programs and activities that respond to, or are directed at, 

or involve teenagers. They can focus on young adolescent ministry or older adolescent 

ministry or both. Complete the Youth Ministry Grid the first time by writing in current 

programs or activities in the appropriate categories (boxes). (You may want to copy the 

worksheet onto newsprint and then fill-in the appropriate boxes.) Write “current” at the top 

of the first Grid worksheet. Be sure to think of small-group and individualized 

programming, as well as the gathered programming in each of the four ministry settings and 

for each ministry component. 

After you have completed your work, assess the strengths of your current youth ministry and 

identify areas of growth. 

Step Two – Identifying Potential Resources 

The second step of this exercise is designed uncover programs and activities of the parish 

that offer the potential for incorporating a youth component or for collaboration and 

partnership. This exercise is intended to uncover resources and program opportunities that 

could be used in a comprehensive youth ministry. Oftentimes a slight adjustment or the 

addition of a youth component will make a family or church community program youthinclusive. 

In other cases, there are resources in the community (other churches, youth 

organizations, and schools) that could be used in your programming (e.g., co-sponsoring a 

program, using a community program for your youth, using video resources or guest 

speakers). Complete the Youth Ministry Grid a second time and write “potential” at the 

top of the second Grid worksheet. 

After you have completed your work, determine how you can better use your potential 

resources to strengthen your current youth ministry and address areas of growth you 

identified in Step One. 


The Youth Ministry Grid 

Developing Comprehensive Youth Ministry 

Advocacy 

Catechesis 

Community Life 

Evangelization 

Justice and 

Service 

Leadership 

Development 

Pastoral Care 

Prayer and 

Worship 

Adolescents 

Gathered 

Small Group 

and 

Individualized 

Gathered 

Families 

Small Group 

and 


Parish 

Wider 

Community 

© Center for Ministry Development 8 

Gathered 

Small Group 

and 


Gathered 

Small Group 

and 

Individualized

Growing Your Youth Ministry! 

Ideas Across the Ministry Components 

After assessing your current efforts, consider the following ideas to expand your ministry across the 

components. 

Advocacy 

Develop a youth newsletter, written and formatted by youth, for youth. Include an adult and 

parent insert to send to the entire parish. Provide information about the opportunities for 

ministry with youth and job descriptions for leadership needed in the programs and 

strategies. 

Develop a youth hearing to explore the needs, issues, and interests of youth in your 

community. Invite youth and adults to attend and reflect together on those issues. 

Begin a letter-writing campaign to government, media and other officials supporting specific 

legislative initiatives promoting the healthy development of young people and their families. 

Involve young people in parish pastoral councils and committees. 

Sponsor a forum of community leaders that reflects on the asset-building strategies 

developed by the Search Institute. 

Sponsor and involve youth in a voter registration drive. 

Catechesis 

Sponsor educational programs on faith themes for adolescents as articulated in Renewing the 

Vision. Utilize a variety of settings and formats (weekly, monthly speaker series, weekend 

retreats, overnight lock-ins, summer and vacation programs). 

Develop catechetical programming on the same faith theme in three different formats to 

respond to the diversity of youth schedules: a gathered program sponsored on a fixed date 

(mini-course, monthly program, weekend), a small group program in homes sponsored on 

variety of days and times, and an individualized one-on-one study program. 

Invite high school students to be catechists, sharing faith in the childhood and junior high 

religious education programs of the parish. 

Send an anniversary card to remember the baptism of each adolescent. Provide one or two 

reflection questions for parents to help them remember this significant moment as a family. 

Organize Bible study groups designed to help youth re-discover the importance and 

relevance of scripture in their lives. 

Provide self-directed learning for youth by using Youth Updates which are published by St. 

Anthony Messenger Press. Distribute the updates and develop a monthly “read-at-home” 

program with gathered discussions and follow-up. 

Create faith-sharing, interest-topic peer groups for youth involved in different activities or 

situations, such as: band, athletics, artists, college-bound students, or youth involved in 

theatre. Provide faith formation materials and adult guides for each group. 


Community Life 

Build community by sponsoring a variety of social activities, sports and recreation programs, 

etc. 

Invite older adolescents to sponsor a Halloween party for younger parishioners. 

Prepare “study-snack” packs for youth during finals week. Involve parish organizations and 

adult leaders in organizing and delivering the packs. 

Sponsor a pot-luck for families of adolescents so that parents can meet other parents. 

Provide parish T-shirts to adults who regularly attend school youth programs (athletic and 

band events, plays, art shows, etc.). 

Sponsor fund-raisers for different youth activities. Involve as many youth and adults as 

possible. Consider fundraisers in which youth and adults will work together in groups, such 

as spaghetti dinners, car washes, or festivals. 

Send birthday cards to every young person in your parish. 

Evangelization 

Sponsor retreats for teens on topics such as the challenge of discipleship, and the life and 

message of Jesus. 

Host a “homecoming” celebration for teens who have not been actively participating in your 

faith community. 

Plan a youth component for parish renewal programs such as a parish mission or the Renew 

program. 

Divide the teens in your parish into groups of eight. Assign each group two adult mentors. 

Instruct the adults to find ways to connect with those teens over the course of the year 

(phone calls, e-mail, personal notes, get-togethers, meeting at church, etc.). 

“Breakfast with Father:” Sponsor a pancake breakfast for small groups of youth at the 

rectory. Provide the young people with the opportunity to share their dreams and hopes. 

Develop a post-confirmation role in the parish and its ministries for each youth. 

Develop a parish home page on the internet with areas of special interest for young people. 

Justice and Service 

Develop education programs for young people to explore important justice issues that affect 

their lives and their world. 

Sponsor a Thanksgiving scavenger hunt to collect food for food pantries or families in need 

in your community. 

Develop a youth-service group for young people interested in community service. 

Develop relationships with service organizations in your areas that involve youth and their 

families in service. Consider Habitat for Humanity, local food pantries, soup kitchens and 

homeless shelters. 

Develop an adopt-a-grandparent program. Invite and prepare teens to visit with an elderly 

person on a regular basis. 

Organize a group of young people to participate in a summer weeklong service program. 

Identify the adults in the parish who are already involved in justice and service work in the 

community and find ways to connect young people with these adults. Adults already engaged 

in justice and service work can serve as mentors for young people the work and involve 

young people in the work they are already doing. 


Leadership Development 

Develop a peer ministry leadership group. 

Invite youth to serve on parish councils and committees. Prepare the adults on those 

committees to work with young people. 

Develop a link with the scouting units (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Campfire Girls) in your 

area. 

Sponsor and give scholarships to the young people in your parish to attend leadership 

development programs. 

Have a special sign-up table at your parish ministry fair with listings of youth leadership 

positions that match with adolescent’s gifts and energy. 

Sponsor a day of reflection for youth called to leadership in the community (student 

councils, leadership in clubs, scouting, etc.). 

For Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, plan a program of prayer and reflection for youth leaders 

on the issues of leadership and service. 

Pastoral Care 

Develop programs designed to aid youth in the formation of planning, decision-making, 

communication and conflict resolution skills. 

Sponsor a self-esteem awareness workshop. 

Develop a list of recommended counselors in the community who would be helpful to youth 

and families in need of counseling. 

Sponsor a breakfast study club that brings young people together to study with peers and 

tutors. 

Sponsor a book club for youth, similar to Oprah’s book club. Have young people write 

reviews of their favorite books. Provide incentives for reading for pleasure. 

Develop a network of adult mentors who will connect with, support, and be available to 

youth. 

Develop peer discussion groups to support adolescents experiencing divorce, separation, 

death of a parent, etc. 

Prayer and Worship 

Invite youth to participate as liturgical ministers (lectors, eucharistic ministers, greeters). 

Develop a youth choir or invite youth to join the parish choir. 

Celebrate rituals and blessings at liturgy or other times that mark the special moments in 

teen’s lives such as getting your driver’s license, homecoming, prom, graduation, etc. 

Invite adolescents to become prayer partners for young parishioners preparing for first 

communion. 

Invite youth to become involved in preparing the parish liturgy environment. Through this 

involvement, youth can be part of the planning for and decorating of the church for 

different liturgical seasons. 

Sponsor a retreat for adolescents on personal prayer. Provide a “How to Pray” guide for 

each youth. 

Develop a guide for celebrating Advent and Lent at home. 

Involve youth in preparing and leading prayer services and liturgical experiences such as a 

“Living Stations of the Cross.” 


Tool 2 

Assessing Ministry 

Responsiveness 

To determine the responsiveness of your current ministries and programs, review your ministry profile 

and the examples listed under each ministry. Then rate each ministry by using an A for excellent – 

a real strength, B for good, C for adequate – room for growth, or D for poor – needs lots of 

improvement. Each of the items below are designed to be examples of programs or strategies for each 

ministry component to help you to categorize your current efforts. 

Catechesis Your Rating ___________ 

Gathered 

• Religious education programs focused on youth faith and life issues 

• Family enrichment programs focused around the needs of families with adolescents 

• Confirmation preparation programs which address the need for young people to be actively engaged 

in the mission of the church 

Small-Group 

• Bible study groups 

• Study groups organized around catechetical themes relevant to youth 

• Small mentoring groups designed to give youth a chance to pause and reflect with a group of their 

peers and an adult faith mentor 


• Resources (videos, cassettes and print materials) for self-study on faith and life issues 

• Faith formation articles and activities available through newsletters, Internet home pages, etc. 

Community Life Your Rating ___________ 

Gathered 

• Youth involved in parish festivals and celebrations 

• Social activities offered for youth 

• Workshops which teach practical life skills 

Small-Group 

• Support groups for youth organized around life situations (working, athletics, the arts.) 

• Welcome home functions for youth during holidays and summer 

• Trips, meals, and activities for small groups of youth 


• Newsletter by and for youth 

• Home page on the Internet for youth 


Evangelization Your Rating ___________ 

Gathered 

• Programs specially designed for alienated or non-involved Catholics 

• Welcome back to church programs and get-acquainted dinners for youth 

• Connecting youth to parish after confirmation 

Small-Group 

• Programs for youth on the life and message of Jesus and the challenges of discipleship 

• Youth focused groups in renewal programs like Renew 

• Meals or gatherings of youth to share their expectations and hopes 


• Personal contact with youth by phone, a visit, bulletin notices, e-mail, etc. 

• Presence of parish staff or youth ministry volunteers at places where youth gather 

• Registration or welcome packet which invites youth to share their gifts 

Justice and Service Your Rating ___________ 

Gathered 

• Education sessions for youth on justice issues 

• Service projects involving youth in serving those in need 

• Celebrations of civic and ethnic holidays which focus on justice 

Small-Group 

• Study-advocacy groups to lobby for justice 

• Connecting youth with service organizations (e.g. Habitat for Humanity) 

• Fund-raising activities to support organizations which help the poor and work for social change 


• Directory of short and long-term service opportunities 

• Ideas for supporting justice and social change organizations 

• Information on alternative vacations and immersion programs for youth 

Leadership Your Rating ___________ 

Gathered 

• Youth involvement in parish committees and ministries 

• Leadership and peer ministry training for youth 

• Time and talent surveys which help youth discern their gifts for ministry and leadership 

Small-Group 

• Support groups available for youth serving in leadership positions 

• Leadership training for the leadership core group of youth 

• Workshops available on specific skills for leadership 


• Youth personally invited into leadership 

• Techniques for discernment of gifts for youth interested in leadership 

• Directory of leadership opportunities directed to youth 


Pastoral Care Your Rating ___________ 

Gathered 

• Workshops and courses for young people on life skills 

• Programs for parents and adolescents on important family life skills: communication, decisionmaking, 

problem-solving, etc. 

• Sexuality education programs with a Catholic perspective 

Small-Group 

• Parent education in home settings using video programs and trained facilitators 

• Support groups for young people and families during times of loss, sudden change, unexpected 

crises, problems and family or personal transitions 

• Training peer ministers to reach out to young people who are hurting 


• Laminated cards for youth with emergency phone numbers for help and counseling 

• Resource center with print, audio, and video resources for family life enrichment, adolescent and 

family issues and problems, life skills, etc. 

• Booklets or newsletters with family enrichment activities and resources for in-home use 

• Mentors to assist young people in making vocational, career, and educational decisions 

Prayer and Worship Your Rating ___________ 

Gathered 

• Sunday liturgies characterized by hospitality, music which appeals to youth, homilies which relate to 

the life issues of youth, and appreciation for youth gifts and needs 

• Rituals for the whole faith community which celebrate youth rites of passage 

• A variety of prayer services throughout the year designed to involve and attract youth 

• Workshops, courses, or retreats on learning how to pray and growing spiritually 

Small-Group 

• Occasional liturgies for youth in more intimate settings 

• Youth involvement in liturgical roles and liturgy preparation 

• Family celebrations of the Church year and family rites of passage 

• Spiritual reflection groups, prayer groups, and small group retreats 


• Reflections on the daily Scripture readings during Lent, Advent, Easter season 

• Spiritual direction for youth; spiritual reflection resources for youth 

• Cassettes and print materials for nurturing the prayer life of youth 

Your Assessment 

1. What strengths does your community bring to ministry with youth? Identify those 

ministries that are responding effectively to youth and/or involving youth more fully in 

the life of the faith community. Specify which of the three program methods (gathered, 

small group, individualized) are strongest or weakest in each component. 

2. Identify those ministries that need improvement to become more responsive to youth. 

Specify the ministries and which of the three program methods (gathered, small group, 

individualized) needs to be improved in each ministry. 


Tool 3 

Evaluating Your 

Programming Mix 

Use the following questions to evaluate the overall programming mix of your youth ministry using 

the characteristics from Renewing the Vision. 

Balance of Ministry Components 

♦ Is your ministry mix too oriented toward one or two components of comprehensive 

youth ministry? 

♦ How can you add components without dramatically increasing the amount of 

programming? 

Diversity of Program Settings 

♦ Does your ministry overemphasize youth programming and neglect family, parish, 

and community? 

♦ How can you transform some of your youth programming into family or parish 

programming (e.g., turning a youth meeting into a parent-teen meeting or turning a 

youth social into a parish-wide event)? 

♦ How you better utilize the programs and resources in the church community and 

civic community within your youth ministry? 

♦ Have you utilized the resources of the parish and civic communities well? 

♦ Can you meet some of your needs through better collaboration with other churches 

and organizations or through better use of resources? 

Variety of Approaches 

♦ Does your youth ministry overuse gathered programming and underutilize small 

group or individualized approaches? 

♦ Can you transform some gathered programs into small group programs? 

♦ Can you develop more one-to-one programming, such as mentoring, peer ministry? 

♦ Can you use new learning technologies (the Internet, video and audio cassettes) and 

communication approaches (newsletter) to reach young people who cannot 

participate in programs? 

Variety of Scheduling and Setting Options 

♦ Have you incorporated a variety of program schedules into your programming mix? 

♦ Have you incorporated a variety of program environments into your programming 

mix? 

♦ Are you offering young people the freedom to select the programs that best address 

their needs and interests? 


Tool 4 

Developing More 

Responsive 

Youth Programming 

There are a variety of ways to respond to the needs of youth and their families. These three 

responses that can help you move toward a more comprehensive youth ministry. 

1. Strengthening current ministry efforts 

2. Re-designing ministry programming 

3. Designing new ministry programming 

The Ministry Response Worksheet help you to determine which youth priority needs could be 

effectively addressed by re-designing or adjusting current programming, existing resources, or 

opportunities you are not using. Examples of this approach include incorporating youth into the 

current social outreach ministry in the parish or preparing youth responsive Sunday liturgies. It 

could also mean transforming a gathered program into a small group or individualized program or 

incorporating a small group or individualized component into a gathered program. Using this 

process will help you to consider existing programs and resources as you plan for your ministry 

response. 

There should be one issue, need, or program per worksheet. The questions on the Ministry 

Response Worksheet are designed to help you discern what kinds of responses they have available 

for each of these areas of need. Be aware that you may have multiple responses to each need. Use 

extra forms if necessary. 

After you have determined your response, utilize the worksheets that follow: Strengthen Existing 

Programming helps you to plan ways to enhance your current program; Developing Responsive 

Programming guides you through the process for re-designing existing programs or resources to 

better respond to youth by adjusting content, method, publicity, scheduling, or transforming a 

gathered program with a small group or individualized activity; and Making Use of Existing 

Resources helps you to identify the programs and resources in your parish or wider community that 

you can utilize in your ministry. 


Ministry Response Worksheet 

Need or Issue or Concern 

Do we have a current response? Yes No 

What is it? 

Do we want to maintain it? Improve it? Discontinue it? If so, how? 

Are there existing resources that already respond to this need to which we 

should connect? Yes No 

What are they? 

How do we connect? (Do we just sign up or should we advise this group or organization that we 

would like to take advantage of their resource? Should we partner with them to create a version for 

our youth?) 

Are there existing programs or strategies to which we could add a youth 

perspective? Yes No 

What are they? 

What changes would it take to add a youth perspective? 

Do we need to develop a new program or new strategy to respond? 

Yes No 

What is it? 


Strengthen Existing Programming 

Need or interest area that this program addresses: ____________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Name of program or strategy: ______________________________________ 

Sponsoring organization: __________________________________________ 

Key contact person: ______________________________________________ 

Telephone number: _______________________________________________ 

How can we strengthen this program? 

Better publicity 

Change leadership (add youth leaders or adult leaders, etc.) 

Schedule differently 

Change method of invitation 

Other: __________________________________________________ 

Other: __________________________________________________ 

What steps are required to facilitate this change? 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Start Date: ______________________________________________________ 

Person Responsible: ______________________________________________ 


Developing Responsive Programming 

Program: _______________________________________________________ 

Youth need addressed: ___________________________________________ 

1. Look at the aim of the program or activity as currently planned or 

implemented. 

2. Observe the activities or program components and Assess their current 

relationship or impact on youth using as many of the following reflection 

questions that apply. 

✔ Does the program content address the developmental and faith needs of youth? 

Does it reflect their most important life concerns and interests? 

✔ Does the program account for the different lifestyles represented by the youth in 

your community, e.g., working, involved with school extra-curricular activities? 

✔ Does the program or activity acknowledge that youth are gifted and capable and 

involve them in the planning and leadership of the program or activity? 

✔ Does the program improve the capacity for youth to master the developmental 

issues appropriate to their stage of life? 

✔ Does the activity have a process that helps youth deal with the change and growth 

the program may encourage? 

✔ How does this program improve the relationship between the parish and youth? 

✔ Does the program help youth connect with other youth in peer groupings or 

intergenerational groupings to share their faith, celebrate their faith, and live their 

faith? 

✔ Can you strengthen your program by…. 

• transforming some programs into home-based or small group programs? 

• developing more one-to-one programming such as mentoring and peer ministry? 

• using individualized approaches such as video programs, audio cassettes, print 

resources, newsletters, e-mail, or an Internet home page to reach youth? 

✔ Does the scheduling reflect the busy and often complex calendar of today’s youth? 

✔ Does it reflect more short-term than long-term commitments on the part of youth? 

✔ Does the program involve youth in visible leadership roles? 

✔ Do you advertise in a way that is attractive to youth and reaches them where they 

are? 


3. Based on your assessment make a list of Action Recommendations for 

improving your program and activity. 

Action Recommendations: 

___________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________ 

4. Choose one (or more) action recommendations for re-designing your 

program. 

___________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________ 

5. Revise the activities or program components to include your action 

recommendations. 


Making Use of Existing Resources 

Need or interest area that this resource addresses: ____________________ 

Name of program or strategy: ______________________________________ 

Sponsoring organization: __________________________________________ 

Key contact person: ______________________________________________ 

Telephone Number: ______________________________________________ 

How are we planning to use this resource? (Pick one.) 

Take advantage of a program they offer. 

Partner with them to sponsor a program that they do. 

Take an existing program and add a youth perspective to it. 

What steps are required to make use of this resource? 

✔ Do we need to contact them in advance? Are there fees? 

✔ How does this fit into the schedule? (one time event, multiple weeks) 

✔ What changes are necessary to add a youth perspective? 

✔ Can we make this program available to families? 

✔ Is this something we can simply make available to our youth? 

✔ Are other adults involved? What kind of leadership do we need? 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Start Date: ______________________________________________________ 

Person Responsible: ______________________________________________ 


Tool 5 

Designing Gathered 

and Small Group 

Programming 

To respond to youth needs, we often create new programming. This tool will provide planning 

sheets and a guide to creating new programs and strategies. To begin, identify the priority needs to 

address through new programming. Identify the youth priority need you are going to address. 

Brainstorm program ideas to respond to the need. Be sure to brainstorm gathered, small group, and 

individualized ideas. Selected one (or more) program ideas (gathered, small group, or individualized) 

to develop into fully designed programs. Use the Program Plan Worksheet to record your 

program decisions. 

The two programming guides, Guide to Designing Gathered and Small Group Programs and 

Guide to Designing Individualized Programs, help you through the process of designing a new 

gathered, small group, or individualized program. Depending on the idea you selected, use the 

appropriate guide to design your program. 

Process for Developing a Program Plan 

1. Develop the objectives for the program. 

2. Determine a scheduling format for the program: evening, weekly, biweekly, monthly, one 

day, overnight, weekend, etc. 

3. Determine the date, time, and location. Be sure to select a facility conducive to youth 

and that has the meeting space and equipment you will need. 

4. Specify the audience for the program, e.g., target group, age, number, past experiences, 

etc. 

5. Sketch out an overview of the program that includes all of the major elements. 

6. Identify the leaders needed to implement the program, e.g., program leaders, guest 

presenters, program planning team, and support staff. Many of the programs may need a 

recruitment strategy to find youth volunteer leaders to lead the program. 

7. Identify the resources needed to implement the program. 


Program Plan Worksheet 

Gathered or Small Group Program: _________________________________ 

Component: _____________________________________________________ 

Ministry Setting: Youth Family Parish Civic Community 

Scheduling Option: _______________________________________________ 

Dates/Time: _____________________________________________________ 

Environment/Facility: _____________________________________________ 

Audience: _______________________________________________________ 

Content/Theme/Topic: ____________________________________________ 

Program Schedule: 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Leadership Jobs: leaders needed to carry out your program 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 


A Guide to Designing Gathered 

and Small Group Programs 

Designing successful youth ministry programs and activities requires good, detailed preparation. This 

preparation will give you the opportunity, once the program begins, to focus on the youth involved 

rather than on details that you may not have thought of ahead of time. 

This Guide is intended to help you in your design and preparation. It is divided into the steps you 

will need to take: 1) the initial program design and preparation, 2) the program implementation plan, 

3) connecting the program to other aspects of the lives of youth, and 

4) guidelines for conducting the program. 

Before you begin read through this guide and familiarize yourself with the design elements. 

Step One: Program Preparation 

Consider the following factors in designing your program. Determine which of the following factors 

you need to include in your preparation and make the appropriate decisions. Use the Program 

Preparation Worksheet which follows to record your actions. Make sure that each task is listed, 

along with a person responsible for the task, and a date by which it must be done. During the time 

prior to the event, the program leader should occasionally check with the responsible persons to 

insure that things are getting done as scheduled. In this way any problems can be dealt with in a 

timely manner. Give a copy of the completed Program Preparation Worksheet to each leader so 

that everyone has a complete picture of the event and who is involved. 

Before you begin your preparation work, you may find it helpful to gather resources such as the 

following: 

✔ Youth ministry resources, e.g. program books, videos, listings of resources, etc. 

✔ Calendars, e.g. parish, school, sports 

✔ Information on program costs and location 

✔ A list of the people who have volunteered to work on the program with you (You may 

want to invite these additional volunteer leaders to help you in program designing.) 


Preparation Decisions 

Audience 

Who is the program being designed for? Are these youth you are familiar with? Are they 

new? How old are they? How many do you expect? 

Content 

Theme or topic? 

Parish presenters? Guest speakers? 

Format: presentation, discussion, activity, project? 

Session plan 

Activity plan 

Permission 

From whom do we need permission to plan and schedule? 

Parent permission: medical and participation release 

Registration 

How will people register? Permission slip? Deadline date? 

Person to contact for information? 

Refunds? 

Limited participation criteria? 

Transportation 

What type: individual? carpool? van? buses? 

Number of vehicle spaces needed? Costs? 

Insurance and liability? 

Travel time? Road conditions? 

Maps and destination phone number? 

Equipment 

Sound/music/video? 

Recreational? 

First aid? 

Supplies (refreshment, decorations, set up, clean up)? 

Costs: rental, borrow, purchase? 

Change fund? 

Facility 

What type and size of space is needed? What is the cost? 

What equipment is available? (recreation/AV/supplies) 

What cooking and meeting facilities are available? 

What are the facility restrictions? (minimum number required, no loud music, no food in 

meeting rooms, etc.) 

What are the outdoor grounds like? (hikes, recreation, campfire) 

Are windows able to be covered if video projection will be used? 

What is the distance for travel? 


What is the liability policy? (e.g. if swimming/boating is an option, will there be a 

lifeguard) 

Will facility staff be on-site for maintenance or emergency needs? 

Will the facility be shared with any other groups? 

For overnight programs: What are the sleeping areas? (separate boys/girls/staff/etc.) 

What are the restroom/shower facilities? 

Decorations 

Theme? Costs? 

Where: inside? outside? walls? tables? ceiling? Set up and clean up? 

Leadership Jobs 

What program leaders are needed? 

Do you need a program planning team for this program? 

What support staff are needed? (e.g. chaperones, cooks, drivers, et al.) 

Adequate number? Male/Female? Age? Costs? Expectations? 

Publicity 

When do we publicize? 

How do we publicize: bulletin? announcements? posters? flyers? mailings? phone? 

What will be the costs? 

Budget 

What are the costs for: facility? transportation? food? entertainment? decorations? 

publicity? personnel? chaperones? other? 

How will we finance it: parish budget? fundraiser? participant fees? donations? sponsors? 

other? 

Other Preparation Details 

_______________________________________________________________ 

_______________________________________________________________ 

_______________________________________________________________ 

_______________________________________________________________ 

_______________________________________________________________ 


Program Preparation Worksheet 

Task Person 

Responsible 

Due 

Date 

Done 


Step Two: Program Designing 

Consider the following program components in designing your program. It is important that each 

gathered program has an outline of the activities. The following program components are designed 

to help you select from a variety of possible options for inclusion in a gathered program, e.g. How 

will participants be welcomed? Will there be prayer? When? Who will do introductions? Who will 

lead activities? Who will present? How long will each part take? 

Determine which of the program components you will include in your design. Use the Program 

Design Form which follows to record your program design actions. Record the various parts of the 

event in the order they will happen, assign a length of time to each as well as the name of the 

facilitator for that segment. This form is your “play-by-play” for the program and will help keep you 

organized and on track. 

Basic Guidelines for Youth Programming 

✔ Focus on People 

✔ Be Prepared 

✔ Involve Youth 

✔ Be Flexible 

✔ Strive for Balance 

✔ KISMIF – Keep It Simple; Keep It Moving; Make It Fun! 

Program Components 

Gather/Register 

Do you need to designate a place to gather? Do you need a registration table or area? 

Social Time 

Will you include time for the young people to socialize informally? Where should this 

time by incorporated in your design? 

Welcome 

How will people be welcomed? Name tags? Greeters? Icebreaker? 

Introduction 

Do you need to have the young people introduce themselves? Are they familiar with one 

another? Are you familiar with them? 

Do you need to introduce new people? 

Guidelines/Expectations 

Are there standard behavioral guidelines that everyone knows or do they have to be 

established? 

How will you identify the participants’ expectations for the event? 


Icebreaker 

Do you need an icebreaker? Who will do it? 

What is the level of familiarity among the participants? 

Announcements 

Are there announcements? Do they go at the beginning or the end? 

Are they best done verbally or do you need something written? 

Form Groups or Teams 

Do you have pre-formed groups? 

Will you need to establish any groupings for the process you are using? How will you do 

that? 

Community Builders/Games 

Do you need to include any community building activities or games? What is their 

purpose? 

What supplies do you need? 

Content 

Theme or topic? 

Parish presenters? Guest speakers? 

Format: presentation, discussion, activity, project? 

Session plan? Activity plan? 

Prayer 

Opening Prayer? Closing Prayer? Liturgical Celebration? 

Supplies? 

Who will facilitate/preside? 

Clean Up 

Who will do it? Inside? Outside? Equipment? 

Refreshments 

Amount needed? Food? Beverages? Purchase or potluck? 

Supplies for serving? environment concerns? 

Set up? Clean up? Costs? 

Evaluation 

Feedback from participants? leaders? organizers? 

Format: individual or group? written or verbal? 

Follow Up 

Appreciation notes or celebrations? 

Follow up mailing, etc. 

Reports to youth? parish leaders? parents? file? 


Program 

Date & Time 

Location 

Program Design Worksheet 

Audience 

Who will be involved: Age? Number? Past experiences? 

Objectives 

Program Elements 

Gather/Register Community Builders/Games 

Social Time Content 

Welcome Prayer 

Introductions Clean Up 

Guidelines/Expectations Refreshments 

Icebreaker Evaluation 

Announcements Follow Up 

Form Groups or Teams 


Time Action 

(Program Components) 

Leader Materials 

Needed 


Step Three: Connect the Program 

It is essential that youth ministry programs connect to as many different aspects of the lives of 

young people as they can. As you assess your program design consider the following connection 

possibilities. 

The Overall Youth Ministry 

Where does this fit in the calendar? 

Does this specifically connect to any thing else? 

Do the young people participating know of the other opportunities that are available to 

them? 

How will the participants of this event be invited to other youth ministry programs and 

activities? 

Youth Who Aren’t Present 

How do you let the young people, who did not participate in this program know what 

happened? A newsletter? Articles in the parish bulletin? 

Do you need to send “thinking of you” or “wish you were here” cards? 

The Family 

Is there a way to let parents know what this program is about prior to or following the 

program? 

Is there something the young people can take home with them to help share the 

experience with their family? 

Is their a way to involve families in this event? 

Parish Life 

How is this program connected to the rest of parish life? 

Can it be linked to a pre-existing parish program? 

How do you let the rest of the parish know that it is happening? Parish bulletin? 

Announcements in church? 

Did you ask the parish to pray for the success of the event? 

Do you need to do a report on the event? Publish the list of participants? 

Schools 

Is this relevant to anything they are doing in school? 

Is there a resource in the school that you can use? A teacher or program? 

How does this fit in with the school calendar? 

Extra-curricular Activities 

How does this fit with the activities in which young people participate? 

Do you need to help young people explain the event to their employers in order to get 

time off? 

Is this an event that is open to their friends who don’t regularly participate? If so, how 

are they being invited? 

Is there something that the youth can take away from this program that will help them to 

remember it? A prayer card or button or pin or T-shirt or….? 

The Community 


Is there something that is happening in the community to which this program could be 

connected? Is there a similar program at another church or youth serving agency? 

Are there community resources that you can use in this program? 

Do you need to publicize this program beyond the parish? 

Is this event something that the local paper would cover? 

Step Four. Conduct the Program 

As the program approaches, double-check your Program Preparation Worksheet to be sure that 

everything has been done. (If not, take the appropriate action.) Review the Program Design 

Worksheet with the people who are facilitating the program, making sure they understand their 

role(s) and making sure that all the necessary materials have been gathered and are available. 

Finally, set a time for the program leaders to arrive, prior to the arrival of youth, to make sure 

everything is clear and ready to go. You should be ready at least one-half hour before the start of a 

program to allow you and the rest of the team time to interact with the kids as they arrive. You are 

now ready to conduct the program. 

Helpful Hints for Conducting Programs 

➨ Consider dressing appropriately for the event (e.g., referee shirts and whistles for a game 

night). 

➨ If you or another leader is to give a presentation as part of your program, don’t read it to 

the group. As part of your preparation, become familiar enough with the material to be 

able to say it in your own words, even if you have to use notes. Also, do your homework, 

especially if you are dealing with a subject matter about which you are not well-versed. 

Or use your resources and invite an expert. 

➨ Follow the program plan as best you can, but be prepared to go with the flow. Pay 

attention to what’s happening with the group (bored, distracted, wanting to discuss 

something further, etc.) and adjust accordingly. 

➨ Share leadership whenever possible. Enable different adults or youth to conduct 

different sections of the event. This variety is good for maintaining participants’ 

attention as well as for developing the skills of your leaders. 

➨ Encourage all leaders to be attentive to and interactive with the group. The person who 

is leading a particular activity cannot always see or hear everything, and needs support in 

responding to the needs of the group or individual participants. 

➨ An effective technique for starting any event is to do some kind of check-in that gives 

you a “read on” the group and connects you to their lives and stories. This can be done 

as a general question to the group, such as “How was Homecoming?” or “Who won the 

big football game?” or individually, such as “We’re going to go around the circle and I’d 

like each person to share the high point of their week.” 

➨ Share personal stories of faith whenever possible and appropriate. It helps young people 

to see God and faith as something real and accessible, and communicates your care for 

and trust in them. 


➨ Stay enthusiastic; have fun! 

Step Five. Evaluate 

This final step is the evaluation phase – identifying the ways that you want the young people to 

evaluate their experience. Develop a participant evaluation form using the sample questions on the 

following worksheet. You can also use a group discussion format to surface the information 

contained on the evaluation forms. Conduct a participant evaluation at the conclusion of the 

program. 

Based on the results of the participant evaluation, gather your program leaders or planning team for 

this particular program and review the results. In light of the evaluation results, develop 

recommendations for improving or enhancing the program design. 


Sample Evaluation Questions 

1. One thing I found most helpful during this program.... 

2. One way I can use what I learned or experienced in my life.... 

3. One concrete suggestion for improving this program.... 

4. I feel that this program was.... (circle one) 

very helpful somewhat helpful not very helpful not at all helpful 

5. I was pleased by/with.... 

6. I was disappointed by/with.... 

7. I learned.... 

8. Please rate your overall feeling after participating in this program.... 

[Circle the one(s) that most apply.] 

Enthused Astounded Satisfied Indifferent Angry 

Ambivalent Irritated Uneasy Threatened Discouraged 

9. How do you feel about the mix of presentation/activities/discussion in this 

session? 

Too much presentation Too much discussion 

Too many activities Good mixture 

10. Please rate the environment or physical facilities.... 

Fine Good Okay Poor 

11. Please rate the length of the program.... 


12. Please rate the scheduling (time, day, month) of the program.... 


13. How did you find out about the program? 

14 Why did you decide to participate in this program? 


Tool 6 

Designing 


Programming 

This tool is designed to help you develop, implement and keep track of your individualized ministry 

efforts. The process you will follow for designing an individualized program is very similar to the 

one for planning gathered and small group programs. The important difference is that you will not 

always have a single event to use as the culmination of your plan. 

You may be designing a program that will be ongoing, like the development of a quarterly newsletter 

or a system that ensures that each adolescent receives a birthday card from the parish. You may be 

organizing a mentoring program that requires regular monitoring and updating. You may be taking 

advantage of individualized opportunities that are already in place in the parish or wider community. 

Before you begin your design work, you may find it helpful to gather resources such as the 

following: 

✔ Youth ministry resources, e.g. program books, videos, listings of resources, etc. 

✔ Calendars, e.g. parish, school, sports 

✔ Information on program costs and location 

✔ A list of the people who have volunteered to work on the program with you (You may 

want to invite these additional volunteer leaders to help you in program designing.) 

Use the categories and questions on the Program Design Worksheet to develop your program 

design. With individualized programs you may have a start date. This is the date that you should use 

to determine gauge when planning ends and program implementation begins. An individualized 

effort will require periodic check-ins with leaders to insure that things are getting done as scheduled 

and any problems can be dealt with in a timely manner. Schedule them and identify what form the 

check-in will take. 


Program Design Worksheet 

Individualized Program or Activity 

Audience (Who will be involved: Age? Number? Past experiences?) 

Objectives 

Timeline (Starting and ending dates? Ongoing Process?) 

Location (Where will program be held or planned or maintained?) 

Leadership Jobs 


Resources and Equipment Needed 

Publicity Plan (if needed) 

Budget (What will it cost? Where will funds come from?) 

Permission and Registration 

(Is registration necessary? Is parental permission required?) 

Evaluation Procedures 

(Are periodic check-ins appropriate? with leaders? youth? parents? 

Who will track or maintain program? How will you tell if it is meeting objectives?) 


Project Tasks 

(What specifically will be needed to 

prepare and implement this program?) 

Action Steps 

Timeline Person 

Responsible 

Done 


Part Two 

Tools for Ministry: 

The Youth Setting 

We most commonly associate this first setting with youth ministry: ministry to and with youth. This 

includes the variety of ways that we gather young people for shared ministry. Youth group meetings, 

socials, sporting events, youth retreats, youth service events and special youth prayer services are 

examples of gathered ministries in the youth setting. Sometimes we provide specialized programs for 

small groups of young people. For example, in one parish, within a few weeks time, several youth 

experienced the loss of one of their parents due to death or divorce. The youth ministry team 

responded by inviting these young people to a program designed specifically to help them pray 

through the grieving process. These young people also experienced the support from peers and 

adults in the community. Often times we don’t gather youth together to minister to them. We 

provide them with resources. Many parishes develop a card that fits in a young person’s wallet or 

purse. This card includes hot-line support telephone numbers for their area. Other parishes organize 

teams of adults and youth to be present at high school football games, concerts, plays and other 

events where young people are present. 

Seeing Youth as Gifted and Growing 

We renew our vision of young people by seeing youth as gifted and growing and by seeing youth in 

the context of the many systems and communities to which they belong. Youth have a variety of 

needs for us to address – needs for connection, for support, and for a chance to learn and grow. 

Youth have many gifts to share. They bring energy, vitality, creativity, idealism and enthusiasm to 

our faith communities. Our challenge is to invest in youth with time, attention and resources. They, 

who are a part of our Church and her mission, ask us to move over and make room for them to 

share their gifts. 

An important part of our picture of youth includes the tremendous growth during the years of 

adolescence. Renewing the Vision calls us to minister to all adolescents, that is, both younger and older 

adolescents. Younger adolescents are 10/11 years old to 14/15 years old. In school, most of these 

youth are in grades six through nine. With the exception of infancy, no time in life compresses more 

changes – physical, intellectual, social, emotional, moral and spiritual -- into so brief a span. Key 

among these changes are rapid physical growth, the onset of puberty, the move from concrete to 

abstract thinking and the growing importance of peer groups and friendships. Older adolescents are 

14/15 years old to 18/19 years old. Older adolescence is an ongoing process beginning in the first 

years of high school and culminating in the years after graduation. Some key changes for older 

adolescents include reaching adult growth and maturity, establishing personal identity, shifting 

patterns of authority and moving toward the capacity for intimacy in relationships. 


Grouping youth by age is one way to discern common needs and capacities. Yet, the adolescents in 

our parishes are individuals who respond uniquely to the changes in their lives. They each have 

unique personalities, and come from a variety of family traditions and diverse backgrounds. Youth in 

our parishes come from many different ethnic and cultural communities. These communities have 

values and symbols that communicate faith. When we minister to youth in the context of their 

culture, we build on these traditions. Renewing the Vision challenges us to prepare youth to be leaders 

and disciples in increasingly diverse communities. What attitudes, behaviors, skills and values will 

young people need to lead communities in the future? How will we eliminate racism and prejudice in 

this generation? In our youth ministry efforts, we address these challenges by promoting 

appreciation for all cultures. As young people learn cross cultural communication skills, they learn to 

understand each other. 

Another part of this picture includes the gifts inherent to this time in a young person’s life. When a 

young person enters a room, his or her spirit and energy stirs things up. When youth are fully part of 

our community their many gifts bring our hopes and our mission alive. In their Message to Youth, the 

Bishops stated that youth “bring to the parish community youthfulness, energy, vitality, hopefulness, 

and vision” (Message to Youth). These gifts of young people are a gift for all of us. These gifts are 

youth’s contribution to our shared mission. The challenge for our parishes is to make room for the 

gifts of youth and to give them room to grow. In his address to young people at World Youth Day 

in Denver 1993, the Holy Father called youth to share their gifts. 

Young pilgrims, Christ needs you to enlighten the world and to show it the “path to life” (Ps 

16:11). The challenge is to make the Church’s yes to life concrete and effective. The struggle 

will be long, and it needs each one of you. Place your intelligence, your talents, your 

enthusiasm, your compassion, and your fortitude at the service of life. (Pope John Paul II) 

To respond to the needs and include the gifts of youth we focus on common interests among 

adolescents of similar ages. For instance, one parish offers a special daylong retreat for young 

adolescents when they are getting ready to enter high school. The day focuses on Catholic values. 

The team helps the young people develop personal mission statements that include their faith as an 

important component of their life. This event helps youth to know who they are and what they 

stand for as they enter a larger social context with many diverse influences. Another parish focuses 

on the need of older adolescents to learn about and practice using their gifts and skills. As part of 

their Confirmation preparation, this parish includes a Ministry Mentor program in which small 

groups of youth join pairs of adults who are involved in the variety of ministries and service 

programs of the parish. Youth and adults work together, learn together, and pray together. They 

share responsibilities as lectors, ushers, catechists, and prayer leaders. They work side by side with 

adults in the service and outreach programs of the parish. 

To welcome and include a young disciple in our community, we look at each youth as an individual. 

If the only information we have about youth is what we hear and see in the news and media, we 

might be very troubled, bewildered or even frightened of this generation. How do we look past the 

images? How can we look beyond the outward appearances of young people who try on various 

styles as a way to explore and express themselves? Responding to youth as gifted and growing 

includes planning for programs, integrating youth within the parish, and welcoming youth one at a 

time. As individual members of a community we can be a bridge for young people by learning their 

names, welcoming them and helping them to feel valued in the community. 


We respond to youth as gifted and growing when…. 

We include youth in our life as a parish by including the needs of youth in our planning, 

our community and our programs. 

We support youth as they face the challenges and celebrations inherent to adolescence. 

We minister to youth in the context of their culture and ethnic heritage. 

We include youth in the ministries of our communal prayer and liturgies. 

We link youth to service, ministry and leadership roles. 

We develop programs that respond to the developmental needs of younger and older 

adolescents. 

Reflection Questions 

How does our parish respond to the needs of young people? 

How do we include youth and their gifts in our prayer, our service and our 

community life? 

How can I as an adult member welcome and acknowledge the youth of our 

community? 

Resources for Adolescent Development 

Asset-Building Resources: Uniting Communities for Youth, Parenting with a Purpose, 

Learning and Living, Tapping the Potential, Renewing Hope, Finding Focus. Minneapolis: 

Search Institute, 1995. (Individual booklets) 


Children and Adolescents. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998. 

Benson, Peter, Judy Galbraith and Pamela Espeland. What Kids Need to Succeed. Minneapolis: 

Free Spirit Publishing, 1995. 

Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development. Great Transitions – Preparing Adolescents for a 

New Century. New York: Carnegie Corporation of America, 1995. 

Hamburg, David. Today’s Children – Creating a Future for a Generation in Crisis. New York: 

Times Books, 1992. 



Steinberg, Laurence, and Ann Levine. You and Your Adolescent – A Parent’s Guide for Ages 10- 

20. New York: Harper & Row, 1990. 


Tools for Ministry in the Youth Setting 

Tool 7: Developmentally Appropriate Programming 

How can we respond to the developmental needs of youth? Use this tool to assess and tailor 

your program content and processes to the needs of young and older adolescents. 

Tool 8: Asset-building for Positive Adolescent Growth 

How can we plan for building assets in youth and their families? Use this tool assess and 

plan for positive youth developmental efforts. 

Tool 9: Faith-building Assets 

How can we incorporate faith-building throughout our youth ministry efforts? Use this tool 

to assess and plan for building the faith-formation assets from Renewing the Vision into your 

program efforts. 

Tool 10: Ministry with Ethnic Youth 

How do we minister to the diversity of youth in our community? Use this tool to enhance 

your ministry efforts with youth from a variety of cultures and ethnic backgrounds. 

Tool 11: Promoting Multicultural Awareness and 

Understanding 

How can we promote multi-cultural understanding and appreciation? Use this tool to build 

multicultural awareness, appreciation and understanding into your youth ministry program. 


Tool 7 

Developmentally- 

Appropriate 

Programming 

Comprehensive ministry with adolescents embraces a developmental perspective in two distinct 

ways. First, current thinking organizes youth ministry into two distinct ministries – one focused on 

the needs and life tasks of young adolescents and one focused on older adolescents. Substantial 

research points to the uniqueness of each stage of life. The implications for ministry are many 

including adopting different styles of ministry for younger and older adolescents, different program 

content and process, and different formats and schedules. 

Second, effective ministry with youth tailors program content and processes to the unique needs 

and interests of young adolescents and older adolescents. We design our program processes to 

make sure that our programs respect and incorporate the key developmental needs of young people. 

For example, in organizing a program for young adolescents we make sure that we build-in time for 

physical activity, activities which provide creative expression, positive social interaction, and 

structure and clear limits. The developmental needs (on the next several pages) provide checklist to 

assess the developmental appropriateness of our program processes. 

We select and design our program content to make sure that it is understandable and meaningful to 

adolescents. We determine which elements of our Scriptures and Tradition, our doctrine, our 

sacramental and liturgical symbols and rituals, our stories from church history and from the church 

today are the most understandable, the most meaningful, the most life-giving to young or older 

adolescents. We also select program content which addresses the unique developmental needs of 

adolescents, such as organizing a program for older adolescents on preparation for the future 

(career, lifestyles) or on developing a personal value system and decision-making skills. We use the 

developmental research as clues into the interests of young people. 

Use the following tools to assess the developmental appropriateness of the program processes and 

program content of your existing programs. For each new program or activity that you plan use the 

checklist to insure developmental appropriateness. 


Developmental Needs of Young 

Adolescents – A Checklist 

Program: ________________________________________________________________ 

Process 

1. Review your program processes and content to ensure developmental 

appropriateness. 

Using developmental needs in our program’s processes 

Using developmental needs to ensure our program’s content is 

understandable and meaningful 

Using developmental needs as the focus of the program’s content 

2. After your review make adjustments in your program to enhance its 

responsiveness to young adolescent developmental needs. 

Developmental Needs 

Opportunities for Self-Definition 

❏ opportunities to better understand, define, and accept who they are as individuals 

❏ opportunities to explore their widening social world and to reflect upon the meaning of new 

experiences, so that they can consider themselves participants in society 

❏ opportunities for young adolescents of ethnic cultures to achieve a positive orientation 

toward their own culture and white American culture; to affirm their ethnicity through 

observation of ceremonies, retention of native language, and reinforcement of specific 

attitudes, beliefs, and practices 

Competence and Achievement 

❏ opportunities to find out what they are good at doing and to know what they do is valued by 

others whom they respect 

❏ develop and practice life skills for healthy living 

❏ opportunities that encourage the practice of new skills, public performance and recognition, 

and reflection on personal and group accomplishments 

Positive Social Interaction with Adults and Peers 

❏ opportunities to develop interpersonal skills 

❏ opportunities to learn how to develop a relationship with their parents that is reflective of 

their growing autonomy and utilizes new patterns of communicating 

❏ opportunities to form positive peer relationships and support, especially through structured 

programs 


❏ opportunities for caring relationships with adults who like and respect them, who share their 

own experiences, views, values, and feelings, and who serve as role models and advisors 

Physical Activity 

❏ opportunities to utilize their energy and growing bodies through activities that require 

physical movement or expression 

Meaningful Participation in Families, Schools, Churches and Community 

Organizations 

❏ opportunities to participate in making decisions about activities that shape their lives and as 

active leaders or participants who can make a viable contribution to the success of those 

activities 

❏ opportunities to participate as valued and contributing members of the faith community, 

and as leaders in church ministries and programs 

❏ opportunities for exposure to situations in which they can use their skills to solve real life 

problems and affect the world around them, such as community service 

Creative Expression 

❏ opportunities to express to the external world who they are on the inside (feelings, interests, 

abilities, thoughts) through a variety of activities, e.g. music, writing, sports, art, drama, 

cooking 

❏ activities that enable them to experience and test out new and different forms of selfexpression 

Structure and Clear Limits 

❏ provision of structure and guidance for young adolescents in making decisions about their 

behavior that involve them in the process of decision-making 

❏ provision of structure that helps them stay focused on a task, persevere in their various 

efforts and succeed, which leads to an increase in self-esteem 

❏ provision of structure and clear limits that helps them feel safe in their activities, which can 

empower them to live with joy and confidence 

Personal Religious Experience 

❏ opportunities to explore “the big questions” in life, questions whose answers can only be 

comprehended within the context of faith and religion 

❏ opportunities for a deeper and more personal relationship with God 


Developmental Needs of Older 

Adolescents – A Checklist 

Program: _____________________________________________________________ 

Process 

1. Review your program processes and content to ensure developmental 

appropriateness. 

Using developmental needs in our program’s processes 

Using developmental needs to ensure our program’s content is 

understandable and meaningful 

Using developmental needs as the focus of the program’s content 

2. After your review make adjustments in your program to enhance its 

responsiveness to older adolescent developmental needs. 

Developmental Needs 

Exploration and Experimentation 

❏ opportunities to experiment with a wide array of behaviors, roles, attitudes, relationships, 

ideas, and activities as they develop their own identity and faith identity 

❏ opportunities to explore who they are and who they can become by reflecting on self in 

relation to others 

❏ opportunities for youth of ethnic cultures to achieve a positive orientation toward their own 

culture and white American culture; to affirm their ethnicity through observation of 

ceremonies, retention of native language, and reinforcement of specific attitudes, beliefs, and 

practices 

Adult Sexuality 

❏ opportunities to understand their sexual growth and integrate their sexuality into their own 

personality in a holistic way 

❏ opportunities to develop healthy values and attitudes regarding their own sexuality 

Interpersonal Relationships 

❏ opportunities to form positive relationships and experiences with peers in a comfortable and 

secure environment and to develop friendship-making and friendship-maintaining skills 

❏ opportunities to learn how to develop a relationship with parents that is reflective of their 

growing autonomy and utilizes new patterns of communicating 


Adult Mentors 

❏ opportunities to develop relationships with adult Christians who affirm their journey and 

struggles, explore sensitive issues with them, listen to their stories and questions, share their 

own faith journey, and ask questions that encourage critical thinking and reflection 

Meaningful Roles in the Community and Society 

❏ opportunities to participate with other older adolescents as full members and leaders in the 

community, society and church 

❏ opportunities to explore, discuss, and act on local and global justice issues; to develop an 

active responsibility for what happens in their community and world, and to be involved in 

meaningful community service 

❏ opportunities to be involved in the decision-making, planning, and implementation of 

programs that serve them 

Preparing for the Future 

❏ develop and practice life skills for healthy living 

❏ opportunities to acquire the competencies necessary for adult roles, such as goal setting, 

problem solving, time management, and decision making 

❏ opportunities to explore life options and plan their futures (education, career) and to help 

them acquire the skills, knowledge and experience for their chosen fields; to link more 

closely the worlds of school and work 

Personal Value System and Decision-Making Skills 

❏ opportunities to discuss conflicting values and formulate their own value system 

❏ opportunities to gain knowledge and experience in making decisions and to apply Christian 

moral values in making moral judgments 

Personal Faith 

❏ opportunities to explore and question the faith they have been given by their family and the 

faith community and develop their own faith identity 

❏ opportunities to explore what it means to be and live as a person of faith today 

❏ opportunities to develop a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ 


Tool 8 

Asset-Building 

for Positive 

Adolescent Growth 

The forty developmental assets, identified through national research by the Search Institute, are 

powerful shapers of young people’s behavior and provide concrete things that the church can do to 

nurture adolescent growth and make a lasting difference in the lives of adolescents. 

Assets help to inoculate youth from high risk behaviors (e.g., use of alcohol and drugs, anti-social 

behavior, sexual activity). As assets increase, the incidence of high risk behaviors decreases. 

Developmental assets also promote positive outcomes. As assets increase, so do school success, the 

affirmation of diversity, educational aspirations, and prosocial behavior. Young people with a greater 

number of assets are more likely to grow up caring, competent, healthy, and responsible. This 

important relationship between developmental assets and choices made has been documented for all 

types of youth, regardless of age, gender, geographic region, town size, or race/ethnicity. 

The asset building approach reinforces the need for comprehensive youth ministry and affirms the 

comprehensive framework presented in Renewing the Vision. 

♦ Asset development begins at birth and needs to be sustained through childhood and 

adolescence. Each stage of development requires persistent attention to meeting young 

people’s developmental needs. 

♦ Asset building depends primarily on individuals – parents, grandparents, teachers, 

neighbors, and many others – building positive relationships with children and teenagers. 

♦ Building assets also requires a highly consistent community, in which children and 

teenagers are exposed to clear messages a bout what is important. 

♦ Family can and should be the most powerful generator of developmental assets. 

♦ The assets are more likely to blossom if they are nurtured simultaneously by families, 

schools, youth organizations, neighborhoods, religious institutions, health care providers, 

and in the informal settings in which adults and youth interact. 

♦ Because asset development necessitates relational, consistent, and redundant 

communities, all residents have a role to play. (Search Institute) 

Use the following tool to determine how your ministry promotes the forty developmental assets by 

identifying current programs and activities in all four ministry settings – adolescents, families, church 

community, and civic community – that promote each asset. Second, use the assets to focus the 

goals and content of current and new youth ministry programming. Third, use the forty 

developmental assets to identify the need for new programs or activities. Be sure to utilize the four 

ministry settings to create new programs and activities. Fourth, use the tool to identify community 

programs, activities, and resources which promote the forty assets, and then determine ways to 


incorporate these community resources in your ministry. Promote “weaker” assets by collaborating 

with other community organizations to design and implement new programs or initiatives. 

For additional information, tools and resources, contact: 

Search Institute 

700 South Third Street, Suite 210 

Minneapolis MN 55415 

(800) 888-7828 

www.search-institute.org 

Resources for Asset-Building 

101 Asset Building Ideas. (Poster) Minneapolis: Search Institute, 1998. 

Andress, Shelby I. Working Together for Youth – A Practical Guide for Individuals and Groups. 


Asset-Building Resources: Uniting Communities for Youth, Parenting with a Purpose, Learning and 

Living, Tapping the Potential, Renewing Hope, Finding Focus. Minneapolis: Search Institute, 

1995. (Individual booklets) 



Benson, Peter, Judy Galbraith and Pamela Espeland. What Kids Need to Succeed. 1995. 

Healthy Communities, Healthy Youth. (Poster) Minneapolis: Search Institute, 1998. 



Roehlkepartain, Jolene. Building Assets Together – 135 Group Activities for Helping Youth Succeed. 



Processes 

40 Developmental Assets 

Search Institute ©1996 

To assess current efforts: Review your ministry programming to determine how you 

promote the forty development assets. Then determine if you can make adjustments in 

your current programming to promote the assets more effectively and intentionally. 

In column one check each asset you are promoting. 

In column two rate your current effectiveness. 

In column three list the programs and activities you currently sponsor that 

promote this asset. 

To determine the need for new programs and activities: Review the results of your 

assessment to determine the need for new programs or activities. Then determine if you 

will create a program with youth, with families, with the intergenerational faith 

community, and/or with the civic community. 

To strengthen community collaboration: Identify community programs, activities, 

and resources which promote the forty assets. Then determine ways to incorporate these 

community resources in your ministry, and/or collaborate with other community 

organizations to design and implement new programs or initiatives. 

Developmental Assets 

External Assets Rating Programming 

Support 

❒ Family Support: family life 

provides high levels of love and 

support 

❒ Positive Family Communication: 

young person and her or his 

parent(s communicate positively, 

and young person is willing to seek 

parent(s) advice and counsel 

❒ Other Adult Relationships: young 

person receives support from three 

or more non-parent adults 

❒ Caring Neighborhood: young 

person experiences caring neighbors 

❒ Caring School Climate: school 

provides a caring, encouraging 

environment 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 


❒ Parent Involvement in 

Schooling: parent(s) are actively 

involved in helping young person 

succeed in school 

Empowerment 

❒ Community Values Youth: 

young person perceives that adults 

in the community value youth 

❒ Youth as Resources: young 

people are given useful roles in the 

community 

❒ Community Service: young 

person serves in the community 

one hour or more per week 

❒ Safety: young person feels safe at 

home, school, and in the 

neighborhood 

Boundaries & Expectations 

❒ Family Boundaries: family has 

clear rules and consequences; and 

monitors the young person’s 

whereabouts 

❒ School Boundaries: school 

provides clear rules and 

consequences 

❒ Neighborhood Boundaries: 

neighbors take responsibility for 

monitoring young people’s 

behavior 

❒ Adult Role Models: parent(s) and 

other adults model positive, 

responsible behavior 

❒ Positive Peer Influence: young 

person’s best friends model 

responsible behavior 

❒ High Expectations: both 

parent(s) and teachers encourage 

the young person to do well 

Constructive Use of Time 

❒ Creative Activities: young person 

spends three or more hours per 

week in lessons or practice in 

music, theater, or other arts 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 


❒ Youth Programs: young person 

spends three or more hours per 

week in sports, clubs, or 

organizations at school and/or in 

community organizations 

❒ Religious Community: young 

person spends one or more hours 

per week in activities in a religious 

institution 

❒ Time at Home: young person is 

out with friends “with nothing 

special to do” two or fewer nights 

per week 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

Internal Assets Rating Programming 

Commitment to Learning 

❒ Achievement Motivation: young 

person is motivated to do well in 

school 

❒ School Performance: young 

person has a B average or better 

❒ Homework: young person reports 

doing at least one hour of 

homework every school day 

❒ Bonding to School: young person 

cares about her or his school 

❒ Reading for Pleasure: young 

person reads for pleasure three or 

more hours per week 

Positive Values 

❒ Caring: young person places high 

value on helping other people 

❒ Equality and Social Justice: 

young person places high value on 

promoting equality and reducing 

hunger and poverty 

❒ Integrity: young person acts on 

convictions and stands up for her 

or his beliefs 

❒ Honesty: young person “tells the 

truth even when its not easy” 

❒ Responsibility: young person 

accepts and takes personal 

responsibility 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 


❒ Restraint: young person believes it 

is important not to be sexually 

activity or to use alcohol or other 

drugs 

Social Competencies 

❒ Planning and Decision-Making: 

young person knows how to plan 

ahead and make choices 

❒ Interpersonal Competence: 

young person has empathy, 

sensitivity, and friendship skills 

❒ Cultural Competence: young 

person has knowledge or and 

comfort with people of different 

cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds 

❒ Resistance Skills: young person 

can resist negative peer pressure 

and dangerous situations 

❒ Peaceful Conflict Resolution: 

young person seeks to resolve 

conflict non-violently 

Positive Identity 

❒ Personal Power: young person 

feels he or she has control over 

“things that happen to me” 

❒ Self-esteem: young person reports 

having a high self-esteem 

❒ Sense of Purpose: young person 

reports that “my life has a 

purpose” 

❒ Positive View of Personal 

Future: young person is optimistic 

about her or his personal future 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 

1 2 3 


Tool 9 

Faith-building 

Assets for 

Adolescent Growth 

Comprehensive ministry provides concrete things that the church can do to nurture adolescent faith 

growth and make a lasting difference in the lives of adolescents. Renewing the Vision utilizes 

contemporary research, especially the asset-building framework developed by the Search Institute, to 

present specific faith building assets that name what the Church seeks to achieve in the lives of 

young people. Renewing the Vision advocates eighteen assets as a foundation for healthy faith 

development in adolescents. These eighteen assets provide specific directions for effective pastoral 

practice with adolescents and give focus to the content of programs and activities that are offered 

within a comprehensive ministry. 

Use the following tool to determine how your ministry promotes the eighteen faith-building assets 

by identifying current programs and activities in all four ministry settings – youth (young and older 

adolescents), families, parish community, and wider community – that promote each asset. Use the 

reflection questions below to review and analyze your results. Second, use the eighteen faith-building 

assets to identify the need for new programs or activities. Be sure to utilize the four ministry settings 

to create new programs and activities. 


1. Which assets does your ministry effectively promote? How can you continue to 

enhance these ministry efforts? 

2. Which assets does your ministry need to strengthen? What are several steps you 

can take to improve your current ministry efforts in each of these asset areas? 

3. Which assets are not being addressed through your ministry? Which assets will 

you target for development now? How can you begin to promote these assets by 

redesigning current program, utilizing existing programs and resources, and 

creating new programming? 


Promoting Adolescent Growth 

An Assessment Tool 

(From Renewing the Vision, NCCB, 1997) 

Asset We promote this asset by…. 

1. To guide young people in the call to 

holiness by developing a personal 

relationship with Jesus Christ by 

meeting him in the Scriptures and in 

the life and teachings of the Catholic 

community, and in their own prayer 

lives 

2. To empower young people with the 

knowledge and skills for active 

participation in the life and ministries 

of the Church, including a 

comprehensive and substantive 

catechesis based on the Catechism of 

the Catholic Church 

3. To nurture in young people positive, 

Catholic values of love, honesty, 

courage, peace and nonviolence, 

fidelity, chastity, generosity, tolerance, 

respect for all life from conception to 

natural death, care and compassion, 

service to those in need, equality, 

social justice, integrity, responsibility, 

and community 

4. To help young people apply their 

Catholic faith to daily life, nurture in 

young people a lifelong commitment 

to the Catholic faith, guiding them in 

developing a personal faith and skills 

for continuing their growth as 

Catholics 

5. To empower young people to live the 

moral and theological virtues and 

apply these virtues in making moral 

decisions 


6. To develop the biblical and doctrinal 

literacy of young people and a deeper 

appreciation for the importance of the 

Scriptures and the teachings of the 

Church in the Christian life 

7. To foster the development of a 

personal spirituality and prayer life in 

young people 

8. To nurture in young people an 

understanding of and active 

participation in the sacramental life of 

the Church, especially the Eucharist 

9. To help young people recognize that 

the Catholic faith calls them to work 

for justice and to defend human 

dignity 

10. To empower young people to serve 

those in need, to develop skills that 

foster social changes to secure justice 

and equality for every human being, 

and to live a life of Christian service 

modeled on Jesus’ life 

11. To empower young people to become 

healers and reconcilers when conflicts 

arise, to pursue peace, and to become 

a peaceful person 

12. To promote an understanding of and 

respect for people who are different 

from the young people – different 

cultures, different languages, different 

faiths, different ages – and develop 

the attitudes and skills for overcoming 

racial and ethnic prejudices as 

individuals and members of society 


13. To develop young people’s critical 

thinking skills that empower them 

people to analyze contemporary life 

and culture in light of the Good News 

of Jesus Christ and the teachings of 

the Church 

14. To promote Catholic sexual values 

and attitudes and the importance of 

valuing chastity and sexual restraint 

15. To promote positive self-image in 

young people, including an 

appreciation of one’s ethnic culture, a 

sense of self-esteem, a sense of 

purpose in life, a positive view of 

one’s personal future, and an 

acceptance of one’s self as lovable and 

loved by God and others 

16. To develop the life skills of 

adolescents including entering into 

and maintaining meaningful 

friendships, planning and decisionmaking 

skills, life planning skills, 

appreciation and understanding of a 

variety of cultures, and peaceful 

conflict resolution skills 

17. To help young people recognize the 

movement of the Holy Spirit in their 

lives and discern their particular 

Christian vocation in the world – in 

the workplace, in marriage or single 

life, in the priesthood or consecrated 

life, or in the permanent diaconate 

18. To cultivate the gifts and talents of 

young people, and empower them to 

utilize these gifts and talents in 

leadership and ministry in the Church 

and community including peer 

ministry and intergenerational skills 


Tool 10 

Ministry to Youth of 

Ethnic Cultures 

Ministry with adolescents is multicultural when it focuses on a specialized ministry to 

youth of particular ethnic cultures and promotes multicultural awareness among all 

youth. 

First, ministry with adolescents recognizes, values, and responds to the diverse ethnic 

and cultural backgrounds and experiences that exist among adolescents and develops 

culturally responsive and inclusive programming to address these needs. A fully 

multicultural approach to positive adolescent development and faith growth views 

ethnicity and culture as core features of identity and behavior. It recognizes that the 

specific content of adolescent tasks and competencies varies by culture, such as the 

way young people attain individual autonomy. It also recognizes the impact that 

family ethnicity has on adolescent development in areas such as decision-making and 

social relationships. Ministry with adolescents helps young people develop their 

identity by affirming and utilizing the values and traditions of their ethnic cultures. 

Specifically, it makes all young people feel welcome and empowered, develops 

leaders who reflect the ethnic characteristics of the programs’ participants, trains all 

staff to be culturally competent, includes young people and their families on advisory 

councils, and develops program content that is culturally appropriate and relevant to 

the needs of participants. (Renewing the Vision 22-23) 

Principles of Ministry to Youth of Ethnic Cultures 

Felipe Salinas and Armantina Pelaez, experts in multicultural ministry, recommend the following 

eleven principles to help youth ministry leaders minister with youth of ethnic cultures. 

1. Become familiar with the particular culture(s) in your pastoral setting. 

2. Become familiar with cultural similarities and differences within the ethnic group. 

3. Note the degrees and styles of acculturation/assimilation of ethnic youth and their families. 

4. In light of the first three principles, plan youth ministry based on identified needs. 


5. Remember that the Church’s task is evangelization, not “Americanization.” 

6. Approach family issues and relationships with the cultural context in mind. Be aware of the 

following key issues: 

the relationship between nuclear and extended families 

generational cultural shifts and possible cultural conflict taking place within families 

parental roles in decisions made by youth or young adults 

how ethnic families may view growth in autonomy by youth and young adults 

cultural rules concerning dating 

7. Incorporate particular ethnic faith traditions and expressions in worship and catechesis with 

youth. 

8. Ethnic youth may be in a special situation regarding critiques of U.S. and ethnic cultures in that 

they can compare and contrast the two cultures based on their own process of enculturation. 

9. Enable ethnic youth to develop skills for interacting with the mainstream culture while 

maintaining their own ethnic identity. 

10. Youth ministry should respond to the needs of recently immigrated youth who experience 

language barriers and culture clash. 

11. Be open to differing models of youth ministry flowing out of ethnic faith experiences and out 

of different understandings of “youth.” 

Resources for Ministry to Youth of Ethnic Cultures 

Foster, Charles, and Grant Shockley, editors. Working with Black Youth. Nashville: Abingdon 

Press, 1989. 

Jones, Nathan. Sharing the Old, Old Story – Educational Ministry in the Black Community. Winona, 

MN: St. Mary’s Press, 1982. 

Ng, David, editor. People on the Way – Asian North Americans Discovering Christ, Culture, and 

Community. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1988. 

Ng, Donald, editor. Asian Pacific American Youth Ministry. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 

1988. 

Prophets of Hope Editorial Team (Carmen Cervantes, General Editor). Hispanic Young People 

and the Church’s Pastoral Response. (Prophets of Hope Volume 1). Winona, MN: St. 

Mary’s Press, 1994. 

Prophets of Hope Editorial Team (Carmen Cervantes, General Editor). Evangelization of 

Hispanic Young People. (Prophets of Hope Volume 2). Winona, MN: St. Mary’s Press, 

1995. 

Prophets of Hope Editorial Team (Carmen Cervantes, General Editor). Dawn on the Horizon 

– Creating Small Communities. Winona, MN: St. Mary’s Press, 1997. 

Prophets of Hope Editorial Team (Carmen Cervantes, General Editor). The Prophets of Hope 

Model: A Weekend Workshop. Winona, MN: St. Mary’s Press, 1997. 


Working with Youth from Ethnic 

Cultures: A Reflective Tool 

Maria Elena Cardena 

Environment 

Is the environment warm and welcoming to all youth regardless of the culture in which they 

originate? 

Does your meeting place reflect all of the cultures that are present in your parish? 

Reflections 

Cultural Background of Youth 

Where are the places of origin of your youth? 

Are they first generation, second? Do they speak a foreign language? 

Do they identify with being from some place other than the United States? 

If they are immigrants, how do they feel about being in the United States? 

Reflections 

Appreciation of Cultures 

How do we recognize the beauty of each culture? 

How do we allow for each cultural group to learn more, not only about their own cultural 

heritage, but that of others? 

Do we visit museums, exhibits, or local sites that can demonstrate this beauty? 

Do we create opportunities to thank God for the gift of these cultures? 

Reflections 


Fluency in American Culture 

Many youth are chameleons. They adapt so well to their environment that it can be impossible 

to see that there is another side of them that needs to be cared for and nurtured. Youth 

ministers can fall into the mistaken notion that these young people are completely Americanized. 

A similar mistake is to assume that just because youth are linguistically fluent, they are also fluent 

in other aspects of American culture. Language is the first aspect of culture to adapt. Here are 

several good questions to ask. These can give you clues as to whether or not you have a 

chameleon. 

What language is commonly used at home? 

What language does the youth commonly speak with friends? 

What is the young person called at home? 

Do they visit the “old country?” 

What are the traditional holidays they celebrate from their culture? 

Reflections 

The Role of the Family 

Regardless of the culture it is vital not to trivialize the importance of the family, but this is of 

particular importance when working with youth from Asia-Pacific, Latino, African-American, or 

Native-American cultures. The importance of the family cannot be over emphasized. We must 

remember that a good recommendation from a parent or an elder can be enough to change an 

entire community’s attitude toward youth ministry. 

Do we plan activities for youth to be involved with their families? 

Do we create opportunities for intergenerational gatherings? Or has our youth ministry 

become a “youth ghetto?” 

Do we go out of our way to greet parents and elders in a special way even when we don’t 

know their language? Or attempt to learn a word or two in a different language in order to 

make parents and elders feel more comfortable? 

Do we have copies of permission slips and other important announcements translated so 

that parents feel confident that they understand what’s going on? 

Reflections 


Tool 11 

Promoting Multicultural 

Awareness and 

Understanding 

Ministry with adolescents is multicultural when it focuses on a specialized ministry to 

youth of particular ethnic cultures and promotes multicultural awareness among all 

youth… 

Second, all ministry with adolescents needs to incorporate ethnic traditions, values, 

and rituals into ministry programming; teach about the variety of ethnic cultures in 

the Catholic Church; provide opportunities for cross-cultural experiences; and foster 

tolerance and respect for cultural diversity. This approach helps young people learn 

about, understand, and appreciate people with backgrounds different from their 

own. Ministry with adolescents needs to counteract prejudice, racism, and 

discrimination by example – becoming themselves models of fairness and 

nondiscrimination; and through programs in racism and oppression awareness which 

develop effective communication skills in a multicultural context and help minority 

young people in developing skills for coping with and overcoming social barriers to 

minority achievement. 

(Renewing the Vision 22-23) 

Including a multicultural dimension to youth ministry is essential for all youth. Not only is our 

society multicultural, but the Church is a global community of varied cultures. Developing a 

multicultural awareness in youth can take place in at least two ways: through awareness experiences 

with youth of one culture and through cross-cultural experiences in which youth from different 

cultures can develop relationships with each other and learn about and experience a variety of 

cultures. 

1. Multicultural Awareness 

Correcting Ethnic and Racial Stereotypes: A prime objective of multicultural awareness is to 

correct ethnic and racial myths and stereotypes by providing youth with accurate information on 

the histories, lives, and cultures of ethnic groups, and helping youth to understand racism and 

prejudice in United States society. 

Ethnic Awareness for All Youth: A second purpose of multicultural awareness is to correct 

the mistaken notion that an ethnic group is synonymous with a minority group. There are 

majority and minority ethnic groups and both kinds should be included in multicultural 


awareness efforts. Programming should include European ethnics as well as African-Americans, 

Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. We all need to learn about: a) our ethnic 

group as well as the ethnicity of others, b) how ethnic experiences affect our behavior and values 

and our concepts of self-identity, and c) about the particulars of different ethnic groups’ 

contributions and historical experiences. 

The Value of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity: A third purpose of multicultural awareness is to 

facilitate the development of attitudes and values conducive to the preservation and promotion 

of ethnic and cultural diversity as a value in our society. Youth ministry needs to enhance young 

people’s self-concepts by developing pride in their own and others’ ethnic and cultural heritages, 

and increasing one’s sense of cultural identity and ethnic unity. Programming should aim to help 

young people develop openness, flexibility, and receptivity to cultural diversity; enrich human 

experiences through the study of different ethnic groups; accept and prize diversity, and reduce 

anxieties about encountering different ethnic groups, their life styles, value preferences and 

behavior patterns. 

2. Promoting Cross-cultural Experiences 

Cross-cultural experiences provide the context for youth from different cultures to learn and grow in 

their understanding and appreciation of each other and in developing relationships with each other. 

Youth ministry needs to encourage, plan, and carry out programs which allow young people from 

different cultural backgrounds to come together to dialogue around issues which are important to 

them and to experience the richness of each other’s culture. Youth of minority cultures and youth of 

the mainstream culture must be offered the skills for cross cultural communication if cross-cultural 

experiences are to be positive ones. Cross cultural experiences provide an opportunity for liturgical 

and social celebrations that express the spirit and traditions of the different cultural groups present 

in the community, especially on occasions linked to their particular histories. “Action in common is 

the best test of the fruitfulness of cross-cultural dialogue. When youth groups are able to join hands 

across cultural or racial barriers and give witness to their hope for a more just and peaceful world, 

then multicultural ministry will have come of age.” (Herrera 101) 

3. Infusing a Multicultural Perspective 

Infusing a multicultural dimension into youth ministry efforts does not involve creating new 

programs and activities. Rather, the infusion method presupposes the existence of programming 

based on the various components of youth ministry. Infusion calls for adjusting the design of 

planned programming by bringing either a specific cultural dimension or a value-promoting 

multicultural awareness into the program. Felipe Salinas describes a four-step process for infusion by 

taking the example of a session in a mini-course on the faith theme of Church. 

Step 1: Look at the aim of the program activity as originally envisioned. 

In order to successfully infuse a multicultural dimension into a program or activity, the 

program or activity must already have a clear purpose. The infusion method keeps the 

focus of a program intact, while enhancing it with a special cultural dimension. Let us 

suppose that the mini-course session’s aim is to look at the Church as a praying 

community, with particular attention to its liturgical life. 


Step 2: Review the suggested activities or program components. 

The next step involves studying the various aspects of the planned program with an eye 

toward which of the program components might lend themselves to adaptation. In our 

example, some of the suggested components might include an opening discussion about 

some of the rituals of daily life, a tour of the parish church, and a closing prayer 

experience modeled on the Liturgy of the Hours. In reviewing these components, we 

might note some of the variables which could be adapted or changed. 

Step 3: Choose a particular cultural concept, value, symbol, or tradition 

promoting multicultural awareness. 

In this step it is important to consider what would make the most sense given the story 

of the communities to which the young people belong (i.e., the parish, civic community, 

the members of the group itself, etc.). Another consideration might include the season of 

the year or holidays being observed around the time of the session. In our example, we 

might look at a ritual of a specific cultural group, the story of the parish’s patron saint 

with particular attention to his or her nationality or culture, a bilingual song, or a reading 

inviting reflection on the diversity of the Church around the world. 

Step 4: Expand one of the activities or program components to include the 

particular cultural concept, value, symbol, or tradition promoting multicultural 

awareness. 

The final step involves the adaptation of the original program plan to include the cultural 

or multicultural dimension decided upon. Remember that the aim here is not to revise 

the entire activity so as to change the focus toward the issue of cultural awareness. The 

focus of the activity remains the same. The only difference is that in reaching that focus 

a multicultural perspective has been infused into the program. 

Returning to our example a final time, several possibilities emerge. The opening discussion on rituals 

could be initiated through a brief video segment or a reading describing a ritual from another 

religious or cultural tradition. The tour of the parish church could include a brief presentation on the 

story of the parish’s patron saint. The closing prayer service could include a bilingual song or reading 

inviting reflection on the multicultural reality of our Church. 

Works Cited 

Herrera, Marina. “Toward Multi-cultural Youth Ministry.” Readings in Youth Ministry – 

Volume 1. Ed. John Roberto. Washington, DC: NFCYM Publications, 1986. 


Resources for Ministry in a Multicultural Church 

Duvall, Lynn. Respecting our Differences – A Guide to Getting Along in a Changing World. 

Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing, 1994. 

Fitzpatrick, Joseph. One Church, Many Cultures. Kansas City: Sheed and Ward, 1987. 

Foster, Charles. Embracing Diversity. Washington, DC: Alban Institute, 1998. 

Foster, Charles, and Theordore Brelsford. We Are the Church Together – Cultural Diversity in 

Congregational Life. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1996. 

Foster, Charles, and Grant Shockley, editors. Working with Black Youth. Nashville: Abingdon 

Press, 1989. 

Jones, Nathan. Sharing the Old, Old Story – Educational Ministry in the Black Community. Winona, 

MN: St. Mary’s Press, 1982. 

Ng, David, editor. People on the Way – Asian North Americans Discovering Christ, Culture, and 

Community. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1988. 

Ng, Donald, editor. Asian Pacific American Youth Ministry. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 

1988. 

Prophets of Hope Editorial Team (Carmen Cervantes, General Editor). Hispanic Young People 

and the Church’s Pastoral Response. (Prophets of Hope Volume 1). Winona, MN: St. 

Mary’s Press, 1994. 

Prophets of Hope Editorial Team (Carmen Cervantes, General Editor). Evangelization of 

Hispanic Young People. (Prophets of Hope Volume 2). Winona, MN: St. Mary’s Press, 

1995. 

Prophets of Hope Editorial Team (Carmen Cervantes, General Editor). Dawn on the Horizon 

– Creating Small Communities. Winona, MN: St. Mary’s Press, 1997. 

Prophets of Hope Editorial Team (Carmen Cervantes, General Editor). The Prophets of Hope 

Model: A Weekend Workshop. Winona, MN: St. Mary’s Press, 1997. 

Roehlkepartain, Eugene C. Youth Ministry in City Churches. Loveland, CO: Group Books, 

1989. 

Simons, George. Working Together. Palo Alto, CA: Crisp Books, 1989. 


Infusing a Multicultural Perspective 

Step 1: Look at the aim of the program activity as originally 

envisioned. 

In order to successfully infuse a multicultural dimension into a program or activity, the 

program or activity must already have a clear purpose. The infusion method keeps the focus 

of a program intact, while enhancing it with a special cultural dimension. 

The Aim 

Step 2: Review the suggested activities or program components. 

The next step involves studying the various aspects of the planned program with an eye 

toward which of the program components might lend themselves to adaptation. 

Program Components for Adaptation 

Step 3: Choose a particular cultural concept, value, symbol, or 

tradition promoting multicultural awareness. 

In this step it is important to consider what would make the most sense given the story of 

the communities to which the young people belong (i.e., the parish, civic community, the 

members of the group itself, etc.). Another consideration might include the season of the 

year or holidays being observed around the time of the session. 

Concept, Value, Symbol, Tradition 

Step 4: Expand one of the activities or program components to 

include the particular cultural concept, value, symbol, tradition, or 

value promoting multicultural awareness. 

The final step involves the adaptation of the original program plan to include the cultural or 

multicultural dimension decided upon. Remember that the aim here is not to revise the 

entire activity so as to change the focus toward the issue of cultural awareness. The focus of 

the activity remains the same. The only difference is that in reaching that focus a 

multicultural perspective has been infused into the program. 


Part Three 


The Family Setting 

Ministry in the family setting includes the variety of ways that we support families as they grow 

together and share faith in the home. This includes programs designed to help parents communicate 

with their young people, resources that help families to pray, celebrate, and live their faith, and 

activities to enrich family life. An important process in the family setting is building bridges between 

youth programs and the home. Strategies as simple as developing information packets for parents 

when their adolescent attends a program, help parents understanding what their adolescent is 

experiencing through our ministry. With this information, they are better prepared to support these 

efforts. 

Seeing the Possibilities for Ministry in the Family 

Setting 

….Ministry with adolescents becomes family-friendly by incorporating a family 

perspective into all parish and school policies, programs, and activities so that all 

ministry enriches family life in a way that is sensitive to the reality of families today. 

Ministry with adolescents also helps families at home, individually or with other 

families, by providing programs, activities, resources, and strategies designed to 

enrich family life and promote family faith growth. 

(Renewing the Vision 21-22) 

An effective ministry with youth necessitates a ministry with their families. There is simply no 

getting around the fact that the family is the primary influence on the values and faith of young 

people, and, despite popular misconceptions, provides a positive environment for growth for the 

great majority of today’s adolescents. It is certainly true that families have changed dramatically in 

structure over the past several decades. We have seen a rise in single-parent families, blended or 

remarried families, and dual career families. The reality of diversity in family structure should not 

blind us to the power of the family to promote the positive growth of its young and to make 

valuable contributes to church and community life. Families need support, resources, and helpful 

programs/activities. This can be accomplished through a new partnership between families and 

churches, schools, and community organizations. Youth ministry has a valuable role to play in 

incorporating a family perspective in its programs and building a partnership with families of 

adolescents. 


Principles for Ministering with Families 

A positive approach to ministry with families is built on principles such as the following: 

Focus on the family as a system. Recognize the power of the family system on the 

faith and values of adolescents. When we minister with adolescents it is important to 

recognize the entire family context from which they come and will return. 

Build on family strengths. All too often our ministry efforts focus on what is wrong 

with families or on correcting family problems. Focus on promoting family strengths, 

healthy values, and effective family life skills. Help families discover their mission, unique 

gifts, and strengths. Teach skills for family living and growing in faith; support and 

encourage families. 

Respect the individual and cultural differences among families. Families come in 

all different sizes, shapes, and colors. Recognize this diversity and incorporate distinct 

features in our ministry and programming to respond effectively to the diversity. 

Respond flexibly to family needs; offer a variety of programs, activities, and 

strategies. Family life is dramatically different today than it was only two or three 

decades ago. The diversity in family structure and family ethnic heritages, the pressures 

of family time and commitments, and the changing work patterns require flexible rather 

than rigid policies, programming, and scheduling. Gone are the days when a oneprogram-fits-all 

approach will work. 

Reach out to families, rather than demand participation in programs. Offer 

programs, services, and resources for families at home or in home-like settings. 

The basis for our ministry with families should not be participation in parish programs. 

The issue is not how many people come to a program, but how many families you are 

reaching through a variety of programs, activities, and strategies. Decrease reliance on 

gathered programming as the primary way to ministry with families, and increase the 

emphasis on reaching out to families at-home or in small groups of families. A 

contemporary approach to families strikes a balance between gathered programs and a 

variety of activities and strategies designed for home use by one family or a cluster of 

families. 

Treat families as partners in ministry. Instead of working in isolation, develop a 

partnership approach which includes assessing the needs of families with adolescents, 

consulting with parents on the direction of youth ministry, inviting parents to participate 

in the planning of programs and to take leadership roles at parish programs or in home 

groupings. 


We treat parents as partners when… 

We support families with diverse programs, resources and strategies. 

We incorporate a family perspective into the life and programs of the parish. 

We build a bridge between youth programming and the home. 

We consider carefully the impact on families when developing programs, policies and 

ministry strategies. 


How do the programs and ministries of our parish connect and support families? 

How do the programs and ministries of our parish impact families? 

How can I support parents of adolescents? 

Resources for Ministry with Families 

130 Ways to Involve Parents in Youth Ministry. Loveland, CO: Group Books, 1994. 


Children and Adolescents. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998. 

Clark, Chap. The Youth Worker’s Handbook to Family Ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: 

Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 1997. 

Curran, Dolores. Working with Parents. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service, 1989. 

DeVries, Mark. Family-Based Youth Ministry. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994 

Elkind, David. Ties that Stress – The New Family Imbalance. Cambridge, MA: Harvard 

University Press, 1994. 

Finley, Mitch and Kathy. Building Christian Families. Allen, TX: Thomas More Press, 1996. 

NCCB. A Family Perspective in Church and Society. Washington, DC: USCC Publishing, 1988. 

NCCB. Follow the Way of Love. Washington, DC: USCC Publishing, 1993. 

NCCB. Putting Children and Families First. Washington, DC: USCC Publishing, 1991. 

Olson, Richard P. and Joe H. Leonard. A New Day for Family Ministry. Washington, DC: 

Alban Institute, 1996. 

Pipher, Mary. The Shelter of Each Other – Rebuilding our Families. New York: Ballantine Books, 

1996. 



Roehlkepartain, Jolene. Creating Intergenerational Community – 75 Ideas. Minneapolis: Search 

Institute, 1996. 


Tools for Ministry in the Family Setting 

Tool 12: Incorporating a Family Perspective in Youth Ministry 

How can we include the needs of families as we plan? Use this tool to assess current ministry 

efforts and to plan for ministry programs and strategies that incorporate a family perspective. 

Tool 13: Designing In-Home Family Activities 

How can we connect our ministries with the home? Use this tool to design and organize inhome 

family activities. 

Tool 14: Designing Family Programming 

What do we need to keep in mind as we plan family programs and resources? Use this tool 

to consider important elements when planning for family involvement. 

Tool 15: Ideas for Becoming Family-Friendly in Youth Ministry 

What can we do to respond to families of adolescents? Use this tool to consider a variety of 

ideas and strategies for becoming family-friendly. 


Tool 12 

Incorporating a Family 

Perspective in 


Developing a family friendly youth ministry does not necessitate designing new programming. It is 

extremely important to begin with your current ministries and programs and determine how well 

they address the needs of families. Making adjustments in your current programming is the first step 

toward becoming family-friendly and creating a partnership with families. 

A family perspective involves: 

Viewing individuals in the context of their family relationships and other social 

relationships. As a systems orientation, a family perspective is a lens that focuses on the 

interaction between individuals, their families, and social institutions. 

Using family relationships as a criterion to assess the impact of the Church’s and 

society’s policies, programs, ministries, and services. As a criterion to assess ministry, a 

family perspective provides a means to examine and adjust systematically policies, program 

design, and service delivery. Its goal is to incorporate a sensitivity to families and to promote 

the partnership, strengths, and resources of participating families (Family Perspective 8). 

A family perspective is not an extra burden – it is a challenge to the leader’s creativity. It implies adding 

something which gives new life or significance to current programming. It enables every program or 

active to promote family life and faith development. A family perspective means looking at our 

ministry and programs through a “family lens” and making appropriate adjustments. The following 

tool is designed to help you incorporate a family perspective into existing programs or activities 

making them more family-friendly or family-sensitive. 

Works Cited 

NCCB. A Family Perspective in Church and Society. Washington, DC: USCC Publishing, 1988. 


Family Perspective Planning Form 

1. Look at the aim of the program as currently planned or implemented. 

2. Observe the activities or program components and Assess their current 

relationship or impact on families using the following criteria. 

Place a check next to those criteria that are already incorporated into the program. 

Circle those items that need to be strengthened. Not all criteria apply to every 

program, so carefully evaluate the importance of each criteria for your particular 

program. 

❒ The program accounts for the different family forms represented by the families 

of adolescents (e.g., single-parent, blended, and dual career families). 

❒ The program accounts for the variety of ethnic groups in the parish and their 

particular needs. 

❒ The scheduling of the program reflects the busy and, often, complex calendar of 

families with adolescents. 

The program addresses: 

❒ only the needs of the adolescent 

❒ the needs of the adolescent in relation to his or her family 

❒ the overall needs of the entire family 

❒ The program improves the capacity for families to master the family life cycle 

developmental issues appropriate to families with young adolescents or older 

adolescents. 

❒ The program has a process that helps the participating adolescents and their 

families deal with the change and growth the program encourages. 

❒ Parents are involved in planning, implementing, and evaluating the program. 

❒ The program improves the relationship between youth ministry and the family. 

❒ The program empowers the family to share and live the Catholic faith at home, 

and helps them grow together as a family. 

❒ The program provides families with resources and activities for in-home use. 

❒ The program helps families connect with other families in family groupings or 

intergenerational groupings to share their faith, celebrate their faith, and/or 

serve others. 

3. Based on your assessment make of list of Action Recommendations for 

improving your program and activity. Select programs or activities that will 

best address your need. 

4. Select or Create a strategy or activity that will incorporate a family 

perspective into your parish program. 

5. Revise the activities or program components to include the strategy. 


Tool 13 

Designing In-Home 

Family Activities 

A second strategy for becoming more family-friendly in your youth ministry is to provide families of 

adolescents with home activities to enrich family life and promote family faith development. 

Focusing on the home has the advantage of reaching families in the context of their daily lives, but 

they demand creativity and imagination in their design so that families will use the activities and 

resources. In-home activities and resources can take a variety of forms, such as providing parenting 

resources, family rituals and celebrations, and family enrichment ideas. Many current programs can 

be redesigned to include a take-home resource or activity for family use at home. Newsletters can 

become an excellent vehicle for communicating in-home activities and parenting suggestions. 

Remember that families need to experience the support of the church community as they seek to 

share faith and values at home. (See Tool 15: Ideas for Becoming Family-Friendly for a variety 

of ideas for reaching families at home.) 

The following tool provides a planning process for creating family activities. 

Designing a Family Activity 

Task 1. Identify the purpose and focus of the activity. 

Determine the purpose or goal of your family activity. 

Determine if the activity is for the whole family, for parents, or for parents and 

adolescents. 

Determine if the family activity is connected to a gathered program or is an independent 

activity. 

Task 2. Develop ideas to accomplish your purpose. 

Brainstorm activities, strategies or resources that will best address your purpose or goal. 

Be creative and imaginative. 

Consult the ideas contained in Tool 15: Ideas for Becoming Family-Friendly. 

Determine the activity that the group feels will most effectively implement your purpose 

or goal. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each idea and then select the best 

activity or strategy for the goal. 


Task 3. Select a setting for the activity. 

Determine the setting to implement a family activity, for example: a) an in-home activity 

for one family, b) a home grouping for a cluster of families or intergenerational small 

group, and c) a community setting, such as athletic fields or parks. 

Task 4. Design the activity. 

Determine the design for the activity so that families will actually use it. It is very 

important to be “user-friendly” in packaging and delivering/communicating the activity. 

Make sure the activity can be integrated into the flow of family life by packaging and 

delivering/communicating the activity in a format or style that families will find easy to 

use. Think about the familiar “packaging” and “technologies” (low and high tech) that 

are already present in many of the homes of your target families. Consider the following 

ideas: 

• Phone 

• TV 

• Radio 

• Videos 

• Internet: e-mail, 

home page 

• Music and audio 

cassette programs 

• Newspapers, newsletters, 

and magazines 

• Books and booklets 

• Calendars 

• Art (paintings, posters) 

• Magnets 

• Religious objects and symbols 

You can use the parish to help deliver a family activity. Consider the following ideas: 

• connecting a take-home activity with a youth program (e.g., religious education 

classes, youth programs, Confirmation preparation) 

• distributing home rituals at Sunday Mass or other liturgical gatherings 

• producing a family newsletter (or parent newsletter) with information and 

activities that can be distributed through the regular parish mailing system or 

Sunday bulletin 

• producing home booklets for celebrating Advent and Lent 

• producing age-appropriate parent booklets with parenting skills and family 

activities connected to parental participation in sacramental preparation 

programs (Confirmation) and important rites of passage (start of middle school 

or high school, graduation from high school) 

• producing audio or video tapes of parish programs and making them available to 

parents/families who cannot participate in gathered programs 

Task 5. Select a starting date and concluding date. 

Determine the date for initiating the family activity, and if necessary, determine the 

concluding date. Timing of family activities is important. You may want your activity to 

coincide with a calendar or liturgical year celebration, with a family milestone, or with a 

parish event or program. You may need to consult the variety of calendars or schedules 

which impact upon families (schools, community organizations, athletic programs). This 

will help you avoid very busy times in the lives of families. 


Task 6. Develop implementation plans. 

There are several essential implementation tasks that you must address in planning your 

family activity. Use the Family Activity Planning Form on the next two pages to 

record all of your decisions. 

Develop a step-by-step implementation plan and timeline, including all of the 

major tasks that must get done in order to implement the family activity 

successfully. 

Determine check-in times for monitoring family involvement: check-in with 

families to see how the activity is working and how you can help them, if needed. 

Develop evaluation and follow-up procedures: provide families with 

opportunities to evaluate the effectiveness of the activity, tell you how to 

improve the activity, and suggest ideas to build-on the success of the activity. 

Consider evaluative methods such as postcard evaluations, phone surveys, 

success stories, focus groups of families who participated in the activity, etc. 

Identify the resources you will need to implement the activity. 

List all of the program logistics involved in implementing the family activity. 

Develop a communication or publicity plan for your family activity. 

Develop a budget for implementing your family activity. Remember to use the 

many resources which exist in the members of your parish community: their 

skills and talents, their workplace resources, their connections and relationships, 

their community, business, and organizational involvements. 

Identify the leaders you will need to implement the family activity. For many of 

your program plans you may need to develop a recruitment strategy to find and 

place the volunteer leaders you need to conduct the programs. 


Family Activity Planning Form 

Goal: ___________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Audience: _______________________________________________________ 

Activity: _________________________________________________________ 

Setting: _________________________________________________________ 

Delivery System Strategy: _________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Starting Date: ___________________________________________________ 

Concluding Date: _________________________________________________ 

Implementation Tasks and Timeline: 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Check-in Times for Monitoring of Family Involvement: 

________________________________________________________________ 

Evaluation and Follow-up Procedures: 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 


Resources Needed: 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Program Logistics: 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Communication/Publicity Plan: 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Program Budget: expenses, income, fundraising, donations 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Leadership Jobs: 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 


Tool 14 

Designing Family 

Programming 

Oftentimes it is important to develop a new initiative or re-design a current program to address new 

family needs or more adequately address current needs, such as creating intergenerational 

programming to balance age-specific program or developing an intentional parent education 

program where there has been only sporadic efforts. Check out the ideas contained in Tool 15: 

Ideas for Becoming Family-Friendly to stimulate your own creativity. 

Criteria for Family-friendly Programming 

When designing new programming be sure to keep in mind the important criteria for family-friendly 

programming. 

The program accounts for the different family forms represented by the families of 

adolescents (e.g., single-parent, blended, and dual career families). 

The program accounts for the variety of ethnic groups in the parish and their particular 

needs. 

The scheduling of the program reflects the busy and, often, complex calendar of 

families with adolescents. 

The program addresses the needs of the adolescent in relation to his or her family or the 

overall needs of the entire family. 

The program improves the capacity for families to master the family life cycle 

developmental issues appropriate to families with young adolescents or older 

adolescents. 

The program has a process that helps the participating adolescents and their families 

deal with the change and growth the program encourages. 

Parents are involved in planning, implementing, and evaluating the program. 

The program improves the relationship between youth ministry and the family. 

The program empowers the family to share and live the Catholic faith at home, and 

helps them grow together as a family. 

The program provides families with resources and activities for in-home use. 

The program helps families connect with other families in family groupings or 

intergenerational groupings to share their faith, celebrate their faith, and/or serve 

others. 


Designing a Family Program 

Task 1. Identify the purpose and focus of the activity. 

Determine the purpose or goal of your family program. 

Determine if the activity is for the whole family, for parents, or for parents and 

adolescents. 

Task 2. Develop ideas to accomplish your purpose. 

Brainstorm program ideas that will best address your purpose or goal. Be creative and 

imaginative. 

Consult the ideas contained in Tool 15: Ideas for Becoming Family-Friendly. 

Determine the program idea that the group feels will most effectively implement your 

purpose or goal. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each idea and then select the 

best activity or strategy for the goal. 

Task 3. Select a scheduling option. 

Select an appropriate scheduling option for your program or activity. There are a variety 

of scheduling options for family programming, including weekday, weekend, monthly, 

half day, full day, and weekend options. One of the keys to effective ministry with 

families is to offer programs and activities in a variety of scheduling options. This variety 

provides one means to address the diversity and complexity of family life and family 

schedules. 

Task 4. Select a date and time. 

Determine the optimal date(s) and time(s) for sponsoring the program. Be sure to 

consult the variety of calendars or schedules from parish and community organizations 

involving families (e.g., schools, community organizations, athletic programs). This will 

help you avoid scheduling conflicts as you integrate this program into the overall parish 

calendar. 

Task 5. Select a setting. 

Identify a list of settings or facilities for your family program. There are a number of 

settings or facilities you can use for conducting programs: the parish facility, retreat 

centers, other churches, conference centers, community centers, homes, neighborhoods, 

outdoors, museums, etc. 

Task 6. Develop a program schedule. 

Develop a program schedule that fits your scheduling option, the content of your 

program, and the needs of your families. 


Task 7. Complete implementation plans. 

There are several essential implementation tasks that you must address in planning your 

family program. Use the Family Program Planning Form on the next two pages to 

record all of your decisions. 

Develop a step-by-step implementation plan and timeline, including all of the 

major tasks that must get done in order to implement the parish program 

successfully. 

Identify the resources you will need to implement the program. 

List all of the program logistics involved in implementing the family activity. 

Develop a communication or publicity plan for your program. 

Develop a budget for implementing your program. Remember to use the many 

resources which exist in the members of your parish community: their skills and 

talents, their workplace resources, their connections and relationships, their 

community, business, and organizational involvements. 

Develop evaluation and follow-up procedures: provide families with 

opportunities to evaluate the effectiveness of the program, to tell you how to 

improve the program, and to suggest ideas to build-on the success of the 

program. Consider evaluative methods such as questionnaires, postcard 

evaluations, phone surveys, success stories, focus groups of families who 

participated in the program, etc. 

Identify the leaders you will need to implement the family activity. For many of 

your program plans you may need to develop a recruitment strategy to find and 

place the volunteer leaders you need to conduct the programs. 

For Further Assistance in Program Design 

Use the checklists, processes, and worksheets contained in Tool 5: Designing 

Gathered and Small Group Programming to complete your family program 

design. 


Family Program Planning Form 

Goal: ___________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Audience: _______________________________________________________ 

Program or Activity: ______________________________________________ 

Scheduling Option: _______________________________________________ 

Dates/Times: ____________________________________________________ 

Setting/Facility: __________________________________________________ 

Program Schedule: 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Implementation Tasks and Timeline: 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 


Resources Needed: 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Program Logistics: 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Communication/Publicity Plan: 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Program Budget: expenses, income, fundraising, donations 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Program Evaluation and Follow-up Procedures 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Leadership Jobs: 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 


Tool 15 

Ideas for Becoming 

Family-Friendly in 


1. Develop a regular family newsletter. 

♦ Produce a family newsletter, specific to families with adolescents or for families of all 

ages, which includes information such as family enrichment activities, family rituals and 

home celebrations, family service ideas, family prayers, community events, information 

on parenting and family life, practical ideas and suggestions for family faith sharing 

activities, news about programs or activities in the parish or wider community, a forum 

for parent-to-parent idea sharing and support, and ideas for supporting and continuing 

the faith formation of their children which is taking place in parish programs. 

2. Create a family resource center. 

♦ Fill the resource center with books, booklets, books-on-cassette, audio cassettes, videos, 

and magazines that families can borrow and use at home. Include print, audio, and video 

resources on family rituals, parenting, family enrichment activities, ideas for improving 

family relationships, family service activities, and community resources (counseling 

services). 

♦ Tape (audio or video) parent programs so that those who could not attend can watch or 

listen to the program, then make the audio or video cassettes available in the resource 

center. 

3. Create in-home resources and activities to support and extend 

existing programs and activities. 

♦ Produce family faith enrichment kits, with one targeted to families with young 

adolescents and another to families with older adolescents, that contain rituals, prayers, 

enrichment activities, parenting ideas, symbols, and practical stuff for family life with 

adolescents. Connect the introduction and distribution of the kit to a parent workshop 

(start of middle school or high school) or to a parent session for the sacrament of 

Confirmation. 

♦ Produce booklets targeted to families with adolescents, such as family prayer booklets, 

Advent and Lent home celebration booklets, rites of passage booklets (graduation from 

high school), family enrichment and fun activities booklets, etc. 


4. Focus on Advent-Christmas and Lent-Easter as home 

celebrations. 

♦ Create Advent and Lenten home celebrations booklets and activities. Involve families in 

creating symbols and activities for home use through existing program opportunities. 

5. Parallel parish programs with corresponding home activities. 

♦ Structure parish ministries and programs in such a way that they model the activities you 

want families to engage in at home or they provide the catalyst experience that motivates 

families to engage in a corresponding family activity. Sunday worship, liturgical year 

celebrations, and rites of passage offer marvelous opportunities to connect the parish 

celebration with home celebrations. When a family participates in a parish celebration 

they receive a ritual, prayer, or activity that they can celebrate at home. 

♦ Parish service projects can be structured to provide a catalyst experience for families 

which results in family service. For example, conduct a Family Service Sunday which 

provides families with an educational experience and involvement in common service 

activity with other families (e.g., service at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen or 

community center). At the conclusion of the day provide families with a list of potential 

family service activities that can be done by one family or together with other families. 

Invite the families to discuss and possibly commit to one service action each month. 

Continue to resource these families with family service ideas. 

6. Sponsor parent workshops and parenting classes. 

♦ One the best investments we can make in improving family life is to empower, support, 

and encourage parents. Design parent education workshops to incorporate the following 

elements: 

• help parents understand the developmental growth of their adolescents and their 

family (family life cycle stage) 

• teach skills for parenting, value and moral formation, faith growth, family 

enrichment, etc. 

• demonstrate how parents can use the information, skills, activities, and resources 

at home 

• give parents an opportunity to share with each other 

• give parents “take-home” resources for parenting and family life 

♦ Research existing parent education programs sponsored in your community, as well as 

those in print and/or on video. Before organizing a parent education program survey 

your community (other churches, youth organizations, schools) to determine if you can 

collaborate with other organizations which provide parenting courses. Perhaps your 

parish can be the host site for a community-wide parenting program. There are also a 

number of excellent, self-contained parenting programs available for use, many of which 

include video-based learning. The availability of video-based programs gives you the 

option of organizing parenting classes in sites other than the parish facility such as 

homes. It also gives you the ability to utilize parents, who have already effectively 

parented adolescents, to facilitate the program. The facilitator can introduce the theme 

for each session, play the video, and lead a discussion on the video program. 

♦ Be creative about targeting and scheduling parenting workshops. Target important life 

cycle transitions (e.g. entrance into middle school or high school) as an opportunity for a 

parenting workshop. Consider organizing a parallel program of parent education at the 

same time as the young adolescent or older adolescent program. 


7. Incorporate parent education into existing programs and 

activities. 

♦ Incorporate a parenting workshop in the parent component of sacramental preparation 

for Confirmation. 

♦ Incorporate a parenting workshop into a parent meeting prior to initiating a new year of 

programming. 

♦ Produce age-appropriate parent education booklets for home use, connected to parental 

participation in existing programming. 

♦ Incorporate a parent enrichment component into the schedule of existing adolescent 

programming so that parents can gather while their adolescents participate in the 

program. 

♦ Design adolescent programs with built-in parent sessions. Use a combination of parentonly 

sessions, adolescent-only sessions, and parent-adolescent sessions. Be sure to select 

topics or issues which interest both parents and adolescents. Start by consulting the 

developmental needs of young and older adolescents individuals and the adolescent stage 

of the family life cycle. Find topics of mutual concern to parents and adolescents, such as 

sexuality, moral values, family issues (relationships, communication, rules), career and 

future issues, and decision-making. 

8. Organize occasional family service programs and offer regular 

ideas for family service. 

♦ Integrate family service programming into the programming mix with young and older 

adolescents; re-design adolescent-only service projects to include parents or entire 

families. 

♦ Integrate family service programming into the parish’s celebration of Advent and Lent. 

♦ Utilize calendar year national or church celebrations of justice or service (e.g. Children’s 

Sabbath, Stand for Children, Operation Rice Bowl, Martin Luther King Jr. Anniversary, 

World Food Day, Earth Day) to mobilize families for service and action. 

♦ Prepare a booklet or idea sheet to help people celebrate calendar year national or church 

celebrations of justice and service throughout the year. 

♦ Highlight service opportunities in the parish or community for individual families or 

groups of families. 

♦ Adopt a service project (as a family, parish or school) by providing financial support 

through fund raising to organizations that work directly with the poor or advocate for 

justice, locally and globally such as: Heifer Project International (800-422-0755, ask for a 

catalog of projects), Catholic Relief Services (800-736-3467), and Campaign for Human 

Development (check your local diocese). 

♦ Develop a “Gift Giving Guide” with suggestions (time, money, materials) on how 

families can support local and global service and social change organizations. 

9. Sponsor a monthly family program in conjunction with or as an 

alternative to existing adolescent programming in gathered or 

small group settings. 

♦ Organize monthly programs using the significant events and seasons of the Church Year, 

such as a Advent and Lent, and significant ethnic holidays and traditions. 

♦ Organize monthly programs around key themes of the Catholic faith, such as Jesus, 

Church, Catholic beliefs, sacraments, morality, etc. 


♦ Organize monthly programs around the key themes of the Lectionary for that month. 

♦ Organize monthly programs around family life skills: communication, decision-making, 

problem-solving, reconciliation, family meetings, quality family time and family activities. 

10. Organize a “Family Year-of-Values.” 

♦ Focus on an important value each month, such as honesty, love, compassion, 

forgiveness, and highlight that value at Sunday Mass, through youth ministry 

programming, through family or intergenerational programs, through special events, and 

through in-home resources and activities. 

11. Promote “Family Night,” an evening each week for family time 

at home, by providing family resources and activities, and by 

avoiding the scheduling of parish and school activities on this 

special night each week. 

12. Re-connect with parents during significant rites of passage. 

♦ Create a “re-entry” educational process and ritual to help parents who are not active in 

the church to reconnect with the parish community as they celebrate with their 

adolescents the sacrament of Confirmation or graduation from high school. 

♦ Create a video or audio sampler tape of parish life and activities with a handbook 

introducing the community – its leaders and ministries – to families and/or parents. 

Create welcome kits for parents. 

13. Use the Internet as a vehicle for reaching families at home. 

♦ Create a home page on the Internet for families. Offer information on important family 

and parent topics; family enrichment activities, family rituals, reflections for families on 

the daily scriptures of the Advent, Lent, and Easter seasons; chat rooms for discussing 

important faith, family, and parenting issues; a calendar of events, activities and special 

announcements; etc. 

♦ Include links to other faith enrichment, family enrichment, and parenting web sites. 

♦ Use e-mail to send families information about events and activities, as well as faith 

enrichment and family enrichment activities. 

14. Give parents a meaningful voice in programs which affect their 

adolescents. 

♦ Get to know the parents of adolescents. If the minister shows an understanding of the 

stresses and struggles of parents, attempts to get to know them personally, and provides 

opportunities for support, a solid partnership can emerge. The better you know parents, 

the easier it is to know just how to invite their participation. They will also be more 

motivated to contribute. 

♦ Create a parent advisory group to help the coordinator and team choose the best ways to 

meet the needs of individual family members and the whole family. It may meet only a 

couple of times a year, but it helps parents and church leaders stay connected. 

♦ Determine the needs of parents and families, as well as the adolescents. If you conduct a 

needs assessment of adolescents in planning your programs, consider developing a 


parallel family survey. Ask parents to rate the importance of a variety of topics and issues 

for their adolescents, for themselves as parents, and for the entire family. 

15. Provide preparation and follow-up to intensive experiences and 

resources. 

♦ Before an intensive experience – a retreat or weeklong service program – parents need 

help in understanding the program and the changes that could result in the life of their 

son or daughter. After the experience adolescents need help reconnecting with the 

family, and parents need help in adjusting the family system to the growth and changes 

experienced by the adolescent. Program information, parent meetings, parent-to-parent 

guidance are several approaches for preparing and de-briefing an intensive experiences. 

A reentry session for parents of adolescents at the end of the program can help them 

accept the changes in their adolescents. Provide parents with ideas and suggestions for 

supporting their adolescents and encouraging continued growth. 


Part Four 


The Parish Setting 

The parish setting includes the many ways in which youth experience ministry through the life of the 

parish itself. How do we both include the gifts of youth and respond to their needs through our 

parish liturgies? What can we do to help youth join the central prayer of our faith? Some 

communities prepare liturgies that include youth in the liturgical ministries and incorporate youth 

examples in the prayers and homilies. The parish’s community life becomes a place to minister to 

youth when we pay attention to their needs and their gifts. When planning a parish mission or a 

parish wide service event, parishes consider its young members. Parishes link youth to the variety of 

service, ministry and leadership roles in the community. 

Seeing our Parish as Ready and Able to Respond to 

Youth 

How do we see our parish? “You should see the youth ministry at the church next door. They 

receive such a great response to their youth ministry efforts!” Yes, we may see our parish as 

incomplete when we compare ourselves to our neighbors, or when we measure the distance from 

where we are to where we want to be. Renewing the Vision repeatedly challenges us to be creative and 

to adapt the vision to the unique resources and circumstances of our community. How can we take 

these renewed directions and make them work at our own parish? First, we see our parish as a 

treasure chest of resources, which includes many gifted and generous people. These people are 

waiting for us to invite them into our youth ministry efforts. In addition, we put old ghosts of 

previous letdowns and missed efforts behind us. We ask, “What can we do with and for our young 

people?” 

We begin by embracing the belief that our parish has everything we need to minister to youth 

effectively. 

The parish is where the Church lives. Parishes are communities of faith, of action, and of 

hope. They are where the Gospel is proclaimed and celebrated, where believers are formed 

and sent to renew the earth. (Communities of Salt and Light 1) 

In our parishes, our gracious God has given us everything we need to be responsive. Sometimes, 

gifts remain hidden and unused. Our challenge is to see who is missing and to create a climate that 

encourages people to share their giftedness. Drawing our resources together to minister with youth 

is our first step. Youth will notice that we are making an effort. Our first opportunity to grow our 

youth ministry is to look at how we welcome and include youth in our life as a praying, celebrating, 

and worshipping community. 


What do we assume about youth ministry? Have we assumed that youth ministry is primarily a 

gathering of young people with a small group of adults who are uniquely gifted to work with youth? 

Have we assumed that these unique gifts are proximately in age to young people and a “cool” 

personality? Experience has shown that youth ministry flourishes with leaders of all ages. What if we 

assume that youth ministry is much more than the gatherings of youth? What if we assume that the 

whole community can play a part when we welcome youth and integrate their needs and gifts into 

our life as parish? Effective programs recognize that young people need to be part of an 

intergenerational community. Youth will learn what it means to be a member of the faith 

community by watching, learning and practicing the actions of a variety of adult members in the 

community. 

Renewing the Vision calls parishes to become “youth friendly communities in which youth have a 

conspicuous presence” (RTV 13). Renewing the Vision outlines a variety of characteristics of youthfriendly 

parish communities. 

A Youth-friendly Parish…. 

Values Youth 

♦ makes youth feel welcome 

♦ listens to youth 

♦ responds to their needs with age appropriate programming. 

♦ supports youth with “prayer, time, facilities, and money” 

Sees Youth as Resources 

♦ empowers gifts of youth 

♦ provides meaningful roles for youth in the community 

♦ acknowledges and affirms their efforts and contributions 

Provides for Intergenerational Relationships 

♦ connects youth to role models and mentors 

♦ includes youth in the life of the parish: prayer, learning, serving and celebrating 

(summarized from RTV 13) 

The parish is the first home of youth ministry, the setting for gatherings of youth for targeted and 

specific programs. Often our first youth ministry response has been to gather young people together 

and work with them in isolation. Youth participation in liturgy is an example. Many adults and youth 

hope for greater participation of youth in our central prayer as a faith community. One response is 

to have a special mass just for youth as a way to help them make connections to our regular parish 

liturgies. Yet, we are learning that this is not enough. How do we include youth in the liturgies of the 

whole parish? How can the music, the homily, the prayers and the persons who share in the 

ministries of the liturgy be inclusive and reflective of youth? 

Youth are already in the midst of many of our parish’s gatherings and ministries. Here is our 

opportunity to welcome them, to help youth feel that they belong. Here is our opportunity to adapt 

and enhance our programs to include their needs and gifts. Here is our opportunity to watch youth 

grow and develop in the midst of parish community life, and to develop focused programs and 

strategies that respond to their particular needs. 


We see our parishes as ready and able when… 

We take the time and effort to discover our resources as a community. 

We strive to welcome and include youth in all aspects of parish life. 

We develop targeted programs and strategies to minister to younger and older 

adolescents. 


What are our resources as a community? 

How do we welcome and include youth in our life as parish? 

In what ways could we become more “youth-friendly?” 

How can we meet the needs and include the gifts of youth in the programs and 

events of our parish? 

Tools for Ministry in the Parish Setting 

Tool 16: Building a Youth-friendly Parish Community 

How can we make our parish more youth-friendly? Use this tool to assess the climate, 

attitudes, practices and environment in your current community. Consider the ideas listed as 

strategies for building your parish community. 

Tool 17: Connecting Youth and Parish Liturgy 

How can we connect youth to our parish liturgies. Use this tool to plan for youth 

involvement in your communal worship. 

Tool 18: Involving Youth in Leadership 

How can we help youth to be leaders? Use this tool to prepare, place and support youth as 

leaders. 

Tool 19: Involving Youth in Decision-making and Planning 

How can we give youth a voice in our community? Use this tool to include youth in 

planning in your parish. 

Tool 20: Creating Intergenerational Relationships 

How can we connect youth to adults in our community? Use this tool to develop youth 

relationships in your intergenerational community. This includes: (1) meaningful 

involvement of adolescents in community life and leadership roles, (2) mentoring 

relationships. 


Tool 21: Developing Intergenerational Opportunities for Faith 

Formation 

How can we connect our whole community together as we grow in faith? Use this tool to 

consider the variety of opportunities for ministry and faith formation for adolescents and the 

intergenerational community of faith. 

Tool 22: Collaborating with Parish Ministries and Organizations 

How can we work with the organizations and ministries of our parish? Use this tool to plan 

for networking, cooperation and collaboration in your parish. 


Tool 16 

Building a 

Youth-friendly 

Parish Community 

What to Look for… 

➜ Climate 

What is the general climate for youth involvement? How comfortable are youth in general 

parish gatherings or in the Church buildings? 

➜ Relationships 

What relationships are developing between adults and youth? Are youth ministry efforts 

integral to the overall parish? How are staff and key leaders informed and involved about 

youth? 

➜ Attitudes 

What is the history of youth involvement? Have there been failures and successes? What are 

the attitudes about youth that are prevalent in the community? 

➜ Practices 

How are youth involved and included in key leadership and ministry roles in the parish? 

How are youth involved in liturgy? Structurally, how are youth included in the parish? 

➜ Behaviors 

How are youth treated at Sunday liturgy or at parish gatherings? How do youth behave in 

parish functions? Where do they gather? Do they interact with adults? 

Work Towards these Shifts: 

Misunderstanding of youth ➨ to ➨ trust of youth 

From fear of youth ➨ to ➨ pride in youth 

From a group of insiders ➨ to ➨ open, safe, inclusive community 


Ideas for Building a Youth-friendly Parish 

INFORM: Provide Good News about Youth 

➨ Create a bulletin board in the vestibule. Post pictures and good news stories about 

individual youth who are providing service, leadership and community involvement. 

Post notices about school achievements and events. Post pictures from youth ministry 

programs, including service events, retreats and prayer services. 

➨ Create a Youth Good Newsletter as an insert into your parish bulletin. Publish 

the newsletter quarterly as a way to let the community know the achievements and 

service involvements of youth in your community . 

➨ Make presentations at parish organization meetings. Create a team of youth from 

the parish youth ministry to present the parish youth ministry through pictures, stories, 

music and drama. 

➨ Involve the parish community in praying for youth events. When preparing for 

key youth events such as service trips or retreats, compose petitions to be included in 

the prayers of the faithful during parish liturgies. 

TRANSFORM: Structures, Policies, Relationships 

➨ Involve youth in key committees and councils of the parish. (See Tool 18.) 

➨ Provide community building at parish events. At the beginning of parish events 

such as a parish mission, service day or social function, include introductions and a 

brief community builder. This will help youth and the adults in the community to get to 

know each other. 

➨ Provide youthful hospitality at parish-wide events. Create a variety of refreshments 

and decorations at parish celebrations that will appeal to people of all ages. This can be 

as simple as including soda and chips along with the donuts and coffee. 

SHOW: Potential for Youth Involvement 

➨ Involve the parish in supporting service projects. Invite sponsors and prayer 

support from the parish community. 

➨ Create intergenerational service and learning events. (See Tool 21.) 

➨ Involve youth in leadership and ministry. (See Tool 18.) 


Tool 17 

Connecting Youth 

and Parish Liturgy 

Thomas N. Tomaszek 

A fully Christian life in inconceivable without participation in the liturgical services in 

which the faithful, gathered into a single assembly, celebrate the paschal mystery. 

Therefore, the religious initiation of children must be in harmony with this purpose. 

(Directory for Masses with Children 8) 

Much emphasis is placed upon whether or not youth are present for our worship. Part of this 

emphasis comes from our belief, as stated in the paragraph above, that a fully Christian life must 

include participation in liturgy. Some persons might argue that it is an over-emphasis – that we focus 

too much on attendance at Mass and other prayer experiences as a measure of young people’s faith 

at a time when youth are not very receptive to anything their parents or other adults deem 

important. None-the-less, we want teens to be there. Most of our efforts to involve youth in worship 

grow from our basic sense that we are less of a community, less of a full assembly, when teens aren’t 

there. 

So what can we do to increase the attendance and participation of teens in our liturgies? It is my 

belief that the answer to that question comes in the kind of groundwork that is laid to help such 

participation happen. There are no quick fixes here, and many of the issues which limit youth 

participation are issues for the whole community as well. Here are some steps to consider. 

Step One: Prepare Yourself. 

If you want to be a good advocate for youth, you need to begin by educating yourself in the basic 

principles of liturgy and worship. For starters, I always recommend that youth ministers read the 

Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. This first document of Vatican II lays out the key principles of 

worship. The Directory for Masses with Children is another key document. The DMC describes the 

issues surrounding how we should adapt liturgy to children’s developmental needs when 

appropriate, especially in Masses when children are present. 

A case can certainly be made that teenagers are also not adults and have their own developmental 

needs. While a similar directory for adolescents has yet to be written, it is possible to look to the 

DMC for some principles of adaptation. Educating yourself does not mean that you have to become 

a liturgist! But it does mean that you need to be knowledgeable enough of liturgical principles to 

advocate effectively with those who are the experts. Remember – there are many gifts but the same 

Spirit. Hopefully there is someone in the community who is responsible for the community’s prayer 

life, including the pastor, with whom you can advocate for the needs of youth. Always keep in mind 

that the primary job of a youth minister is to coordinate the ministries to youth. 


Finally, educate yourself to gain wisdom about liturgy, not to become a wiseguy! There is nothing worse 

than someone who needs to prove how much they know about a subject by lording it over everyone 

else in the process. Liturgy (leiturgia in Greek) is the “work of the people.” A good liturgist allows 

for liturgy to be just that. 

Step Two: Prepare Youth. 

You cannot involve teens in liturgy if they do not want to be there. Therefore, the starting point is 

not education, but invitation. It is far easier to prepare youth for their role in liturgy if they believe they 

have a gift to bring and a reason for being there. Unfortunately, our culture wants teens to hurry up 

and become adults, and so they never can feel comfortable just being adolescents. But that is their 

gift – to be young and idealistic and enthusiastic and mistake-prone and, above all, questioning. 

Preparing youth for worship begins by encouraging and inviting them to share the gift of their 

adolescence with the community. We need the “real presence” of teens to make us fully complete as 

a community. 

Another key to preparing youth for active participation in liturgy is to make the formation 

experiential whenever possible. Here are some suggestions: 

Apprentice youth in the liturgical ministries. Set up opportunities for teens who 

want to become lectors, greeters, liturgical musicians, accompanists, altar servers and 

Eucharistic ministers to be apprenticed by adults who already serve in those capacities. 

Provide opportunities for teens to prepare prayer. Young people will learn the 

dynamics of ritual and symbol quickly if competent adults guide them in preparing 

prayer experiences for their peers. 

Provide opportunities to experience the worship style of other cultures. Regardless 

of your cultural or ethnic heritage, it is always an eye-opener to experience the worship 

style of others. The experience helps you to see how symbols and ritual are culturallyrooted. 

Provide creative prayer experiences. Young people will be more ready to worship 

with adults if they are at least more comfortable praying with each other. Prayer should 

be regular, predictable, and draw extensively from teen’s life experiences. 

Discuss non-religious symbols and rituals. Our lives are filled with all kinds of 

symbols and rituals. When we take time to notice these we become more aware of the 

religious symbols and rituals that are a part of liturgy. 

The final key is to help youth to understand liturgy in terms of a relationship with God and other 

believers instead of just another “entertaining” event in their lives. Discovering relationships is an 

important developmental task for teens. Communication is a big part of any relationship. You can 

prepare teens for worship by talking about it in the language of relationships rather than the 

language of expectations. It is a minor point, but even little suggestions like encouraging youth to 

attend liturgy with friends helps them to understand it as a “community event.” 

Step Three: Prepare the Community. 

The most overlooked but most important task to involving youth in liturgy is educating members of 

the faith community about the needs and gifts of adolescents. This is not a liturgical issue, it is a 

political reality. Youth ministers who want to advocate for teens need to get politically smart. You 

have to build alliances, look for assistance, and know how to “choose your battles,” as they say. All 


this political talk may seem unattractive to someone who prefers to spend time with teens, but it’s 

absolutely necessary. Here are some general ideas: 

Focus on parents. Most parents will do anything that will help “get their kid to 

Church.” Use that motivation to organize support for apprenticeship efforts and other 

aspects of your plan. Do not forget grandparents. Long-standing parish members have 

clout. 

Identify lobbyists. Who has the ear of the person who needs to be convinced? You 

may not be the best person to approach the pastor, liturgist, musician or liturgy 

commission. Who is the best person? Help those persons understand the needs of youth. 

Preach the gift of adolescence. Develop a positive publicity campaign to help show 

the contributions and achievements of youth. Again, parents and grandparents can be 

helpful here, but the real task is to convince others that the community loses when teens 

aren’t fully involved in liturgical services. 

One of the best ways to begin this step is to remember your own adolescence. Who were the 

persons who reached out to you and encouraged you to become a leader? What did you want from 

the community? What doors were closed to you? Which ones were open? How involved in liturgy 

were you? Did it make a difference then? now? Use these reflections to understand how today’s teen 

may be perceiving the community. 

Step Four: Prepare a Strategic Plan. 

Once you have laid a solid foundation for your efforts you can begin to identify a short and long 

range plan of action. Do not be mislead by this terminology. A strategic plan is no more than trying 

to identify what are the best first steps to take which will achieve the greatest results. 

Form a strategy committee. Do not work alone. Find a group of people who can help 

you identify the tasks that need to be done – even if they are not able to devote much 

time to the effort themselves. Do not underestimate the importance of support. 

Involve youth in the process. True youth ministry is also accomplished with and by 

youth. Allow teens to take an active leadership role in these efforts. 

Assess the situation. Take a realistic look at all the forces and resources which are in 

your favor as well as those issues which need to be addressed. You may have more going 

for you than you think. 

Plan for success. Make your first step an achievable success. Each time you accomplish 

something you increase the odds in your favor for future successes. 


Steps to Improve Worship for Youth: 

A Summary 

Step One: Prepare Yourself 

Listen and respond to teens without becoming defensive. 

Read the documents with a focus on youth 

Know your role and understand its implications for youth. 

Know the difference between a liturgical issue and a political circumstance. 

Step Two: Prepare Youth 

Invite, train, and apprentice youth in liturgical ministries. 

Affirm their adolescence and adapt your programs accordingly. 

Involve teens in preparing prayer experiences and peer liturgies. 

Offer formation on liturgy and their role in the assembly. 

Step Three: Prepare the Parish 

Practice radical hospitality toward youth. 

Involve youth in the full life of the parish. 

Be a good lobbyist and preach the gift of adolescence. 

Look for allies and always collaborate 

Step Four: Prepare a Plan of Action 

Form a strategy committee on youth and worship. 

Involve youth in parish liturgy committees. 

Offer periodic liturgies for youth. 

Set achievable goals and focus on faith. 

To Learn More About Youth and Liturgy…. 

Read the national document on youth and liturgy: 

From Age to Age: The Challenge of Worship with Adolescents. National Federation for 

Catholic Youth Ministry. Winona, MN: St. Mary’s Press, 1997. 


Tool 18 

Involving Youth 

in Leadership 

Creating New Leadership Positions for Youth 

Step 1: Find Partners in Youth Empowerment 

➨ Talk to people in the community to get ideas of ways that youth could serve. 

➨ Brainstorm service and ministry areas in which youth could play a leadership role. 

➨ Select leaders and organizations that will make good partners in youth empowerment 

efforts. 

Step 2: Communicate Your Plans for Training and Placing Youth 

Begin by giving the leader the opportunity to share with you about their ministry area or 

agency work. Identify how you might see young people fitting into the work and explain the 

role development process. 

Step 3: Develop Leadership Roles 

As you are discussing ways that youth could be involved in the mission and work of the 

organization or agency, you may need to break down possible work into different leadership 

positions. Work together with the leader from the ministry area or agency to use the 

Leadership Tasks for Youth Worksheet. Begin your work by describing the programs for 

which leaders will be needed. For each program list the tasks which leaders will perform. Be 

very specific. Frequently, we assume that everyone knows the tasks involved in planning or 

conducting a specific program. We need to identify clearly the tasks that are involved in 

conducting a program so that we can make a good match for a particular young person and 

identify specific methods of support and training. 

Step 4: Create Leadership Positions 

➨ Tasks: Once you have listed the tasks necessary, group these tasks into a series of 

leadership positions. It is better to identify several leadership positions with fewer 

tasks, than to identify one or two positions with a large number of tasks. You can 

always combine leadership positions together. It is much easier to match several leaders 

with smaller jobs than to find one person to take on a large job. 


➨ Training and Abilities: In looking at the clusters of tasks that are grouped for each 

job position, begin thinking about what abilities and training or orientation may be 

needed to accomplish these tasks. The abilities list may help to match a young person 

to specific position or it may point to needed training. There are a wide variety of ways 

to train young people including mentoring, one-to-one, workshops, and linking to 

training offered in the community. You can make the leader you are working with 

more comfortable with the youth empowerment process as you assure her or him of 

your continued support in helping the young person be matched and trained to 

perform the leadership position. 

➨ Supervision and Support: Young leaders deserve supervision and support so that 

they can accomplish leadership tasks and so that they can learn and grow from these 

opportunities. One way to look at supervision and support is to separate the different 

functions and look for a coordinated way of encouraging youth in leadership. 

Supervision means visioning with someone. The gift of supervision is that someone is 

standing back from our leadership tasks and helping us to see more clearly how we are 

being effective and how we need to grow and change. To supervise youth someone 

should know the tasks that need to be completed and should know how to 

communicate effectively to a young person in a way that affirms and encourages 

growth. Youth leaders need to receive feedback about their work and reminders for 

upcoming deadlines and expectations. Supervision is often a matter of catching young 

people in the act of doing something right and letting them know! We also need to be 

honest with youth about areas to improve and to grow. Effective supervision is a 

wonderful gift that provides tremendous growth in skills, and also in personal 

responsibility. 

There may be a complementary role for someone to provide support for a young 

person in a leadership role. Support includes listening and being-with a young person 

by providing encouragement and connection. Support will focus on building 

relationships and providing spiritual guidance and faith connections for the youth. This 

is an opportunity for an adult who is trained in youth empowerment to be available for 

support to a number of youth in different leadership positions. 

Step 5. Develop Leadership Position Descriptions 

Now that you have identified leadership positions, use the Leadership Role Description 

Worksheet to create job descriptions for each leadership position. Even though developing 

job descriptions takes time it will serve as the basis for recruiting, training, supporting, and 

evaluating your young leaders. Many efforts at matching leaders fail because the leadership 

jobs are not clearly defined. 

The worksheet provides you with a way to develop a job description for each leadership 

position. Here are several guidelines to follow in developing the job description. They 

correspond to the categories on the worksheet. 

Developing Job Descriptions: 

1. Identify the program the leader will be involved in. If the job has a title, state it. 


2. List the leader tasks to be performed. Describe what you hope will be accomplished. 

Use clear, simple language. (Refer to the Leadership Tasks for Youth Worksheet 

for specific tasks.) 

3. List the abilities needed. 

4. State clearly the total involvement that goes with the job by using this section to 

describe any additional expectations. 

5. Identify the length of commitment. Be specific about the length of the position and 

the amount of time expected per week. 

6. If specific training is required for the position, list the training options and/or 

resources. Identify when and how the training may be secured. 

7. Identify supervision and support which will be provided for the leader. Identify 

clearly to whom the leader is responsible. 

8. Identify what the leader will gain from this position. What are the benefits of this 

position? It is very important to describe how the leader will grow and benefit from 

his or her involvement in a leadership role. 

Step 6: Putting it All Together 

As a result of this process, you will have youth leadership opportunities in a variety of 

settings. You also have developed relationships with leaders in your parish, school and/or 

the wider community. This lays a tremendous foundation for your empowerment of youth 

leaders. Continuing with the process includes the following steps. 

➨ Recruiting youth for leadership positions: affirm, advertise, announce, invite. 

➨ Provide training for youth. 

➨ Place youth into leadership positions. 

➨ Continue with training, support and supervision. 


Leadership Tasks for Youth Worksheet 

Program: _______________________________________________________ 

Leadership Tasks 

1. ________________________________ 

2. ________________________________ 

3. ________________________________ 

4. ________________________________ 

5. ________________________________ 

6. ________________________________ 

7. ________________________________ 

8. ________________________________ 

9. ________________________________ 

10. ________________________________ 

11. ________________________________ 

12. ________________________________ 

13. ________________________________ 

14. ________________________________ 

15. ________________________________ 

16. ________________________________ 

17. ________________________________ 

18. ________________________________ 

Leadership Positions 

Position: ___________________________ 

Leadership Tasks: _________________ 

(Indicate numbers from column 1) 

Position: ___________________________ 



Position: ___________________________ 



Position: ___________________________ 



Position: ___________________________ 



Position: ___________________________ 



Position: ___________________________ 



Position: ___________________________ 



Position: ___________________________ 




Leadership Role Description Worksheet 

1. Program _________________________________________________________ 

Job Title _________________________________________________________ 

2. Leader Tasks to be Performed (see Leadership Tasks worksheet): 

1. _______________________________ 5. _____________________________ 

2. ________________________________ 6. _____________________________ 

3. ________________________________ 7. _____________________________ 

4. ________________________________ 8. _____________________________ 

3. Abilities Needed (skills, attitudes, understandings): 

1. ________________________________ 5. _____________________________ 

2. ________________________________ 6. _____________________________ 

3. ________________________________ 7. _____________________________ 

4. ________________________________ 8. _____________________________ 

4. Length of Commitment 

Length of Service (dates): _____________________________________________ 

Additional Meetings: _____________________________________________ 

Orientation/Training: _____________________________________________ 

5. Support and Supervision 

Who Provides Support: _________________________________________________ 

When and Where (one-on-one, meetings): ________________________________ 

Training and Preparation Offered for this Position (what, how, where, when): 

_____________________________________________________________________ 

6. Benefits of the position 

To the leader: ________________________________________________________ 

_____________________________________________________________________ 

To the community: ____________________________________________________ 

_____________________________________________________________________ 

Completed by ___________________________________ Date _____________ 


Tool 19 

Involving Youth 

in Decision-making 

and Planning 

One important way that we can make our communities more welcoming for youth is to include 

youth on the committees, councils and planning commissions for the parish. Involving youth in 

planning is a different kind of hospitality – it is welcoming their ideas and their input. Through this 

process we can build bridges. The youth can represent the needs, interests and contributions of the 

youth community. At the same time, the youth who are involved in decision making can also help 

other youth to better understand the parish. 

Consider involving youth in the following leadership groups. 

Parish Council 

Liturgy Committee 

Religious Education Committee 

Parish Festival committee 

Parish outreach / service committee 

Parish facilities planning 

Involving youth takes careful planning and preparation to make sure that this is a good experience 

for everyone involved. We can set youth up for success in these roles. 

Getting Started 

➨ Setting meeting times. Be creative and sensitive to youth’s schedules when setting 

meeting times. If you are meeting with mostly youth, consider an after-school meeting 

during a weekday. If the meeting is for youth and adults, be sure to be clear about 

starting and ending times. This is important for parent support. Try to avoid scheduling 

planning meetings opposite the primary youth ministry offerings in the parish. 

➨ Understanding the needs of youth participants. If youth come to a meeting straight 

from school or an after-school commitment, you may need to serve snacks. Most 

youth do not carry calendars with them, so you might need to make reminder phone 

calls a day or two before each meeting. (If you do not know the young people’s needs, 

ask them! Then ask again after you have had a meeting or two.) 

➨ Involving youth in adult committees. If you are trying to involve young people in an 

adult committee such as the parish council or liturgy committee, always involve at least 

two youth. One young person on an adult committee can be lost or isolated. Assign an 

adult on the committee to be the youth support. This leader can make the reminder 

phone calls and check-in with youth between meetings to make sure that the process is 

going smoothly. 


➨ Communicate with parents. It is helpful to get parental support for youth 

involvement. Share information about the role, the group and the time commitment 

with parents. Identify how this experience will benefit the adolescent. Address any 

concerns expressed by the young person’s parent. For instance, if schoolwork should 

suffer, provide a break from involvement. 

Communication and Language Issues 

➨ Talk openly about language issues. Will you all go by first names? Is the term “kids” 

offensive to some participants? What about statements like “You’re too young to 

understand” or “You’re too old to understand”? 

➨ Become aware of and confront adult bias. Watch for unconscious stereotyping of 

youth by age, by appearance or clothing style or by gender, race, ethnicity, or economic 

class. 

➨ Give each participant – youth and adult – a chance to talk, and give each speaker your 

full attention. 

➨ Be intentional about taking youth seriously and be ready to redirect the conversation if 

adult participants talk too much, interrupt or ignore youth, or are critical or scolding. 

➨ If youth are hesitant to speak up or tend to respond “I don’t know” to questions you 

are sure they have an answer for, help them identify the reasons for their reticence (e.g., 

fear of put-downs, difficulty telling when people are done talking). Be encouraging 

when young people do speak up. 

Training, Support, and Process 

➨ Make sure to bring new people – youth or adults – up to speed. Review the group’s 

goals and provide pre-meeting training for newcomers about basics such as meeting 

structures, discussion ground rules, and agendas and reports. 

➨ Be aware of the developmental needs of young people and accommodate the preferred 

learning styles of all group members. This may mean adding more experiential meeting 

elements, augmenting written and verbal communication with visual aids, and breaking 

into small groups. 

➨ Start off with a game or a fun activity that helps all participants with the transition from 

other activities to the meeting. 

➨ Involve youth in the process of the meeting. Have the young participants be part of the 

rotation of responsibilities for leading prayer or providing hospitality. 

➨ Plan concrete projects, give youth responsibilities early, and expect achievement. Let 

youth learn from their mistakes, too. 

➨ Be clear about each participant’s role and level of authority, the time and number of 

meetings, and the expected duration of the commitment. 

➨ Have youth and adults periodically evaluate the role of youth (e.g., are youth being 

given only insignificant or peripheral tasks?). 


Tool 20 

Creating 

Intergenerational 

Relationships 

1. Meaningful Involvement of Adolescents in 

Community Life and Leadership Roles 

Young people need to feel valued and accepted by the community. They need to know that there are 

meaningful roles for them within the life of the community which provide experiences of real 

responsibility. We are all too familiar with examples of “token” roles for youth in church life. When 

young people realize they have no voice or responsibility, their disappointment and disenchantment 

with church runs very deep. Youth need to be able to participate in meaningful, valued activities and 

roles in the Christian community. Involvement in parish ministries and leadership roles enhances 

their sense of responsibility and purpose and nurtures a sense of belonging and loyalty to the 

community. Through meaningful participation young people can learn the story of our faith 

experientially. They have the opportunity to develop intergenerational relationships which are so 

important for sharing faith and promoting growth. 

Meaningful involvement of young people is the responsibility of the entire community. Leaders in 

ministry with youth have a special role in advocating for youth participation and in becoming the 

catalysts for creating new opportunities for youth in the community. Leaders will need to 

complement their youth-focused programming with community-based programming. This may 

mean reducing youth-only programming so that time and resources can be allocated to community 

opportunities. 

Ideas ➨ Engage youth in leadership positions. First, think about all possibilities for leadership in 

your current youth ministry and in the ministries, programs, and activities of the parish 

– parish council, parish committees, parish ministries and programs (liturgy, justice and 

service, social activities, religious education). Second, identify specific roles for 

adolescents such as catechists in children’s religious education. Work with parish 

ministry leaders to connect young people with leadership roles. This approach to 

leadership is a great way to build mentoring relationships between adults and young 

people, and to utilize the gifts, talents, and energy of adolescents in the community. Be 

sure to provide training so that young people can succeed in their new roles. 

➨ Involve youth in liturgical ministries such as lectors, greeters (hospitality ministry), and 

music ministers (voice or instruments). Identify youth who are good singers or 

instrumentalists (check out the school band and choir) and get them involved in music 


ministry. Identify artists and encourage them to use their gifts in planning the 

environment for the various liturgical seasons. Establish an apprenticeship program 

and/or liturgical formation for youth involved in liturgical ministries. 

➨ Involve youth in the preparation and leadership of seasonal events (Advent-Christmas, 

Lent-Easter, Pentecost) or ethnic celebrations. For example, young people with 

dramatic and musical talent can take responsibility for preparing and presenting a 

“Living Stations of the Cross” during Holy Week. 

➨ Involve youth in the preparation and leadership of special youth eucharistic liturgies 

(back-to-school liturgy, graduation liturgy), prayer services or communal reconciliation 

services. 

2. Mentoring Relationships 

An effective youth ministry develops relationships between youth and adult role models who will 

affirm their struggles, listen to their stories and questions, share their own faith journey, and ask 

questions that encourage critical thinking and reflection. Every adolescent needs at least one 

caring, consistent adult in their life beyond their parents. Youth need more meaningful contact 

with adults who they can have frequent, in-depth conversations with and go to for advice and 

support. 

Adults have a marvelous opportunity to assist youth in their journey toward maturity in faith if they 

can adopt certain skills and attitudes in their ministry with youth. Craig Dykstra and his research 

team discovered that the development of mentor relationships between adults and youth is very 

significant in ministry with youth. 

We arrived at the conclusion that the presence of a significant adult in itself was an 

important theme. We came to see that the adolescent needs to be in relationship with an 

adult friend or mentor, a person with whom the young person can communicate and in 

whom he or she can see what it means to be Christian. We also became aware that we must 

insure that our programs in youth ministry facilitate and nurture, rather than impede, such 

relationships (Dykstra 87). 

Mentoring is a ideal way to promote positive youth development. Dykstra and colleagues pinpoint 

five elements that are important in mentor relationships: 

1. The adult takes a personal interest in the particular young person. ...The adolescent 

comes to feel a sense of personal worthiness just from seeing his or her particular and 

unique worth reflected in the eyes of an adult who is not a parent. 

2. The adult tends to become a model for the young person. The adolescent sees in the 

adult the beliefs, the attitudes, the values, the patterns of behavior, the accomplishments, 

and the style of life that, to a significant degree, the adolescent desires to emulate and 

adopt as his or her own. The adult’s response is to become teacher, guide, counselor, 

sponsor, and host to the young person. 

3. The adult acts as a guarantor for the adolescent. ...He or she lets the young person know 

that in experiences of struggle, doubt, and confusion or during feelings of inadequacy 

about the journey ahead, the young person is not alone. Others have been there before, 

have found resources within themselves that they did not know were there, and made it. 

4. The adult provides an open ear to the adolescent. 


5. The adult sometimes take on the role of advocate. As an advocate, the adult will stand 

up for the adolescent when the young person comes up against destructive opposition. 

...In short, the adult empowers the young person when the adolescent’s own power is 

not enough. 

Mentoring programs can take a variety of forms: 

Traditional: One adult and one youth form a friendship. The adult is a positive role model. 

[Example: Big Brother/Big Sister] 

Long-Term Focused Activity: One adult is paired with an adolescent to achieve a 

particular goal, usually academic. [Example: tutoring, career mentors] 

Short-Term Focused Activity: Similar to long-term, focused activity, but involves a shorter 

commitment. [Example: summer internships] 

Team Mentoring: A family or team forms a friendship with one youth, often from a singleparent 

family. [Example: kinship programs] 

Group Mentoring: One adult volunteer builds relationships with a group of young people. 

[Example: Scouting programs] 

Mentoring relationships will not just happen. They have to be intentionally created by bringing 

adults and youth together in settings where they can initiate a relationship and perhaps plant the 

seeds for deeper and more extended relationship. Potential strategies for intentionally creating 

mentor relationships include a matchmaker program between youth and adults who have similar 

interests, vocational counseling programs with a one-on-one relationship between an adult in a 

career and a young person exploring that career, one-on-one teaching, apprenticeships between adult 

leaders in parish ministries and committees and youth who want to be leaders in these areas, and 

youth programs which invite adults from the community to participate. 

Works Cited 

Dykstra, Craig. “Agenda for Youth Ministry: Problems, Questions, and Strategies.” Readings and 

Resources in Youth Ministry. Ed. Michael Warren. Winona, MN: St. Mary's Press, 1987. 


Resources on Mentoring 

Flaxman, Erwin, Carol Ascher, and Charles Harrington. Youth Mentoring: Programs and Practices. New 

York: Institute for Urban and Minority Education. (212-678-3433) 

National Mentoring Working Group. Mentoring: Elements of Effective Practice. Washington, DC: One to 

One. (202-338-3844) 

Milestones in Mentoring: A Training Program for Volunteer Mentors. (Video series with guidelines) 

Pittsburgh, PA: One PLUS One. (412-622-1491). 

Mosqueda, Patricia Flakus, and Robert Palaich. Mentoring Young People Makes a Difference. Denver: 

Education Commission of the States. (303-830-3692) 

Ropp, Steve. One On One – Making the Most of Your Mentoring Relationship. Newton, KS: Faith and Life 

Press/Scottdate, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1993. 

Saito, Rebecca and Dr. Dale A. Blyth. Understanding Mentoring Relationships. Minneapolis: Search 

Institute, 1993. (Call 800-888-7828) 

The Two of Us: A Handbook for Mentors. Baltimore: The Baltimore Mentoring Institute. (301-685-8316) 

Vitek, John. A Companion Way – Mentoring Youth in Searching Faith. Winona, MN: St. Mary's Press, 

1992. 


Tool 21 

Developing 

Intergenerational 

Opportunities for 

Faith Formation 

The intergenerational community of faith offers a variety of opportunities for ministry and faith 

formation with adolescents. Consider some of the possibilities present in your community: 

What would it be like if you envisioned all of the events in church life – seasonal events 

(church year, calendar year, ethnic celebrations) and occasional events (celebration of the 

sacraments, rites of passage) as opportunities for the faith formation of adolescents? 

What would it be like if you really utilized the power of the story of faith proclaimed and 

celebrated through the Church year – as integral to youth ministry? 

What if you identified and provided programs and settings in which adolescents learned 

and lived their Catholic faith by being with members of the intergenerational 

community? 

What if you identified several intergenerational events in the life of your faith community 

and added them to your youth ministry plan for the coming year. 

A Process for Identifying Community Events 

Here is a simple process for identifying intergenerational seasonal and occasional events in 

the life of your community. After you have identified these events, use the next process to 

develop a plan for using events in your ministry. 

1. Prepare for using your faith community as resource in your ministry by identifying 

significant events in the life of your community. Take a large sheet of paper (easel 

paper). Divide it into twelve columns. At the top of each column write in the name of 

the months. Review the life of your congregation over the past year to identify those 

events central to the congregation’s life, ministries, and mission. Place these events in 

the proper order in the monthly columns. Here is a list of events to stimulate your 

thinking. 

♦ Seasonal Events. Consider liturgical seasons, calendar seasons, ethnic 

celebrations, national and diocesan church events, and local faith community 

events. Seasonal events rhythmically pattern the life of the congregation, carrying 

congregations from Advent through Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, 

Pentecost; through the calendar of saints’ days; through the calendar seasons; 


through ethnic celebrations; and through local seasons. These events provide the 

clearest and most consistent structure for faith formation within a congregation. 

♦ Occasional Events: Consider the celebration of the sacraments (Baptism, 

Reconciliation, Confirmation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick), funerals, and 

rites of passage. 

2. Take three colored markers or crayons. Circle all seasonal events in one color and 

occasional events in a second color. 

3. Choose two or three different kinds of events from each list. Identify and list when and 

how people are prepared to participate in these events. Repeat the process to locate when 

and how people reflect on the meaning of these events for their lives. 

A Process for Developing Community Events 

Step 1. Prepare for the Event 

This is the “catechetical” or “teaching” element in which we prepare young people for 

engagement in the seasonal or occasional event. 

• What biblical texts, sources from tradition, theological texts, historical figures and events, 

liturgical materials, or other information do young people need to know to participate fully in the 

event? 

• When and where will people be introduced to these materials? 

Example: Holy Week Preparation 

Design a session in which young people can explore the passion, death, and 

resurrection of Jesus by studying the Gospel of the John or the Gospel of that 

particular cycle (A, B, C). Include an orientation to the important symbols and rituals 

of Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil/Easter Sunday. 

Provide young people with a guide/journal for understanding and participating in the 

Holy Week services. 

Step 2. Engage Young People in the Event 

Young people participate in the community event. 

Example: Holy Week Participation 

Young people participate in the liturgies of Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good 

Friday, and the Easter Vigil/Easter Sunday. They can use their guide/journal to 

prepare for and reflect on the Holy Week services. 

Step 3. Reflect Upon the Event 

This is the opportunity for young people to learn from their engagement in the event – to 

reflect critically on the event in light of the preparation experience, to assimilate the meaning 

of the event into their lives, to determine new ways to think, feel, and live because of their 

learning through the event. 

Example: Holy Week Reflection 

Design a session to reflect on the young people’s experience and learnings from their 

participation in the Holy Week services. Use the guide/journal to help young people 

reflect on the meaning of Holy Week for them. 


A Planning Guide for Community Events 

Use (or adapt) the following guide to plan or utilize community events incorporating the 

prepare, participate, reflect methodology. 

To Read More About It… 

This eventful model of education was developed by Charles Foster in his book 

Educating Congregations (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994). To read more about using 

community events as an integral element of your ministry read Foster’s book. It 

contains the theory and practice of eventful education. 


Event 

Planning Guide for Congregational Events 

Date and Time 

Place to be Held 

Purpose of the Event 

Who is expected to participate? 

Design of the Event 

What biblical texts, sources from tradition, theological texts, historical figures and events, 

liturgical materials, or other information do people need to know to participate fully in the 

event? 

When and where will people be introduced to these materials? 

Who will provide the leadership for these educational activities? What training will they 

need? 

When and where will people have the opportunity to reflect on the meaning of the event? 

How will people be informed of the event and of the educational activities associated with 

it? 


Tool 22 

Collaborating with 

Parish Ministries 

and Organizations 

Involving youth in the life and mission of the parish includes involving youth throughout the variety 

of parish ministries and organizations. This can take a variety of forms: 

Involving youth in ministry and leadership roles, e.g., lectors, catechists, outreach 

ministers. 

Involving the ministry or organization in providing programming, support in youth 

ministry programs, e.g., providing meals, hospitality, prayer support, transportation or 

funds for youth programs. 

Inviting youth to become part of parish organizations and ministries, e.g., inviting youth 

to join service, prayer and community organizations. 

This involvement will require that you build a relationship with the ministries and organizations. 

This is important because you have something to share and the organization has resources to offer. 

You will need to be a bridge to help the adults to understand youth and to be prepared to support 

and supervise youth involvement. You will also help youth to understand adults and be ready to be 

part of an intergenerational setting. This will take collaboration. 

It is extremely important to determine the type of relationship you seek with other ministries and 

organizations in your youth ministry efforts. In Communities Working Together for a Change, Arthur 

Himmelman suggests four levels of involvement among organizations, with each type of 

involvement more complex than the prior level. 

Level 1: Networking is the most informal way of working together. People share 

information for their mutual benefit. Even in a small community, it is useful to get people 

together from several sectors to find out what each is doing. Networking involves building 

relationships with leaders in other churches, public schools, youth-serving agencies, and 

community organizations to develop a mutual respect and understanding and to share 

information. 

Level 2: Coordination involves a willingness to exchange information and alter activities 

for mutual benefit and to achieve a common purpose. Coordination among organizations 

helps to remove competition. 

Level 3: Cooperation involves greater commitments. Besides exchanging information and 

changing activities so they can help each other, they share resources for their mutual benefit 

and to achieve a common purpose. Cooperation can easily lead to jointly sponsored 

programs. 


Level 4: Full Collaboration includes not only exchanging information, altering activities 

and sharing resources, but also enhancing the capacity of other partners for mutual benefit 

and to achieve a common purpose. This is the most complex relationship. It is not a loosely 

pulled together occasional conversation about joint activities. Instead, it involves a clear 

commitment among two or more participating organizations, a definition of their joint 

purpose and their roles and responsibilities together and separately, accountability to one 

another, and sharing in resources and rewards – and risks. It takes time (often several 

months) to initiate a true “collaboration,” and it takes energy and endurance to keep it going. 

But extensive research shows that most people say it’s worth the effort because they see 

results. (Andress 54-55) 

Collaborative efforts take time and energy. The four levels of involvement provide a tool for 

clarifying the type of relationships a youth ministry wants to develop with other parish ministries 

and organizations. A first step might be to list all the ministries and organizations in your parish 

community, identify your present relationship with them, project what type of involvement you 

would like to create, and begin to implement your plan. Remember that full scale collaboration often 

occurs only after groups have shared successful ventures in networking, coordination, and/or 

cooperation. 

Networking 

Which organizations do you 

want to share information 

with? 

Coordination 

Which programs do you want 

to alter in order to cooperate 

with other organizations? 

Cooperation 


want to share resources with? 

Full Collaboration 

Which issues do you want to 

address collaboratively? 


want to partner with in 

creating common programs or 

initiatives? 

Ministry or 

Organization 

Program 


Organization 

Resources 


Organization 

Issue 


Organization 


Organization 

Program 


Organization 

Resources 


Organization 

Issue 


Organization 


Organization 

Program 


Organization 

Resources 


Organization 

Issue 


Organization 


Making a Collaboration Work 

Adapted from materials developed by the Search Institute 

1. What ministries or organizations in your parish community are potential partners 

for a collaboration on behalf of youth? 

2. What mission do the potential partners share? 

3. What history does youth ministry and the potential partners have in 

collaboration? How can you build on that history? 

4. How can you build a sense of ownership among all the partners in the 

collaboration? 

5. What can you do to ensure open and frequent communication among 

collaboration partners? 

6. What funds and other resources can you tap to ensure the viability of your 


Works Cited 

Himmelman, Arthur T. Communities Working Together for a Change (unpublished paper). 

Minneapolis, MN: The Himmelman Group, 1991. 


Guide for Collaboration in the Parish 

Organizations 

List the ministries 

and organizations in 

your parish and 

identify the kind of 

relationship you have 

or want to have with 

each of them. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

Networking 

Which ministries or 

organizations do 

you want to share 

information with? 

Coordination 

Which programs do 

you want to alter in 

order to cooperate 

with other ministries 

or organizations? 

Cooperation 




resources with? 

Collaboration 


organizations do you 

want to partner with 

in creating common 

programs or 

initiatives? 


Part Five 

Tools for Ministry: The 

Wider Community Setting 

Ministry to youth in the wider community connects youth and families to programs and resources 

beyond our parish. Examples are participation in inter-parish, inter-church and diocesan events, and 

ways that we connect youth and families to programs, resources and events in the civic community. 

Connecting youth to service in hospitals, soup kitchens and homeless shelters is a wonderful way for 

youth to develop their gifts. We take advantage of our shared strength when we come together with 

other people and agencies in the wider community as advocates for youth. 

Seeing the Wider Community as Collaborators and 

Resources 

How do we see the wider community? Do we see competition and neglect of responsibilities? Do 

we see an opportunity? Our community is a place where people, organizations and resources care 

about youth like we do. Do we see the community in this way? The wider community is made up of 

schools, community organizations, civic agencies, service agencies and a whole network of people 

who belong with each other. How do we tap into the resources in the community? How do we 

prepare youth for mission in the community? 

In Renewing the Vision, the Bishops challenge us to collaborate on behalf of young people and 

families. 

Ministry with adolescents involves creating healthier civic communities for all young people. 

This involves networking with leaders in congregations of diverse faith traditions, public 

schools, youth-serving agencies, and community organizations to nurture a shared 

commitment to promoting healthy adolescent development and a healthy community; to 

develop mutual respect and understanding; to share resources; and to plan community-wide 

efforts and programs. (RTV 24) 

When we take a fresh look, we will find people and agencies in the wider community who share our 

concerns and hopes for youth and their families. These common concerns and aspirations connect 

us and open doors. In connection with others, we advocate on behalf of youth and families around 

the issues that concern us. In connection with others, we link youth and families in our parish 

community to resources, programs, services and events that the wider community sponsors. For 

example, service agencies, such as homeless shelters, soup kitchens, youth and child centered 

agencies are wonderful places for youth to share their time and gifts in service. These connections 


and relationships build up our shared resources as a community. Together we can do more than any 

of us can do by ourselves. We can collaborate and share our resources to support youth and families. 

This hit home for one parish that was striving to help parents and youth communicate. In their 

planning they were hoping to create a parent-teen communication program. One member of the 

planning team had recently completed a program that was sponsored by the civic community. “Why 

reinvent the wheel,” she asked, “why don’t we get the word out and ask our parents to participate at 

the program held at the civic center?” Another leader asked, “what about communicating and 

sharing faith?” What they created together was a solution that connected all of their hopes. They 

promoted the four-week civic sponsored program and held a special meeting for all parents the 

week before it began. For each of the sessions, parents car-pooled downtown after meeting at the 

parish. One week after the civic program ended, the parents gathered at the parish for a special 

session on sharing faith in the home. A parishioner who was a family counselor and educator 

presented the program. 

We see the wider community as collaborators and 

resources when… 

We share information and build relationships with agencies and people. 

We connect youth and families to programs, service opportunities, resources and events. 

We join together to advocate on behalf of youth and families. 

We share resources and collaborate to sponsor programs and develop resources. 


With what agencies and people in the wider community could we connect? 

What issues are impacting youth and families in our community? 

What resources could we share to support youth and families? 


Resources for Community-wide Collaboration 

Andress, Shelby I. Working Together for Youth -- A Practical Guide for Individuals and Groups. 

Minneapolis: Search Institute, 1993. (Call 800-888-7828) 



The Community Collaboration Manual. The National Assembly of Voluntary Health and Social 

Welfare Organizations. Washington, DC: National Assembly and National 

Collaboration for Youth, 1991. (Call 202-347-2080) 

Mattessich, Paul W. and Barbara R. Monsey. Collaboration: What Makes It Work. St. Paul, MN: 

Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, 1993. 

NCCB. A Catholic Campaign for Children and Families Parish Resource Manual. Washington, DC: 

USCC Publishing, 1991. 



Welcome the Child. Children’s Defense Fund. Washington, DC: CDF, 1991. 

Tools for Ministry in the Wider Community Setting 

Tool 23: Discovering the Resources in Your Community 

What are the resources in our community? Who else cares about youth and families? Use 

this tool to profile the congregations, schools, agencies and pastoral care resources in your 

area. 

Tool 24: Collaborating with Community Organizations 

How can we collaborate effectively with community organizations? Use this tool to 

determine your next steps in collaboration with community resource agencies. 

Tool 25: Becoming an Advocate for Youth 

How can we give youth a voice? How can we make a difference for youth and families, 

especially those that are most in need? Use this tool to develop advocacy strategies for issues 

and concerns of youth and their families. 


Tool 23 

Discovering the 

Resources in 

Your Community 

Knowing the programs and resources in your broader community (community organizations, 

schools, libraries, other congregations, etc.) and diocese that you can use in your youth ministry is 

essential. If you do not have access to this information you may want to gather it by conducting a 

community inventory. Your inventory should include youth services and organizations, counseling 

resources, and family programs and services. Too often we duplicate resources and programs already 

available to youth and families/parents in our community. Research your community organizations 

and diocesan agencies for programs, services, and resources. Arrange meetings with leaders in each 

organization to introduce yourself and to gather information. Develop a binder of information or a 

database on the programs and resources available in your community. Knowing what already exists 

will allow you to utilize the expertise and resources of these organizations, to advertise their 

programs, and to co-sponsor programs with them. 

The profiles that follow provide a way for you to record the information you gather about the 

resources in your community. 

Schools Profile 

Community Pastoral Care Resources Profile 

Community Agencies Profile 

Congregations Profile 


Researching Your Community 

Things to Ask About 

When you are talking with community leaders ask about… 

the most critical problems facing teens 

services they provide 

who is the population being served 

resources and needs 

goals for the program or policy 

most successful programs and policies 

program or policy areas needing improvement 

gaps in services 

Organizations to Research 

✔ Local programs serving youth 

Look under Youth Programs or Community Organizations in the phone book, or for local 

branch of the United Way, Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA, or YWCA. 

✔ Local congregations with programs for youth 

Look for neighboring parishes, churches, synagogues and mosques. 

✔ Your local diocese or archdiocese 

Look for the various departments in your diocesan structure that provide resources for 

youth. 

✔ Local social service agency serving teens 

Look in the phone book under Social Services or Family Services, and in government section 

under those categories, as well as Health and Recreation Departments. 

✔ State-level agency for adolescent policies and programs 

Start by calling the governor’s office, state health department, children and youth services. 

✔ Statewide advocacy group 

Ask the above contacts and the Children’s Defense Fund, 25 E Street NW, Washington, DC 

20001 (202/628-8787 and fax: 202/662-3510). 


School 

Address 

Phone 

Principal 

Guidance Counselor 

School Profile 

Resource People: 

1. ________________________________________________________________________ 

2. ________________________________________________________________________ 

3. ________________________________________________________________________ 

4. ________________________________________________________________________ 

5. ________________________________________________________________________ 

Programs and Resources offered for youth and/or parents 

Title Length Date Cost 

1. ________________________________________________________________________ 

2. ________________________________________________________________________ 

3. ________________________________________________________________________ 

4. ________________________________________________________________________ 

5. ________________________________________________________________________ 

6. ________________________________________________________________________ 

7. ________________________________________________________________________ 

8. ________________________________________________________________________ 

9. ________________________________________________________________________ 

10. _______________________________________________________________________ 

Service Programming 

Counseling Services 


Community Pastoral Care Resources 

Name of Agency: 

Address: 

Phone Number: 

Contact Person: 

Type of Services Offered: 

(Individual Services, Support Counseling Groups, etc.) 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Important Information to Obtain 

1. What are the agency’s guidelines for accepting referrals? What information, including 

any forms to be completed, do they expect you to provide when making a referral? 

2. Do special agreements exist between your organization and the agency? If so, what are 

they? 

3. What suggestions does the contact person offer about how to make a referral and how 

to suggest referrals to adolescents and their parents? 

4. What is the policy of the agency regarding confidentiality? (Adolescents and their 

parents may have questions about confidentiality and must be assured that this is an 

appropriate question.) 

5. Maintain a log of your program’s contact with the agency. 


Organization 

Address 

Phone 

Contact Person 

Community Agencies Profile 

Summary of Services 


1. ________________________________________________________________________ 

2. ________________________________________________________________________ 

3. ________________________________________________________________________ 

4. ________________________________________________________________________ 

5. ________________________________________________________________________ 

Family/Parent Resources and Programs Offered: 


1. ________________________________________________________________________ 

2. ________________________________________________________________________ 

3. ________________________________________________________________________ 

4. ________________________________________________________________________ 

5. ________________________________________________________________________ 

Adolescent Resources and Programs Offered: 


1. ________________________________________________________________________ 

2. ________________________________________________________________________ 

3. ________________________________________________________________________ 

4. ________________________________________________________________________ 

5. ________________________________________________________________________ 

6. ________________________________________________________________________ 


Congregation 

Address 

Phone 

Contact Person 

Congregation Profile 

Summary of Services / Youth Ministry Efforts 


1. ________________________________________________________________________ 

2. ________________________________________________________________________ 

3. ________________________________________________________________________ 

4. ________________________________________________________________________ 

5. ________________________________________________________________________ 

Family/Parent Resources and Programs Offered: 


1. ________________________________________________________________________ 

2. ________________________________________________________________________ 

3. ________________________________________________________________________ 

4. ________________________________________________________________________ 

5. ________________________________________________________________________ 

Adolescent Resources and Programs Offered: 


1. ________________________________________________________________________ 

2. ________________________________________________________________________ 

3. ________________________________________________________________________ 

4. ________________________________________________________________________ 

5. ________________________________________________________________________ 

6. ________________________________________________________________________ 


Tool 24 

Collaborating with 

Community 

Organizations 

Promoting healthy adolescent development is not the work of families and parishes alone. It is needs 

an entire community. Youth ministry needs to be involved in creating healthier communities for all 

young people. An effective youth ministry gets involved in community networking, cooperation and 

collaboration to address the needs of young people. Churches need to work with other community 

organizations in a common effort to promote healthy adolescent development. Sharing resources, 

co-sponsoring programming, mobilizing the community to address youth issues are only some of 

the ways churches and community organizations can work together for the common good of all 

young people. 

It is extremely important to determine the type of relationship you seek with other organizations in 

your effort to promote positive youth development. In Communities Working Together for a Change, 

Arthur Himmelman suggests four levels of involvement among organizations, with each type of 

involvement more complex than the prior level. 

Level 1: Networking is the most informal way of working together. People share 

information for their mutual benefit. Even in a small community, it is useful to get people 

together from several sectors to find out what each is doing. Networking involves building 

relationships with leaders in other churches, public schools, youth-serving agencies, and 

community organizations to develop a mutual respect and understanding and to share 

information. 

Level 2: Coordination involves a willingness to exchange information and alter activities 

for mutual benefit and to achieve a common purpose. Coordination among organizations 

helps to remove competition. 

Level 3: Cooperation involves greater commitments. Besides exchanging information and 

changing activities so they can help each other, they share resources for their mutual 

benefit and to achieve a common purpose. Cooperation can easily lead to jointly sponsored 

programs. 

Level 4: Full Collaboration includes not only exchanging information, altering activities 

and sharing resources, but also enhancing the capacity of other partners for mutual benefit 

and to achieve a common purpose. This is the most complex relationship. It is not a loosely 

pulled together occasional conversation about joint activities. Instead, it involves a clear 

commitment among two or more participating organizations, a definition of their joint 

purpose and their roles and responsibilities together and separately, accountability to one 

another, and sharing in resources and rewards – and risks. It takes time (often several 


months) to initiate a true “collaboration,” and it takes energy and endurance to keep it going. 

But extensive research shows that most people say it’s worth the effort because they see 

results. (Andress 54-55) 

Collaborative efforts take time and energy. The four levels of involvement provide a tool for 

clarifying the type of relationships a youth ministry wants to develop with schools, community 

organizations, and other congregations. A first step might be to list all the organizations in your 

community, identify your present relationship with them, project what type of involvement you 

would like to create, and begin to implement your plan. Remember that full scale collaboration often 

occurs only after groups have shared successful ventures in networking, coordination, and/or 

cooperation. 

Networking 


want to share information 

with? 

Coordination 

Which programs do you want 

to alter in order to cooperate 

with other organizations? 

Cooperation 


want to share resources with? 

Full Collaboration 

Which issues do you want to 

address collaboratively? 


want to partner with in 

creating common programs or 

initiatives 

Organization Organization Organization 

Program 

Organization 

Resources 

Organization 

Issue 

Organization 

Program 

Organization 

Resources 

Organization 

Issue 

Organization 

Program 

Organization 

Resources 

Organization 

Issue 

Organization 

One idea for networking or coordination is to develop and distribute a directory of 

recommended counseling resources that youth and their families can use for assistance in times of 

trouble. A parish or school can print cards with phone numbers of crisis intervention services, 

support groups, resource people and agencies on them. The directory can also include a list of 

community educational programs and resources (books and videos) for youth and/or parents that 

address adolescent/family concerns and problems. A second approach is to create a calendar that 

lists all of the recommended parish and community events for youth and for families in a given month 

or season (3-4 months). This is a great way to alert youth and their families to upcoming programs, 

activities, and events and to invite them to participate. Make sure that the calendar includes pertinent 

information on each event. Mail the calendar to every youth and their parents or insert it into the 

parish bulletin. Be sure to highlight parish activities. 

One way to initiate cooperation or collaboration with other religious institutions, schools, and 

community organizations is by convening a community forum of leaders. The initial purpose of 

the community forum is to build relationships among leaders, to share information about each 

organization’s approach to youth development (programs, resources), and to begin the process of 


uilding a comprehensive, community-wide approach to positive youth development. Such sharing 

can begin to produce the common ground for building partnerships and sharing programs and 

resources. Further along it might lead toward a detailed action plan to promote positive youth 

development with an emphasis on increasing youth access to effective schools, families and youthserving 

organizations. The gathering of leaders could also provide impetus for advocacy efforts to 

obtain greater state or federal or foundation support for school effectiveness, parent education, after 

school care, prevention programming, and other efforts crucial for promoting positive youth 

development. In Working Together for Youth, Shelby Andress describes how to launch a collaboration 

with a community conference – one- or two-day meetings in which people pool information, look at 

it together, interpret what they find, and draw conclusions for action (Andress 56-58). 

An important area for potential collaboration with other community leaders and organizations is in 

providing direct aid to youth-at-risk or potential youth-at-risk. Direct aid means knowing all of the 

resources available to address at-risk issues, knowing how to make referrals, and training adult and 

youth leaders (peer ministers) with crisis intervention skills. It may also mean becoming involved in 

establishing crisis intervention services for youth (suicide prevention centers, runaway centers, child 

abuse centers, substance abuse rehabilitation facilities), high school education programs for dropouts, 

unemployment counseling programs, 3-6 p.m. programs for younger adolescents (especially 

latch-key youth), juvenile justice ministries, and so forth. 

Making a Collaboration Work 

Search Institute 

1. What organizations in your community are potential partners for a collaboration 

on behalf of youth? 

2. What mission do the potential partners share? 

3. What history does youth ministry (parish) and the potential partners have in 

collaboration? How can you build on that history? 

4. How can you build a sense of ownership among all the partners in the 


5. What can you do to ensure open and frequent communication among 

collaborating partners? 

6. What funds and other resources can you tap to ensure the viability of your 


Works Cited 

Himmelman, Arthur T. Communities Working Together for a Change (unpublished paper). 

Minneapolis, MN: The Himmelman Group, 1991. 


Guide for Community-wide Collaboration 

Organizations 

List the organizations 

in your community 

and identify the kind 

of relationship you 

have or want to have 

with each of them. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

Networking 

Which 



information with? 

Coordination 

Which programs do 

you want to alter in 

order to cooperate 

with other 

organizations? 

Cooperation 

Which 



resources with? 

Collaboration 

Which organizations 

do you want to 

partner with in 

creating common 

programs or 

initiatives? 


Tool 25 

Becoming an 

Advocate for Youth 

Describing Advocacy 

Advocacy involves speaking out on behalf of young people and their families, defending their rights, 

and supporting them in their needs. It focuses in a special way on those who are voiceless and 

powerless in the local community and in the wider world. Advocacy is concerned with how the 

church responds to young people’s needs and integrates them into its life. It also gives close 

attention to how these same concerns are dealt with by other structures in society. Advocacy is a 

work of caring and compassion, solidarity and justice that moves people with social and moral 

concerns into political and economic spheres. Advocacy is at once both a personal commitment and 

a communal task. 

Advocacy views speaking out on behalf of others as essential to Christian life. The roots of advocacy 

are seen in Moses’ anguished cry to Pharaoh to let the enslaved Israelites go and Jesus’ proclamation 

of the fundamental dignity of all people. Advocacy, in sum, defines “neighbor” in broad terms, and 

declares that each and every young person is our young person. 

Taking Your Next Step in Advocacy for Youth 

Any faith community that takes its ministry with youth seriously is already involved in advocacy. 

Advocacy happens when young people’s needs are honestly explored and shared, and when young 

are given the training and skills needed to voice and respond to the needs they experience in the 

world around them. It happens, too, when parishes inform their members of agencies that are 

specially equipped to meet the needs of struggling or at-risk young people and families. For many 

parishes, “stepping out” in advocacy isn’t about taking first steps, but about making their next steps 

more conscious and focused. 

Consider the following options as you move ahead in advocacy for young people and their families. 

Increase Awareness of Issues and Needs 

Expand the range and make-up of the youth you regularly meet and talk with to more 

consciously include youth who are at-the-fringe of community activity and/or at-risk. 

Network with others who work with youth in need; share stories, provide support and 

trade resources. 

Organize a research group to collect and study information on issues that impact the 

growth and healthy development of young people and their families. 


Inform parish committees and community members of issues that impact youth that 

deserve an organized response. 

Highlight youth needs and community resources in spotlight paragraphs in parish 

bulletins and newsletters. 

Display news articles that speak to youth and family needs on a well-read bulletin board. 

Read the Resource Manual for the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Campaign for Children and Families. 

Use the materials included in the Manual to help your parish become a stronger voice for 

youth. 

Offer intergenerational catechetical programs that focus on justice issues affecting young 

people today: poverty and homelessness, violence and addiction, lack of health care or 

employment. 

Speak Out 

Make your opinions known and convictions felt in conversations with family, friends, 

and acquaintances. 

Write a letter to the editor of your local or diocesan paper, sharing your concerns and 

convictions about issues impacting youth. 

Offer a workshop on writing effective letters: to news editors, local officials, state and 

national representatives. 

Organize a telephone tree or fax brigade for quick communication and an easy “instant 

response” when emergency action is needed. 

Take Action 

Sponsor an offering of letters about an issue of local concern. Provide parishioners with 

background information, encourage them to write a letter to local representatives, collect 

the letters as part of the offertory collection at weekend liturgies, and deliver them to the 

offices of your elected officials. 

Follow weekend masses with regular opportunities to share coffee and a concern for 

youth. Display information on local and national issues that affect youth. Provide 

background on local and national advocacy efforts and groups. Have writing materials 

available for anyone who wants to write a quick letter about an issue of concern. 

Become a participating member in the National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths – a 

national effort sponsored by Children’s Defense Fund to mobilize congregations of 

many faiths and communities on behalf of children and youth. For information on 

Children’s Sabbath write to: 

Children’s Defense Fund 

25 E Street NW, 

Washington, DC 20001 

(202/628-8787 and fax: 202/662-3510) 

Gather locally or nationally with other religious advocates for youth as part of the 

national Stand for Children, scheduled annually on June 1. For information on Stand for 

Children, write or call CDF, or visit the Stand for Children interactive Web site 

(www.stand.org). 

For additional advocacy resources see: 

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – Advocacy Department 

Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs 

122 C Street NW, Suite 125 


Washington DC 20001 

202 783-7507 

Web address: www. elca.org/dcs/advocacy 

Pamphlets available: Creating a Telephone Network, Advocacy Resources, Make Your Letters 

Count, How to Visit Your Senator or Representative

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