Catholic Youth Ministry Hub Posts

Video: Holy Week in Two Minutes

Eric Gallagher — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:34:28 +0000

Another great 2 minute video by Busted Halo. This time to help us teach about Holy Week. This video and the other two minute videos are great videos to use as lesson starters or simply to share across social media to the youth and the families in the your parish. Be sure to check out Busted Halo here! Have other great Holy Week resources or ideas, please share them in the comments section below!

Video: Palm Sunday by OutsidedaBox

Eric Gallagher — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 19:40:11 +0000

Another great video from Outsidedabox. This short video is about a young man who has an incredible experience in the Palm Sunday Liturgy when the responses from the Gospel reading draw him deep into an experience that he will never forget. If you enjoy the film or wish to use it in your ministry, please consider purchasing it from their site!

It's Time to Forge New Paths

Eric Gallagher — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 02:20:40 +0000

The Lineamenta for the New Evangelization for the transmission of the Christian Faith, we are told that “the new evangelization is not a matter of redoing something which has been inadequately done or has not achieved its purpose, as if the new activity were an implicit judgment on the failure of the first evangelization. Nor is the new evangelization taking up the first evangelization again, or simply repeating the past. Instead, it is the courage to forge new paths in responding to the changing circumstances and conditions facing the Church in her call to proclaim and live the Gospel today” (section 5). What happened in our Church for the first time ever in history is that we have entire cultures that were once Christian and have now rejected the Christian faith. It is not just a few individuals and it is not like they are just living the faith out poorly. We can see in our culture today that people are not afraid to completely reject the teachings of the Church because they have bought into the lies of the culture. One example of how this is harmful is that when youth see this in their parents, it can come across as a “lesson learned” or a “I’ve been there and tried that and it just didn’t work for me.” Forging means to move forward gradually or steadily. It means that we are molding into something new and that it is going to take a lot of work that can not be easily done in a short amount of time. So what is necessary to begin this process?

1. We must have a vision

We must begin by recognizing what it is that we are wanting to forge. My desire is that the youth in our programs would leave high school bearing fruit to the nations. My vision is that our programs would help youth have such a deeply rooted faith that they 1) have a devoted prayer life, 2) that they would cling to the sacraments, 3) that they would understand and truly believe in the loving mercy of God and 4) that they would feel confident sharing this faith with others.

2. We must set goals

Goals are simply mini-visions. We must learn to set goals that help us achieve our vision one step at a time. It is through these goals that we are able to gradually and steadily get to where we want to go. It it through the large vision and mini-goals that the New Evangelization will be able to really begin to take effect.

3. We must have focused intensity

From now on, we must be very intentional about everything that is done in our ministries. We must focus our efforts on this one thing for as long as we have to. We can not allow ourselves to be distracted by anything. We can not submit to the pressures from those who do not understand. We must look straight to the goal each and every single day and do whatever it takes to make progress and move closer to achieving that goal.

4. We must have patience

Meeting these goals is not something that happens overnight. We can not expect to see the results right away, but when you are looking ahead towards this goal your eyes will be much more opened to what the Lord is doing in your ministry. You will notice little signs of His work as a new volunteer steps in to help or as youth begin to be more open to the Lord working in their lives.

5. We must be grateful

Every single day we must wake up and be grateful for what the Lord is doing through us and those that give of their lives to the programs in our Church. As you begin to notice the little things that are falling into place take time to rejoice. Share the good things with your pastor and anyone in the parish. Spend time in prayer just thanking our Lord for all that He is doing through you in and in. I have seen this happen in my life as my family works through the Financial Peace program by Dave Ramsey. We had not been very disciplined and very smart with our money for quite awhile in our life. Once we decided to get on a plan we had to discipline and grow into the habits of doing things more as God intended them to be done. We became better stewards of the gifts He was giving us. It is amazing how He began to bless us financially with little gifts here and there that were unexpected. We rejoice everyday as we begin to see how our response to God’s plan for our family finances takes effect. God gives us more as we are ready for more. We must stop wasting resources and become very intentional with our work in ministry. Just as my wife and I had a lot of ground to make up financially, we have a lot of ground to make up in youth ministry. Let’s gear up and get working.

Video: For You I Would Suffer Even More

Eric Gallagher — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 07:00:40 +0000

These three young adults put together this drama for our summer camp in 2011. Each year the Diocese hires young adults for their Totus Tuus program and to be counselors at several summer camps. It is a very powerful drama that you could do yourself or just show the video to them! Thank you to the Diocese of Sioux Falls for sharing this video!

What did you think? Let us know below!

Video: The Altar Server

Eric Gallagher — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 13:34:10 +0000

A new incredible video on being an altar server. This would be an incredible video to show when teaching on the Mass.

Video: Eternal Life from OutsideDaBox

Eric Gallagher — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 15:47:18 +0000

An excellent brand new video from OutsideDaBox on Eternal Life. Keep up the great work guys!

When You Know It's Time For A Catholic Youth Ministry Makeover

Eric Gallagher — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 03:55:03 +0000

I have to begin this post by simply stating the same thing I say to youth workers around my Diocese and to those that follow the blogging that I do, that... it’s time. It doesn’t take long to look at the average Catholic youth ministry program in any given parish and see that it is time for a makeover. I am not saying that we are not making an effort, but let’s just admit right now that there is very much room for improvement.

I do not need to waste your time going through the statistics of what is happening to the youth that go through Catholic parish youth ministry programs and end up leaving their faith after high school. Many consider it an accomplishment or a goal if they can even get them to continue their faith journey through their last two years of high school. Yes, there are many parishes and programs doing great things and may even being doing things as well as they can be done. Those people are probably not the ones that have picked up this book. Let’s start by identifying the key things that help us realize the need for a makeover in our parish youth ministry programs:

1. You have been doing the same thing for a very long time

It doesn’t necessarily mean that what you are doing is wrong, but things change, people change, the youth change. How long have you been doing the same thing in your parish to try and engage the youth?

2. You have no goals

If you are not moving forward, you are moving backward. If you do not have goals in place, what is sustaining your ministry? It is time to aim for something and focus intensely on that something as long as it takes to get there.

3. The parish does not know the vision

Does your parish struggle each year to find more adults to help with religious education or youth ministry? Does you have a hard time convincing people of the need to have adults investing in the spiritual lives of our youth? When you look at the families in your parish, do you see hope or do you see emptiness? It’s time to offer hope by giving a glimpse of what could be.

4. You do not know what’s in

Yes, some people can get by with their own style. Some people, if they take the time to actually look at what others are doing or are humble enough to ask for input and advice, they might find that they styles they are accustomed to are not really what’s in and actually are probably turning people away. How often do you network and learn from others that are successful in their efforts? How much time do you spend being a learner and a student of youth ministry?

5. Your communication efforts are failing

If you rely solely on your parish bulletin, email, and flyers around the Church to promote events and programs, you are ready for a makeover. Who do you have in your parish that is working to build relationships with the youth that no social media platform can?

6. The phrase “New Evangelization” has no meaning to you

We will get into this later in this book, but the New Evangelization is the style right now. The New Evangelization is why I decided to start casting this vision and process for how to evaluate and "makeover" your youth ministry program. In a sense it is the answer that we have been waiting for. The call for a New Evangelization is breathing new life into the Church and it can only benefit us when we jump on board. Are you ready to jump in? Like I mentioned before, it is not that parishes are not trying. There are many efforts being made. It is simply time for something different. Just like a person may seek the wisdom and counsel of a makeover artist, it is time to take in the wisdom and talent that goes beyond our own means. It is time to grab the energy and life that the New Evangelization will bring into the Church and let the Holy Spirit move our ministries in ways that we never thought possible. It is time to think outside of the box and be open to something that is still the Church and it still demands our time and sacrifice, but will produce much more fruit.

Want to stay up to date with how I propose you give your youth ministry a makeover? Be sure you are signed up for our Email Newsletters! Want to talk vision and other Catholic youth ministry stuff? Join our Catholic Youth Ministry Discussion Facebook Group!

When You Know It's Time For A Catholic Youth Ministry Makeover

Eric Gallagher — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 03:55:03 +0000

1. You have been doing the same thing for a very long time

2. You have no goals

3. The parish does not know the vision

4. You do not know what’s in

5. Your communication efforts are failing

6. The phrase “New Evangelization” has no meaning to you

Want to stay up to date with how I propose you give your youth ministry a makeover? Be sure you are signed up for our Email Newsletters! Want to talk vision and other Catholic youth ministry stuff? Join our Catholic Youth Ministry Discussion Facebook Group!

Automated Email Newsletters For Your Youth Ministry

Eric Gallagher — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 03:49:48 +0000

Have you ever noticed that our weekly email newsletters happen to arrive at your inbox weekly on the same day and at the same time? I bet most of you think that we sit around until 10:00am (CST) waiting to push that send button so that you get it right at the exact moment we want you to get it at. To be brutally honest, we do not even send the email. In fact, we designed the latest template a few months ago and have sent over 20,000 email without touching a thing. Want to know how? We use a magical monkey known as the MailChimp. This is an email newsletter program that is free for a limited numbers of subscribers or emails sent per month and then you can pay for it after that. Every time we post something new on one of our sites, MailChimp records it and sends out an email with the latest posts each week at the day and time we ask them too. Pretty cool huh? Here's how you do it.

Set up a blog that has an RSS feed.

We use Wordpress and our feed address is located at www.catholicyouthministryresources.com/feed. Feeds are a universal language used to "feed" the information from our blog to people in pretty much any format that they want it.

Sign up for a MailChimp Account

It's free to start and you do not need a Credit Card to use it.

Create an RSS Driven Campaign

You can set it to send out daily, weekly, or monthly at current times.

Create the Newsletter

Going through the steps is very easy. If you need help on using certain codes and such for the feed so it shows up how you want it to, I would check out their cheatsheet.

Start The Campaign

Once it's started, it will automatically send an email newsletter on the day and time you requested and it will include any new posts from your blog since the last one was sent.

I not only use it for these sites, but I use it in my regular ministry as well.

Parish Leader Updates - We sent out weekly updates from the Diocese with regular updates. We set up a blog on Blogger and the different staff are able to post new things and even schedule the posts (for example, we like to include the Pope's prayer intentions). We can schedule out the posts for the whole year so we do not have to worry about them in the future. Youth Ministry Update - I send out a weekly Newsletter for the Youth Events in our Diocese. As long as I remember to post a simple update before the 5th of each month, everyone in our Diocese gets the latest news on events and such. So what are you waiting for? Sign up for a MailChimp account here and start making life a little bit easier.

What other email Newsletter tricks do you know of? Please include them in the comments below!

Our Lady of Guadalupe Powerpoint

Tom Lelyo — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:24:08 +0000

I created this powerpoint to talk to my students about Our Lady of Guadalupe and I have to say I'm really excited about it! I presented it yesterday to my jr. high students and I think they were blown away. It's so amazing hearing the incredible stories of God stepping into our lives and revealing himself in such a powerful way! I had no idea how intricate the symbolism was to the image of Guadalupe.

The most important thing when going through this presentation is to remind students that God is communicating a specific message to a specific people (though that message can also be applied to all his people) - the symbolism of colors, images, etc. have to be understood from a perspective of "What would an Aztec see?" When you do that, it makes a big difference. Also, try to paint a picture of the Aztec culture as one that was all about human sacrifice - and not just sacrifice "lame" humans that no one cared about - but women & children - by the thousands!

The download file includes the powerpoint. You will also need to use the video from Busted Halo - Mary In Two Minutes. Lesson notes are within the powerpoint. The first slide also includes links to LifeTeens "Nuestra Señora" life night (which this is loosely based off of), and 2 documentaries about the image which are fascinating and very helpful. Hope you enjoy! God bless.

Game: Bigger or Better

Eric Gallagher — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 02:40:58 +0000

This is a community youth ministry game where the youth will be going door to door. It is best to send the kids in groups and have an adult with each group. It is very simple. Start everyone at the parish with a small item like a rubberband or paper clip. Give them one hour to run around door-to-door saying that they are playing a game with their youth group and they are wondering if they can trade their item for something bigger or better. When they make a trade, they move on to another house and do it again until their time is up. Keep in mind that the item can be bigger OR better. We have had youth come back with tractor tires, snow blowers, large screen t.v.'s, and a toilet in the past. This game is truly a gem!

You should give it a try and let us know what they come back with in the comments below!

Two New Communities to Discuss Catholic Youth Ministry

Eric Gallagher — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 02:31:51 +0000

One of the things that I feel is lacking most in Catholic Youth Ministry is networking. Everyone seems to be struggling, some people try new things every once in awhile, but there is little team effort. Now there are some great things happening now where people are working together to cast a new vision in Catholic Youth Ministry (check out rebuildmychurch.org for example), but we can always use more. We have two fairly new ways that you can connect with discuss Catholic Youth Ministry with others. If you use Facebook or Google+ we have some great news for you. We have a Catholic Youth Ministry Discussion Facebook Group and a Google+ Catholic Youth Ministry Community. The best benefits of these two groups.

They are moderated (no spam or junk)
They are a niche community (Catholic not simply Christian)
They are on fire! (both groups are new and growing very fast!

Check them out here!

Twitter Profiles For Catholic Youth Ministers To Follow

Eric Gallagher — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 02:09:04 +0000

I am not extremely active on Twitter (you can find me here), but I do enjoy checking in on Twitter every now and then. I will start by adding my own favorite's and then looking towards those of you who may be more actively involved to add them in the comments section below.

First off I must start by mentioning the accounts that I run

Eric Gallagher Follow @ericjgallagher
Catholic Youth Ministry Hub Follow @cymhub

My Top 10 in 2012 List.

Pope Benedict XVI Follow @Pontifex
Jack Regan Follow @RCYouthWorker
Michael Marchand Follow @MichaelMarchand
Busted Halo Follow @BustedHalo
Mark Hart Follow @LT_TheBiblegeek
D. Scott Miller Follow @CatholicYMBlog
John Rinaldo Follow @JohnRinaldo
Chris Stefanick Follow @ChrisStefanick
Jason Evert Follow @jasonevert
Chris Padgett Follow @chrismpadgett

Did we forget you or someone else you think should've been mentioned? Please include them in the comments section below!

Six Things That Will Make You A Good Catholic Youth Leader

Eric Gallagher — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:48:25 +0000

Youth ministry is tough. There are many ways to do youth ministry, many different types of youth leaders, and very little community to help you know if you are doing a good job or not. Here are six things you must be "doing" in order to be a good youth minister.

Pray

Prayer has by far been the the most fruitful discipline I have developed that has helped me in youth ministry. I think that 30 minutes of daily prayer is minimal for those who work in youth ministry. If possible, it should be done in front of the Eucharist.

Learn

Youth leaders are typically NOT readers. As as I moved around in different areas of ministry, I have found reading to be more and more fruitful. As I train and form leaders I can give them bite-size knowledge on what the Church teaches in regard to Discipleship and Evangelization but I do not think you can really grasp it until you put the time in to learn it in depth yourself. I can get people fired up about Discipleship and when they ask for more I can point them to a good book to start with (I have been recommending Forming Intentional Disciples lately), but when I check in months later they have not even opened it. I give you permission to read (learn) during work. You should ask your pastor first if you think he might have a problem with it. I doubt he will.

Work Hard

People may take my online presence as a sign that I have too much time on my hands. The truth is, I work my tail off every second I am in the office. Just because you think you are getting paid less than you think you should be and there is usually no one looking over your shoulder, you do not have the right to slack off during office time. I work like crazy during my office time so I can go home and enjoy my time with family. There is never enough time to do everything we should be doing in youth ministry, so stop wasting it!

Network

I do spend time online on Facebook and Twitter, but it is for set periods of time and it is with a purpose to check in on what others are doing and talking about. It is good not only to learn from others, but sharing your own knowledge and wisdom with others will help build a confidence in what you are doing as well. We have a great group on Facebook for Catholic Youth Ministry Discussion.

Live It

I was inspired recently to evangelize more outside of work. I spend so much time teaching others to evangelize but I find it difficult to do in life outside of ministry. Beginning this week I have committed myself to do things that will give me the wisdom and experiences of evangelization that will give a more true witness when I am encouraging others.

Be Open

I think that the biggest thing that gets in the way in Catholic youth ministry is the leaders. Being truly open means that you are ready at any time if God has a completely different plan for your ministry than what you are doing right now or hope to do in the future. Get out of the way!

I know these are not the only five things that make you a good Catholic youth leader, what are some others? Please share in the comments below!

Six Things That Will Make You A Good Catholic Youth Leader

Eric Gallagher — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:48:25 +0000

Pray

Learn

Work Hard

Network

Live It

Be Open

I know these are not the only five things that make you a good Catholic youth leader, what are some others? Please share in the comments below!

Video: Mary in Two Minutes

Eric Gallagher — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 16:04:43 +0000

Another great video from the "2 minute" series from Busted Halo. This video goes through several of the fundamental Catholic beliefs about May in lest than three minutes. A great video use in a lesson or simply to share with your youth. To view this video and more done by Busted Halo, please check out their web site.

Facebook Fan Pages For Catholic Youth Ministers To Like

Eric Gallagher — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 03:23:00 +0000

Welcome to my library of Facebook Fan Pages for Catholic Youth Ministers to Like. I love "liking" fan pages as a way to stay up-to-date on what people are doing. Each year I plan to revisit this list and add more. If you notice I am missing someone, please add them in the comments section below so that others can see it and I can check it out! You can also find our YouTube list & Twitter list (coming soon!) as well. Also, I only go through these once a year, because if I "like" a page and find out they are incredibly annoying or useless, then I would rather not recommend them. Note: Some of these are not specifically Catholic Youth Ministry or even Catholic (or even youth ministry). They are all pages that I have enjoyed and think those in Catholic Youth Ministry might as well.

First off, I am a little bias of these:

Catholic Youth Ministry Hub
Youth Ministry Videos
Discussing Stuff

My 2012 List

Bob Rice
Mike Patin
Christian Association of Youth Mentoring
Newman Connection
Opening The Word (Augustine Institute)
Sean Forrest
New Apologetics
Canadian Youth Worker
Smarter Youth Ministry
Likeable Art
Father Robert Barron
Adore Ministries
Catholic Link
ParentZilla
Imagine Sisters
Xt3
Cultivation Ministries
Brandon Vogt
ParentMinistry.Net
NFCYM
Chris Padgett

My 2011 List

Mark Hart (The Bible Geek)
Simply Youth Ministry
Lifeteen
Skit Guys
NCCYM
Average Youth Ministry
Youthmin.org
Youth Leader Stash
One Time Blind
Only 144
FOCUS
Catholic Tech Talk
Youth Ministry Ideas
Leah Darrow

Again, please add your own favorites in the comments section below!

YouTube Subscriptions For Catholic Youth Ministers to Subscribe To

Eric Gallagher — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 03:13:08 +0000

After a year, I accumulated several new channels that I enjoy so I thought it would be good to start sharing an updated list each year. So whether you are a new Catholic Youth Minster or just wanted to check in and see if you are missing anyone, I hope this is helpful. You can also find our lists for Facebook & Twitter as well (Coming Soon!) Note: Some of these are not specifically Catholic Youth Ministry or even Catholic (or even youth ministry). They are all sites that I have enjoyed and think you might as well. If we are missing one that you enjoy, please add it in the comments section below for others to see and for us to check out as well! 2012

2011 List

Preparing the Way (for your Youth Ministry successor)

Eric Gallagher — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 20:08:24 +0000

Advent is a season of preparation. This morning I was thinking on that a bit and I know the focus of Advent is to prepare for the time when the Lord comes at Christmas and also at the time of the last judgement, but this morning I was thinking about how we can best prepare for when we leave our ministry and how we can prepare "the ministry" to be ready for when the next person comes. There are numerous ways that we will can prepare and organize things in such a way that will help our successor not have to make up so much group from our absence. Here are few things that I practiced as a parish youth minister and also on the Diocesan level now that will and have hopefully helped those that follow after me. Keep A Good Database I am very good with keeping files organized on the computer and keeping records of things that I do. I also keep good records of people who are attending events and how often, including the adults. For example, if people go into my computer files, they can go into My Documents and find folders that say Games, Lessons, Attendance Sheets, Budget, etc. Write Follow-Up Reports One thing I also do is I have a blanket event sheet for every event that I do. It includes all of the basics like marketing, applications, finances, etc., but the last thing on the sheet tells me to make a few notes for next time this event is done. I don't always go back and look at these because I can usually recall the big things that we needed to consider for next time, but I know it would be helpful for those who were not there! Manage Contacts Well One of the hardest things of walking into a new position can be if you do not know people. Be sure to care enough to organize your email contacts well and even create groups in your email for leaders (youth and adult). Also, in most email contact programs you can take notes. Spend a little time every now and then to make some notes on each of those contacts. When you are ready to leave, if you are using an email account that cannot be transferred than you can simply export these contacts for their use. Use Social Media Accounts that are Transferrable Have your Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking accounts set up so that they are not tied to you! For example, in the parish I had a "Sacred Heart Youth Group" group and now at the Diocesan level I have "Sioux Falls Youth Events" page. When I left the parish, I was happy to assign the new leadership that took over admin privileges. When you do leave, TAKE YOURSELF OFF AS AN ADMIN. Don't Stretch Yourself Thin One thing my Bishop has taught me well that he takes into consideration is whether or not something will be sustainable when he leaves. If you are one of those overworking youth workers that does too much, STOP IT. Set your program up so that another person could take it over and it wouldn't kill them. If your life is not in balance, you are not only setting yourself for failure, but the next person will be affected as well. What other ways are you (or should you be) preparing for the next person? Please share in the comments below!

Preparing the Way (for your Youth Ministry successor)

Eric Gallagher — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 20:08:24 +0000

Keep A Good Database

I am very good with keeping files organized on the computer and keeping records of things that I do. I also keep good records of people who are attending events and how often, including the adults. For example, if people go into my computer files, they can go into My Documents and find folders that say Games, Lessons, Attendance Sheets, Budget, etc.

Write Follow-Up Reports

One thing I also do is I have a blanket event sheet for every event that I do. It includes all of the basics like marketing, applications, finances, etc., but the last thing on the sheet tells me to make a few notes for next time this event is done. I don't always go back and look at these because I can usually recall the big things that we needed to consider for next time, but I know it would be helpful for those who were not there!

Manage Contacts Well

One of the hardest things of walking into a new position can be if you do not know people. Be sure to care enough to organize your email contacts well and even create groups in your email for leaders (youth and adult). Also, in most email contact programs you can take notes. Spend a little time every now and then to make some notes on each of those contacts. When you are ready to leave, if you are using an email account that cannot be transferred than you can simply export these contacts for their use.

Use Social Media Accounts that are Transferable

Have your Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking accounts set up so that they are not tied to you! For example, in the parish I had a "Sacred Heart Youth Group" group and now at the Diocesan level I have "Sioux Falls Youth Events" page. When I left the parish, I was happy to assign the new leadership that took over admin privileges. When you do leave, TAKE YOURSELF OFF AS AN ADMIN.

Don't Stretch Yourself Thin

One thing my Bishop has taught me well that he takes into consideration is whether or not something will be sustainable when he leaves. If you are one of those overworking youth workers that does too much, STOP IT. Set your program up so that another person could take it over and it wouldn't kill them. If your life is not in balance, you are not only setting yourself for failure, but the next person will be affected as well. What other ways are you (or should you be) preparing for the next person? Please share in the comments below!

Video: What is Advent? Gangnam Style!

Eric Gallagher — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 02:29:54 +0000

Xt3 has put out this new video as a great resource to be used for Advent. The focus of the video is that Advent is NOT about the business that the culture can sometimes draw us into, but that Advent is about waiting. When you are done watching the video, you should also check out their online advent calendar and a few others that we found here.

Four Great Catholic Online Advent Calendars for 2012!

Eric Gallagher — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 02:24:39 +0000

Xt3 has been promoting their new advent calendar through the web lately (you can find it here). This is not the only Catholic online advent calendar out though. It seems like last year when the Busted Halo advent calendar came out, they started popping up everywhere! I thought it would be good to compile a list of online Catholic Advent calendars and post them here! That way you can find your favorite and promote it with your youth group (or just send them a link to this post and have them pick one themselves!). Here you go! In no special order, but labeled by who is putting it out.

Know of any others? Please let us know in the comments section below!

Do Not Labor For Experiences That Perish

Eric Gallagher — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 02:28:26 +0000

In my last post I talked a bit about the excitement that we get when we finally are able to get that youth we have been seeking out to attend a retreat or conference that we know will offer them a great experience where they will likely be opened up to the love of God and they will have their initial conversion towards him. I have also mentioned in a previous post about a priest that has opted NOT to send youth to these types of experiences because the parish was not ready for the youth that would return. In John chapter six after Jesus had fed the five thousand from just a small amount of food, those who were there came looking after him. He is quick to point out though that what they are looking for is NOT what they should be looking for. Yes, they were looking for Jesus, but ultimately the reason they were looking for Jesus was because he fed them. Here's what it says:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life..." - John 6: 26-27"

What do you offer in your parish for the youth that are longing for the food which endures to eternal life? Their experiences are great, but these experiences should act as a spring board into a deeply rooted relationship with Christ. Your games are great, but they should act as an invitation into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. Your volunteers are great, but they will not be there when the youth graduates high school. Do not be afraid to give the youth in your parish Jesus. Here are two ways that I recommend you do this:

Create An Atmosphere For Discipleship

This can be done in so many ways. You could set up a small group ministry, a mentoring program, or any other way that you can find great adults to connect with youth and partner with them in their faith.

Utilize the Sacraments & Prayers of the Church

I know Eucharistic Adoration is not a sacrament but I have found that the one single best programming idea I have had has been to offer monthly Eucharistic Adoration and Confessions. Do it during youth group time. If your priest is not able to do this, than go as a group during the regular confession times in the parish. Invite youth to daily Mass or invite them to pray the rosary weekly or even daily. Through these two things, youth will learn the disciplines necessary and will also begin to see and experience the food that will never perish.

What are some things that you have done in your parish youth ministry programs that have helped youth accomplish these same things? Please comment below!

Do Not Labor For Experiences That Perish

Eric Gallagher — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 02:28:26 +0000

"Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life..." - John 6: 26-27"

Create An Atmosphere For Discipleship

Utilize the Sacraments & Prayers of the Church

What are some things that you have done in your parish youth ministry programs that have helped youth accomplish these same things? Please comment below!

A Retreat Letter FOR THE PARENTS!!

Eric Gallagher — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 02:23:28 +0000

Each summer I have the great gift of being able to coordinate and lead our Diocesan summer camps. This last summer I thought I would try something new as I wanted to find new ways to prep the parishes and families that the youth would return to after camp. My idea for this past summer was to send a letter to the parents on the first day of camp. The letter mostly encouraged the parents and invited them to be open to receiving the gift of their child when they meet up with them again. Our camps are four days long so the day they checked-in we verified their information so we knew who to send the letter to and then the next morning the letters mailed out. I was not planning on sharing this online, but have had an overwhelming response and am still receiving thank you's from parents even five months after. If this sounds like a good idea and something that you might want to use for an upcoming retreat or conference that you are leading or bringing youth to, please like or share below and a download graphic will appear for you to download! [pwal id="23115736" description="Like The Idea and It's Yours!"] [/pwal]