Interesting News

2012-08-21T11:26:00.003-07:00

What is Success?
“Eric, I sense some frustration coming from you? What’s the matter?” he asked me.
“Well, I mean . . . things are going great. There’s no doubt about that, and I know we’ve improved a lot over the years, but I just don’t get why we don’t have more teens coming,” I responded.
Then he paused, looked at me and said something I’ll never forget...

The 48 Hour Self-Retreat

For most youth ministries things really kick off in 30 days. That means in the next 30 days you need a publishable Fall calendar, you need to check in with all of your volunteers to make sure they are coming back, and you need to host a volunteer training meeting as well as schedule a parents meeting.
Plus, you have all your normal day-to-day work. And you still have summer ministry stuff going...

Chasing Cool in Ministry
What constitutes a cool youth pastor? Most youth pastors want to be cool. Some want to wear cool clothes, buy apple computers, date and marry hot women, know all the cool sayings and handshakes, get tattoos, have edgy haircuts and glasses, learn Hebrew and Greek and own all the new technological gadgets. I don’t necessary think this is a bad thing. In fact I do most of the things I listed myself. However being cool requires more than just buying all the newest and coolest stuff...

The Digital Divide: How the Online Behavior of Teens is Getting Past Parents
Despite the obvious disconnect between teens’ online behaviors and parents’ knowledge of them, parents continue to exude a sense of confidence and control. Most parents insist they’re in control when it comes to mentoring their teen’s online behaviors. Yet, many teens believe their parents are in the dark.

Jesus is Sneaky
I didn’t expect the hand rung bell. I was at a Saturday Evening Mass at a parish in Miacatlan, Mexico. The Priest had just finished the consecration. We prayed through the Our Father and shared a sign of peace. The Church was mostly a large roof over an open air seating area. Out of the back and around the corner of the far wall came the clanking sound of two hand rung bells. I didn’t know what it was at first. Then I realized...

Introducing New One Eight Confirmation Curriculum

Infographic: Millennial Teenager

2012-03-20T15:28:00.002-07:00

How Often Do You Catch Teens Doing Something Right?
If you’ve been in Youth Ministry long enough, chances are someone in the parish has complained about the teens. In fact, it probably goes something like this...

Help Families Win–give them dates…early!
When I talk to other parents, most agree that school and sports organizations do a better job of communicating dates than the church...

Whatever
Here is a video to use with your young people.

5 Catechetical Tips for Reaching the Most Important Audience
What is the most important catechetical audience and how should we reach them? “Confirmation-as-bait approach” to keeping young people in PSR wouldn’t be necessary if American young people were being raised in a faith-filled environment. “But our parish has a very active PSR program and a great youth group!” Yes, that may be, but what about after that...

Pope Benedict celebrates his namesake
Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the March 19 Solemnity of St. Joseph, his namesake, by delivering a sermon on the saint's virtues...

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2012-02-21T15:20:00.002-08:00

Why Youth Ministers Should Attend Student’s Events
One of the parts of any youth minister’s job is attending games, concerts and other events that your students are participating in. There have been times in my ministry when I’ve been better about doing this than others.

What to Give Up for Lent: 20 Weird Ideas
Ready to move beyond just giving up chocolate? Last year we gave you 25 Creative Ideas for Lent. This year, we wanted to expand upon that list. Except, if you know us, you know we like to make things a bit . . . well . . . more interesting. So here’s a list of weird things to do for lent. The best part is that even though they’re a bit odd, they will actually help you to be holy...

Ash Wednesday, Fasting, Abstaining, and You.
According to the 1983 Code of Canon Law for the Latin Church, Latin Church Catholics are bound to observe fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday. Here are some details. I am sure you know them already, but they are good to review...

These 40 Days of Lenten Music
Forty days of fasting, prayer, almsgiving, and a call in this “Year of Faith” proclaimed by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to strengthen our faith and to help strengthen the faith of others. So what will change? In our own lives, will we just give up the same thing we gave up last year again or will we really take the time to reflect upon those things that lead us away from Christ...

Lenten Reads for 40 Days
Lent is a time for prayer, fasting and almsgiving — and spiritual reflection. We present four new books that could help in that task...

Youth Ministers Meme

Hitler Reacts to the New Roman Missal

2012-02-14T09:49:00.002-08:00

Pro-Life Motion Picture Opens Nationwide in March
When filmmakers Jon and Andrew Erwin tackled October Baby, they knew that their movie was imitating life. The film is loosely based on the life of abortion survivor Gianna Jessen. What they didn’t know is that their art was imitating life in more ways than one, through the story of one of the film’s actresses...

Teenagers and Their Smartphones in 2011
The newest mobile phone numbers are in from Nielsen in their new State of the Media Mobile Media Report for the third quarter of 2011. The results probably won’t be surprising to anyone who hangs out with teenagers. In short, more teens are getting smartphones, they’re downloading more data, texting a lot, and talking less...

The Attitude of Christ Jesus
Service is meant to change your view of others more than your view of yourself. Here is video to use with young people that might encourage them beyond doing service just to feel better about themselves.

Ah, the Interruptions!
We've all been there before: you're at a movie, or play, or Mass, and a cell phone goes off. I've had wake services where a young man's phone rang during the reading, then during the Gospel, then again during the homily! You'd think people would learn - or at least get the hint...

Wordle

10 lame excuses for not praying

2011-10-25T11:02:00.000-07:00

Using long car rides to connect
A bus full of middle school students, a 7 hour trip and about 10 adult volunteers. If you’ve been in youth ministry for even a year or two, you may have experienced this situation. Kids pile in as far toward the back of the bus as possible, take their seats and plug headphones into their ears. Then your adult leader load the bus, sit together near the front and start talking with each other. Two problems...

Are You A Last Minute Youth Minister?
In ministry, when we throw things together at the last minute we’re basically telling those we serve, “My time is more important than yours.” And I don’t think any of us want to communicate that to teens. So, if you’re a youth minister who’s struggling with leaving things to the last minute, here are some tips to help you get things done (before the last minute)...

Today I was a New Volunteer
So I’ve been getting the emails from my son’s 7th grade football league, begging for parents to come help set up the fields on game days. I decided to go help out – partially to remember what it feels like to be the 1st-time volunteer … who has no idea what he’s getting himself into. It was SUCH a reminder of what people might be feeling when they show up to serve in our ministries. Here are a few observations from this morning...

Miracles Happen: The Untold Story of the Chilean Miners’ Rescue
When I heard this miracle story it blew my mind! It’s about Pope Benedict’s role in the rescue of the Chilean miners, whose one-year anniversary we observed last Thursday. Check it out...

10 Signs you might be married to your job

Fruity Technology

2011-08-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

Should Parishes Communicate With Facebook?
In my experience, Facebook is typically avoided by parishes. I understand. Facebook, and other social media platforms, carries with it huge moral implications. This being said, Facebook currently has over 750 million users. Right now it is the second most visited website….IN THE WORLD...

The Stakes are High

[Homily given at the opening of Baltimore's High School Leadership Institute (High-LI) - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time] Dear Mr. Potter...

48 Hours: A Crucial Time for Youth Ministry
I know most summer youth ministry schedules are filled with mission trips, leadership training and youth conferences. Just as important as your preparation and work during the event are, what happens after the retreat is even more critical – especially in the 48 hour period. Teens come back fired up, excited about their faith and they need to share it...

“I love Jesus more than bacon.”
Yeah, I know, that should be a T-shirt or a bumper sticker or something. But it was just a simple sentence that came out of my six year old daughter’s mouth last night after I said good night to her at bedtime. Before I turned off the light she turned on the charm and blurted,“Daddy, I love Jesus more than bacon.” I laughed out loud and said, “I do too. Good night sweetie...

Work Hard, Be Kind, and Amazing Things Will Happen
Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger… but it does almost kill you. Conan O’Brien delivered this year’s commencement speech at Dartmouth College...

Top 10 Words/Phrases You Don’t Want to Use Anymore

10 Ways to Improve Your Relational Ministry

2011-07-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

5 Things That Make Great Core Teams
Throughout my life I’ve been on a lot of teams. There have been baseball teams, basketball teams and now that I’m old – slow-pitch softball teams. Some of these teams I’ve played for and others I’ve coached, but perhaps my favorite team was my youth ministry Core Team. There are few things more rewarding than working together with other dedicated Catholics to lead teenagers closer to Christ. As you take time to evaluate your ministry this summer, consider these five things that make great Core Teams...

The Narrow Path
God loves us more than we can possibly imagine. But I’ve noticed in my recent Scripture readings that when the Bible tells us about how much He loves us, it usually follows by saying how important it is to obey Him. For example, in the Gospel of John, Jesus says the famous words: “As the Father has loved me, so I love you.” (John 15:9)
But then He immediately follows it with...

What I Saw At Home Depot. . . And A Good Ending. . .
So last night I'm standing at the paint counter at our local Home Depot while the clerk's got my two cans shaking violently in the machine under the counter. I'm guessing that most Home Depot stores are set up in the same way. The paint counter sits on the open aisle spanning the width of the store way up front, just across from all the check-out registers. If you want to see all the action at a Home Depot - and who wouldn't!?!? - then the paint counter offers a pretty good 360 degree vantage point...

Top 20 Youth Ministry Blogs of 2011

10 great benefits of confession

2011-07-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

Why I Just Stopped Coming to Your Youth Group
I’m an average teen. I am in 11th grade and I work a part time job at a local grocery store. I am Catholic and was confirmed last spring. I don’t come from a messed up family, just a family that is spun in many different directions each day.I have a few close friends who I have been friends with since I was in elementary school. Most of my other friends are people I know from the internet and are part of on online gaming group I hang out with online after school. I am a loyal person and once I become your friend, I am always your friend. I just stopped coming to your youth group...

Why Harder is Almost Always Better
Let’s face it, youth ministry is hard. Trying to realize our passion to see young people fall in love with Jesus is hard. The institutional church, parents, culture and many other limiting factors often don’t help us much. It would be easy to just throw in the towel. Many do. Easier isn’t always better though. Trying to do something really hard, staying with it through enormous opposition, benefits us as youth workers...

Ministry to Families in Need
As I began working in youth ministry four years ago, I realized quickly that as you get rooted in a parish, you also get rooted in the families that make up that parish. At the time, I had no grasp on the gravity of this role. With our role comes the joy of sharing in family moments such as awards, honors and graduation. But just as we get to share in the “high points” of family life, we also share in some of the most difficult moments. Whether it is divorce or death or illness, we need to understand our role as support to the whole family, not just the teens...

The Problem with Value
Last week I read a great post by Seth Godin. He writes that depending on external motivation traps us. What we need is to find motivation inside of us. I whole-heartedly agree, but where do we find value in ourselves? It’s a mystery unless you know of something in yourself that is amazing. It could be good, but that isn’t really satisfying. We all want to be more than good...

Jesus in the City

Favorite iPhone/iPad Apps

2011-06-21T12:03:00.001-07:00

7 Reminders when Students Mess Up
If you give students responsibilities within your youth ministry, sooner or later they will mess up. Not because they’re incompetent or irresponsible, but because they’re students and therefore only human. How you handle their mistakes can have an enormous impact on them. Here’s seven golden rules to keep in mind when your students mess up...

Discipling ADD
I have recently been revisiting a familiar paradigm in youth ministry. I thinking about how you minister to an ADD adolescent. There are so many teens with this label I feel like I need to clarify. I’m not talking about a child with lots of energy or a kinetic learner, although both of those characteristics are found in people with ADD. What I am talking about is the ability to focus which may be also tied to hyperactive behavior or a physical learning style...

How Being Southern Made me a Better Catholic
Living in Minnesota for 15 years has taught me many unexpected things, including not wearing post earrings in January (don’t ask), but one of the more serious things I have learned is that Southern Catholics have a cultural leg up on people who live in Catholic-entrenched territories. For example...

Heartbreaking...
I was in college when one of my buddies said something to me that captured a universal truth in a way that I had never considered it before: "We're all worshippers. We all worship something. We've been born to worship. . . and worship we will." Some of us make a conscious choice of worship object, and we build our lives around that. Others wind up worshipping something without giving it all much thought. It just happens. In one way or another we all - as Dylan once sang - "got to serve somebody."

Postagram

Never Tie a Water Balloon Again

2011-05-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

Keys To Being a Great Core Member
I was training a group of young core members when I commented about what a great looking group of young adults they were. I think I said they looked like they could be in a Gap Ad. All of a sudden one of the girl Core Members asked me “What’s the perfect core member looked like?” I thought for a second and then immediately responded...

Youth Tracker
A few months ago, I noticed a major weakness in our student ministry administration. It seemed like we had a revolving door of student visitors with no sense of follow-up. We had informational cards, but it never seemed like we did anything with them. The result was seeing new students come week after week, but finding that we were ineffective in drawing them in to stay...

Creating a Ministry Brand
There is nothing more important when you’re selling a product than the branding you give it. That’s Business 101. Out of all the logos listed to the left, you could probably identify the organization immediately. You know who it is, what they are selling and probably how you can get your hands on one of their products. They have relentlessly put their brand in front of you and convinced you it’s something you need. Shouldn’t we be doing the same in ministry...

What Do You Think About Lady Gaga's "Judas" Video?

Change

2011-05-03T07:38:00.000-07:00

Blessed
Dear Young People, I would like to add something else to what I have already said to you. I would like to speak to you briefly about prayer, about communion with God, a communion that is deeply personal between ourselves and God.

Tradition
This last few days we’ve seen two amazing examples of the power and beauty of tradition. On Thursday, Prince William and Kate got married. It was a beautiful ceremony, dripping with hundreds of years of history. Though I was not at all a fan of the tabloid way the news media covered it (I couldn’t care less about Kate’s dress) it was an important moment, especially for the people of England. On Sunday, John Paul II got beatified. A million people gathered to celebrate the event. The liturgy was amazing and reflected over a thousand years of Church Tradition.

They Are Listening, But Are They Hearing?
I don’t know about you, but I was not raised in a Christian home and listened to some pretty foul music as a teenager, music I would never play for my mother let alone my students. I may be embarrassed about it the reality was that I owned those CD’s listened to them all the time; it was a part of who I was. The question is, did I know what I was listening too? Did my mind compute the words that I was saying?

Trader

3 Things You Must Master in Youth Ministry … But Never Will

2011-04-19T12:42:00.000-07:00

How to Rock the Parish Bulletin
I visit a lot of parishes in the course of a year and I usually will pick up a parish bulletin to see what is happening. Since my passion squarely is with parish youth ministry, I always look at how the youth leader communicates with the community via the bulletin. First of all, let me say that I have seen some great examples and some epic fails on the part of my fellow Catholic youth ministers. If you ever struggle with the concept and wonder if it makes any difference at all, here are three ways that you can make the most of the free communication you get each week in the bulletin...

Helpful Website for Youth Ministry/Culture: YouTube Trends
I’ve ben watching the YouTube Trends website for a little while now – I think it might be helpful to you in youth ministry. I watched this terrible music video called “Friday” this past week, and the every next day I bumped into a whole group of students laughing around the very same video. Might be a helpful heads up for you as a youth worker, too...

Clowning for God
While I was in Boston, I met a woman who was a circus performer in Brazil, and did a lot of ministry with people in the circus. She shared with me a prayer she gave to people who were clowns. I know it’s a fashionable thing to say that clowns are odd, or that they are scary (thank you, Stephen King.) But I’ve always loved clowns. In Chicago, I grew up watching Bozo the Clown on WGN channel 9. And when I worked at the improv club in Orlando, I knew a lot of guys who graduated from clown college. Yes, there’s a clown college. It’s actually pretty cool...

Sunday

Twitter Easter

2011-02-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

Contrary to Popular Belief: (Mis)perceptions in Youth Ministry
I’ve always liked the phrase “contrary to popular belief”. It gets your attention. It challenges your knowledge. What follows it can leave you feeling sheepish at your own ignorance or quite edified in your own intelligence. For instance, contrary to popular belief…

Making the Best of Your Time at the Desk
I’d like to take a guess and say that administrative work is NOT topping the “My Favorite Things” list for most youth pastors. We do the paper-pushing because it seems like we have to; like it’s a “necessary evil” of our job description. When I started out in ministry, I was anything BUT organized. Because of that, I often found myself less than prepared for stuff I “coulda, shoulda, woulda” seen coming. Years ago, I created a skeleton that I hang every workday on...

New iPhone app aims to help Catholics go to Confession
Developers of a new “confession helper” iPhone application say they found inspiration in Pope Benedict XVI’s call for more youth involvement in social communication. “Confession: A Roman Catholic App” is the first iPhone, iPad and iPod touch application from the South Bend, Indiana-based publisher Little iApps, LLC...

KC Star on KCK's St. John Catholic Church's Social Club
The Strawberry Hill area of downtown Kansas City (KS) is home to Saint John's Catholic Church, an "ethnic" parish set up for Croatian immigrants in 1900.Saint John's obviously retains its Croatian character, as shown by a Kansas City Star article today about the church's social club, which has an active bowling league...

Vocations and Bathrooms
I’ll be honest with you. I never was much into bathroom humor. I remember in high school watching many of my friends relish in the odors that they could create, either by sweat or gastro-intestinal issues. This is how it usually happened: 1)Someone would emit a fowl odor. 2)They invite their friends to smell it. 3)For some reason, their friends would acquiesce to that request...

2011-02-03T07:03:00.000-08:00

The Spiritual Gift of Bilocation
“The Onion” has always been a great source of fake news. Someone recently started Catholic Onion blog, of which one Catholic itinerant minister commented “I wish them luck… on-going satire is difficult” Nonetheless, their third posting took on the “news” about youth ministers: 93% of Youth Ministers Can Bilocate, New Study Finds...

Truth Is Stranger #118: Examination of Conscience?--got an app for that
Can modern technology help strengthen our faith? Some techno-savvy Catholics from South Bend think so. In his message for the 2011 World Communications Day, Pope Benedict XVI said it's not enough to just "proclaim the Gospel through the new media," but one must also "witness consistently." The developers of "Confession: A Roman Catholic App" for Apple's iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch think their product helps people do both...

A New Arrival at CPYU!
Those of you who know us know that we love books. We also like to write books. . . it's not always a fun process, but we do it! We've got a new one that arrived here at CPYU this week that I'm very excited about. Derek Melleby - Director of our College Transition Initiative - has just released a new book with Baker Books, Make College Count: A Faithful Guide to Life + Learning...

Ordinary Time: A Revelation
I’m still sweeping up pine needles from the Christmas tree. I don’t mind, because unlike every other mess, this one has a definitive end. Some day soon, I will find and remove the final pine needle, and then the house will be back to normal — back to Ordinary Time.

Caught on Tape: Planned Parenthood Aids Pimp’s Underage Sex Ring

2010-12-14T12:04:00.000-08:00

Unfair
Many of the things surrounding Catholic Youth Ministry today could be considered unfair.
It’s unfair that we are trying to reach out to teens in a culture that is at times openly anti – Catholic. It’s unfair that Catholic youth ministry has to compete more and more with some schools for teens time even on Sunday. Sound like I’m whining? No way because it’s also unfair that in Catholic youth ministry...

Digital Story of the Nativity
I loved this video. Great way to image the birth of Jesus in our digital age...

Somebody Steals Baby Jesus Every Year
This year we haven’t seen the Nativity go up, so I asked them what was happening and they said “Somebody steals baby Jesus every year, so we decided to not put it up this year.” First of all, I thought how sad that the theft ruined it for many. I also thought about how many times, I have let someone steal baby Jesus from me...

New Roman Missal
As you probably already know, we will be preparing to implement the new Roman Missal one year from now, in Advent, 2011. This will be an issue of critical importance to catechists who will be on the front lines of teaching others about how to adapt to the changes in the texts of the prayers we say at Mass. The time between now and then is to be used for catechesis on the liturgy and on the new Roman Missal...

7 Things You Should Stop Doing at Work

Melted Snowman Sugar Cookies

2010-11-30T10:18:00.000-08:00

This Week Didn't Go As Planned
Sometimes in ministry, things can either go the way we plan them, or they can take an unexpected turn, for better or for worse. Although we can never plan for every minute to go exactly the way we want, God can. He will always know exactly what your youth group needs. There are a lot of things that can contribute to something not going according to your plan, but we just have to remember that God is in control...

My Ten Commandments of Discipleship
My guidelines and promises to myself in discipling others: 1. Thou shalt not bring thy own stuff into the relationship and make everything about you – So many times I see people do this and do it myself. Something the person I am discipling says triggers something I remember about my own life. It’s OK to share a story, but this can get out of hand quickly...

All Rights Reserved
Recently, I was asked to speak to a group of Music Ministers at a Musicians’ workshop. As I began to speak about the need to have a copyright license to reprint the lyrics to songs on a worship aide, suddenly the room became awkwardly silent. To my surprise, many musicians did not know about the need for licenses....

"When God calls you, you go!"
Those are the words of a 16-year-old aspirant arriving for her first day at the convent in Michigan. This young gal was among several -- including our own Mary Anne Marks! -- featured on today's episode of Oprah in a lovely follow-up to last winter's profile of the Dominican Sisters of Mary...

The Advent Conspiracy, 2010
From the folks behind the Advent Conspiracy, another powerful and provocative challenge to the world...

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

2010-11-23T07:51:00.000-08:00

They're back: Dominican Sisters appearing on Oprah again
The Dominican Sisters of Mary will be featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show on Tuesday, November 23rd. This is a new show that includes interviews with Mother Assumpta, Sr. Joseph Andrew, Sr. Mary Samuel, Sr. John Dominic and other Sisters; as well as on-site filming of the First and Final Profession Masses and this year's Entrance Day, during which we welcomed 22 Aspirants...

7 reasons to go to Confession
1. Priestly absolution is an awesome gift that Jesus gave us. Jesus gave us this Sacrament and wants us to enjoy His grace through it. He told His first priests, the Apostles: Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins are forgiven (John 20:22)...

The Catholic Origins of Thanksgiving!
The history books will tell you that the first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the pilgrims in 1621. Not true. An interesting bit of trivia is that the first American Thanksgiving was actually celebrated on September 8, 1565 in St. Augustine, Florida. The Native Americans and Spanish settlers held a feast and the Holy Mass was offered...

Advent Message 2010
Each year the Church invites us to remind ourselves of God’s plan of salvation for us sinners. Each day throughout Advent we are presented with yet another prophet providing further insights into the Messiah who will be sent by God to take away our sins and to restore our friendship with God...

The story of Jonah like you've not heard it before
You need to set aside about 8 minutes... and listen... staying with it through the end... If only we were all as passionate and animated...

2010 KCYC Trailer

2010-11-16T14:37:00.000-08:00

Stop Doing Everything Yourself
OK, I’m still not great at this and probably not even rated as “good,” either, but I do want to improve… A “how to delegate” article over at lifehacker (h/t to Monday Morning Insight) suggests that we need to know what you can delegate, then how to delegate, and then finally (always the hardest step), actually delegate....

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
After a recent Life Night, a Core Member and I were talking about the lack of respect that a particular teen had for the speaker that evening. That general lack of respect seems an overarching theme of our youth today. I commented to him that we have to earn their respect; there is none given until earned....

It's beginning to look a lot like...
…almost Advent. All right, all right, I know. It is way too early to start talking about Christmas, but can’t we start getting ready for getting ready? I mean, wouldn’t it be acceptable to prepare for our time of preparation? I can hardly wait to start waiting...

Well Said... So, What We Do We Do Now?
Kudos to NBC for running a series on The Today Show on the decline of civility. I missed this part of the series the other day, but Lisa gave me a heads-up and I found it online. It's worth passing on because it relates to our families, our parenting, our youth ministries, and what we do here at CPYU. Give it a look. . .

Awesome Middle School Football Trick Play

2010-11-02T06:22:00.000-07:00

Pope to Youth: "Learn to love, truly to love, to learn the art of true love"

After a question from a young woman of Catholic Action, Benedict XVI responded, "It is very important, I would say fundamental, to learn to love, truly to love, to learn the art of real love!" He continued: "In adolescence we stop before the mirror and we notice that we are changing. But if you continue to look at yourself, you will never grow up...

Top Youth Ministry Movies you can show to your youth group
There are plenty of movies that are overdone in youth groups (i.e. The Princess Bride, Napoleon Dynamite, The Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings films.). It's not that these aren't good, but there are some great films that often get overlooked. Thus, here is a list of films you can show to your youth group in order to generate great spiritual conversations and foster the discernment of truth in media. This is not an exhaustive list, and I'll periodically add films as I see them....

The Gospel according to... my garbage man
It was about 5:30 a.m. and I was in the middle of my morning prayer. The sun had yet to rise. The coffee was hot and the house, serene. Just then, in the middle of my prayer, apprehension gripped my body and shattered my peace. “Oh no! It’s bulk trash pickup today!” I sprang up from the couch in our prayer room, threw on some warm clothes and within minutes found myself in my back yard....

Relational Ministry is Free
Sometimes when our budget is cut or we can’t afford to buy the next greatest resource or piece of modern technology aimed at reaching teens, we can get down and in a way lose focus on what our mission is. Teens, like all of us are relationship focused...

How to Stop Being Boring

100 Ways to Make a Difference

2010-10-26T06:43:00.000-07:00

5 Keys to Big Event Planning
My primary role on the team is that of "Event Coordinator". I love pretty much everything about this role. Much of the organization and big picture thinking of events comes naturally to me and so, even though I feel like I'm making it up most of the time, I thought I'd start sharing some of my learnings here. So, what are the big 5 of Youth Ministry Event Planning...

Best Youth Ministry Blog Post of the Week
I hate them. I’ve pulled them off 10 year-old boys on my soccer teams, called out guys in our high school program for wearing them, and questioned girls who walk proudly with them on- the latest of which was earlier today...

What Would Joseph and Mary Tweet?

Someone has an idea, and we'll start to see it unfold this Christmas season: Throughout Advent, Twitter users will be able to follow "Natwivity" and witness different figures from the world's most famous story bash out 140-character updates each day. The characters will include Joseph, Mary, the shepherds, the three wise and King Herod...

The Racism of Abortion
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2004 Abortion Surveillance Report black women had 38 percent of the abortions that year, the most recent data available, even though blacks make up only about 13 percent of the U.S. population...

The Truth about Mary and Scripture: MUST SEE!

2010-10-19T10:02:00.000-07:00

Healthy Youth Ministry requires healthy Youth Ministers
Youth Ministry necessitates some really odd hours. Long after the Parish secretary has rolled the phones to voice mail, you’re trying to track down 50 pens that actually write or 20 Bibles that never made their way back to the bookcase. By the time the last teen is picked up, the last door gets locked and the last parking lot conversation ends, your last brain cell is running on overdrive....

How to Succeed in Ministry
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had a number of young people ask my advice on how to “do what I do”, namely, being someone who travels around the country/world as a speaker or be successful at playing music/making CDs, etc. My first response, which I think is the most important, is: I’m probably not as “successful” as you think...

Promote Vocations
The Diocese of Austin posted this list of 100 suggestion of how to promote vocations. They included: # 5 Provide Eucharistic adoration on certain days, asking for prayers for vocations. #23 Do something creative! One parish hung a priest’s cassock and a sister’s habit in the church for prayer until someone from the parish decided to pursue a vocation. It worked!

The Chilean Miners - What Catholic Families Can Learn
The past day I have watched as 33 miners were pulled from a half mile beneath the earth in a small rocket looking carrier to the surface. They spent over 2 month’s underground. What intrigued me most was hearing how they survived the ordeal so well. I thought of Catholic families today and all the obstacles we face and how the miners survival instincts might benefit us all...

2 Corinthians 11 & 12, if Paul had been a Youth Worker

2010-10-13T06:53:00.000-07:00

Diffusing Angry Parents
There are few things that give me that uneasy feeling more than the flashing voicemail light the morning after a Youth Event. Things didn’t go well, you might have brought the students back an hour late, lost your temper with a kid, allowed a trout to be thrown across the gym and land in the church’s air intake vent. These things happen, and they can really put a bee in the bonnet of a parent or colleague. Here are 4 proven ways to diffuse a hostile and angry person or situation...

In My Wildest Dreams
I’ve often imagined that something amazing happens to me and a reporter asks the question, “Did you ever, in your wildest dreams, think this would happen?”And I would answer yes. Because I have very wild dreams...

Living Out Loud
Remember the first ten minutes or so of "Up"? At this point, those who saw the movie are sighing, "Oh, I cried!" Come on: admit it. I did too. The story of Carl and Ellie was magical in its simplicity and universality. Without ever speaking a word, they give us a sense of their love for one another, their commitment to one another, their absolute fidelity and willingness to give anything for each other...

When God Says "No"
It is common for all of us to have to struggle as to the great mystery of God’s providence and will. If it is not our own struggle then we must often commiserate with others who are in distress. Some will say to me, “I’ve been praying, Father. Nothing seems to happen.” I am not always sure what to say and God doesn’t often explain why we must suffer, or why he delays, or why he says, “No.”...

How to Pray the Rosary Well

Armless Pianist Wins China's Got Talent

2010-10-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

Diocese Purchases Downtown Landmark for Diocesan Center
The Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph announced October 1 that it has purchased property in downtown Kansas City for use as a diocesan center. The historic New York Life building at 20 W. Ninth Street will be the future home of diocesan and Catholic Charities offices which are currently spread across three locations in the city...

Help for New Youth Ministers
A few weeks ago my diocese hosted a new youth minister orientation. As I prepared for the day, it brought back a number of memories of my first years in parish life. There was a certainly a steep learning curve that first year and, honestly, in subsequent years as well...

Getting Ready
I love watching Ray Lewis play. He brings an intensity to the game that, despite having done this so many times before, and play after play, is as if he had hopped fresh off the bench after college...

What's the point of CCD?
There has been much discussion of the new Pew "Religious Knowledge Survey" in which atheists and Mormons outpaced everyone else and Catholics, as a whole, came in last. These results were given a poignant concreteness when a commenter on the Dotcommonweal blog decided this morning to ask her son the questions that the Pew surveyers asked. The result?...

Schedule for KCYC!

Rosary Prayers Wordsearch Puzzles

2010-09-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

High Fives All Around
As I have grown up, I have learned many things about myself, that I love people, love Jesus and that when it comes to being loved, my primary love language is physical touch. I have been in Youth Ministry for 10 years now and as all of us can agree, if there is one thing students love to do it is flirt and hug each other...

Dealing with Unacceptable Behavior in Middle School Youth
No one ever signs up to be a youth minister for the joy of being a disciplinarian. It is, however, one of those areas that come with the territory. Individual behavior like anger, negative comments, hitting, personal boundary issues and bullying are just a few common issues you may face in your middle school youth group. These issues, if not dealt with, can draw other youth into participating in the same disruptive behavior...

1 Kings 19 for Youth Workers
And the word of the LORD came to him (or her): “What are you doing here, Youth Worker?” Youth Worker replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The teenagers (or the people of this church, or the staff of this church) have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”...

Granularity of Prayer
I spend a lot of time thinking about how prayers of petition work. On the one hand, I know that we are supposed to ask God for what we want, and that he does “answer prayers” in the sense of granting our requests. On the other hand, it couldn’t possibly work that way all the time. After all, if God were to give each of us every single thing we ever asked for, he wouldn’t be an omnipotent God; we’d be gods, and he’d be a wish-granting genie...

Your Kid's an All Star? Wow! Someday He'll Be Average Like the Rest of Us
The church in America is puzzled. Young adults are leaving in droves. Magazines, books and blogs are wagging the finger of blame to point out who is responsible. Some say it is a failure of youth ministry, some point to church budgets and some nail the blame on outdated, unhip worship services. We parents are shocked that our kids just really aren’t all that into Jesus...

2010-09-21T06:25:00.000-07:00

Youth Ministers - Hot Tubs and Pizzas Aren't the Best Ways to Appeal to Teens
Dear Denys: I am a youth minister with a recently-completed Master’s degree, and I work in a thriving large parish. I can’t figure out why more kids don’t seem to want to come to our programs, so I wanted to try something new for the kick-off this year: a hot tub pizza-party.

Rites of Passage Project
Really interested in this new (and totally free) resource site called Rites of Passage. It was designed by youth workers and caring adults at New Vision Church to help parents celebrate and make memorable the rites of physical and spiritual passage of their children. Love it!

Look Into Your Heart
Today, the Pope celebrated Mass at Westminster Cathedral. At the end of Mass Pope Benedict came down the length of the Cathedral to the steps which lead into the Piazza where 2,500 young people predominantly aged 16 – 20 gathered. The pope spoke briefly to them.

What Do You Make?
This is not only for school teachers at the beginning of the academic year, but because we in the Catholic Youth Ministry game have a something to teach as well. Here is an office-friendly version of this Taylor Mail’s presentation that has already well gone viral on the web.

The Theology of Marriage, Danced

Conserve Water, or the Fish Will Die