Weekend youth formation

Last night I awoke at early hours of the morning, out of breath as if I had just been on my morning run. I felt my bed under me ever so thankful for the mattress to lay my body and the blankets that hugged me so warmly offering a familiar comfort. 

I spent the weekend away at a youth ministers foundation leadership camp. It was an experience. 

On Friday evening I packed a bag and headed for “Safety Beach” which is at the bottom point of Melbourne. Sisters came with me for the drive and to have dinner together at the beach before dropping me off. We went to a delightful Italian Restaurant where our food was fresh, delightful and heart warming. Each of us enjoyed, having conversation about life, eating food from the land and embracing the evening sunshine, what a way to spend the evening. 

Arriving at this leadership camp, warmly greeted then given the program for the coming days along with a Youcat book and Pope John Paul prayer book, I knew I was in for a long weekend. 

Having five minutes to locate a bed, sort myself and find the Hall, I realised that the first lectures was about to start and went until evening prayer at 10.30pm. What have I signed up for… 

As the weekend developed, it was unfortunate that the parish youth leader who was recently employed, was not present. A few of the workshops were planning, and developing as a team, with mission statement forming and calendars in hand. It did not worry me too much, as I know that my part in the parish is not entirely youth ministry. I have always felt that if I was called to youth ministry I would have been more involved back in Palmy, forming a foundation. - After all palmy have a very rich source of youth ministers in their team, perfect place for the Lord to put me and develop my gifts. 

YET this never occurred while in Palmy so I have concluded that youth ministry is not ministry. 

So why did I go to youth ministry leadership camp? 

As I do believe that music ministry and also bonding with the youth in our parish community is very important. The staggering statistics of youth leaving the church puzzle me at times. I struggle to wrap my brain around the fact that once teens leave home, many walk away from their faith and never return. There are so many answers, everyone is on an unique journey yet when in that space of been present in a community why does the reflection of Lord not solely sin through. 

Because imaging my life without Christ? Empty!

My heart ache, more than ached as the weekend went by. I ask the Lord for wisdom in mentoring this next generation of the world changers. This generation who view truth as relative, desire more tolerance, and believe their faith not relevant to their everyday life or all aspects of life.

I would love them to have what I have, have a relationship with Jesus, connecting them to the transforming grace of Christ. 

While I sat listening to the priest give lectures, other youth plan and talk about their ‘youth groups’ I started to find it a struggle to understand the ministry. I sought for understanding of why we, a group of young followers, had come together to plan to serve the youth as a separate division from parish communities, from parishes or schools in general. There was about ten different ‘youth ministry groups present. All having different activities, different structures, different ways of living out the services to the youth. It was alarming to see that post it notes, event planning, felt markers and calendars replaced the open conversation or how to connect, how to develop relationships work with the community that is present already. We are about relationships, about love, about sharing in one another’s life, been companions on the journey. 

As the weekend progressed I grew weary of listening to the message that we are all sinners, we have to go to reconciliation, need to encourage more youth to attend adoration where they can spend time with Jesus. With the practical examples of prayer given, three hour adoration, daily masses, rosary, morning prayer, evening prayer, small group prayer, reconciliation, imaginative prayer and more.... all very important forms of prayer please do not misunderstand what I type... just taking them only back as a source of praise and worship in youth ministry brings forth a question of balance and acknowledgement that we are all made in the image of the Lord. 

One youth meeting I attend last year, had me listening to a Bishop telling the youth leaders present that youth groups were about reading the Youcat!! Really! I verbally disagreed with him, saying that it was not about church teaching, they do have a place yet rather about building relationships in the form of friendship, with the Holy Spirit guidance. Safe to say he was not impressed and kept a close eye on me until the meeting ended, when he bee lined for me, while I ran out the door! 

ALL this leaves me feeling like I need say -  “yes Father” we know as the gospel teaches us the full impact of the law and our sin, the gospel that doesn’t dress up and repackage what happened at the foot of the Cross, but marries the impact of our sin, our need for a Savior, with the redemptive saving power of His ultimate sacrifice, is relevant today - Jesus came to save the lost. Jesus came so that we might have Life more abundant; Life in all its fullness. Why emphasis sin when Jesus taught love, mercy, forgiveness...  why are the sacraments the only way to be “forgiven” …. 

Have you read - 

“For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10) 

“ I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10) 

We don’t have to dismiss all logic and reason to have faith. It’s not a gospel for the non thinkers!! We don’t have to “change church” to keep people in the door. This isn’t about a building or a congregation, but about the saving knowledge of the One who paid it all. 

What happened 2,000 years ago is relevant today just as it is. 

The message that we are sinners, is not one that we need to put on the door to say “welcome all sinners to youth group” 

To have someone standing before me saying that we listen to the cries of society affirming that the church is a bunch of hypocrites, so we try to spit-shine the gospel, dumb it down, make it more tolerant, dress it up to entertain and cast our nets wide so everyone catches a crumb…..

This doesn’t represent my Jesus. 

This is not the kind of youth ministry I wish to be involved with. 

Actually this kind of living out faith is not what I wish to be apart of. 

Youth do not need a self - help gospel, or a buffet of varying Christian thought which allows them to pick and choose what feels best because feelings change. My desire is that they develop critical thinking skills to wrestle through the dogma of the day. 

My desire is not to isolate or control, but to help arm youth with a biblical worldview, deep seeded truth of the Gospel so that when their faith is tested, and it will be, they have an arsenal equipped to defend. We need to go deeper and dig into the meat of the Scripture not to simply focus on comical ways of presenting the scripture. 

It is not right to gather youth together to glow at how many attended, or show the priest that the youth can come together. It is not right to take the moment to influence the youth in thinking that they are disjoint from the parish community, they are separate in planning, activities or formation. They are not! Parish is one and all, its not about exclusion or division, its not about young and old, female and male. 

Maybe our prayer should be a little more like this 

Lord, allow youth to question their faith while under their family or church roof. Let them ask and wrestle through the hard topics. Make their faith their own, jot just because we believe it to be true. Allow each one of us, to love them, wrestle through topics without becoming defensive. Let us be Christ bacons, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide. In deep love we pray.