B
Bertilia
Guest
What are some catholic topics you think are important for teenagers to learn? The topics are for planning youth groups around.
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J
Joe_5859
Guest
In no particular order:
*]Prayer
*]The intersection (or lack thereof) of Youth Culture and the Gospel
*]Relationships (not just dating, but relationships in general)
*]Christian living in the modern world
*]Theology of the Body (with guys and girls separate)
Of course, you need to come up with catchy titles that encourage kids to come.
For example, for #2, the title might be “You’ve Been Lied To!” and you could discuss all the different ways in which the secular culture is at odds with the Gospel.
M
MyMotherMary
Guest
Hi,
Teens have a lot of navigating to do, just to get through a school day. I think a good youth ministry provides teens a safe haven to deepen their faith and relationship with Jesus and to learn how to navigate their lives as teens. Some great topics I believe are: dating, chastity, modesty and relationships (in the context of friendships). Really at this age if you can teach the kids morality on all levels from movies and music to dating and what is appropriate to wear at the beach and do it in an engaging way…adding in humor and fun, you will be doing them a huge service. The youth group my daughter belongs to is really active in social justice issues-ministering to the poor in our area and the teens are so eager to help, which I believe is due in part to the example they get from the YM.
Good Luck!!
Teens have a lot of navigating to do, just to get through a school day. I think a good youth ministry provides teens a safe haven to deepen their faith and relationship with Jesus and to learn how to navigate their lives as teens. Some great topics I believe are: dating, chastity, modesty and relationships (in the context of friendships). Really at this age if you can teach the kids morality on all levels from movies and music to dating and what is appropriate to wear at the beach and do it in an engaging way…adding in humor and fun, you will be doing them a huge service. The youth group my daughter belongs to is really active in social justice issues-ministering to the poor in our area and the teens are so eager to help, which I believe is due in part to the example they get from the YM.
Good Luck!!
P
pprenosil
Guest
While the topics mentioned are great topics to cover, it is not necessarily good to simply jump around to whatever topic seems to be wanted/needed. Ideally a youth ministry should have a structure of topics so that the faith is covered comprehensively (and yet still in an engaging and interactive manner) while leaving some room for special topics or interests and needs of the specific group. How much you can accomplish depends on your program (size, volunteers, support, resources, etc).
If you are not familiar with the structure and goals the Church recommends for youth ministry I suggest starting here. catholicyouth.org/highschoolminist.html
I also highly recommend this curriculum for youth ministry. It covers everything.
ymc.thewebchoice.com/store_product.php?product=877§ionid=3436
Also, every meeting should give an opportunity for the youth to come in contact with Christ. If we do not lead them to Christ then we have done nothing.
If you would like to give some more specifics on your role and your group of teens I might be able to give some more specific advice. God bless!
Trish
If you are not familiar with the structure and goals the Church recommends for youth ministry I suggest starting here. catholicyouth.org/highschoolminist.html
I also highly recommend this curriculum for youth ministry. It covers everything.
ymc.thewebchoice.com/store_product.php?product=877§ionid=3436
Also, every meeting should give an opportunity for the youth to come in contact with Christ. If we do not lead them to Christ then we have done nothing.
If you would like to give some more specifics on your role and your group of teens I might be able to give some more specific advice. God bless!
Trish
M
Melchior_1
Guest
I’ve been volunteering for seven years at a youth group (we’ve had three youth coordinators during that time), and over the course of those seven years I’ve come to form the opinion that it is good is not just to have something specific planned for the youth groups, but to also have an overall goal for the ministry.
For example;
pprenosil brought up some very good points, and one that hits home is that you need to gauge where the kids are at. This can be easy if they are all at the same level…but they rarely are. Finding the balance is key, although at times you can work around that.
We just finished a two week mini-program on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (found in Corinthians), and a part of the night was I decided to split the teens up into two groups; one who never heard of the stuff before and the other who had. This way we could reach both groups at the levels they were at. A part of why I wanted to do the Spiritual Gifts was how Paul stresses they are used to build up the Body of Christ, and I gave a talk which tied all of that into peer-to-peer discipleship; where the older youth can use those gifts to minister to the younger youth. All while we engaged them through relational ministry.
That covers most of the over-arching points I listed above, and those points will be hit on and fostered throughout the next several weeks, if not months.
I guess what I’m saying is; make sure you have an overall vision for what you feel God wants and what your kids need to be fed. Focus on that and then you can build on specifics.
For example;
- Catechize them.
- Relational Ministry.
- Formation.
- Fellowship.
- Sarcaments.
- Encourage them to engage in peer-to-peer discipleship among their peers (taking up mentorship roles among one another, for example).
- Prayer.
- Devotion to our Mother.
pprenosil brought up some very good points, and one that hits home is that you need to gauge where the kids are at. This can be easy if they are all at the same level…but they rarely are. Finding the balance is key, although at times you can work around that.
We just finished a two week mini-program on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (found in Corinthians), and a part of the night was I decided to split the teens up into two groups; one who never heard of the stuff before and the other who had. This way we could reach both groups at the levels they were at. A part of why I wanted to do the Spiritual Gifts was how Paul stresses they are used to build up the Body of Christ, and I gave a talk which tied all of that into peer-to-peer discipleship; where the older youth can use those gifts to minister to the younger youth. All while we engaged them through relational ministry.
That covers most of the over-arching points I listed above, and those points will be hit on and fostered throughout the next several weeks, if not months.
I guess what I’m saying is; make sure you have an overall vision for what you feel God wants and what your kids need to be fed. Focus on that and then you can build on specifics.
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