Why call it "Youth Ministry" and not "CYO" like my parents and grandparents used to?
We call ministry to teens "youth ministry" and not "CYO" because the current understanding of youth ministry is far more comprehensive than the older model of CYO. The CYO of the 1950ís and 1960ís operated in the context of a Catholic culture--especially Catholic family life, which formed teens into the Catholic community. CYO, therefore, served as a supplement to that Catholic culture, providing primarily social and sporting outlets for Catholic teens. Nowadays, however, teens grow up in a secular culture for the most part. The response of parish youth ministry to this reality has been to fill the gap by providing programs that reach teens on every level: spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and physically. A typical parish youth ministry today might include: peer ministry, teen leaders, prayer, retreats, service, Catholic Christian formation, fellowship, socializing and athletics. In other words, to call youth ministry today "CYO" could leave some people with the impression that the parish sponsors basketball and dances for teens when in fact there is far more to their youth program.
What does a Youth Minister do?
A youth minister is the point person in the parish for youth ministry. He/she coordinates all the youth programs, advocates for the needs of youth in the parish, and insures that the vision of the youth outreach remains rooted in the mission of the Church. Most of all though, the youth minister and the youth ministry team invest their time into building relationships with the teens of the parish so as to serve as Christlike role models and people in whom the youth can trust as Christian friends and mentors. Therefore, it is not unusual to see a youth ministry person "hanging out" with teens at their school, the movies, a local diner, or a high school sporting event. Good youth ministry invests a lot of time into building relationships with teens and earning the right to invite young people into a deeper experience of faith through youth programs.
St. Christopher Youth Ministry has identified three goals of an effective ministry to young people. These goals follow guidelines established by the Renewing the Vision document of the NCCB.
Youth Ministry seeks to empower young people to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in our world today.
Youth Ministry seeks to draw young people to responsible participation in the life, mission, and work of the Catholic faith community.
Youth Ministry works to foster the total emotional, social, intellectual, physical, and spiritual growth of each young person.
History of Catholic Youth Ministry
Although youth ministers & ministying to youth specifically seems to be a relatively new concept in the Catholic Church, organized Catholic outreach to young people has a long and star-studded history. Before anyone ever conceived of a youth retreat or an icebreaker, religious sisters, brothers and monks were ministering to youth in schools across Europe, Africa, Asia and America. Jesus, himself, made a point of welcoming the children of His day into His circle of friends. (Mt 19:14) Moreover, Jesus commissioned His disciples to "teach all nations everything that I have commanded you" (Mt 28:19-20). Over the centuries, visionary saints and religious communities lived out these scriptures by establishing Catholic schools where children and teens could be educated and formed in the Catholic faith.
Although ministering to youth through schools continues even to this day, a new need to reach out to young people outside of the churches and schools and in the streets became increasingly critical in the past two centuries. This new model of youth ministry took its focus under the leadership of St. Don Bosco. Today, much of our youth ministry efforts follow the ideas of Don Bosco: respond to the immediate needs of the youth; build relationships with the teens in order to earn the right to invite them to attend formal youth ministry programs; go where the teens are; and seek to meet the teens need for spirituality, fun, education, fellowship and socialization
