Many churches today are facing a tough reality: “How do we build and sustain a thriving youth program?”

Gut check time. Most churches simply hand the responsibility for the youth program over to a young, mostly inexperienced, person that may or may not have a degree. Then, this inexperienced person is asked to bring “their own visions” for youth ministry to the church.  

If the person happens to be an outgoing charismatic person, the church is excited by all he or she brings to the parish. (At least until that irreplaceable director leaves in a few short years…or months.) If the person is less than charismatic, the program can easily become caught up in an atmosphere of criticism and complaint. The parents and church staff members become increasingly obsessed with “fixing” the youth director rather than the ministry.  If that ”fix” does not work you start looking for a new director and the cycle starts all over again. 

Does this sound familiar?  If it does don’t feel bad, you are not alone.  Many conversations we have with parishes start off with “If only we had a person who could _______” (fill in the blank).  Most of the time it is not the person that is the problem but the program and expectations of the parish or staff.

YOUTH MINISTRY CAN BE VERY DIFFICULT

•  Youth are hard to understand, and even harder to minister to
• Your target audience is constantly changing. What works one year might not work the next and adapting to that change burns out directors and frustrates parishes
• Communicating the importance of this vital ministry to a parish who may believe that all the youth do is “play and use up the parish resources”
• Changing the parish mindset that it is the “director’s job” to do everything and that he or she is a babysitter for teens

WE CAN HELP YOU CONQUER THESE ISSUES

• WE CAN PROVIDE: trained ministers that will excite teens and adults for a one-time youth group talk, retreat, or rally
• WE CAN PROVIDE: training for your adult leadership team to develop a long-term vision and program to be able to adapt to the constant changing world of youth ministry. We work with you on your parish’s needs and resources to develop budgets and volunteers to continue the program into the future.
• WE CAN PROVIDE: help developing material geared toward your parish to communicate not only the need but the importance of a thriving youth ministry program
• WE CAN PROVIDE: hands-on training for your director and volunteers on how to sustain a vibrant program without getting burned out

We are aware that you might only need one or a couple of these items. Maybe you only need a speaker for a youth night or retreat.  Perhaps you need a full team to put on a day or weekend retreat or rally.  It could be you need help developing a vision, budget, or long-term program.  Perhaps you are set with those, but your youth ministry team could use some training to improve their skills.  We are here to provide you with what you need at whatever level you can afford.

Let’s talk about how we can help you.