THREE INTERDEPENDENT AND EQUAL GOALS OF COMPREHENSIVE YOUTH MINISTRY

  1. To empower young people to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in our world today;
     

  2. To draw young people into responsible participation in the life, mission, and work of the Catholic Faith community.
     

  3. To foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person.

(These goals as well as material marked with an "*" are from, "renewing the Vision of Youth Ministry: A Framework for Catholic Youth Ministry", NCCB, 1997)

SOLOMON'S WISH IS A PROCESS:

  • Based on Solomon's desire for an understanding heart in 1Kings 3:3-9.

  • In which your parish can work together to achieve these goals.  There is not a simple answer or single model that will work for all settings, nor is it possible any longer for a single person (priest or laity) to adequately minister whether as a volunteer or a full/part-time youth minister.
     

  • Of the five steps, each step will enable you to walk systematically through the process, building firmly upon a strong foundation in developing a new program or strengthening an existing program.
     

  • During which a core team of your youth and adults will share their faith, hopes and fears, and grow in an understanding of comprehensive youth ministry.  You will also examine what makes your parish unique in terms of families, ministries, demographics, history (particularly youth ministry), the larger community, and human, physical and financial resources.

The end result will be a parish youth ministry that is rooted in a shared VISION (STATEMENT) derived through THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION and lived out through your GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.

 

BENEFITS TO YOUR PARISH

  1. Focused VISION STATEMENT
    .

  2. A systematic approach (vs. trial-and-error) in developing youth ministry.
     

  3. Training of a Core Team of youth and adults that re empowered as parish leaders.
     

  4. A method of accountability to the parish community.
     

  5. Helps to provide for a youth ministry that is:
    - ministerial and pastoral,
    - relational,
    - goal-centered,
    - multidimensional (vs. social-only, athletics-only, or religious education-only youth programming)
    - holistic and developmental,
    - people-centered and needs-focused.*

 





SOLOMON'S WISH
IS DESIGNED TO:

  • Help you examine each of the Church's ministries - advocacy, catechesis, community life, evangelization, justice and service, leadership development, pastoral care, prayer and worship - in an integrated approach to achieving the three goals;*
     

  • Help you seek out and construct developmentally appropriate (flexible and adaptable) programs and activities that promote personal and spiritual growth for young and older adolescents;*
     

  • Enable you to enrich family life and promote the faith growth of families of adolescents;*
     

  • Help you to incorporate young people fully into all aspects of church life and engage them in ministry and leadership in the faith community;*
     

  • Help you recognize or create partnerships among families, schools, churches, and community organizations in a common effort to promote positive youth development.*

WHAT NEXT?

Staff from the Department for Youth and Young Adult Ministry are available to answer questions, make general presentations to parish staff, pastoral council, youth ministry staff, as well as to do presentations on the manual itself.  The manual, designed over a period of ten years and revised in January 1999, is very user friendly.  The cost of the manual is $10.00 and may be photocopied as needed without restriction.

Department for Youth and
Young Adult Ministry
1010 McNeilly Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15226
(412)563-6373
Fax: 412-563-6377
oyyampgh@diopitt.org

Collaborative Planning Cycle
In-Service

To schedule in-service dates at your parish call 412-456-3140.

Department for Youth and Young Adult Ministry