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Activity workshop:

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 Getting to
Know My
Ka-Lakbay:

(small group sharing)

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+ My name is …..(name & nickname)

+ I come from ….(origin: e.g. parish, youth organization,

schools, etc.)

+ I do youth ministry through ….(youth ministry

involvement)

+ From these days of formation, I wish to …(expectation/s)

+ For this / these, I willing to ….(hint/s)

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Jose Rizal called the youth the “Hope of the Nation”. Late Pope
John Paul II wrote a special letter to the young and called them
“a special treasure” for the Church and for society. When you
look at the young around you, do you have a similar perspective?
Psychology emphasizes that the age of youth is a period of
transition, marked by a complexity of changes in every young
person. Often, young people end up confused and lost,
discouraged and frustrated, battered and destroyed. Others
however, because of the caring presence of their families and
communities, become in time young adults able to take their
place in Church and society as “good Christians and upright
citizens.”

Now my question is: Are you willing to give your time,

treasure and talent, in fact, your whole self, for the
good of young people?
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 WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF
YOUTH MINISTRY.

WELCOME TO THE JOURNEY WITH

THE YOUNG …… 7
 A LOOK AT THE
WORLD OF YOUTH

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Why look at the youth?
Our first step in youth
ministry is to look at the
youth, to go out to them, to
look at their world, to strive
to know and understand
them, to share their lives, to
feel their dreams and
anxieties, to be one with
them.

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 Who are the youth?

When we start to focus on youth, our

first tendency is to identify them by
determining a particular age bracket:
15 to 24 years of age, or 12 to 35.
Today’s society however is so varied
that bracketing by age does not give a
very faithful answer; age is more of a
guide than a fixed norm.

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 How can we describe the
world of youth?
We can only understand and describe the
youth by giving a prior look at the world
where they are, that is, by taking into
consideration the broader in which they
live, and the effects these contexts have on
the young people. By context, we would
mean “the overall social and pastoral
environment in which they find
themselves.”
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 1. There are contexts
marked by an abundance of
material goods.

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2. There are contexts of
underdevelopment and
poverty.

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3. There are contexts of
religious pluralism.

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4. There are contexts of
greater freedom.

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 5. There are contexts of
indigenous groups and ethnic
minorities.

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How can we describe today’s Filipino
youth?

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First, we find the Filipino youth “everywhere.”
Just like our jeepneys: they clog the streets of metro
manila. They venture into the mountain trails of
mindanao. You find them on the ferry from matnog to
leyte. The Filipino youth are everywhere because they
are the majority of the Philippine population. Our cities
teem with young people: Metro Manila, Cebu, Baguio,
Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, or even in Cavite.
They are there to study or to work. But also the majority
of our young people are in the rural areas: farmers in
the fields, fishermen in the open seas, NPA’s in the
mountains.

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Secondly, we find everything in the Filipino youth.

Again, like the jeepney: we find in it colors galore-the

powerful red of Chinese, the intricate designs of our
Malayan heritage, the religious images of Spanish origin,
and the stainless steel of the modern West.
Body design, Willys; Engine, Isuzu;
suspension, Toyota; decorations, “made in the
Philippines,”
We find quotations that are truly spiritual, as “In God we
trust,” as well as those semi-spiritual, as “Hudas not pay.”
or western titles like “Rock Machine,” and the Filipino
style of “Katas ng Saudi or Katas ng Seaman.”

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 Thirdly, the Filipino youth can do everything.

Just like the jeepney: “maaasahan!” What can

a jeepney not do? It can carry a family of
three, and just as easily a crowd of 30.
Jeepneys in the remote areas have more
passengers outside than inside. It can ferry
flowers; it can also carry pigs and cows. It is
good for business; it is good for leisure.

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 What are the challenges from today’s
youth?

Today’s youth pose a thousand challenges to

people in the government, to educators and
parents, to non-government organizations, and
to the Church.

To us then who are committed to the integral

evangelization of peoples, the young present
these some challenges.

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* There is the challenge posed by youth
who remain at a distance from the world
of faith, who are more interested in the
material aspects of life, who do not care
about God or religion, much less about
Church and Sunday Mass.

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* There is the challenge posed by youth
who are poor, and find great difficulty in
developing themselves, who cannot
practice their faith because of more
basic and urgent needs, who suffer
because of the injustice and oppression
perpetrated by a few rich people.

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* There is the challenge posed by
youth who separate life from faith,
who live their religion in private, who
believe they are already “good
Christians” because they go to Sunday
Mass, whose faith has no link with nor
impact on daily living.

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* There is the challenge posed by
youth who desire and are involved in
the Church, and look for the deeper
meaning of life and closer
relationship with God.

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 WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF
YOUTH MINISTRY.

WELCOME TO THE JOURNEY WITH

THE YOUNG …… 26
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After looking around, we must
now focus our attention on
youth ministry itself and take a
deeper look. It will be a step
that is heavy on theory but
necessary for actual practice,
much like a farmer who must
plant the seed and allow it to
take root, or the constructor
who must dig his foundations
and set the structures for his
new building.

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 What is youth ministry?

When can we consider youth

ministry as present and active?

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 * Some Definitions of Youth Ministry *

From the American context, we quote from Warren who

defines Youth Ministry as:

“a comprehensive effort on the part of the

Church to serve a broad range of the needs of the
youth. It is a determination on the part of the
community to be identified by young people as a
community of care. It is a program to serve the
total person and not just the doctrinal
understanding of the adolescent….it is the
community’s stance of welcome toward young
people, a stance characterized by gentleness and
friendship.” 30
From the European context, we supply our
translation of Tonelli’s definition of pastorale
giovanile (Italian for youth ministry):

“ the ensemble of actions which the

ecclesial community, animated by the Holy
Spirit, realizes with and for the young, in
order to bring about in them the God’s
saving plan, in reference to their concrete
life-situations.”

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And from the Latin American context, we provide this
translation of CELAM’s (the Episcopal Conferences of
Latin America) definition of pastoral juvenil (Spanish for
youth ministry):

“ the action of the Church by which she

helps the young to discover the person of Christ
and his message and to commit themselves to
imitate him, such that transformed into new
men and integrating faith and life, they may
become privileged agents that contribute in the
construction of civilization of love.”

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 The “WHAT” of Youth
Ministry
The definitions quoted above state clearly the “what
of youth ministry”, that is, the actions, programs,
activities, carried out by the Church on behalf of the
young people.
Furthermore, they indicate why youth ministry is a
special ministry of the Church; firstly, it is directed
towards a particular group, the young, and secondly; it
is carried out in a way proper of the young.

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 More the “WHO” than the
“WHAT”

YOUTH MINISTRY IS
JOURNEYING WITH THE YOUTH
AS ONE COMMUNITY.

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* 3 important elements in
youth ministry emerge. *

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1.Youth Ministry involves PEOPLE:
not just the young, but adults and
children as well, related among
themselves in the context of a family or
community. In fact, Youth Ministry can
only take place within a community that
is journeying together. The young are
not simply the objects of ministry; they
too are active and responsible agents of
ministry to each other.

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2. Youth Ministry is a process of growth
towards a GOAL;
it is not a single moment or activity, or a
cluster of sporadic activities but involves an
educative process that enables the young to
grow. This can only take place through growth-
enabling relationships within a community that
is also growing.

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3. Youth Ministry moves gradually along
the STAGES OF GROWTH.
it takes every young person where he is,
adapts to his pace of development, and
progressively leads him to Jesus Christ, the
perfect Man. The community guarantees the
continuity that fosters growth.

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 * A Biblical Model *

The best model of Youth Ministry is the Emmaus

story in Luke 24: 13-35. The Gospel account
presents the Risen Christ journeying with the
two disciples. The story captures vividly the
dynamics of Youth Ministry and the main
characters involved: Christ in the story is
today’s Youth Minister, and the disciples are
today’s young people. And youth ministry is
becoming “Christ to the young” and journeying
with them.

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* Additional Questions *

Is Youth Ministry a science that can be

studied?

Definitely! In Fact, Youth Ministry falls within

Pastoral Theology
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* Pastoral Theology, as a science (Webster: science is a
department of systematized knowledge that is an object
of study), went through a certain development in Church
history.
We can trace its beginning to the Council of Trent. The
emphasis then was on the “duties and task of the pastor
of souls;” the pastoral manuals contained useful
techniques for priest.
Later on, a broader understanding emerged; Anton Graf
(1814-67) talked of the tree dimensions of theology:
historical: Scriptures and Church history
essential: dogma and morals
dynamic-historical: pastoral theology

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Furthermore:

Can Youth Ministry be organized?

Definitely! In organizational terms, it is a socio-technical

system.

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* It involves people who have a common
and definite set of values and goals, are
bound by interpersonal relationships and
processes, and are employing various
techniques and strategies.

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 WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF
YOUTH MINISTRY.

WELCOME TO THE JOURNEY WITH

THE YOUNG …… 44
 “ A Youth Minister’s Prayer”

Loving Father,
You have called me to minister to the youth and to
journey with them
That they may discover life in Jesus Christ.

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Help me to become a faithful disciple of Your Son.
Teach me how to enter the world of the youth,
to be in solidarity with their everyday experiences,
to bring Christ’s love and acceptance to them
so that they may live their gifts to the full
and express their questions and doubts without fear,
but with confidence and trust.

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Train my heart to listen
to what they say and do not say.
Grant that I may respond lovingly,
that I may speak and bring Youth Word to them
so that they may find Your Way.

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Let the examples of the first Christian community
be my guide in living in communion with them,
and in embracing the vision of a kingdom of
justice, peace, and joy.

Together, may we build a Church of disciples

and a nation united in the pursuit
of fullness of life for all.

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These I ask in Jesus, our Lord and Savior,
in the Spirit Who animates and empowers,
and through the intercession of Mary,
our loving mother and model in faith
forever and ever.

Amen.

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 WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF
YOUTH MINISTRY.

WELCOME TO THE JOURNEY WITH

THE YOUNG …… 51