Young people need faith-filled role models

Goal 3:  To foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person.”                                                  — Renewing the Vision
When I began as a part-time youth minister, my main focus was making sure that the young people enjoyed coming to the parish.  Because I was new to the faith, I made the assumption that everyone wanted to be a part of parish programs and activities.  The seventh-grade class I was teaching was growing and youth that were not Catholic were coming to our class.  I decided to add an evening Bible study for middle school youth.  I scheduled a room to meet, promoted to all of the middle school classes, found a second adult to assist and set the date for the first gathering.  As I waited with anticipation for all of the students to arrive, it became apparent that ALL of them were running late.  Eventually one youth showed up and we held Bible study with one youth and two adults.  The program was scheduled for six weeks and each week only one student attended.  I would plan for more youth but it was always the same.  The Sunday evening religious education classes did not automatically translate to Wednesday evening Bible study.  It was this experience that gave me the realization that just because the parish offered a program did not mean that people would attend.  I had to become more strategic to engage the middle school youth.
I learned a lot of lessons from those humble beginnings.  I created a middle school youth council to listen to what they were seeking and their ideas.  I began to communicate more often with parents to get a better sense of their family of faith and how this impacted their involvement in the parish.  I asked the religious education teachers to discuss with students the expectations of young people from the parish instead of just giving the announcements on upcoming events.  The biggest lesson I learned was that I could not possibly “foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person” by myself.  It would take a team of adults, parents and the parish community to achieve this goal.
I have taken those lessons and applied them to my ministry to youth over the years.  One of my strengths is being strategic.  I am continually evaluating myself and my programs to improve and grow.  Part of this growth for youth ministry is to make sure that the goal is to reach all of the youth in the parish or diocese and support them in their spiritual growth.  Putting these goals in action can be very challenging. Assets such as knowledge, values, skills, and commitments can make a huge impact to promote the development of faith in young people.  The more the parish community partners with parents in this endeavor, the greater the potential to develop the faith of the youth and make it strong.  The stronger the faith of the young people, the greater the chance that this faith will continue throughout their lifetime.  
I am blessed with the opportunity to work for the Catholic Church and share my faith with young people.  I have learned a lot by working with talented people in parishes and dioceses and listening to many different perspectives.  I am blessed to be surrounded by faith-filled people and this helps me grow in my faith.  We need to make sure that our young people are surrounded by strong faith-filled role models so that they can continue to grow in their faith.   
— Tex Phelps is the Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Archdiocese of Mobile. He may be emailed at [email protected]
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