Young Adults Ministry Comments from my FaceBook friends…. (Dorothy Mensah-Aggrey)
What do you understand by the term "Young Adult"? How can one be young and yet adult at the same time? If you were to come up with another name for this in between years of high school and adult life what will it be? Any thoughts? I need some ideas for the Young Adult Ministry, better yet a name that actually highlights who they are.
Walt: the word "youth" is often used to refer to someone between 9th grade and 21 years old.
Elizabeth: 'Youth in Transition'.... how about that
Paul: Someone between 25 and 27 years
Michele: I call them tweeners( teens in between) miss u xoxo
Susan: Novice, Rookie, Trainee, Disciple
Afia: what do THEY prefer?
Emmanuel: They're adults. Period.
Emma: In my adult Faith Formation program in the diocese of Manchester 7 years ago, anyone within college graduate age was considered a full adult. I didn't do any "young adult" program.
Gloria: We should listen to their concerns.
Walt:Are the parents churchgoing, observant people striving to live a Christian life? If not...the children are unlikely to be. Its a matter of leadership. And it starts in the family.
Denise:Let's hear what the young folks have to say on this matter…
Margaret:None of my kids go to Mass anymore...not even Christmas or Easter.....and _was the Religious Studies major at _. All I do is pray...We all have done our best to raise them, but they tend to follow the easy path. I'll keep praying.
Sandy (Young Adult): Okay stay with me, as this will be a long comment. When I started with the MSP youth group my freshmen year, there were 5 of us. We sat down and read from the bible for two hours. Was repetitive and boring. 9 years later we have over 40 teens in the group and they get upset when we dont have a youth group meeting on Sunday.
We do ice breakers, skits, talks, small groups, dinner, retreats and gatherings (ice skating/paintball/etc.)outside the church. The group has become a family.
No night is the exact same. we keep it very young adult friendly. The teens have said they dont want to be preached at. They want to do things like skits about Adam and Eve. Not just sit down and read out of the bible (yes reading the bible is wonderful, but not always the teens cup-o-tea).
Retreats are one of the best things we.do. A weekend get away to get closer to God. By Sunday morning we are dragging the teens to leave because they dont want to go. They like getting closer to god and each other in the same weekend.
Another reason the teens have told me they dont like to attend chruch is because it is so repetitive. The songs aren't calling their names "they are boring, i want lively music" "the homilies are never geared towards us" is what they say. MSP youth group is starting a youth group band/chours with more recent music like "open my eyes", "trading my sorrows", "here i am to warship"....just to name a few!
If you want more youth to be active in church, gear some of it more for them. Even just a mass directed for the youth is a good start!
Hope this helps some (sorry so long, have a lot to say when you've been with the youth group for 9 years).
Sue:The loooong answer hits the nail on the head. If you want to attract teens and young adults, you have to gear activities toward their interests and their concerns. When you have the right activities, you can weave the teachings into the activities. In many parishes the church is not even relevant to the adults, so you can hardly expect the teens to be jumping for joy. It is probably time for the Catholic church to start looking at the Protestant churches. Have you ever been to one of those mega churches? The programs there are beyond belief. The services are very inspiring, and they have plenty of activities for teens and young adults that are filled with attendees.
Toni:Sandy and Sue, you are right on! I think that Margaret and I have adult children who were very involved in youth group, under ______and parish life, social ministry , and now have no interest in their Catholic Church or any organized religion. This is not to say that they have lost their faith in our Lord. Cheryl, yes I am always praying for conversion. Dot, thanks for starting this exchange!
Sandy: I know some churches do a bible on tap. Young adult get together, have a few drinks and pick a topic in the catholic faith to talk about.
Toni:Thanks, Sandy, I am aware of Faith on Tap but I don't think my kids would be interested in that. I think it will take an event in their lives that will change their hearts. It doesn't have to be that they return to the Catholic faith but I hope that they are relying on their faith in God to get through the tough times. I don't think that it is unusual for young adults to back away from their faith for a time and then come back stronger, I did.
Sandy:If it weren't for helping with the high school youth group for so long, I know my faith wouldn't be as strong. But the teens rely on the adults faith to help them understand and keep their faith!
Dotty:That is the point, Sandy and Toni. The more involved we are the better for everyone. Youth group is different from Young Adult Ministry though. There must be something we Catholics are not doing right; and I am searching for that missing link.
Toni:Dot, When you find the answer I am anxious to hear it. By the way, those children of mine are now 30 somethings. (Oops, they are still young adults?)
Sandy:You are more than welcome to use my comments. They need an adult version of youth groups! And more adults need to help in the high school youth groups! The teens love having someone close to their age teaching them about their faith! It's a very rewarding thing!
Sue:It's really a matter of meeting people where they are and making sure their own issues in life are addressed. If you have to give a talk, you may want to consider talking with someone who has a booming youth program. I would not hesitate at looking at some of the Protestant models that are working. Find something that works and adopt, adapt and imitate it. Actually, if music is an issue/interest, I am wondering if you could have kids/young adults work together and write some songs and turn them into a music video. I bet that could produce some awesome results which are contagious....put it on You Tube and all of the social media sites. Even Popes tweet nowdays. Find the passions of the people who are showing up, and integrate those passions into the program. Nothing can stop a person who is really passionate about their project. If you want people to show up for something, an exciting agenda is crucial.
Donald:Relax some of the rules. But the real question is finding why they are leaving the ministry...... I know you are working on that.
Dorothy: I think I know some of the reasons why they are leaving and I pray that the Word of God is presented in a way that will help all of us realize that there is none like him. I was looking for alternate names for Young Adult Ministry. I have come across TNTs (Twenties and Thirties), EGs (Emerging Adults). Any other ideas?
Sue: TNTs sounds great! You can do a lot with that branding
Dorothy: I like that too, Sue. I just hope people do not confuse that with the TV channel.
Sue: They won't at all. You can just add another word on there like Catholics or something else that works. Just don't make it look like a group of suicide bombers!!! Then go buy the url. Then you can do a blog and have them all contribute to the blog. That way they are taking ownership and contributing. That will get people more excited and expand the reach of the group. Social networking is a huge key here. Line up a wide variety of events, and then you are in business.
So, what are your thoughts?