ACYMC Report

Jacinta Thatcher - Gulgong Parish

The youth of today are not the church of the future. They are the church today and with them missing the church is not whole. (Bishop Anthony Fisher)

The first speaker Sr Hilda Scott set the tone for the weekend in her talk about prayer. God in communication with me. When we take the time to pray we are only 'going online". There is no right way to pray. 

Bishop Anthony Fisher continued on by talking about how faith requires a network to make it work. As we travel on our faith journey what (or who) connects you to the faith ( Body of Christ) changes. Youth Ministers are often connections for others. We do the bringing, Jesus does the calling. We can only connect others if we are connected ourselves. For me attending the ACYMC was like the NBN, countless super fast connections happening. Unlike the NBN these connections have already been rolled out across Australia and need us to spread them further by continuing in our Youth Ministry, empowering young people and encouraging them to attend events such as the Australian Catholic Youth Festival and World Youth Day.

Shayne Bennett talked about four ways to empower young people: 

1. Clear proclamation of the Gospel-Encounter Christ through prayer, liturgical life, scripture.

2. Renewed or new catechises with the Critical factor what happens next after they encounter Christ. Young people need coaches, mentors, supporters in their journey in Spiritual Life. We need to express interest in new disciples. 

3. Believe in and encourage "Jesus believed in Peter a long time before Peter believed in himself. In fact, Jesus believed in Peter a long time before Peter deserved to be believed in." Don't underestimate the power of your encouragement. 

4. Taking up the Mission of Jesus - be the Good News

What will you leave to the next generation? -Pope Benedict XVI. Encourage them to own their hopes and dreams. There is lots of untapped giftedness. 

My old Parish Priest wrote to me when I first started teaching. In his letter he quoted Pope Paul VI "Modern man listens more willingly to 'witnesses' than to teachers and if he does listen to teachers it is because they are 'witnesses'". Ever since then I have tried to follow that advice and be a 'witness'. The presentation from Kids Helpline put it this way. We need to be Real; Raw- not use a rehearsed or a manufactured spiel and Relevant - multi modal (have an online presence like a parish youth website, social media and meetings) for youth to take us seriously. 

The launch of the Australian Catholic Youth Festival 2013 was held on the Friday night and the GO2Rio (or Get Them to Rio) Dinner on Saturday. Both were exciting and generated lots of interest in both events. I would love to attend both events.

Bishop Eugene Hurley inspired us in his homily in the closing Mass to face whatever challenges God gives us without losing faith. At the end of Mass we were all Anointed and Sent (literately with our own bottle of oil). 

ACYMC was very valuable for me because it gave me an opportunity to spend time with people who have the same interest in Youth Ministry that I do. 

The Grace Songs of Worship CD got a good workout in my car on the way home (and several trips since then).

You’re Not Alone

Batman had Robin. Seinfeld hung out with George. Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Chandler, Ross, and Joey gathered in Central Perk as friends. Michael Jordan played with the Chicago Bulls. Moses partnered with Aaron. And Paul took Barnabas along. Good things come from teams.
God did not design us to live life alone. Eve was created to be in relationship and work with Adam. Jesus picked his team—the 12 disciples.
Jesus taught us the most about teamwork. He was the coach and asked his players to cooperate, even when they were confused, frustrated, and tired, in order to focus on his mission.
Sometimes, ministry is the same way. Your lead youth worker is not Jesus, but this person does shoulder great responsibility.
Thanks for partnering with others to help teenagers grow in their relationship with Jesus.

Like they say...

“Discipleship is a team effort. He asks us to be disciples so that we might make disciples.”—Mark Bailey, To Follow Him: The Seven Marks of a Disciple

God's Word

“Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.”—Psalm 34:3 

Love God—Enough Said

Brain Food

Love God. Even though he’ll always love you more than you could ever love him back, love God. Love God with everything in you. Chew on that. Focus on that. Do things that grow this love. Pray about it.
No matter how great a youth leader you try to be, you’re useless without love for God. Focusing on loving God is what God calls you to do, and that calling trumps your role in youth ministry.
Who you are should determine what you do, not the other way around. Look at your life—is it a reflection of your love for God? Is it a growing love that runs deep?
Take time to rest in the Lord. It’s okay to choose rest over ministry sometimes. Be with God. Focus on your relationship with him. It’s not selfish. It’s healthy and will fill you up to go out and be an even more effective youth leader than you already are.

Like They Say...

“Sociologists have a theory of the looking-glass self: you become what the most important person in your life...thinks you are. How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible’s astounding words about God’s love for me, if I looked in the mirror and saw what God sees?”—Philip D. Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace?

God’s Word 

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ ”—Lamentations 3:22-24

They Left You in Charge...Now What?

Brain Food

At first, the thought of being a small-group leader doesn’t sound scary, and you agree to do it. Then, the more you think about it, the scarier it gets. Facing a small group
of students, possibly alone, and being responsible for leading discussion, building relationships, and having fun together—that’s a big responsibility.
All of a sudden, you’re trying to think of a good excuse to get out of your commitment.
Is that how you felt the first time you led a small group of students? Or you might have been so excited that you weren’t a bit nervous. You might not even think much at all about leading a small group because it’s become old habit.
If so, that’s great! It reflects the comfort and confidence you have in the relationships you’ve built and in your calling to minister to students.
Nonetheless, even the most seasoned youth workers take time to focus on how they can be more intentional about helping students discover more about God, the Bible, life, and themselves; reviewing the basics; remembering healthy boundaries; asking good questions; listening to students more; and evaluating each small group meeting.
Don’t give up, and don’t stop having fun.

Like They Say...

“Knowing God’s heart means consistently, radically, and very concretely to announce and reveal that God is love and only love, and that every time fear, isolation, or despair begins to invade the human soul, this is not something that comes from God.”—Henri J. M. Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership

God’s Word 

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self- discipline.”—2 Timothy 1:7

Tending the Flock

Brain Food

As a career, shepherding would probably be pretty foreign to most youth workers if it weren’t in the Bible. It may be an outdated profession, but it’s still a job that can teach us about ministry.

Shepherds don’t just kind of recognize their sheep at the mall. They don’t simply wonder about that face showing up to Bible study. They know the names of their sheep. They acknowledge each individual sheep’s role and significance in the flock.

Shepherds also don’t leave their sheep in the same place. Once the grass is eaten in one area, shepherds bring them to new ground, making sure there is time for rest and sources of water.

Continue to guide your students at a pace that helps your students discover who God made them to be. It’s a process that takes time and intentionality; thank you for going through it as you shepherd teenagers.

Like They Say...

“Being a spiritual director is bringing the same care and skill and intensity to the ordinary, boring, uneventful parts of our lives that we readily give to the eventful conversions and proclamations.”—Eugene H. Peterson, Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity

God's Word

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.“ —Matthew 18:12-14

Lead First

Raise the bar high, and your students will reach for it. Typically, when students are given the chance, they will act responsibly.

However, sometimes teenagers will be teenagers. Something will happen that mer- its reponse, and when you ask what they were thinking, you might find out that they weren’t—thinking, that is.

Don’t be afraid to discipline appropriately. Remember, you are called to be their youth leader. Be confident in the discipline part of this role in discipleship. Those words go hand in hand, and God is using you to mold students into his disciples.

Like they Say

“From our own struggles, God intends to lead us into deeper life in Him. And beyond our personal need to find our own way in spirit, we are being trained so that we can later lead others who wish to grow in a strong, living faith.”—Howard Baker, Soul Keeping: Ancient Paths of Spiritual Direction

God's Word

“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.”—Hosea 6:1