The State of Youth Ministry & Faith Formation

By ZACH RAWSON

Every month we send out a newsletter to our youth ministry & faith formation coordinators across the diocese. (If you don’t receive that newsletter and would like to, let me know.) In my first couple of months, I included an assessment seeking feedback on the state of youth ministry and faith formation in their parish and in the diocese so I could get a good sense of how best I can serve our coordinators, parishes, and diocese in those specific areas. The feedback was great, and here are some highlights.

1. Numbers - 39 people in all provided feedback, which is pretty good (almost a third of all who receive the newsletter every month). 24 of those people work for or represent one parish apiece, 7 represent 2 parishes, 5 represent 3 parishes, 2 represent 4 parishes, and 1 represents 6 parishes (wow). Each deanery had at least three responses.

2. State of YM&FF - Overall, respondents indicated that their parishes seem to be doing the best they can. Some wrote that the state of youth ministry and faith formation is “strong” and “on fire,” others wrote that they are struggling. The sentiment I saw most often was one of “rebuilding” in light of trying to recover from the effects of the pandemic.

3. Strengths - Many of the respondents indicated their number-one strength is their catechists and dedicated volunteers. Another often-mentioned strength was efforts in family ministry or family activities.

4. Challenges - Finding the best way to engage parents was overwhelmingly the greatest challenge (almost every one of the respondents mentioned it as such). Trying to compete with extra-curricular activities was mentioned often. And, while most have great catechists, it seems to be a challenge to find, recruit, and train new catechists.

5. Dreams - When asked what 1-3 things they would do/implement if resources (such as time, money, etc...) were not a factor, respondents offered many ideas. Here are some of the most mentioned:

a. focus on family ministry, family formation of some sort, and activities for the whole family (I might sum this up as a desire to foster a family friendly community)

b. an increased focus on beautiful and reverent liturgy

c. curriculum that focuses on discipleship

d. more opportunities to encounter God in ways that lead to conversion and deeper commitment to living life as a disciple

e. space in the parish that is designed/decorated with more intentionality/purpose of providing an encounter with the Lord

f. more service opportunities

g. parent formation

h. dedicated staff for youth ministry and faith formation

6. Diocesan Assessment - I also asked respondents to tell me which diocesan efforts are most important.

a. Camp Summit was on the top of most everybody’s list as very important.

b. Steubenville and Totus Tuus were right behind Camp Summit.

c. March for Life and the National Catholic Youth Conference were not as strong as those first three, but were still listed as important or very important.

d. Finally, efforts such as TEC Retreats, Day-long opportunities like NEXT, and training/professional development were all important, but not quite as overwhelming as the above letters a, b, and c.

In general, it seems that Family Ministry and figuring out how to better engage, inform, and educate parents are high on the list of areas in need of attention. With that, and something that I didn’t mention specifically above even though it was laced through many of the responses, is a need to be better equipped in the area of evangelization.

This is great feedback for me as I look at ways in which I can best support our families, coordinators, parishes, and diocese. These responses will help to shape many of our efforts here in the Office of Youth Ministry & Faith Formation and I’m excited to see where the Holy Spirit leads us in the near future.

Next month I’ll lay out a vision for Youth Ministry & Faith Formation that will hopefully help us stay focused on the Father’s will, draw us deeper into relationship with the Son, and constantly seek guidance from the Holy Spirt as we strive to meet the needs of children, youth, and families across the diocese.

Please continue to pray for our families, coordinators, parishes, and diocese. Know of my prayers for all of you.

Zach Rawson is the Director of Youth Ministry and Faith Formation for the Diocese of Winona-Rochester.