11/4/2005
Youth ministry has very positive impact in life
By Joseph Zyble
(This is part one of a two-part series on youth ministry.)
The late Pope John Paul II often encouraged faith formation in teens,
and the U.S. bishops have stated that youth ministry should be given
priority in parishes, but how do you get parishes to make ministering
to youth a priority?
That’s a question that presenter Leigh Sterten was posed with at
a workshop on rural and small town youth ministry, and it’s a question,
the expert admitted, that can be a tough one to answer.
Sterten, co-founder of Ministry Training Source and the director of
Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Missouri,
was invited to the
Marquette Diocese to help parishes and missions reach their younger members.
PARENTS MATTER MOST
Pointing to the results from the recent landmark National Study on Youth and
Religion, Sterten said there is now empirical data to support what Catholic
educators have known all along: “The single most important influence
on the religious and spiritual life of adolescents is their parents. We will
get what we are.”
She cited the national study that showed Catholic youth lagging far
behind their peers in other religions in a variety of categories. For
example, a typical
question in the study asked if religion was discussed in the home daily.
The result: families in other faiths were more than twice as likely as
Catholics
to discuss religion in the home each day.
The study showed that Catholic youth were the least likely to be able
to articulate their faith. Mormon youth scored the highest in this category
followed by black
Protestant and conservative Protestant young people.
One promising statistic from the survey showed that 75 percent of Catholic
youth said they were somewhat to very interested in learning more about their
religion.
“That’s very heartening to me,” Sterten said. “Only six
percent said they were not at all interested. That should give us some kind of
hope.”
HOW TEENS PERCEIVE GOD
Sterten warned that young people’s understanding of faith is much different
from earlier generations.
Borrowing a phrase coined by the authors of the national study, Sterten
described young people’s faith today as “moralistic therapeutic deism.” By
this, she said, they believe in God and that God wants people to be good. The
goal in life is to be happy and to feel good about one’s self. God is
only needed when there is a problem. And good people go to heaven when they
die.
“It’s a pretty watered-down version of the Catholic faith,” Sterten
said. “Yes, young people want to learn more about their religion, but what
religion is it that they’re thinking about—Catholicism or more about
moralistic therapeutic deism?”
GOING TO CHURCH
One survey result some may find pleasantly surprising
is that roughly seven out of 10 Catholic youth attend Mass in the “more frequently” category
as compared with 32 percent who attend Mass a few times each year or never.
“One impact is that they also talk about religion in the home more often
if they attend Mass,” Sterten said.
The National Survey of Youth and Religion revealed a number of benefits
for youth who attend church services more frequently. For example, they
are significantly
more likely to report:
• feeling closer to God.
• that religious faith is important in their daily lives.
• that they had a powerful spiritual worship experience.
• they drink less often than those who attend less frequently or never.
• they have been physically involved (more than holding hands or light
kissing since age 13) with fewer people than those who attend Mass or worship
services less frequently or never.
Of the more frequent attendees, half said that religious faith is very
important or extremely important in making life decisions. But only 21
percent of less
frequent or never attendees rated religious faith as a significant factor
in making life decisions.
THE IMPACT OF PARISH YOUTH MINISTRY
"
Youth ministry makes a difference
in the lives of our young people. We can tell that by the hard, fast
data,” Sterten said referring to the national
study.
She said the study indicated that 66 percent of youth group participants
have read the Bible alone, compared with 44 percent of those who do not
participate
in a parish youth group or youth ministry program.
Youth ministry or youth group participants were also more likely to
have gone to confession within the last year, have had a powerful worship
experience,
attended parish religious education programs, and attend Mass regularly than
youth who do not participate in youth ministry or youth groups.
The study found that youth who participate in Catholic schools, religious
education, or youth groups were more likely to participate in youth ministry
related activities.
In general, there is a decrease in at-risk behaviors in these teens. And
youth group participants view church as a welcoming place more so than
non-participants.
“Kids who participate in youth group, religious ed, and kids who go to
Catholic schools all show lower levels of at-risk behavior. Things like sex,
drugs, smoking and drinking,” Sterten said.
Sterten emphasized that the survey demonstrates clearly that parishes
that have a designated youth minister have higher rates of youth participation
in
weekly Mass and parish activities.
(Editor’s note: The second installment of this feature will attempt to
answer the question posed at the beginning of this article: “How do you
get parishes to make ministering to youth a priority?” It will also
include information on helping youth acquire the assets they need for healthy
development.)
END.
