Teens today need youth ministry more than ever.
According to directors of youth ministry across the diocese, teens need not only a place of belonging and community but also a space that encourages them to build a relationship with God. And if teens aren’t being taught the faith at home, youth ministry is all the more critical.
“What a parent deems optional, the child will eventually decide is unnecessary,” said Toni Papp, director of youth ministry at Holy Family Church in Dale City.
Papp has worked in youth ministry for 25 years. Her two decades of experience have shown her that the spiritual needs of teens change over the years — and parish youth ministries need to keep up.
Teens today face a culture of relativism that’s stronger than it was years ago, Papp said. “You really have to start with so many of them at ground zero,” she said, such as helping them face difficult questions like, “Who is God?” and, “Why am I Catholic?”
While youth ministry may seem like a weekly activity, behind-the-scenes work is extensive. “Youth ministry is not one group on one night, like a crafters group,” Papp said.
Directors often face the challenge of refreshing their programs while gently challenging teens to grow in faith. They create and recreate a variety of events and programs to help the teens stay active in strengthening their faith and growing in community with their Catholic peers.
Carmen Clem joined Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Vienna as the parish’s coordinator of youth ministry this year. Her enthusiasm for ministry inspired her to develop new events and ministries with the parish youth. In addition to high school Sunday gatherings and “Middle School Monday” gatherings, “I’m hoping to start up some boys and girls small groups, (where) we’ll meet throughout the week,” Clem said. She said she is currently planning high school and middle school spring retreats, as well as day trips for the teens to bond.
In addition to the fun, Papp said that more than 50 teens at Holy Family volunteer to teach faith formation classes and serve as “office helpers.” The program’s goal is to both strengthen teens’ knowledge of church teaching and their comfort level with speaking openly about the faith.
Papp and Clem both emphasized the importance of parish youth participating in diocesanwide events organized by the diocesan Office of Youth, Campus and Young Adult Ministries, including RALLY for highschoolers, BASH for middle schoolers and the diocesan WorkCamp. “I’m all about plugging into diocesan events,” Papp said. “I love for them to experience the bigger church.”
Mariah Naegele, Director of the Contigo Youth Club at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Falls Church, has a new approach to youth ministry entirely. While the parish’s Contigo program provides after school care and activities for parish youth ranging from 1st grade through high school, Naegele saw a need for teens to have their own unique space. “The sheer amount of time that you see them spend here is different from other programs,” she said.
Teens often have great demands of their time and attention, not only from school and family, but also from the distractions of their devices.
“Many of our families here, the parents are working multiple jobs, and if (the teens) are not here, they’re either at home on their phones or out with friends — on their phones,” Naegele said with a laugh. “Our goal is, if the church is going to have a place in their lives, we need to do better than an hour a week.”
The parish opened its “Teen Center” Sept. 9 with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony and a blessing from Father Matthew H. Zuberbueler, pastor. The goal of the center is “reimagining what youth ministry looks like at the parish.” Much like the campus ministry programs found at colleges and diocesan high schools, the teen center is fully staffed and open Monday-Friday from 2-7 p.m. It includes a Marian-themed lounge area for teens to relax after school and regularly holds events throughout the week. So far, 30 teens have signed up for the program.
“We have specific programs that appeal to different interests,” Naegele said. Programs include a running club, service hour opportunities, a cooking class, Bible studies, a mosaic workshop, and “Fireside,” “which is a firepit with philosophy discussions,” she added.
Naegele and other directors of youth ministry agree that teens are often misunderstood by many Catholic adults. “I think that many adults don’t give them the credit that maybe they deserve … they tend to write off the desires of their hearts as foolish or uneducated,” Papp said. “But a young person that is seeking something good is trying to learn, and that’s what we forget.”
Above all, directors concurred that the hallmark of a successful youth ministry lies in teens’ dedication to building a lifelong relationship with Christ.
“I also want each individual person to know that they’re not just a number,” Clem said.
Papp agreed, adding that success in ministry often remains a mystery to the minister. “We never know what the heart of a young person is, or what seeds we’ve planted,” she said. “And so many times, something that we’ve done or said or connected them to while they’re here might bear fruit later on.”
Harvey can be reached at [email protected] or X @annaharveyACH.
