Youth ministry is flourishing in the diocese, where participation at the parish and diocesan level is breaking records every year. But in many ways, the job of church youth directors to connect with youths is harder than ever.
“Technology is a big factor why so many teens struggle today because they think that they’re connected, but then they end up not having actual face-to-face interactions with other people,” said Carmen Clem, coordinator of youth ministry at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Vienna. “You have to keep your eyes open to the kids that come to events, who may seem okay on the outside, or they’re just smiling through it, but they’re not participating necessarily.”
Fostering meaningful relationships in a tech-driven world was a key topic of concern at the diocesan Directors of Youth Ministry Summit at St. John Neumann Church in Reston Aug. 20.
“When I started in 1998, there were no cell phones,” said Rob Tessier, director of youth and young adult ministry at All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas, one of 50 people in the diocese to receive a papal honor for service to the church recently. “The worst things we confronted then were, ‘What groups are they a part of?’ But that was more visible and now all the difficulties and struggles seem to be invisible because we don’t know how they’re connected or what they’re connected with. It’s making things much more complicated with all the weird peer pressure they experience.”
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, who celebrated Mass and mingled with the youth directors during lunch, urged them to be sensitive to youths suffering from isolation. “I think post-Covid, our young people are still experiencing a lack of social interactions,” he said. “Isolation is not healthy because we’re meant for communion, we’re meant to be together, so I’ve asked our youth directors to be vigilant.”
Following Mass, Bishop Burbidge blessed a relic of Carlo Acutis, who will be canonized Sept. 7. He emphasized that the Eucharist was “the highway to heaven” for Acutis. “What a blessed opportunity we have to point our young people to Blessed Carlo Acutis,” he said.
Jamie Cross, director of youth ministry at St. Mark Church in Vienna, stayed after Mass to pray before the relic. “Days like today are really excellent because we prioritize prayer,” she said. “This reminds you that you’re not carrying your burden alone. Jesus is carrying it right next to you and his yoke is light. It’s just very comforting and inspiring for us to draw closer to each other and to the Lord.”
Keynote speaker Josh Packard, co-founder of Future of Faith, said the old strategy of just getting kids through the door to evangelize them is less effective today. “Maybe it’s not the thing that we lead with in this world where increasingly families and adults and young people don’t trust institutions,” he said. “Maybe the first step is for us to go outside of our doors to talk to them.”
One of the best opportunities for evangelism outside the doors is sports, said Kevin Bohli, executive director of the diocesan Office of Youth, Campus and Young Adult ministries. Bohli, who also received a papal honor recently, said that more than 4,000 youths are playing CYO basketball in church gyms on any given Saturday. “So what a great way to reach them where they’re at, because they want to play sports, but then also try to guide them through sports to grow in holiness,” he said. “And then throughout the year, hopefully the coaches are able to help form those young people beyond just the X’s and O’s of basketball, to actually grow as a leader and grow as a part of their church.”
Even if a student is a star athlete, or has hundreds of followers on social media, nothing can replace real communion, Bishop Burbidge said. “Sometimes a person may fall under the radar. Let’s go out and assure them of how much the Lord loves them, how much the church loves them and how they will thrive if they participate in youth ministry activities and opportunities to serve others. In other words, to get outside of themselves.”
