Outsourcing

The more and more I get involved with ministry the more appreciative I become of all the people involved in making a ministry effective. The youth minister of course has a big job but without the volunteers, parish priest, and meal teams it would definitely not run as efficiently! In rereading that last sentence you may notice that I left out one important group, this group is left out a lot in ministry not because they are not wanted, but because they remove themselves from the sentence. I left out the parents.
Parents have way more power in their kids’ lives than they give themselves credit for. It is from the parents that the youth first learn about love, boundaries, manners, and most importantly, faith. The youth decide how important faith should be based on how seriously they see their parents take it. Of course, there are a few exceptions but the majority of the time this is found to be true.  I remember seeing my mom wake up early to read her Bible as well as having us read a Bible story everyday on the way to school. We prayed every time we went somewhere in the car, before every meal, and every night. She also made sure we would come together as a family and humble ourselves by keeling down to thank God for some big blessing He gave us. I know without a doubt that it was her fervent prayer life that told me faith was important.
I was very lucky to have a mother who showed me this, but I realize that many youth do not have the same support.  I am not saying that the decline in faith importance is all the parents fault, some youth decide to walk away despite their parents, and many parents are just following the example that their parents gave them. But when did this outsourcing of faith away from the families occur?
Many parents today depend on the churches to educate their kids on all things Catholic so that they don’t have to; they allow the responsibility of faith upbringing to be taken over by RE programs, youth ministries, and camps. All these programs are by no means bad and definitely do their best to form kids into the people of God we were created to be, but these programs are designed to be an additive to home life, not a replacement.  I believe when parents take back their role as the primary builder in their kid’s lives THAT is when we will see an abundant return to the Church.
Parents, realize the gifts you were given in the formation of your youth! YOU get to show them what real love looks life. YOU get to teach them right from wrong. YOU get to turn them into gentleman and ladies. And most importantly, YOU get to bring them to Heaven in any way that you can.
 
For helpful tools in talking to youth about our faith, consider coming to CCFM’s event: Talking Faith With Today’s Teens.   The workshop will be held at St. Mary’s in Caldwell on Sunday, May 5, 2013 and will be from 11:30-1:00 pm, Lunch will be provided and it's absolutely free! If you want real tools and examples of how to make faith a discussion instead of just a ritual, then come and check it out. All parents and adults are invited. For more information contact Sarah Masters at [email protected]