Swan Song, by Chris

The Big Red Machine. The ’72 Dolphins. Michael Jordan’s Bulls. Hannah Montana’s Disney run. Some things are just destined for greatness. I want to add one more thing to that list: CCFM. Whoa, whoa, back off the hype train Chris. You’re obviously biased, they sign your paychecks.
Well…guess what? Not anymore, and I still have great things to say about them.
This blog is my swan song and I’ve been having trouble figuring out what I’m going to write about. I have so many great things to say. From the moment I returned from the Peace Corps and was snatched up by CCFM in a flurry of God’s will, I’ve fallen in love with the organization. I’ve fallen in love with the people it’s exposed me to, the kid’s I’ve had the opportunity to meet and minister to, and the mentors I’ve met. I leave CCFM 100% a better youth minister than when I began which is to be expected. CCFM takes young, impressionable youth ministers and molds them into still young, but well-formed men and women of God. Working at CCFM has prepared me for my dream job of being a professional middle school and high school youth minister at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler, TX.
The formation has been great, but my favorite part of CCFM is it’s mission. When I pictured my mission in life post-Peace Corps, I always gravitated towards youth ministry. I always pictured myself at a parish like the one where I became involved; well-funded, thriving, big. When I started out in Caldwell I was thrown for a bit of a loop, as this was a bigger project than I had expected to jump into. I was uncomfortable, which is where God does the most work.
Looking back – God put me in such a great place. He placed me in a loving and supportive community, a community hungry for the truth. I was privileged enough to see it grow, not only in the number of youth we had attending, but in the amount of youth we had who really invested themselves in their faith. A personal relationship with Christ wasn’t such a crazy concept. This was a community hungry for dynamic youth ministry, longing for something big and new. This never would have been possible without CCFM. Caldwell is a rural parish, a parish that typically can only hope for, at best, a part-time volunteer youth minister. CCFM provides quality youth ministry (above quality to be honest) to parishes that normally don’t get that, and I’m privileged to be a part of that.
I will miss everything about my job. The kids. The community. The church. I want to thank everyone who was a part of my ministry. The core team members, Fr. Bernard, the staff at St. Mary’s, Kelsey (my WONDERFUL partner), all of the great kids, my leadership kids, Matt for being a mentor, all the helpers who helped on retreats, the CCFM staff for putting up with me, my beautiful fiancée, Madelyn, for investing so much into the youth, and so many other people. I ask you to join me in praying for the ministry – God will continue to do great things in Caldwell in a completely new vessel, with it’s own strengths and weaknesses. I couldn’t ask for a greater employer.