Young adults… It’s a difficult demographic to minister to — it encapsulates so many life stages and spiritual stages.
But all (or at least most) are on the Internet. And some young adult ministers looking for an effective tool to minister are trying out Young Adult Ministry in a Box, a digital resource tool kit for ministering to young adults, created in conjunction with Busted Halo Ministries, a Paulist ministry reaching out to young adult Catholics, and the Washington, D.C.-based National Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association.
For two years, Busted Halo and the association collected successful ideas and methods from existing young adult ministers, having each of them write “recipe cards” so that other ministers — those who are either in the middle of their ministry or those trying to start one — could see a detailed account of exactly what they did.
The U.S. bishops, who released their pastoral statement on young adults, “Sons and Daughters of the Light,” in 1996, define young adults as in their late teens, 20s and 30s.
Paulist Fr. Dave Dwyer”Young adult ministry in the American church is sort of the stepchild that doesn’t get a lot of attention,” Busted Halo executive director Paulist Fr. Dave Dwyer said. Not to say it’s been totally neglected; organizations have created programs in the past, Dwyer said. But Young Adult Ministry in a Box, released in February, is moving the curriculum from a physical three-ring binder on the shelf to a digital tool kit.
The tool kit’s website, www.youngadultministryinabox.com, comprises discussion questions, links to relevant articles, activities, prayer ideas and more. The website allows subscribers to comment and share ideas, and “ministry mentors” are available to help subscribers throughout the year. Different icons indicate the type of activity (pray, serve, teach), level (beginner, experienced, expert), and cost of the activity (cheap, moderate, expensive).
Source: NCR
Tags: Association, Young Adult, Youth
