In the Middle

Part IV Up to now, we've shown why the Church should have a vested interest in the formation of youth. Last post, we looked at how family is the primary sources of catechesis (at least it should be, in principle). So why would the Church ever need Youth Ministry?

Last post, I mentioned that Baptism Prep seems to be the primary formation for parents to be able to fulfill their role as primary catechists. The problem is that Baptism isn't really sufficient formation because as kids get older, they start to have "deeper" questions that not every parent would necessarily be knowledgeable about, even in a perfect world. In economics/business, we see how specialization can make better quality and more efficient products and this theory applies in formation as well. The Catholic Church is blessed to have 2,000 years of intelligent and anointed men and women providing insight and lots of "food for thought" as well as teachings. That's a lot to try and be knowledgeable about. That's why we have people who are supposed to be well trained in knowledge of our faith and theology. So, there's a need for Catechists that are professional passers-on of the faith, so to speak. Many parishes offer classroom learning situations for kids.

Now, let's suppose we have a perfect world where every parent knows how to explain transubstantiation, habitual grace vs. actual grace, divine mercy, etc. Would we need professional passers-on of the faith? Yes. Why? At a certain age, kids seek to find identities outside of the influence of their parents and they think they can do this by listening to anyone but their parents. Whether parents actually lose influence is up for debate, but it's about the way kids think they are influenced...

The Middle School Factor
So, we can see why youth ministry is a necessity for the Church, but at what age do we start doing youth ministry? Well, if you're with me so far in this four part journey and you see that youth reach a point where outside (positive) influence and guidance is important for various reasons, then we really should look at the age that the outside world begins to have as much or even more of a tug on the minds and hearts of our youth than their families seem to.

In early adolescence, there's a social and hormonal shift in kids that propels them to figure out who they are as an individual and what they believe. Their brains can begin to think abstractly, and ultimately, they begin to make decisions about beliefs that will affect them for the rest of their lives. Does this mean they won't change? Not at all. However, middle schoolers today are faced with challenges and choices that weren't regular aspects of life when you or I were their age. Middle Schoolers today face what high schoolers faced 5 years ago.

So when should the Church start doing youth ministry? 6th grade, at least. Middle Schoolers and their parents need support, prayers, help, and professional passers-on of the faith. We need the relevance of relationships found in Youth Ministry in order to be effective catechists for our middle schoolers.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009