I am blessed to be your new director of youth. My position has been funded with grants and gifts, largely from donors like you. From me, and from teens whose lives will change because of this ministry: THANK YOU!
The trends for youth in the Church are not positive. Some studies estimate that only 10% of Catholic teens are attending Mass. The reason: most teenagers view God as impersonal. To reverse this trend, we need to help parishes build relationships with teenagers.
In the short three months I have been working on behalf of this diocese, I have been able to push toward this goal by:
- Personal visits at 22 churches in our diocese regarding their needs for youth ministry (logged about 6,000 miles so far – it’s a much bigger diocese than I’m used to!)
- Taking parish youth ministers to the “Matter 15” training conference. “Matter” is hosted by Church of the Nativity, the church featured in the best-selling church ministry book “Rebuilt”
- Building a plan for a diocesan-wide teen event in 2016
- Initiating a five-year plan to redesign and improve the St. Thomas Camp summer experience.
We in the youth ministry office love you! Thank you for everything you are doing to help us lead teens closer to Christ! 
Please help us continue
