Lisa Gomes, diocesan director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, second from left, joins participants in the Certificate in Youth Ministry Studies program for class at St. Stephen Diocesan Center, July 24. (HCH photo | Darlene Dela Cruz)
Intense new studies program trains people to be ‘better servants of the Lord through youth ministry’
More than 20 youth ministers, catechists, religious education directors and ministry volunteers went “back to school” this summer, signing up for the diocese’s new Certificate in Youth Ministry Studies program.
Initiated by the diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry in late June, it’s a rigorous curriculum designed to provide those who work or are interested in Catholic youth ministry with a solid foundation in leadership skills, catechesis, evangelization and teaching methods.
The Certificate in Youth Ministry Studies program consists of eight, two-day courses. This summer, the first set of four courses — on the principles of youth ministry and leadership — were held at St. Stephen Diocesan Center. Next summer, the diocese will host the final four courses on “Fostering the Faith Growth of Youth.”
Lisa Gomes, director of the diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, is excited about the new program. She has been taking the courses alongside registered participants.
“I didn’t realize how intense it was going to be,” Gomes said. “It’s like going back to school again. You’re learning about everything.”
Confidence, competence
Gomes said her office has been working for the past two years with the Washington-based Center for Ministry Development that began the certificate program in 1979 to bring the program to the Islands.
The program is offered in more than 30 sites for at least 50 U.S. dioceses. Gomes explained that she was inspired to launch it here because it fulfills two of the priorities outlined in Bishop Larry Silva’s diocesan “Road Map” strategic plan: “Leadership development” and “Youth and young adult programs.”
“We’re training leaders who are going to help young people become more active in parish life,” Gomes said.
Pastors interested in hiring full-time youth ministry coordinators for their parishes have been contacting her, Gomes said. The certificate program provides local Catholics with the confidence, competence and credibility to take on those roles.
Youth ministry, Gomes said, “has a curriculum. You’re actually teaching kids about the faith, but in a way that is applicable and enjoyable to them at their age level. It’s just a different model of religious education for middle and high schoolers.”
Books and binders
Tom East, director of the Center for Ministry Development, taught the first two courses June 26-29 titled “Principles of Youth Ministry” and “Practices of Youth Ministry.” Patrick Donovan from the Diocese of Wilmington, Del., presented the July 24-27 classes “Foundations for Ministry Leadership” and “Skills for Christian Leadership.”
Participants received books and binders full of resource material for each course. Included in the binders were ministry planning worksheets, prayers, notes for reflection and other “tools” relevant to the course topics.
Class days spanned mid-morning to early evening. Gomes said the courses were taught in different ways each day, including group discussions, lecture-style teaching by the facilitators and hands-on workshops.
Participants also reviewed key pastoral documents on youth ministry, such as “Renewing the Vision” by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Every course comes with “homework,” Gomes said. Each lesson builds on the material covered previously, and participants are given practical and written assignments to apply to their parish ministries.
Participants must complete all the homework assignments for the eight certificate courses. The group that entered the program this summer will have until Dec. 31, 2015 — after the culmination of next year’s summer classes — to submit their work to the Center for Ministry Development for review.
The center’s staff will determine whether the participants’ work meets its standards for receiving the program certificate. Members from the same parish can turn in homework assignments as a team.
“It kind of reminded me of when you do your master’s” thesis or dissertation, Gomes said. “It’s intended to make you do action, not just keep the knowledge to yourself.”
The Certificate in Youth Ministry Studies is not a requirement to do youth work in the diocese, Gomes said. However, the certification is “good to have,” and is helpful when pastors are in need of qualified people to lead youth groups and classes.
“We at least have this pool of people who have the certificate, who are interested in doing this not just as volunteer work, but as a profession,” Gomes said.
Participants have numbered more than 20 in the program so far. Some have opted to sit in the classes to glean information for their ministries, but not take the track for certification. One participant flew in from Iowa; one may attend courses for credit in any diocese it is offered.
Experience like no other
Feedback for the inaugural Certificate in Youth Ministry Studies program has been overwhelmingly positive so far. Many of the participants have been “on fire,” Gomes said, and eager to get going on their homework.
Allyson Franco of St. John Vianney Church in Kailua said “the experience was like no other.”
“It was very tiring in ways,” she said, “but a good tired because that way I knew that my brain was processing everything, my body was absorbing it and my heart was being open to knowing all of this knowledge.”
Art Fillazar of St. Anthony Church in Wailuku, Maui, said the class environment energized him in his evangelization efforts.
“It was nice to know you were not alone in your quest to be a better servant of the Lord through youth ministry,” he said.
Gomes, herself a middle school ministry volunteer at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Wahiawa, said she too has been inspired by the program. She hopes to apply what she has learned not just on a parish level, but in her role as director of the youth and young adult ministry office as well.
“I thought I should go through this too, because I don’t have a ‘youth ministry degree,’” she said. “You need theology to be able to teach. But to really understand the core of youth ministry, this is exciting.”
For more information on the Certificate in Youth Ministry Studies program visit www.catholichawaii.org/oyyam/ym/certificate or call 203-6763.
