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Here comes Generation Z, which includes youth born from about 1995 to 2010. These young people are tech integrated, social innovators, and are looking for a customized way to belong and contribute. We can listen, learn from these young world changers and engage this generation of new disciples in helping to transform our parishes into centers of evangelization and service. This workshop will help leaders explore ways for

* Listening to and Walking with Gen Z Youth * Engaging their Parents and Families * Making Faith personal through relationships and Formation

* Evangelizing Youth and Parents through Technology * Empowering the Innovators - Letting their Faith Soar * Transforming Ministries and Creating New Pathways for Parishes Resources To show our gratitude for your participation today, we have several free resources for you from our Youth Ministry Access and Fashioning Faith subscription websites. You will also find the PowerPoints, handouts, and other resources from today’s workshop on our website. Just visit www.cmdnet.org/genzresources Trainers Ministry staff of CMD: Angel Barrera, Tom East, Susan Searle, and Joan Weber About the Center for Ministry Development The Center for Ministry Development promotes the development of ministry and catechesis with youth and families through leadership formation, service learning, and resources rooted in Catholic tradition and Scripture. CMD is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization. 5713 Wollochet Drive NW, Suite A, Gig Harbor WA 98335 (253) 853-5422 • www.cmdnet.org Session 1: Meet Gen Z Generational Cohorts

Generation X Gen Z • 1945-1965 • 1980 – 2000 • Raised by the • 1961-1982 • Raised by later • 1995-2010 Builders • Raised by early Boomers • Raised by Boomers Generation X Baby Boomers Millennials

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Gen Z Youth are Tech Addicts

Reality  Digital Connection is a given, are connected 9 hours a day, but  Gen Z youth prefer face to face communication

Gen Z Youth are Entitled

Reality

 Are accustomed to comfort, but  Are not particularly materialistic (crave experiences more than stuff)  Are economically conservative and were very shaped by the Great Recession

It Should be Called Gen Lay-Z

Reality

 Can be distracted and anxious, but  Have grown up in a constant state of war and social change

 Most educated generation in history  Are entrepreneurial and desire to address root issues of challenges and change the world

 How would you describe young people in Gen Z?

 What do you notice about their gifts and characteristics?

 What are their challenges?

Synched with Technology

 Digitally Integrated – Like the air they breathe! Technology is essential for  building relationships  engagement with community and with the world  learning  engagement with faith

Expecting Access

 Not looking for pre-packaged ways to engage and belong  Looking for customized pathways to access what they need

Hungry for In-Person Connections and Transforming Relationships

 Face to face is preferred way to communicate  Seeking relationships with adults, peers and children based on mutual respect and understanding

Seeking to Change the World

 Interested in fostering sustainable and long-term social change  Volunteer in high numbers (26% of 16-19 year olds)  Have grown up being “voluntold” (forced to volunteer)  They want to create solutions – found a movement – become the change they want to see in the world

Hungry for experiences of prayer, silence, mystery

 Constant digital connectivity, anxiety, and competing demands enhance a hunger for opportunities to disconnect, experience awe and be engulfed by peace

Anxiety

Roy Petifils

In the last 10 years, the occurrence of anxiety among youth has increased from 1 in 10, to 1 in 5 youth between the ages of 12-17. These young people meet clinically significant criteria for anxiety disorder. There are also teens who are displaying the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder without an identifiable event or cause. Teens are also anxious about the future and thinking about “post-graduation.”

These are some reasons for this “anxiety epidemic” among youth:

• Over commitment • Managing various expectations • Overuse of media • Over exposure to violence • Genetic factors

These are some things that can help.

• Rituals • Physical Exercise • Specific grounding and breathing techniques • Prioritizing their commitments and schedules • Psychotherapy and Medication

Religious Practice Makes a Difference

In Liturgy, we let go of our personal pattern of blame, shame, and escape as we connect to the pattern that Christ revealed: Life will be suffering and death, but it is also transformation and resurrection.

Personal burdens, brokenness, and anxiety become connected and transformed by the paschal mystery through:

• Ritual (The root to the word for ritual means “a way our lives fit together”) • Sacred Space (Just our presence in sacred space soothes our soul.)

• Physicality of Prayer (Praying with our bodies, signing ourselves, standing, sitting and kneeling, our physical actions helps our body and mind connect with truth beyond what we understand) • Community (Within a community gathered with God, we can hold the gift of who we are and the brokenness of who we are. We were never meant to carry the burden alone.)

“The adolescent brain is hypersensitive to novel stimuli, and the overabundance of what is available to teens today is unprecedented, overriding their need for routine, stability and sameness. The predictability, pattern, and rote behaviors that liturgy and ritual provide calms and soothes. This is not something most teens today can anticipate, but something they discover after experiencing it. Because they take so little time for reflection, they often don't connect the peace, security, and calm they feel with Liturgy and ritual.”

Roy Petifils Resources: www.roypetifils.com

Roy Petifils, What Teens Want You to Know (But won’t Tell You), (Cincinnati, Ohio: Franciscan Media, 2015).

• http://www.roypetitfils.com/anxiety/ • http://www.roypetitfils.com/anxiety-epidemic-part-2/ • http://www.roypetitfils.com/helping-teens-plan-future/ • this was the FB live video I did on how religion helps anxious teens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEKxgi8gZss

Needing to connect faith and science

 Faith and science seem incompatible which is reinforced by culture  Rise of the “None’s” – No affiliation is now largest denomination.

 21.3% of class of 2019 is agnostic “But the world, precisely as created by a divine intelligence, is thoroughly intelligible, and hence scientists have the confidence to seek, explore, and experiment. This is why thoughtful Christians must battle the myth of the eternal warfare of science and religion. We must continually preach, as John Paul II did, that faith and reason are complementary and compatible paths toward the knowledge of truth.”

Bishop Robert Barron https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/article/the-myth-of-the-war-between-science-and- religion/331/

“…we are not afraid of what science discovers and where scientific discovery will lead us. Science is not a threat to our faith; instead it leads us deeper into the mystery of our faith. Scientific inquiry and discovery is a joyful pursuit and not something we engage in with suspicion. We see the world with clearer eyes and we see God more explicitly at work as we grow in our understanding of the universe and its marvels. This can only lead to joy for the believer.” Robert Feduccia http://www.robertfeduccia.com/blog/2015/8/4/in-dialogue-with-atheists-five-things-to-consider-part-3 Exploring New Ways to Learn

 Highly educated (1 in 2 will be university educated)  Craves learning and new information  Expects engagement  Short attention span  Learns through experience, collaboration, creation, engagement of senses, emotions, and relationships

Tolerant and Diverse

 Most racially diverse generation in United States history.  Highly values tolerance, not just accepting, but affirming differences They are Ethnically Diverse

 In the US by 2020, 55% of those under 18 will be non- Caucasian

 There is a 50% increase in youth who identify as multi-racial since 2000

Summary – Members of Generation Z are…  Synched with technology  Expecting access  Looking for in-person connections and transforming relationships  Seeking to change the world  Hungry for experiences of prayer, silence, mystery  Needing to connect faith and science  Exploring new ways to learn  Tolerant and diverse

More Religious and Spiritual

“Gen Zers’ participation in religion is up compared with previous generations. When asked about spirituality, 47 percent said they were religious, and an additional 31 percent said they were spiritual but not religious. Church attendance is also up during young adulthood, with 41 percent saying they attend weekly religious services, compared with 18 percent of millennials at the same ages, 21 percent of Generation X, and 26 percent of baby boomers.”

Joan Hope, Ph.D., Editor, “Get Your Campus Ready for Generation Z”, The Successful Registrar – Managing Records, Systems and Staff, September 2016, Volume 16, Issue 7. Comparison with Millennials

Compiled from: Generation Z Goes to College, Corey Seemiller and Grace Meghan, Jossey-Bass, 2016

Millennial Generation Generation Z Socially and financially liberal Socially liberal to moderate, financially moderate to conservative More optimistic More realistic Service-oriented Social-change-oriented Confident (high sense of self- Confident (self-assured) importance) “Me” generation “We” generation Tech savvy Tech integrated Facebook to share Instagram to share Share Follow Prescheduled learning On demand/just-in-time learning Want to learn something? Want to learn something? Google it YouTube it

Challenges in Ministry with Gen Z Youth

 The prevailing paradigm for Catholic youth ministry and religious education is programmatic in nature  We dispense our truths in an antiquated manner  We offer rational truth when youth are searching for experiential truth  Youth are looking for credible communities that embody their truth

“When we build a community that is characterized by love, involvement becomes irresistible. This is especially relevant to youth because most teens are operating with an affiliative faith – the faith of belonging.”

Frank Mercadante

Opportunities to Connect

• Youth gifts with parish life • Youth stress with prayer and healing • Faith with science • Youth’s hunger to learn with exploration of faith • Young idealism with ongoing service and challenges • Newly confirmed youth with active faith Reasons why Youth Leave the Church

• No longer believe in God or religion • Faith and science seem incompatible • Change faith along with their parents • Oppose the Church and organized religion • Dislike the Church’s rules and judgmental approach

CARA Study – 8.27.16 https://www.osv.com/OSVNewsweekly/PapalVisit/Articles/Article/TabId/2727/ArtMID/20933/ArticleID /20512/Young-people-are-leaving-the-faith-Heres-why.aspx

Trends in the 21st Century Catholic Church of the U.S.

1. Decline in participation in Sunday liturgy

2. People marrying later

3. Decline in number of marriages in the Church a. 50% decline in past 20 years b. 33% of post-Vatican II Catholics marry outside the Church

4. Increase in interfaith marriages a. 40% among Post-Vatican II generation b. 50% of all non-Latino marriages

5. Diminishing involvement of families and the younger generations with Catholic community, Catholic way of life

6. Decline in religious traditions and practices at home

7. Inability to keep people engaged in church life and catechesis after the celebration of a sacrament

8. Distinguishing between central and peripheral teachings (Cafeteria Catholics)

9. Catholicism as personal choice

10. Less religious literacy

Summary compiled by Joan Weber, Center for Ministry Development.

Hey Young Church – We’re Listening

(blog post from January 4, 2017 – www.cmdnet.org) In November, Papal Nuncio Christophe Pierre gave an address today at the USCCB that is a preview for the upcoming Synod on Youth and Vocation: We are called to listen. "We have been describing young people and their relationship to the Church. If we are to help young people discern God's plan for their lives, we might ask: what are they looking for? They are looking to be heard. Earlier I mentioned the idea of accompaniment, which implies going to them and being with them. To this, we add listening to them. Listening is an important element of discernment. Pope Francis said: 'I think that in the pastoral ministry of the Church many beautiful things are being done, many beautiful things... But there is one thing that we must do more, even the priests, even the lay people, but above all the priests must do more: the apostolate of listening: to listen!' (lncontro del Santo Padre con i partecipanti a/ convegno per persone disabili,11 giugno 2016)" http://www.usccb.org/…/usccb-general-assembly-november-2016…

Listening is the starting point for all ministry. What does it mean to really listen to young people? We need to pause in our quest of sharing with them all the things that they need to know and take some time to really hear their story. Where do they see God? How do they experience our parish? What is their experience of youth ministry? As you discern and plan for your ministry time with youth in this new year. Take some time to listen. Let the conversation go where it will. Here are some questions that could prime the pump: • Listen to their questions and acknowledge that we also have questions and doubts. • Ask questions and encourage youth share about their experience of God. o Where do you see God? o Are there places that you especially experience God’s presence? o Who are the people whom you see as being filled with faith? o Are there activities in which you feel close to God? • Ask youth to share with you about their experience of their parish o What is your experience of belonging to our parish? o What do you enjoy? What helps you connect with God? What do you experience as helpful in your life? o What is challenging for you? What is hard for you about belonging to our parish? • Ask youth to share with you about their experience of youth ministry o What is your experience of youth ministry? o If you were going to tell a friend about youth ministry in our parish, how would you describe it? o What do you enjoy? What helps you connect with God? What do you experience as helpful in your life? o What is challenging for you? What is hard for you about participating in youth ministry?

Resources about Generation Z

Books

Generation Z Goes to College, Corey Seemiller and Grace Meghan, Jossey-Bass, 2016

We Are Generation Z, Vivek Pandit, Brown Book Publishing, 2015

Resources/Websites

Young People are Leaving the Faith – Here’s Why https://www.osv.com/OSVNewsweekly/PapalVisit/Articles/Article/TabId/2727/ArtMID/20933/ArticleID /20512/Young-people-are-leaving-the-faith-Heres-why.aspx

Move over Millennials – Here Comes Generation Z http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/fashion/move-over-millennials-here-comes-generation- z.html?_r=0

Generation Z - Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/sparksandhoney/generation-z-final-june-17 http://genhq.com/igen-gen-z-generation-z-centennials-info/

10 Things You Should know about Generation Z http://thomrainer.com/2016/05/ten-things-you-should-know-about-generation-z/

Youth Specialties – Generation Z http://youthspecialties.com/blog/generation-z/

Session 2: Inspire the Change Makers YOUTH AS CHANGE-MAKERS

Pope Francis calls youth to be missionary disciples. How can we connect discipleship and service?

Go to the Gospel: “What you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, you do for me.” (Matthew 25)

Use quotes from Pope Francis like the one on the left to inspire and challenge youth.

Use the Press Release from the Vatican regarding the 2018 Synod of Bishops on Young People, Faith, and Vocational Discernment: "…the Synod wishes to accompany young people along their existential journey towards maturity so that, through a process of discernment, they can discover their life plan and achieve it joyfully, opening themselves up to an encounter with God and humanity and actively taking part in the building of the Church and society." (CMD bolding)

Gen Z—Ideally Situated to be Social Innovators!

What we know about this emerging generation which follows the Millennials is that they really want to change the world—and believe they can. Think about these statistics on Gen Zers:

• 26% of those aged 16-19 already volunteer. • 80% are aware of the human impact on the environment. • 78% are concerned about world hunger. • 77% are worried about children around the world who are dying of preventable diseases.

David Bornstein, the author of How to Change the World, writes that “Every change begins with a vision and a decision to take action.” Gen Z is wired for entrepreneurship. Social innovation requires that type of mindset—thinking beyond limits and barriers to what is possible, even when it seems improbably or even impossible.

• 72% of high school students want to start their own business someday. That’s compared to 64% of college students. • 61% of high school students want to be an entrepreneur rather than an employee. That’s compared to 43% of current college students.

Changemaker Attributes Bethany Alden Rivers

1. Self-confidence 2. Perseverance 3. Self-regulation and self-direction 4. Self-awareness 5. Action orientation 6. Innovation and creativity 7. Critical thinking 8. Empathy 9. Reflection 10. Communication 11. Emotional and social intelligence 12. Problem-solving 13. Leadership 14. Being values-driven

These are attributes we want our youth to acquire. They are helpful in all aspects of life, not just in wanting to make the world a better place. Gen Zers are already strong in many of these, and we can support them in strengthening their skills for being change-makers.

What Is Social Innovation?

“Social entrepreneurs (and innovators) identify resources where others only see problems.” “Every change begins with a vision and a decision to take action.” David Bornstein, How to Change the World

The Stanford University Graduate School of Business defines social innovation as “a novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just than current solutions. The value created accrues primarily to society rather than to private individuals.”

We want young people to identify a real need in the world and then do something about it. The first question is: How do we ignite the spark in youth so they become change-makers? How do we get them to learn on the fly, to be open to possibilities, to be hopeful, and to empathize? We need to create a climate in which it’s OK to make mistakes and learn from them. We want our youth to learn from the people we are engaging, with no pre-planned idea of the outcome. We need to encourage youth to immerse themselves in the culture of the people they hope to help. Empathy is, in the words of Kelsey Otero of Marquette University, “a chance to fall in love…it is a chance to be completely different than that which you usually are.”

Boyan Slat is the 20-year-old with a feasible plan to rid the ocean of plastic and other trash. He is a source of inspiration to many! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IjaZ2g-21E

“Human-centered design is a creative approach to problem- solving…It’s a process that starts with the people you’re designing for and ends with new solutions that are tailor-made to suit their needs. Human- centered design is all about building a deep empathy with the people you’re designing for, generating tons of ideas; building bunch of prototypes; sharing what you’ve made with the people you’re designing for. IDEO, https://www.ideo.com/

Five Steps in Social Innovation

1. 1Empathize Inspire youth! Help them develop a deep understanding of the people in need of help and the challenge they face. Think of creating a Compassion 24/7 challenge. Talk to your youth about the power of love to change the world. Help them understand the difference between pity and empathy.

Example: Bullying project in Canada where middle schoolers engaged with babies

2. Define Challenge them to identify and articulate the problem they want to solve. Ask them to frame it as a question.

Assess their current knowledge and assumptions, then encourage the youth to leave them behind as they develop their question. Ask what they don’t know that they need to learn. Then have them talk to the people who know the problem. Fully immerse your youth in the experience. Where or how could they spend an hour, a day, a weekend in the shoes of those they hope to help? What resources, technology, people, and networks do you need to provide them when they begin to brainstorm possibilities?

Example: Muhammed Yunus, 2006 Nobel Prize for Peace, micro-finance for the poor Example: Maria Montessori Example: Bana pads to keep African girls in school Example: Solar ear project in South America

1 Hasso Plattner School of Design at Stanford University, See: http://blogs.elon.edu/innovationstudio/design- thinking-and-social-innovation-overview/ (successfully accessed 3.15.17)

Each of these examples involved a big idea for lasting, systematic change with a positive social impact. But the innovators all took small, practical steps to get there. They listened to people, spent time with them, and looked deeper for the root causes of the problem with all its layers and layers. Remember that with youth, service itself can be a small step on the way to figuring out what to do about the problem!

3. Ideate Engage their creativity. Have them brainstorm potential solutions to the problem. Emphasize the importance of listening carefully to each other and building on others’ ideas. At this time encourage quantity over quality to get the best ideas. Encourage wild ideas, and ask the youth to defer judgment on each other’s thoughts. Invite them to be visual in describing their ideas. Try these techniques for encouraging creativity in the group:

• Read What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada (illustrated by Mae Besom), Seattle: Compendium, Inc., 2013. This is a children’s book, but it can inspire youth and adults to be creative.

• Do Six-Word Memoirs (explained in this packet).

• Try a Silly Cow Exercise (see below).

• Do the Marshmallow Challenge: http://www.tomwujec.com/design-projects/marshmallow- challenge/.

• Engage your youth in Around the World. Have large sheets of paper on tables, give youth chalk or markers, and let them doodle ideas. Then have them move to a new spot and build on someone else’s idea. Continue for several rounds.

After sufficient brainstorming, invite the youth to choose the solution around which they can develop a plan.

4. Prototype

This step needs to happen quickly—right after the ideation. Invite the youth to design a prototype (or series of prototypes) to test all parts of their solution. Encourage them to constantly refine and improve their design and to continue to gather feedback from those being served. This will help improve on the ideas. A cycle of prototyping and iterating will ultimately help shape a more innovative, effective solution.

Designing a prototype isn’t just about solving the problem. It is entering into the human condition of people suffering from an injustice. Story-telling can be a powerful part of this step, with help from conversations photos, and blog posts. Encourage your young people to engage in dialogue with the people in the community. Ask if they are passionate about the issue. Do they want to make a difference? What are they experiencing? What are the challenges they face?

Hopefully this phase of social innovation will establish a genuine partnership between your youth and the community they hope to serve.

Take time during this step for reflection and deeper understanding of the experience. Shift perspective from service learning to learning service; being in community, being in solidarity, building empathy, and understanding the power in knowing someone else’s story.

5. Test The only way to discover whether or not an idea is truly an innovation is to test it—to do it with people in real time. Sometimes youth get frustrated with adults when we talk an idea to death and never get around to implementing it.

SIX-WORD MEMOIRS

Six words help young people get to the heart of the matter. Writing in Six Words is a simple, creative way to focus on what is most important—be it the breaking news of the day or a youth’s personal life. “The Six-Word Memoir is a project of SMITH Magazine, which launched it in 2006. Since then, almost one million memoirs have been shared on Six-Word Memoirs and SMITH Teens. In the magazine’s own words, “In classrooms and boardrooms, churches and synagogues, veterans’ groups, and across the dinner table, Six- Word Memoirs have become a powerful tool to catalyze conversation, spark imagination, or break the ice.” Ernest Hemingway was asked to sum up his life in a six-word memoir. He wrote, “For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn.” What did he mean by this? Did he lose a child? Did someone grow up too quickly? It’s a very evocative memoir and gets people thinking. Teen examples posted on the website include:

• Meanwhile, away from the adult population… • Terrible heartbreaks spring from wonderful loves. • Found someone to make me smile. • Afraid to awaken, afraid to sleep. • Craving conflict, panicked when it occurs. • Since when was stupidity considered cool? • Living my dream; please send money. • We’re the family you gossip about. • Mom just revoked my creative license.

Once your young people have Step Two: Define the Question completed, having them do Six- Word Memoirs can launch Step Three: Ideate by get them to narrow down and then choose their idea.

Gen Z Communicates in Images/Try the Silly Cow Exercise

One way to get your young people’s creative juices flowing as they move through the ideation stage of social innovation is an exercise called The Silly Cow. It comes from the book Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder and is a great way to get your team thinking outside the box. Here’s how it works:

Instruct participants to sketch out three different business models using a cow. Ask them to first define some characteristics of a cow (produces milk, eats all day, makes a mooing sound, etc.). Tell them to use those characteristics to come up with an innovative business model based on a cow. Give them three minutes. The goal is to take people out of their day-to-day routines and show them how readily they can generate ideas by disconnecting from orthodoxies and letting their creative juices flow. Alexander Osterwalder

Cows as Police Barricades M-Uber on New Year’s Eve

Cow Over the Moon Space Program Cow Babysitting – Drop Your Kids Off at the Pasture

Awaken Creativity Exercises like the silly cow create an environment in which your young people can feel comfortable sharing their ideas—no matter how crazy, bold, or outside the box! When you tell the youth that no idea is a bad idea, you remove the biggest block to creativity—fear of having an idea ridiculed or rejected. And, because the ideas created are for a cow instead of real-life problems, youth feel free to come up with ideas on the spot and can imagine the first thing that comes to mind.l

By the way, any other animal will also work for this exercise (e.g., Silly Monkey, Silly Giraffe, Silly Elephant).

Resources for Social Innovation

ARTivism: Painting the World's Tallest Mural - What is Social Innovation? This YouTube video shares how a community used art to make a difference and change the neighborhood for the good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMWcb-YM7n4

Ashoka This organization began offering Fellowships to social innovators and has expanded to support social innovation by youth as well. https://www.ashoka.org/en

Campus Starter Kit This kit offers resources for faculty and staff of universities to develop social entrepreneurship in students. Much of the information is relevant for high schools and youth ministry programs.

Changemaking 101: A Student Guide to Social Entrepreneurship This resource from Ashoka U. offers guidance in getting young people engaged as change- makers.

Create a Ripple These resources from the Diocese of Joliet Social Justice Coalition offer families ways they can change their lives to help change the lives of others. Facts about a social problem, Catholic social teaching, and ideas for social action are included each week. https://www.dioceseofjoliet.org/siteimages/peace/2012_Create_a_Ripple_Lent.pdf

Digital Social Innovation This video gives three great examples of using social media for the common good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSijSS7MKN4

Quest for the Common Good in Milwaukee This video from Marquette University talks about a project to stop segregation and bring the diverse Milwaukee community together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpB9kRlj7vI

The Power of Social Innovation Jeff Snell shares a TedTalk with college students on social innovation and how different it is from just managing the status quo with charity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH53mGNPI80

Young Social Innovators This website gives numerous ideas about teenagers and how they can change the world. Make sure to click on the award winners to see the various projects through which Irish youth became change-makers. http://www.youngsocialinnovators.ie/

Lesotho Mapping Project: http://www.youngsocialinnovators.ie/challenges/global-citizens-mapping-the-future

Bee Project: http://www.youngsocialinnovators.ie/challenges/no-bee-no-me

CO2 Awareness Project: http://www.youngsocialinnovators.ie/challenges/carbon-monoxide-continued-awareness

Check out the “How Talking to Those Affected Helped Shape Our Project” to see how working with those who will be affected by a social innovation have the insights needed to help make the project work. This project from Ireland involved youth in working for Disability Accessibility. http://www.youngsocialinnovators.ie/resources/educators-blogs/how-talking-to-those- affected-helped-shape-our-project

Youth in Charge This is the website of the Youth Venture US Youth Advisory Council. The group describes itself this way: “We are a group of passionate students and young changemakers who want to collaborate with others in our generation to create meaningful change on emerging social issues and opportunities for improving our world. Using our knowledge from starting our own social ventures and community-building, we hope to empower everyday heroes and changemakers and amplify positive impact for communities across the country.” https://www.ashoka.org/en/story/youth-charge

Youth Social Innovation and Sustainability Kruger Nyasulu gives a TedTalk (TEDxYouth@Lilongwe), and challenges young people to be willing to be called fools in order to come up with great social change ideas. He shares a social innovation which brought clean water to a school. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrpFVQpIr1k

Session 2: Evangelize through Technology Digital Reach: Connecting with Youth and Families via Social Media

Social Media Prayer by Meredith Gould Christ has no online presence but yours No blog, no Facebook page but yours, Yours are the tweets through which love touches the world, Yours are the posts through which the Gospel is shared, Yours are the updates through which hope is revealed. Christ has no online presence but yours, No blog, no Facebook page but yours.

Pope Francis’ Approach to Social Media • "The digital world is a public square, a meeting place where we can either encourage or demean one another, engage in a meaningful discussion or unfair attacks," the pope wrote Jan. 24 in his message marking the 50th World Communications Day. o Read more at http://americamagazine.org/issue/mark-zuckerberg-gets-facebook-time- pope-francis. • "We're used to one direction for communications. We're used to a microphone or a pulpit, "Bishop Paul Tighe, a Vatican culture secretary for the Roman Catholic Church, told USA TODAY as he prepared to travel from Rome to Portugal's shabby-chic capital for Web Summit, Europe's largest tech conference. "In digital media, you only gain an audience if you engage with people and listen to their questions and are willing to debate with them," Tighe said. o Read more at http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2016/11/07/web-summit-lisbon-technology- vatican-religion-social- media/93412358/?hootPostID=1163eb288b5fe7394f17ee35cb120687. • Pope Francis' Twitter account, @Pontifex, has also left its mark in the social media landscape with over 30 million followers spread across nine different language accounts.

Parents and Social Media • 59% of parents have come across useful information about parenting while looking at social media in the last month. • 42% of social-media-using parents received social or emotional support around a parenting issue on social media in the last month. • About a third of social-media-using parents have asked a parenting question of their social media networks in the last month.

Internal concerns • Accountability • Safe environment • Cost • Special Concerns • Bullying • Sexting • Connected too much

CARA Research Study • Seven out of 10 Catholic parents told CARA they visited their favorite social-media site at least once a day. • More than 8 out of 10 Catholic parents reported watching videos on YouTube. • The most popular social-media sites used by these parents were: o Facebook (73%) o Pinterest (24%) o Instagram (21%) o Twitter (20%) • 12% of Catholic parents reported using the parish website; • 10% the diocesan newspaper (print and online); • 9% visited Facebook accounts associated with Catholics or Catholic institutions. • The percentages drop even further, as 3% of Catholic parents checked out a Catholic news site or the Vatican for information on the faith in the past month, and 2% checked out the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website, as well as diocesan websites or Catholic charities and schools.

POST Social Media Strategy method by Forrester Research • People • Objective • Strategy • Technology

Address of Archbishop Christophe Pierre to USCCB What are they looking for? They are looking to be heard. Earlier I mentioned the idea of accompaniment, which implies going to them and being with them. To this, we add listening to them. Listening is an important element of discernment.

Pope Francis said: “I think that, in the pastoral ministry of the Church, many beautiful things are being done, many beautiful things. ... But there is one thing that we must do more, even the priests, even the laypeople — but, above all, the priests must do more — the apostolate of listening: to listen!” (lncontro del Santo Padre con i partecipanti a/ convegno per persone disabili, 11 giugno 2016) Key Ideas • Be welcoming and hospitable • Create trust • Be consistent • Listening and creating profound sense of being heard and acknowledged (recognized) • Use social media as a way to LISTEN to young people and families • Create belonging and community

From Digital Citizenship to Digital Discipleship • Some characteristics of digital citizenship include: o Respect o Safety and Security o Commerce o Privacy • Some characteristics of digital discipleship include: o Joy for the Gospel o Compassion for others o Service o Prayer

Promote a Healthy Balance • Consider modeling a tech Sabbath for young people.

What Social Media to Utilize • Who's your audience? • Where are young people at? • See article and graphs at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tk-facts-about-teens- on-social-media-that-are-really-scary_us_55a7c6f0e4b0896514d06eab

Leverage Social Media Tools • Save Time with Social Media • Scheduling tools o Buffer and HootSuite • RSS Readers to aggregate news and posts o Feedly, Flipboard

Mobilize a Social Media Team of Young People • Mobile journalism project • Read about the “I am Raymondville” mobile journalist project at http://www.cdob.org/the-valley-catholic43/columns/704-two-feet-in-action • Provide training and equipment • Provide meaningful and important opportunities • Share responsibilities and tasks • Validate and celebrate their voice

Utilize the Most Engaging Types of Posts • Photos • Videos • Quotes • Contests • Questions • Calls to Action • Trivia Read more about engaging posts at: • http://www.massplanner.com/7-most-engaging-types-of- facebook-posts/ • http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2016/29422/which-types-of-facebook-brand- posts-get-the-most-engagement

Consider Using Twitter and SMS Texting • To follow a Twitter profile: o Text Follow CMDNET to 40404 • To retweet the latest tweet: o Text RT CMDNET to 40404 • Learn more here: o https://support.twitter.com/articles/14014?lang=en o https://support.twitter.com/articles/14020?lang=en

Leverage Email and Social Media • Use a list building strategy to intentionally connect your email and social media efforts. • Campaign Types o Signup 1% conversion into subscriptions o Offer 5% conversion into subscriptions o Enter to win 15% conversion into subscriptions • Over 50% web traffic is mobile

Decide What to Post • Consider leveraging User Generated Content (UGC). • Photos o Stock Photos from Pexels from Pixabay o Edit your photos with web services like Canva, Pablo, ribbet, Fotor, Pixlr, Picmonkey, Sumopaint

• Live Videos of events and presentations – There is a growing prevalence of Live Video in Twitter, Periscope, and Facebook. Other video development includes 360 degree videos and more virtual reality experiences. • Use #hashtags – consider using a service like Tagboard.com to aggregate posts from different social media networks. Read how the Vatican used #BeMercy during the Jubliee Year of Mercy: https://cruxnow.com/cna/2016/08/30/vatican-promotes-mercy-social- media-bemercy. Read about Current Social Media Trends at: http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2016/29422/which-types-of-facebook-brand-posts-get-the- most-engagement.

Be Mindful of Safe Environment Concerns • Be pro-active • Ask questions and encourage conversation • Utilize platforms and methods that allow for accountability o Facebook pages o Instagram for business o Pinterest for business o Twitter Dashboard for business • Know the features and concerns for new social media sites o https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/16-apps-and-websites-kids-are- heading-to-after-facebook#

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Session 3: Part 1 – Forming Family Faith Generation X Parents – Born between 1965 and 1980

“Latch-key kids" grew up street-smart but isolated, entrepreneurial, and individualistic. Government and big business mean little to them. They want to save the neighborhood, not the world, feel misunderstood by other generations, are late to marry (after cohabitation), and are quick to divorce. Many are single parents, value labels and brand names, and are deeply in credit card debt. Their childhood was often filled with videos and video games.

They are short on loyalty and wary of commitment; values are relative. They may be self- absorbed and wary of organizations, cautious, skeptical, unimpressed with authority, self-reliant, and they like the idea of individual rights prevailing over the common good. Many were raised by career and money conscious Boomers. MarketTeacher.com, May 2014

Vatican II gave way to a more conscience-centered approach to faith, so Gen X has the ability to remain faithful while in disagreement with Church teachings (often sexual and reproductive issues). Xers show a decline in church attendance. Like society and the cultures around them, they tend toward an individualistic approach to faith and look for diversity, community and dialogue. From 2007 Fall/Winter LifeLong Faith ©LifeLong Faith Associates

How Generation X Parents

During childhood, Generation X became the most unprotected generation in modern history. While both parents may have worked, there were no after-school programs, and children were left at home unattended. They became what is known as latch–key kids. These experiences birthed a generation of helicopter parents. Over-parenting is the norm among Gen-Xers. One could say they are the most devoted parents in American history.

Cynical - “Gen-Xers distrust authority and large institutions including corporations, religious institutions, and the government. The following is a list of historical events that occurred during Generation X’s coming of age, which contributed to the Gen-Xer-As-Cynic stereotype: the energy crisis of the 1970s, Watergate, Iran Contra (1980s), nuclear disasters (from Three-Mile Island, to Silkwood/Kerr McGee, Union Carbide, and Chernobyl), the Space Shuttle Challenger

disaster, widespread layoffs of the 1980s, the dot.com boom and bust of the 1990s, corporate greed, and the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. In more recent years, the Great Recession has underscored and validated that cynicism.” It was Generation X that founded Occupy Wall Street. This affected parenting in many ways – questioning all authority, teachers, doctors, coaches, clergy, etc. One has to earn the respect of GenXers.

Educated - Compared to the generations that came before it, Generation X is a highly-educated generation. More than 60 percent of Gen-Xers have attended college at one time or another. With this knowledge, Gen X parents have expectations of college education for their own children, push them in school and provide support every step of the way.

Embrace Diversity - “Generation Xers grew up without segregation. They grew up loving Bill Cosby and watching Different Strokes and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. These cultural influences contributed to a generation that is more accepting and more inclusive of others. Generation X has long embraced diversity and with it their understanding of marriage, parenthood, and what constitutes a family.”

Individualistic - “Divorce was a major factor in the developing resourcefulness, independence, and self-sufficiency of Generation X. Autonomy was a consequence of unstable childhoods. Interestingly, the lack of coddling in childhood has created a generation of parents who coddle their kids’ every whim. This over-compensation is frequently defined as over-parenting.

Work-Life Balance - “Gen-Xers value work-life balance. How else could we coach soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, baseball in the spring, all while serving as Scout leader? Gen-Xers value work-life balance because they know the job you sacrifice everything for might not be there tomorrow. So, why give it all and lose your family in the process?”

Getting to Know Today’s Catholic Parents

“If only parents would do their job at home and support our ministry better!” Ever since youth ministry and faith formation leaders learned that parents are the primary catechists of their children, we have been trying to get those parents to do a better job. We often responded with more mandatory meetings, more homework, worksheets, family resources sent home online or in handouts, and more expectations for families of children and youth seeking sacraments. This approach has not yielded the results we expected or hoped for.

It’s time for a new relationship with parents. Instead of being frustrated with parents for what they don’t do, we need to see parents as part of our ministry – they long for the same inspiration and evangelization that their youth and children do. The New Evangelization reminds us that we need to share the encounter, the relationship, and the enthusiasm of the Good News of Christ’s love in new ways with everyone. We need to energize those who are active in their faith and evangelize people who know the story of Christ but don’t feel it is important in their life. We have an amazing opportunity to minister to today’s families by including parents as part of our ministry. If we are a leader in youth ministry or faith formation, parents deserve ministry and relationship from us. This means seeing parents in new ways; not just as volunteers, helpers, and bringers of meals and goodies; and not just as people to support us in what we do with their kids.

Televisions, monitors, and many tools of technology have “reset” buttons. As ministry leaders, let’s hit the “reset” button and really get to know parents so that we engage them in ministry and create new partnerships in forming children and youth in faith. The Center for Applied Research on the Apostolate (CARA) recently released part one of a three-part report about Catholic parents. This study was commissioned by Holy Cross Family Ministries. Here are a few headlines that help us get started in our path to know and minister with parents. The full report can be found here: www.HCFM.org/FamilyResearch.

One size does not fit all - Catholic Parents are Diverse

Recently, I was providing a workshop about how to engage today’s parents for catechetical and youth ministry leaders. After sharing about the different generations of parents and the different stages of the family life cycle, one of the faith formation coordinators had an “aha”

moment – “There’s so much going on and so many differences. I always just thought of them as parents, like they were one thing.” Today’s parents of children and youth are one of the most ethnically diverse religious groups in history. They are also age-diverse and include Millennials, Gen Xers, and some Baby Boomer grandparents who are acting in a parental role. The chart below shows that Catholic parents are more diverse than Catholic adults in general. “Catholics in the United States today are likely among the most diverse religious groups the country has ever known. Catholic families specifically are even more racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse than the overall Catholic population.”

(Page2) We’re Here! - Most Catholic Parents go to Mass Regularly A Majority of Catholic Parents (53%) is attending mass weekly or at least once a month which compares with 43% of the Catholic adult population in general.

(Page2) I’ll Choose the Lifeline – Catholic Parents Pray

Catholic parents pray regularly and see prayer and essential to their faith. 71% say that prayer is essential to their faith (“somewhat” or “strongly”). 56% pray more than once a week (36% pray daily). Parents frequently turn to prayer at times of crisis and most often pray for family members. It’s time for Grace - Importance of Sacraments for Children 66% of parents say that it is very important for their child to receive first communion. 61% say the same thing about Confirmation. There are big differences among parents; this divide is based on frequency of worship, with weekly mass attending parents being nearly unanimous in their view of importance.

(Page 3)

Gather Round the Table – Family Meal Time and Game Time A majority of parents across the generations indicate that they eat dinner together as a family every night. Millennial parents are slightly more likely than Gen X parents to eat dinner together as a family every night (55% vs. 50%) 62% of families gather outside of dinner for a game night, movie night, family discussion, or family prayer. Think of the possibilities to support families in sharing faith as they gather for a meal or share a game. Where Did Everybody Go? - Participation in Programs 68% of parents indicate that their children do not participate in Catholic schools, religious education, or youth ministry. That’s right, for over 2/3rds of our families, the main place we will see them is at mass. Although they see the sacraments as important for their children, we don’t see them in programs as often as we would hope. What does this tell us about our ministries?

(Page 6) Let’s be Facebook Friends - Social Media and Communications Parents are more likely than all Catholic adults to use social media. 73% of parents have a Facebook profile. 42% of parents regularly use the parish bulletin either in print or online, yet only 12% use the parish website. Nearly all other media connections for Catholic parents are very low. As the researcher concluded: “Yet, the survey results also indicate that many 21st Century parents do not have their children enrolled in the Church’s religious education programs. For many, religious education appears to happen at Mass and perhaps in the home. But how is this happening? Catholic parents are rather unlikely to use Catholic media— especially online.” (Page 13)

The children and youth in these families are immersed in the digital world. In the summary, the researchers wondered how we can connect. “The Catholic children being raised today are of a yet unnamed generation following the Millennials. They have never used a television without hundreds of channel options. They have no memory of a time before the internet. Many have coexisted with the creation of YouTube, Twitter, iPhones, the Xbox, and the widespread adoption of Wi-Fi. They are inclined to believe they will come of age during a time of virtual and augmented reality devices, self-driving cars, and intelligent robots. How does an institution that is nearly 2,000 years old connect with them in this rapidly evolving digital environment?” (Page 13 - Emphasis added.) What Does All This Mean? - Ministry Implications for Youth Ministry and Faith Formation This research gives us a glimpse of what’s going on for Catholic parents today. Diving into the research is one step for growing our ministries; getting to know the parents in our community is probably even more important. As with all ministries, relationships are the key. As we build and grow relationships with parents, we will find new, organic ways to learn from, work with, support, and partner with parents in our ministries with children and youth. What do you think this research tells us? Where do we need to grow? What do you see as the challenges? What are the opportunities?

The Number One Reason Teens Keep the Faith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-briggs/the-no-1-reason-teens-kee_b_6067838.html “The holy grail for helping youth remain religiously active as young adults has been at home all along: parents. Mothers and fathers who practice what they preach and preach what they practice are far and away the major influence related to adolescents keeping the faith into their 20s, according to new findings from a landmark study of youth and religion.” David Briggs, Association of Religion Data Archives

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Research Respondents who were close to their parents or whose parents frequently talked to them about religion are twice as likely to report high levels of traditional beliefs and practices than those who were not close to their parents or whose parents "rarely" or "never" talked about religion (The Search for Common Ground: What Unites and Divides Catholic Americans, James D. Davidson, pp. 98–99).

The Davidson study is corroborated by a Search Institute study involving mainline protestant denominations, which found that the three most important factors that empower the faith maturity among young people are family based (the bullets below are adapted from The Teaching Church: Moving Christian Education to Center Stage by Eugene C. Roehlkepartain, Abingdon Press, 1993, pp.174-177).

• Family faith conversations. Hearing their parents' faith stories is one of the most important influences on the faith of children and teenagers. Open-ended discussions on relevant and controversial issues create an atmosphere for dialogue and growth. While it is important for parents to know just how they stand on a given issue, it is just as important to allow for a variety of opinions. It is also helpful

when parents are willing to share times of doubt and questioning in their own faith journey. Sharing the rough points can create new opportunities for conversation and understanding.

• Family ritual and devotion. This activity moves from informal conversation to something a bit more structured and intentional. People who regularly have family devotions, prayer, or Bible reading at home tend to have higher faith maturity. Families who take some time to reflect on their daily, weekly, and seasonal habits will likely discover some opportunities for family ritual.

• Family outreach and service. Faced with so many problems of their own, many families are not motivated to serve others. Yet repeated acts of selfless mercy can transform woes into healing as well as bring help to those in greater need. The most powerful influence on faith and family unity is working together to help others. One sure way to gain a world vision and a desire to serve others is to invite people who represent issues in the world to visit and perhaps share a meal.

Help Parents Walk with Youth in their Questions

• Listen to their questions and acknowledge that we also have questions and doubts. • Talk about the places, the people, the activities and the ways that we experience God’s presence. • Ask questions and encourage our youth to think about and talk about their experience.  Where do you see God?  Are there places that you especially experience God’s presence?  Who are the people that you see as being filled with faith?  Are there activities in which you feel close to God?

Encouraging Youth to Participate in Mass

Many parents struggle to find effective ways of encouraging their teenage children to attend mass. Consider these ideas:

+ Attend liturgy together as a family. Parents, let your children know that this is what we do as a family. Attending mass on Sunday is part of who we are. + Tell your children your feelings about liturgy and the reasons why their participation is important to you. Take the time to talk about the importance of Eucharist in your life and the real presence of Christ that you receive through participation in liturgy. Share your values and why you believe participation in mass is central in your life. + Make going to Mass an occasion—go to breakfast afterwards or join in a special family activity. + Let youth sit with their friends during mass if they want to. Being part of a community means that there are people we look forward to being with. This is true for young people as well. + Plan for time together as a family following liturgy. This will give you an opportunity to continue the conversation about faith and life. + Be careful about complaining about the parish, your pastor, the homily, the music, or other aspects of the liturgy and parish community. It is normal to talk about things with each other as adults, but youth can misinterpret such concerns and critique as negativism and become discouraged about being part of the community. + Make it personal by asking the young person to go to Mass as a gift to you. Sometimes parents just cannot convince young people they should participate for their own good; however, a parent can let youth know what it means to them to be there together.

Forming Family Faith

Gather Families One way to support family faith formation is to provide strategic gathering for families of adolescents. This could include a faith festival or family faith sharing event, it could also gatherings that connect faith to community building such as a movie night, a family hike, or a campfire.

Ministries for Parents Another strategy to support family faith is to provide ministries, gatherings and resources for parents, who will feel more confident sharing faith with their children when they are learning and growing in faith. Anything we do to support parents in growing in faith will also help the family.

Connect through Technology We can connect with families and support faith formation by connecting with the parents and children through technology. Research demonstrates that parents turn to social media sites for practical help with parenting and family challenges. We can make a faith connection by providing practical assistance and faith building resources.

Resources for Home We can support families in sharing faith, praying together, and engaging in service together by providing resources. Simple strategies that connect with family life make the greatest impact. Consider resources for prayer with meals, resources to celebrate the seasons, and feasts of the liturgical year and resources that match with family life, such as a guide for sharing faith during vacations or a way to pray when sending a child to college.

Parent-Youth Sessions Some faith sharing topics can be provided for youth and their parents together. Use this option strategically for occasions and content that help promote dialogue and a common vision for families of adolescents, such as sessions that strengthen communication and family life, or portions of sacramental preparation.

Parallel Programs A parallel program is one that is offered on the same topic to youth and their parents. Use this option for content that can be helpful to parents as well as adolescents. The bonus in this option is that since parents and youth experience the same information, you are supporting dialogue and helping parents to know how to support their child’s participation. For example, you could offer an evening retreat offered on the same topic as the upcoming youth weekend retreat, or you could offer a session for parents as you begin each theme of Confirmation Preparation for youth.

Making the Connection!

Where is your starting point in growing in the ways you connect with parents?

Session 3: Part 2 – Transforming Ministry

What Gen Z Youth are not looking for… • They are not looking to be force fit into joining a group. o Gen Z youth want to belong. They want to strengthen relationships with their family and build relationships with peers and adults. They want to belong to the parish and feel a sense of belonging with other young people, but they don’t necessarily want to join a group that meets for the same purpose at the same time on a regular basis. They want to choose how and when to be involved and they don’t see why that should impact how they are accepted or how they participate.

• They are not looking for passive reception of information that is dispensed on our timeline. o If Gen Z youth like a TV show, they binge watch several episodes at the time that they choose. If they want to see the scoring touchdown or the funny skit from a favorite show or a great scene from a movie, they access it online, now. When we get their attention and they want to grow in faith, many youth don’t want to just receive the information in a passive way in the order and at the pace that we have chosen. We need to look at faith learning differently. We need to get their attention, get them involved, and once they are curious, we need to be a resource that feeds their curiosity and their hunger to grow in faith.

• They are not looking for a way to be bored. o It’s really hard to lead ministry and share faith while looking out at a sea of bored faces. We can blame it on youth, on their short attention spans, and unreasonable expectations about being entertained all the time. The truth is, we can do a better job. As evangelists and catechists, we need to speak in a way that they will hear us. We can take the time to listen, and learn about young people and understand how they learn. We can take the time to choose faith content that connects with their lives, and make it interesting. We can be vulnerable and make it personal. We can involve them in the process. It’s about creativity, planning, teamwork, and investing time. We need to invest our time and energies in presenting the faith in a compelling way that speaks to young people’s lives.

• They are not looking for a place where they feel locked out. o Gen Z youth have high expectations for access and transparency. Parishes are complicated systems, and can be hard to navigate, even for adults. Youth today will invest themselves in places that they can access and influence. Compared to the other parts of their life, they can feel “locked out” of parish life when they don’t feel that they are listened to, when they don’t feel included or considered in decisions, when they aren’t included in ministries, or leadership, when they don’t get information they need to participate, and when they don’t see other young people in visible roles. We can open the locks of parish life so that they feel like family.

Transforming Ministry –Re-Imagine Youth Ministry Doing Youth Ministry in A Missionary Key Pastoral ministry in a missionary key seeks to abandon the complacent attitude that says: “We have always done it this way”. I invite everyone to be bold and creative in this task of rethinking the goals, structures, style and methods of evangelization in their respective communities. Evangelii Gaudium, #33 Creating Onramps for Youth Engagement  Support the World Changers

o Help youth connect faith to the issues in their community and the world about which they are passionate.

o Support youth as they engage in social innovation, using their creativity to solve problems, big and small, and help build the Kingdom!

Try This! ▪ Host a youth night that introduces young people to young world changers, people who are their age who are solving problems in the world right now. As part of your process, use the resources provided on pages 44-45 and “Oceans – Where Feet May Fail” PowerPoint Presentation included in the workshop website: www.cmdnet.org/genzresources ▪ In providing follow-through for your next service event, gather youth for a retreat day that focuses on social innovation, including the steps and exercises identified in this workshop.  Evangelize Youth through Technology

o Meet youth where they are by engaging them in faith dialogue through technology.

o Support youth to become Digital Disciples.

Try This! ▪ Gather a social media evangelization team for your community that includes youth and adults. Consider young adult leaders who aren’t part of your current team but who have skills in social media, marketing, and communication. As a team create strategies for web presence, social media and communication with youth and with parents.

 Engage Parents – Form Family Faith

o Build relationships and provide support to parents of Gen Z youth.

o Support families of youth as they form faith at home, engage in parish life, and join together in their “vocation to love.”

Try This! ▪ Gather with parents for a listening session. Find out what they are experiencing in your parish. What are the ways they are feeling supported? What are their challenges in participating engaging? What are they looking for?

▪ Prepare a presentation about Gen Z youth to provide for parents in your community, or prepare a presentation for youth and parents to learn more about each other!

▪ Host seasonal gathering for youth and their families for faith and fun – consider an outdoors movie night in the spring, a hike and campfire in the summer, a service event in the fall, and a prayer service for advent.

 A Customized Pathway

o Create customized pathways for youth to be involved and to grow spiritually.

Try This! ▪ Gather the information about youth in your parish or Catholic school. Use a resource to keep track of contact information, interests, gifts, challenges, and participation.

Consider this resource: http://minhubapp.com/ This is an app that provides a way to keep track of youth interests, gifts and participation. You create a profile for each youth, including a picture. When you have an event, a member of the team walks around with their tablet and checks each young person in by touching their picture. This means you can communicate with youth and with families of youth after they participate. ▪ Create Individualized Spirituality Plans (ISP’s) for young people. An ISP is a plan you create with a young person that focuses participation and resources on areas that they are most ready to grow. You might begin to use this strategy with a specific group of youth, such as youth who have participated in a retreat, or youth who are preparing for Confirmation.

 A Way to Access What They Need

o Identify the ways that youth can be involved in your parish or Catholic school.

o Work with ministry leaders to open up participation and shared leadership with youth so that youth can become more involved in liturgy, service, faith formation, ministries, and leadership roles in your parish.

o Communicate to youth ways to access resources and choose involvements in your community.

Try This! ▪ Prepare a presentation about Gen Z youth to share with parish leadership groups and ministries. Follow the presentation with brainstorming about the ways to increase youth participation and involvement. ▪ Meet with youth to identify their interests and needs, along with the challenges, obstacles, and “hurdles” for their participation. ▪ Develop a communications team that will focus on a multi-faceted campaign to engage youth in the life of your parish. Consider strategies for in-person communications, social media, postings on bulletin boards, and ways to spread information through personal networks.

Here are the resources for the Growing Young research project.

Project website:

https://churchesgrowingyoung.com/

Order book online: https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Young-Essential-Strategies- Discover/dp/0801019257/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489093152&sr=8- 1&keywords=growing+young  Experience of Faith

o Make faith hands on and heart on by building all faith formation around experiences. This will give youth something to do and something to care about.

o Catechize youth by preparing them for something that they want to do.

o Support them in using their creativity and leadership to engage in experiences of faith.

Try This! ▪ Transform evangelization and catechesis with youth by asking these questions: • What do I want them to know? • What is an experience that will help them learn and grow? • How can I prepare them for the experience? • How can I help them reflect on the experience? • How can I connect them to ongoing experiences that will sustain their faith learning? ▪ Be intentional in utilizing experience by using the “Prepare / Engage / Reflect” method. Choose an event, a liturgical season or feast, or an experience of service. Provide practical and catechetical preparation for the event. Engage in the event, and provide a way to reflect on the event and name growth in faith.

Conversation ▪ How do you see youth ministry / faith formation changing and growing to respond to Gen Z youth and their families?

▪ What needs to change and grow in your parish?

▪ What needs to change and grow in your youth ministry?

▪ Where does faith formation / adolescent catechesis / sacramental preparation need to grow in your parish?

▪ What’s the first step you need to take?

Re-Visioning our Ministry with Youth Tom East

Have you ever gotten into your car and started driving and then noticed that the seat is too close and the mirrors are all wrong? The way the car was set up by the last driver is just not working. When that happens, you can keep going, while being uncomfortable and knowing that what you’re doing isn’t working, or you can recognize that it’s time to pull to the side of road and make adjustments.

You can feel it, can’t you? The landscape for ministry with youth and families is shifting. Some of the practices of ministry with youth that our communities have been doing for years are not working the same as they used to. This is a “pull to the side of road moment.” It’s time to transform all our efforts to focus on helping youth become disciples.

This shift responds to a deep hunger in youth. A hunger for meaning, for belonging, and for purpose. This hunger is satisfied in friendship with Christ—a friendship that leads to belonging and to fruitful sharing of love and care with those in need. Another way to describe this friendship is missionary discipleship. Pope Francis has situated missionary discipleship as a means of being Christ in the world by healing, sharing good news, and witnessing to the faith in a way that combines a life of service and faithfulness with the witness of evangelization. Young people are looking for the adventure of their lifetime. As Church, we can propose the adventure of being a missionary disciple. Youth and young adults are missionary when they seek to witness and serve those most in need, including the people closest to them. They are disciples when they strive to know Christ and follow his ways. Our engagement with youth and young adults should help them to encounter Christ, provide for accompaniment, promote belonging in the parish community, and lead them to mission.

Questions we can ask as we begin our transformation:

• As we listen to youth and families, what are we hearing about where they are and what they need? • How are we helping youth to experience encounters with God’s loving presence? • How are we supporting disciple building families? • What are the resources in our parish to help grow young disciples? • Who are the active disciples in our parish who could mentor youth? • How are we promoting the practices of discipleship? • How could we engage youth in active mission? • How can we reimagine all that we are doing through the lens of helping disciples grow?