Youth ministry is one of the most important, most rewarding, and yet often most difficult of ministries in the Catholic Church today. We have a longing to keep our teens close to the Lord and to the Church at a time when peer and societal pressure often tries to pull them away. The Ogilvie Centre offers support and resource ideas for potential and current youth ministers.
Each year we offer a Youth Ministry Retreat which aims to help current and potential youth ministers to network, reflect, and consider best practices in youth ministry.
Below are some resources for those seeking to gather teens for youth nights:
- Scottish Catholic Youth Service – Scottish Catholic Youth Service (SCY for short) is an organisation of the Bishops in Scotland for the young people of Scotland.
- NET – Encouraging young people to love Jesus and embrace the life of the Church.
- Youth Alpha – The Alpha Youth Series is a brand new interactive series exploring life, faith and meaning. Each episode looks at a different question around faith and is designed to create conversation. It’s also for young people with no Christian or church background. The Alpha Youth Series will all be available for free online!
- SVP B-Attitude – Wonderful resources to start a post-confirmation St. Vincent de Paul service-oriented society in your parish.
- Look to Him and Be Radiant – An excellent range of engaging educational resources for Catholic homes and classrooms.
LifeTeen – This program designed in the United States has an amazing amount of resources to help youth ministers create engaging, faith-filled, and fun youth club nights. While there is a cost to the parish for the resource, with dedicated youth ministers willing to lead it, this program is an investment in the future of our Church. Edge is the version of LifeTeen resources for “middle schoolers”, students 11-13 years old. If your youth group is interested in using LifeTeen, contact the Ogilvie Centre for more information and resources.