"Let the little children come to me; do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these." In 1976, the United States Catholic Conference (USCC) published a document entitled “A Vision of Youth Ministry.” It was a leading and enlightening response to the challenges of effectively bringing young Americans closer to God, showing them the ways and reasons of what it means to live a good Christian life in a relationship with the Lord. This document was a great success in youth ministry in the United States, but, two decades after its publication, in 1997, the USCC, in response to the new challenges and needs of today's youth, published a new document entitled "Renewing the Vision: a framework for Catholic youth ministry." The new document builds on the fine tradition of the 1976 document, except that "Renewing the Vision" responds to three new challenges. Since the new document fundamentally addresses the same issues as the previous one, with the exception of the three new objectives, my research will build on the concepts of the 1976 document as well as on the review of the three new challenges of the "Renewing the Vision." Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayAlthough these two documents are about the spiritual development of American youth, I think they can be used by youth ministers around the world, because as we look at young people around the world today, we will find them facing more or less the same problems as young people in the United States. . When Jesus Christ came to earth with the Good News of salvation, he died and was resurrected for the salvation of the people of all ages of all the nations of the world who were then, who are now, and who will be. After Christ was resurrected and ascended into Heaven, he left the leadership of the Church to the apostles, who were then succeeded by bishops up to the present day. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the bishops of the Catholic Church, with the Pope at their head, to ensure that the message of salvation is rightly brought to the people of God who constitute the Church. Although Christ's message of salvation is always the same, the methods by which the Church presents it to people are different, and this is because there are different age groups of people who accept it in many different ways. This means that it is not possible, for example, to present the same concepts of faith that require the intelligence of an 18-year-old or a 6-year-old. This is why the Catholic Church teaches the principles of its faith according to the age groups and abilities of the recipients. The General Directory for Catechesis speaks of four general age groups to which the appropriate pedagogical methods of the Church's teachings should be applied, and these groups are: adults, infants and young children, youth and the elderly or elderly. In our case it will be about presenting the saving message to young people. Every ministry of our Church requires three things: «to announce the good news of salvation, to offer ourselves as a group of people transformed by the Spirit into a community of faith, hope and love and to bring the justice and love of God to others through service in its individual, social and political dimensions". Furthermore, in every ministry of the Church, the life of our Savior Jesus Christ should always be an example to follow. The vitally important thing that youth ministers must remember is that if they want to minister as the Church wants them to, they must give of themselves in relation to others, that is, to young people, without even being afraid to give their lives in service to them . In other words, they must put their whole heart and will into the ministry, because it is theirsthe salvation of the young person's soul may depend on it, which is the greatest treasure of every person. Christ gives all of us different gifts that he wants us to develop as perfectly as possible, so if we feel like we have received a calling to work with young people, then it is up to us to develop them to the best of our abilities. But if you feel that for some reason you cannot work with young people, it is better to leave the ministry than to continue doing it, because otherwise it may evolve into a gradual and imperceptible ruin of the lives of young people. In other words, it is better to not be a youth minister at all than to be a bad minister. First of all, every youth minister should keep in mind two objectives that youth ministry requires to provide good work with young people. people, and they are:1. "Youth ministry works to foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person. 2. Youth ministry seeks to attract young people to responsible participation in the life, mission and work of the faith community." minister to establish a relationship of trust with young people. If a young man or woman has confidence in a youth minister, then it will be much easier to work with these people and present Christ and His teachings as a model to follow. Furthermore, the sacrament of reconciliation has great importance here, because through Confession, in addition to its primary purpose of cleansing the soul from the burden of sins by renewing the grace of God, a young man learns to trust other people. Why? Because if he or she is not afraid to tell his or her sins to God through the priest as mediator, then this will have some influence on him or her in learning to trust others. Furthermore, it is important to remember to show the young person how God works in his daily life, that He is not someone unattainable, but someone who wants to communicate with his child, so that he finds the true and peaceful goal of his life. Young people should see that their leaders really care about them and are ready to listen to them and help them in a Christian way with whatever problem they have. Youth ministries should also make young people participate in an active Christian life, and the best way to do this would be to involve them in the life of their parish, so that they can see and feel the joy of working towards building the Kingdom of God on earth. . It is very useful for young people to gain a sense of belonging to a community, because "God [is] found in people" and, therefore, youth ministers should try to organize various sports activities, camps, helping the poor, visiting hospitals , volunteer for charity, etc. When working with young people, it is always good for ministers to teach young people to share the knowledge and experience of living a good Christian life with others, because this is how the message of the Gospel spreads throughout the world – through sharing joy of salvation with others. Even in youth ministry, the relationship between young people and their families is essential, and it is precisely one of the new challenges that "Renewing the vision" finds itself facing. The problem in American society today, as in much of the world, is that children do not spend enough time with their families, and this is because "consumerism and entertainment media often encourage a culture of isolation." This is why youth ministers should talk to young people about the importance of mutual balance in their lives in regards to spending more time with their families, because it is a family where young people learn how to move forward with life in the world. This is why the task of every youth ministry is to ensure thatyoung people receive from their families the best Christian moral and practical values. Another part of youth ministry is teaching young people to be able to make the right moral decisions in their lives, and this process requires having faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, because faith is "one's belief in the ultimate and of the meaning of existence - [it] is the resting place of the heart and the orienting guide of the mind", and who but our Good God can give us this peace of heart in making morally good decisions. Very often the simplest solution to a problem is not always the best, so it is critically important that a Youth Minister provides explanations and good Christian reasons for a young person to make the right moves in life. Youth ministry should teach young people the will to grow in Christ, and this means growing in holiness, because this is something that is possible to do if they want to live a good Christian moral life, and that will help them not to be afraid of life's challenges and ability to choose the right path in life. Furthermore, young youth ministers, as well as adult ones, must remember that they themselves are the living example for young people. If ministers teach young people one thing and they themselves do the exact opposite, then they can lose the trust of young people, and will most likely lose the young people themselves. So, this is a very important thing to remember in youth ministry. Another important factor to remember when working with young people is that young people are naturally inclined to follow the example their parents set for them at home. If you see that the young people you work with refer to the bad example of their parents, such as alcohol addiction, as a result of their behavior, talk to their parents about it, or even the best way would be to tell them about the problem the parish priest of your parish that it would be more appropriate to talk to the parents, because you don't want to teach young people not to trust their parents or, even worse, to hate them, otherwise the young people might get confused in what you are trying to teach them. Another challenge that "Renewing the Vision" faces is the lack of personal identity among many young Americans today: they don't know who they are and what the whole idea of ​​life is. . Why? Because at this stage of their lives they are "trying to find meaning for [their] life and a new continuity between [their] past and [their] future." Adolescents in this period of their lives have a "crisis of faith" - they are dissatisfied with the religion of [their] childhood but still incapable of personal adult faith", and this "crisis of faith" is as much about autonomy and values ​​as it is with religion." It is therefore an important task of every youth ministry to "help the adolescent to discern between sometimes dramatic experiences the elements that truly belong to the faith and those that depend on the culture or the growth process itself". Encourage the young people you are by committing to reading the Holy Bible daily, because "the words of the Gospel never run out". Holy Scripture is the book where young people can find answers to the questions they grapple with and, very often, the questions they are afraid to ask you. Organizing group retreats is one of the best ways to teach young people to develop their trust with their peers, plus they will have the chance to learn to take time to talk to God in prayer. Prayer plays a very important role in youth ministry as a means of spiritual communication with God. Through prayer, young people learn to open their hearts to Jesus Christ who is the best listener, counselor and healer in every problem that a young personman or woman can have; "prayer gives the strength for great ideals, to maintain faith, charity, purity and generosity; prayer gives the courage to emerge from indifference and guilt, if unfortunately one has succumbed to temptation and weakness; prayer gives the light to see and consider the events of one's life and history in the salvific perspective of God and eternity”. Participation in the Liturgy (which is also a form of prayer) is no less important liturgical services, a young person better understands the meaning and importance of living a good Christian life. Young people should also understand the importance of the Eucharist, as the source of their Christian life, because, as Christ said, "whoever eats the Eucharist. my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him". Furthermore, an important part of youth ministry should be to teach young people the importance of the sacraments as "sources" of God's grace, so necessary in spiritual growth . Lest we forget, the most important thing for youth ministers to remember is that young people are always looking for role models in their lives, so it is vitally important to explain to them and present to them that the best role model in their life should be Christ Himself, because He was the only one who gave us an example of how one can achieve perfection in one's life. Furthermore, youth ministers should create different programs that can help discover the different gifts that young people have, because very often it happens that young people have many talents, but are shy in revealing them. Also, teach young people to discover their own leadership skills. Give them some kind of responsible job to do, so they can see their potential, and who knows, sometimes you will be surprised at what their capabilities are. Furthermore, it is of fundamental importance to teach young people to face the reality of life and not to be afraid of the challenges it may present, but, on the contrary, to be able to fight difficulties in a Christian way, with love and compassion. . Also, teach young people to have self-respect, love others and hate sin, because this is exactly the way Jesus wants us to live. Today, sexual ethics is a big problem not only in the United States but also throughout the world. Try to explain to young people that sex belongs to Christian marriage only as one of the essential components for a healthy life as a couple, and that any sexual activity outside of marriage is contrary to God's law and natural law, because "like all human actions, sexual activity has its consequences: physical, emotional and spiritual", such as abortion, for example, and the like. Also, talk to young people about drugs. Explain to them that drugs ruin the human body, which wants to be a temple of the Holy Spirit, as well as the soul. The third challenge that “Renewing the Vision” faces is that of providing a different editorial foundation of documents on which to build an enriched and expanded vision and strategy ” to solve the spiritual problems of youth, and that foundation must “be incorporated into a contemporary vision and strategy for ministering to today's adolescents.” Encourage young people to read books that can teach them something morally good rather than reading all this "empty" literature that leads so many young people astray today. Please note: this is just an example. Get a customized document from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay To top it all off, I would like to give you ten tips that could be very useful for working with young people, in addition to what I have presented above based on these two very important USCC documents, which I have."