About Youth Ministry at St. Paul the Apostle Church

St. Paul's Youth Ministry in the Catholic Church:
Here at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Joliet, our youth ministry program follows and obeys the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church...Scripture, Tradition and Magisterium. We follow the example of our leaders, our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI and our shepherd of the Diocese of Joliet, Bishop J. Peter Sartain. We realize the richness and beauty of the 2000 years the Catholic Church has existed and know that in an age that we are living in, of modern relativism, where people pick and choose what they want to believe, we follow solely the Catholic Church. We proudly profess our faith in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ; attend Mass on a regular basis; partake in the wonderful Sacraments, including realizing the importance of Reconciliation and being in the state of grace; devote time to powerful prayer devotionals of our Church, such as the Rosary, Eucharistic Adoration and Divine Mercy Chaplet; pray through the Communion of Saints; and follow all the other great aspects of the Church. Our role is to not only become imitators and disciples of Jesus Christ, by word and deed, but to lead others to Him.

What is Youth Ministry?
Drawing youth into the adventure of discipleship; helping youth to make the right connections; growing young disciples; responding to the needs and including the gifts of youth; seeing youth as gifted and growing; seeing parents as partners; seeing our parish as ready and able to respond to youth; seeing the wider community as collaborators and resources; a relationship, not just a program; investing in youth with our time, attention and resources.

Emotional Needs:
Youth Ministry is about people not programs. We make a large effort to not just invite the youth to our "home" but go out to meet them. Knowing all the facts and rules of our faith is important but useless if we forget that Jesus was relational. He did not preach from a podium, he taught in the streets. Jesus did not turn away from the suffering, he went towards the suffering and embraced the individuals with his love.

Educational Needs:
You cannot believe that which you have no knowledge of. A simple premise which has unending truths. We cannot expect our youth to embrace scripture if they do not read and learn scripture. Bible Study is only one way to teach and way to learn. At St. Paul's we strive not only to teach the facts and details about being a Christian, but also to teach how to be a Christian person. To give without expecting something in return. To lead when others are afraid to follow. To truly embrace the question "What Would Jesus Do?"

Spiritual Needs:
As Catholics, we believe that true life can only be found through Jesus. Christ taught us that through God and prayer, all things are possible. Recognizing the need for God in our lives now more then ever, the youth of our parish can feel spiritual throughout the week as well as on Sunday.

Social Activities:
One of the best ways to share our faith is to have fun while sharing with the company of friends. The teens of our parish come together to enjoy many different events and activities.

3 Goals of Catholic Youth Ministry

Goal One: Empowerment
To empower young people to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in our world today.

Goal Two: Participation
To draw young people to responsible participation in the life, mission, and work of the Catholic faith community.

Goal Three: Growth
To foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person.

Jesus is Calling You to Youth Ministry

     Jesus calls each of us to be disciples. In doing so, it is not enough to talk about our faith, we must live it. If ya gonna talk da talk, ya better walk da walk! The goal of the Youth Ministry Program here at St. Paul the Apostle is to welcome our youth to the Christian way of life, to educate them about the needs of others, and to provide a safe environment where teens can share their thoughts and feelings with God and each other.

     Welcome to the St. Paul the Apostle Youth Ministry Program. As a young parishioner of St. Paul's we are trying to respond to your personal, physical, emotional and spiritual needs. The youth program here will work for total personal and spiritual growth of each young person by drawing them closer to understanding reponsible participation in life, mission and faith.

     Youth Ministry responds to the Gospel call to the relationship with Jesus. This relationship is experienced in a community of acceptance and belonging, celebrating in worship and prayer, and expressed through justice and service. We seek to develop a comfortable atmosphere of welcome, affirmation and joy which fosters relationships amoung young people and with caring, believing adults. Our Church pledge is to affirm a ministry that is to, with, by and for the young people, and that we believe that this ministry is a blessing for the entire Church community.

     We offer many programs here at St. Paul's that fit the needs of all. The foundation of our program is centered around our weekly Tuesday F.O.L.L.O.W. Meetings. F.O.L.L.O.W. is our nickname that we collectively picked to stand for who we are...Friends Offering Love Leadership Opportunity & Worship. We have two rooms in the Convent basement where we meet, known as 'THE CAVERN'. The convent is the building located directly north of the Church. Drop-ins are always welcome but we recommend you call first before attending.

     St. Paul's Youth Ministry Program consists of high school teens...senior high youth ministry...all teens of the parish are welcome to join us during the second semester of their 8th grade year.