You Can't Just Sit There! And the CCYMN Conference!

It's been 4 and half years since I started working here at Notre Dame Highschool in Red Deer! And there have been many crazy experiences! Many laughs! Many tears! And many changes!

Every time I attend a conference, I am so incredibly blessed to be with fellow catholic youth ministers that "Get it"

I once told a support staff this year at the school, that she is in fact a Youth Minister. And she started laughing and thought that was weird because she wasn't religious. I also get told on a regular basis, that I can lock my doors of my office and not let students in because they don't need to bug me.  (Which-I have done only on mondays so that I can get work done), but it seems as though, people don't get what a youth minister is!
All of us staff at this school, I believe, are youth ministers! We are helping young people graduate! We are helping them succeed in life! We are helping and forming them to become wonderful young adults! That's what a youth minister is! We are building relationships with the these students! We are getting to know them, and we are there for them if they are in need!

I know for most teachers, locking your door to get work done is normal, but I want to be available to these students, that's what a youth minister should be doing! Not worrying about the paperwork so much, or managing your time to work on that when you know you won't be distracted by students!

It's all about the relationship!

I had the opportunity this past weekend to attend the CCYMN Conference-which stands for-The Canadian Catholic Youth Ministry Network! It was held in Saskatoon, Sask! We had 220 youth ministry oriented people attend the conference! From actual youth ministry coordinators, to clergy, to parents and to teachers! It was an inspiring weekend filled with so much encouragement and affirmation!

One of the biggest themes of the weekend with our guest speaker-Frank Mercadante was this-Do simple things and encourage others!! Don't stress about the big stuff! Just do little things well! Be intentionally courteous! Try to affirm the people you are around! Let the students know you are praying for them, and that you appreciate them!

One other huge thing I got out of this weekend is that we MUST reach out to the Teachers/Staff at the school, and the Parents! This is huge! I, as a youth minister do not see the students as much as these role models.  It is important to build relationships with the staff and with the parents! This is something I realize I lack. I tend to get intimidated or worried about judgement, but after 4 and half years of this position in the school, it is time! It is time for a big change! I want to strive to bring our staff closer together and to not only build relationships with each other, but even more with the students. We need the staff at our schools to really know Jesus Christ in their lives. Then they will "get it"! They'll know that they are youth ministers! Molding and building relationships with the students that they encounter everyday! Fundamentally, Jesus, MUST be at the center, otherwise, we're just teaching, and in a catholic school system, it needs to obviously be more than that!

And secondly, the parents need to encounter Jesus in us! This is definately a challenge in a highschool! We don't see those parents very often. But to connect with them, will be a goal that I will strive to work on.

I will close this Blog with a story that Frank Mercadante shared at our conference, about a man in the 1980's who decided to tie a bunch of helium balloons to a lawn chair. Not anticipating too much he sat in the lawn chair and cut the rope, and to his surprise the balloons, along with him shot up straight in the air to 16,000 feet! This man was eventually rescued before he went over the Pacific ocean, and when he was safe and on the ground, the authorities asked him why he did this, and the man said-"Because you can't just sit There"

We can't just sit there! If we truly believe in God, and desire heaven, we can't just sit and do nothing. We have a responsibility to love others enough to help them to get to heaven too. And that means building relationships and being there for one another.

If you're just sitting there, what are you going to now, to be a youth minster in the lives of the young people we meet everyday?