Small groups are the way to go in youth ministry

October’s Youth Ministry Meet-Up and Formation Day brought together youth ministers, parish catechetical leaders and religious for a day focused on reaching the hearts of teens.
Presenter for the day was Chris Bartlett, president of Ablaze Ministries based in the Diocese of Austin, Texas, who shared his years of experience, focusing on the impact of small groups in youth ministry.

Held on Oct. 19 in the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway, topics included challenges that small groups face and ways to overcome these common issues; why these groups are needed in the first place, and what exactly are small groups. Throughout the day Bartlett demonstrated how each student has their own reason for being there in ministry and that understanding the students on an individual level can help cultivate important relationships.
He also shared that by involving the parents of the youth, showing the teens that you care, and narrowing down the focus in these small groups’ sessions that filling the hearts and minds of youth needs to be done on a personal level.  

Bartlett started off the event with a de-stressing ice breaker which allowed the youth ministers and everyone involved to learn a bit about each other. The event was broken down into two main presentation sessions on small group dynamics, and included Mass celebrated by Father Timothy Eck, diocesan director, Office of Worship, and lunch. Participants were brought into the conversations on many occasions, demonstrating the experience of a collaborative gathering rather than a lecture.

The ministers were reinforced in the notion that involving participants (like their own youth) and making participants feel important in the conversation, leads to a more positive environment for ministry. Using his experience involving youth in his own ministries, Bartlett was effective in making participants feel like contributors.

The day was a blend of story sharing, skill developing and a productive collaboration. The goal was to have youth ministers leave equipped with practical methods to better help connect to their youth, along with a knowledge of the practical use of small groups within youth ministry. Another goal was to have individuals go back to their parishes and use what they have learned, to hopefully provide a fresh perspectives with their youth.

Bartlett, who has a long history of youth ministry, has put all he has learned into equipping youth ministers with the ability to connect to their groups. He reinforced that leaders in youth ministry have an important role in these teens’ lives when it comes to helping lead them to Jesus Christ.

Bartlett emphasized that actually showing up for youth in predictable and reliable ways is a necessity. He also made it clear that showing up randomly in lives of youth expresses a message that they are genuinely cared for. It is precisely these moments that makes a teen feel like they are thought and about and cared for, in a world that seems pre-occupied with so many other tasks.

An important take-home message from the Meet-Up day centered on having a personal relationship with the youth, and that letting youth know they are being heard helps to build trust between the teens and the leader. The more that the ministers heard about Bartlett’s personal examples and how his relationships strengthened his youth groups through active listening, the more it was clear that the youth just want to be heard and understood.  

Jay Donofrio serves as diocesan Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry.