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Engagement #1
We extend friendly and consistent invitations to all young people in the parish
Context
Today, the average age of a Roman Catholic sister in the United States is 74, The New York Times reports, and in many communities, it’s well into the 80s. Ordained Catholic priests are a bit younger, with an average age of 63 -- but that’s up from 35 in 1970, and rising fast. Mainline Protestants such as the United Methodist Church are facing their own challenges, experiencing drops in vocations that keep pastors working longer into their later years.
But if the church is at the terminal end of the age spectrum, Silicon Valley, one of the most vibrant economic centers in our country, is at the other. At Facebook, the median employee age is 28, the Times reports, while at Google it’s 29 and at AOL, 30. As Katie Bardaro, the lead economist at PayScale, told the Times, “The firms that are growing or innovating around new areas tend to have younger workers. Older companies that aren’t changing with the times get older workers.” She could have been talking about the church. Apparently, like attracts like; vitality attracts vitality. (Make Room For Young People by Michael O'Loughlin)
Goal
Effective and comprehensive pastoral ministry with young people calls for friendly and consistent invitations to be offered to all young people in the parish.
Suggested Implementation
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Build a Database: From existing parish records, build a database of all registered young people in the parish community. Make sure to be attentive to the various ways that you might be able to contact them and/or their parents. Continue to grow the database as new classes of young people are promoted into your determined age range as well as when young people join into your program. Remember that the answer to the question, “How many young people are involved in ministry?” is “All of them.”
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Communicate: Develop a variety of approaches: snail mail, telephone calls, social networking to appeal to young people. In an effort to make sure that the parish is also aware, do not ignore conventional methods of parish bulletin or newsletter under the presumption that young people do not read these.
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Creative: Take an opportunity to view a magazine, a college recruitment brochure, or a TV show that is directed at young people. While maintaining a level of dignity and appropriateness, do attempt to make your invitations engaging and attractive.
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Engage Young People: Your best allies in developing creative and attractive invitations for young people might be young people themselves.
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Get Personal: Make sure that your leadership and those engaged in programming are intentional about inviting friends and others into ministry opportunities.
Methods for Evaluation
Within the same calendar year as you attempt to address this concern, delegate individuals, both young and old, to ask:
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Can you name the last three intentional efforts that your leaders have made regarding invitation?
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Can you name the last five young people who have participated in ministry opportunities because of invitations received?