May 13, 2009

ACA funding enables ministry to change lives of young people for the better

By John Gleason

Ask anyone who knows Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., and they’ll say he has a passion for ministering to young people. The young Church assures a vibrant future. An investment in them is an investment for a fruitful tomorrow.

The Office of Youth, Young Adult and Campus Ministry is a beneficiary of the Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal, which caters to the spiritual needs of young people in northern Colorado and beyond.

Chris Stefanick has been leading the office since 2006.  He said that overall, his office does three things: Puts on events for youth and young adults; offers training for those who do youth, young adult, and campus ministry; and helps those ministers to network with and support each other.

“We have many people come to our events,” Stefanick said.  “At Steubenville of the Rockies last year, we had 2,100 people show up and hundreds more were on a waiting list.  We put on an event for junior high school students called Mountain Madness, which attracts hundreds of kids annually, and we also sponsor Theology on Tap for adults.

“Our office serves as a hub for the young adult community,” he continued. “When someone moves into town, they can contact us to find out where to go to make friends.”

Of course the ministry would be at a standstill if it weren’t for the leaders, those who receive their training thanks to the generosity of all those who give to the Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal.

“In many dioceses the average life span for a youth minister is a year and a half,” Stefanick said.  “In our archdiocese, I believe the record for time spent as a youth minister is 35 years. 

“One of the most important things we do is train our youth ministers and it pays off,” he asserted. “We have lifers here because we have good support in the archdiocese from our office, and from the parishes working together.” 

Stefanick said that part of the support, the networking, is to connect new youth ministers with the veterans. The new people don’t come in and find themselves out on a limb. 

“They find a community,” Stefanick said, “and stay because of it.”

Stefanick emphasized that in a world saturated with secularism and other influences, youth ministry is more important than ever.

“It’s tough to be a kid today,” he said.  “I believe the future of the Church, and in some ways the world, is on the line when it comes to effective ministry to youth.  When youths lose their sense of God, which in an increasingly secular world they’re encouraged to do, they’re losing a healthy foundation to build a life on and they find themselves building their lives on unhealthy or unstable foundations.”

The good news, said Stefanick, is that young people are hungry for meaning. Once they perceive that faith gives their life meaning, they begin to evangelize because of their excitement.

Another place where ACA funds are put to work is in campus ministry, which Stefanick describes as a battle ground.

“The friends people make on campus in the first 48 hours can determine what direction their lives will take,” he said.  “We establish a Catholic presence and draw students into the right community.  Without ACA funds our presence on some campuses would be gone and in others, greatly diminished.”

Part of the reason Stefanick enjoys his work is that he sees the results of the ministry, what he calls the “fruits” of the archdiocese.

“I see lives change,” he said. “I see vocations. I recently ran into a priest from New York who told me it was because of his experience at the Steubenville of the Rockies conference that he became a priest.”

“We reach a lot of people,” stressed Stefanick. “We’re seeing a difference.”