Youth Ministry Resources

Archdiocesan Religion Curriculum Guide – Primary Youth Ministry Resource

Archbishop Broglio promulgated Forming Disciples for the New Evangelization: Archdiocesan Religion Curriculum Guide Adolescent Catechesis, Grades 9-12 on February 11, 2016.
It is my hope that this guide will assist all involved in faith formation, including parents, to encourage young people seeking the truth to recognize Jesus’ words, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (Jn 8:12) -Archbishop Broglio
The Archdiocesan Religion Curriculum Guide provides consistent standards and indicators that assist in integrating intentional catechesis with the lived experience of adolescents. The required catechetical component of Catholic youth ministry in military settings is essential for ongoing faith formation, especially in the high school years. See pages 1-3 for a key introduction into Adolescent Catechesis within the Context of the New Evangelization. Download the curriculum and supporting resources to prepare Year 4 topics (see pages 11-14 in the curriculum guide) for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Global Celebration of Young People

Celebrated annually on the Solemnity of Christ the King – National Pastoral Guidebook
Every Catholic faith community around the world is encouraged to celebrate and reflect on youth and young adults annually on Christ the King Sunday.

Life Teen

The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA partners with Life Teen to encourage comprehensive Catholic youth ministry in military settings.  Life Teen is an international Catholic ministry which is Eucharist-based and focuses on transforming teens, parishes, and culture. There are military installations throughout the US, Europe and Asia that utilize Life Teen resources or participate in Life Teen events to serve military-connected Catholic high school youth, middle school youth and their parents. Learn more about Life Teen.
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Unpacking Faith Book and Parent/Teen Retreat

The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA encourages the gift of family life. The e-book, Unpacking Faith: Reflections for Catholic Military-Connected Youth and Parents, along with the planning retreat guide resources are designed for military Catholic Families and Faith Communities to bring youth and parents together to grow in the Catholic faith.
  • Parents and youth share the challenges of living a transient lifestyle.
  • Parents and youth share how the Catholic faith plays a key role in the life of military-connected families.
  • The retreat is divided into three sections based on the biblical reference from the Acts of the Apostles, Acts 17:28, ‘In him we live and move and have our being.’
The guide leads a small retreat core team of youth and parent leaders through the process of planning, preparing, facilitating, and evaluating a retreat for teens and parents. Coordinators need to make sure that they download the following resources so that the planning team has all they need to prepare well. The Unpacking Faith Retreat is based on the book Unpacking Faith: A Resource for Catholic Military-Connected Adolescents and their Parents, The Victoria Press, 2007 written by Mark T. Moitoza. The title was updated in 2013 to Unpacking Faith: Reflections for Catholic Military-Connected Youth and Parents.

NET Ministries

NET YDisciple

NET is well known for facilitating Catholic retreats. Now they also help to support small faith groups with the New YDisciple content developed by the Augustine Institute. Learn more about accessing YDisciple content through a subscription with Formed.org by contacting NET YDisciple directly.

Catholic Youth Retreats

National Evangelization Team Ministries: Challenging Young Catholic to Love Christ and Embrace the Life of the Church. NET Catholic Youth Retreats are facilitated by trained NET team members that travel throughout the United States to evangelize young people through retreats. Choose from retreat themes that last a few hours to an entire weekend. Several military Catholic Faith Communities have held NET Ministries retreats at their military installations and have spoken highly of the experience. Contact NET Ministries and/or the local diocesan office of Catholic youth ministry to inquire when NET plans to be in the area. Follow this link to learn more on the NET Ministries website.

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For Military-Connected Youth and Families

See the links below for a free planning guide based on the book Unpacking Faith: A Resource for Military-Connected Adolescents and their Parents (also available as a free download).

Additional resources and links that promote comprehensive Catholic Youth Ministry may be found on the web site of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry. The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA is an affiliated member of the NFCYM. The AMS Office for Youth Ministry was created in 2003 through the support of the NFCYM.

Strong Catholic Families is a collaborative national initiative with the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM), the National Community for Catechetical Leadership (NCCL), the Catholic Family Life Association (CFLA), and the National Catholic Educational Association with a focus on developing trainings and resources to engage parents. View the family faith inventory and the family mission statement activity to consider ways to reach out to youth and parents together.

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Credible Catholic

The Magis Center has developed the Magis Center for Teachers and Catechists. This resource compliments catechesis in the high school years based on questions related to faith and reason correlated to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Seven Essentials for Faith and Reason include seven modules, each with a slide presentation and a presentation guide that include links to additional reference materials. This free resource compliments the standards and indicators in the AMS Religion Curriculum Guide for Grades 9-12. Consider ways to integrate these resources in lesson plans, multi-week youth ministry gatherings, and/or small groups of high school youth interested in learn more about the compatibility of faith and science.

The Seven Modules are: 1) Proof of a Soul, 2) Proof of God’s Existence – Science, 3) Proof of God’s Existence – Philosophy, 4) Proof of Jesus’ Resurrection and Divinity, 5) Why Be Catholic? 6) Happiness, 7) Why Would an All Loving God Allow Suffering?

Note: These presentation do not require special training for catechists or other presenters. Each download has embedded video and audio.

Youth Ministry Certificate

The VLCFF Basic Certificate in Youth Ministry requires the completion of eight courses. It is specifically designed for adult leaders in youth ministry wishing to develop skills for effectively engaging young people. The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA is a partnering diocese with the Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation (VLCFF). As such all military-connected participants may use the partner price for costs associated with registration and courses. (Click the link below for registration information.) The eight required courses include: Survey of Catholic Doctrine, Introduction to Scripture, Faith and Human Development, A Vision for Catholic Youth Ministry, Relations Ministry with Youth, Prayer and Worship with Adolescents, Diversity in Youth Ministry, and Planning Youth Ministry Events. The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA highly encourages Catholic youth in military settings to participate in Catholic youth ministry with adult leaders who are pursuing the VLCFF Basic Certificate in Youth Ministry.

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