In Fall 2019, Carol Opalka was still new to youth ministry. She wanted to learn more about youth ministry and how to become a better youth minister. That’s when she learned about a resource from the Archdiocese of Atlanta entitled Called to Accompany, a training program for youth ministry leaders that includes a series of high-quality video presentation by excellent Catholic youth ministry professionals from around the country, discussion questions, and prayers.
Carol wanted to offer this for her own youth ministry adult team, but she knew her team was small and wanted to invited others to the table. She invited youth ministers and their core teams from local parishes to join her for this training nights, offering one per month through the ministry year. The first night included 30 adults representing six parishes, who had great discussion about the vision of youth ministry, the characteristics of Generation Z, and working with teens today. Two of those present then went home to try and begin similar trainings in their own parishes, and the others continued to meet for the next few months before 2020 shut them down.
Check out Atlanta’s excellent resource, and get your people together for continued training and formation!
The Called to Accompany series, produced by the Archdiocese of Atlanta, invites youth ministry volunteers to learn and explore the many aspects that make a parish youth ministry successful. Through videos and group discussion, volunteers are encouraged to respond to Pope Francis' call to accompany the youth towards a deep and fulfilling relationship with Christ and His Church.