Catholic Youth Ministry's No. 1 Myth
Catholic Youth Ministry's No. 1 Myth: Because Teens hate their parents, Catholic Youth Ministry must offer an environment free from the presence of parents. In reality, study after study has conclusively shown that parents, hands down, have a far greater impact on the spiritual life and faith practice of their own children than any youth minister could ever hope to have. This is the case even for teens who get involved in Youth Ministry efforts, mission, trips, and short-term service experiences. In the long run, teens will mimic their parents' faith practice. This is why stuff like this initiative from the CBEW is just straight up nonsense. We don't need to ask kids what they think, we need to teach them the faith - something that has been neglected for over forty years in this country. Catholic Youth Ministry needs to wake up and smell the coffee. It is complicit in a series of fundamental myths about teens, and because of this the teen retention rate is a co...