What is Youth Ministry? Youth Ministry is every effort by the Christian community to reach out to the youth with the love of God as revealed to us in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. In short, it's "doing Church right for young people"! The entire parish does Youth Ministry by caring for its young people and welcoming them into every aspect of parish life. Oftentimes, some members of the parish specifically focus on running youth-oriented programs that invite teens into a relationship with Christ and His Church. Why call it "Youth Ministry" and not "CYO" like my parents and grandparents used to?We call ministry to teens "Youth Ministry" and not "CYO" because the current understanding of Youth Ministry is far more comprehensive than the older model of CYO. In fact, CYO still exists as a format for Catholic sports, in many parishes like ours. Parish Youth Ministry provides programs that reach young people on every level: spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical. We serve young people in at least these 8 ways, which the US Conference of Catholic Bishops calls the "components of comprehensive Youth Ministry": advocacy prayer and worship community life leaderhsip development catechesis service and justice pastoral care evangelization What about Religious Ed. and Confirmation? Read all about it on the Confirmation page!