Outreach to Youth through their Parents

“Parents have the responsibility and privilege of evangelizing their children.” – CCC 2225

“No plan for organized pastoral work, at any level, must ever fail to take into consideration the pastoral care of the family.” – Familiaris Consortio 70

Every youth ministry initiative should begin with parents. Parents naturally have the greatest influence in the lives of their teenagers, and they will be held accountable to God for the formation of their children. The parish’s role is to assist parents in fulfilling this responsibility. For this reason, the Church teaches that all pastoral work must take into consideration the pastoral care of the family.

Outreach to youth through parents is a strategy that allows the parish to meet the needs of as many teens as possible within the parish boundaries by empowering parents to build a discipleship group for their own teenager. Additionally, parents are connected to other parents through the friendships and activities of their teenagers. A parent-driven strategy leverages these relationships between parents to carry out outreach. The greatest driver for the multiplication of small groups is parents talking to other parents.

Most importantly, teens need to know that their parents care and are invested in their faith formation. When they grow older, they should remember, with gratitude, that their small group was an experience their parents made happen. When parents are able to host the small group in their home, they communicate how much they care. This will help facilitate faith sharing with their own teenager.

“When getting YDisciple started at our parish, I asked parents, with their teenager, to invite other teens into a discipleship group by including their parents in the invitation. I was hesitant, but my fears were quickly waylaid when I saw the incredible response. Families who were entirely disengaged were responding because it was a personal invitation from a friend, not a flyer at the parish. The parents who were making the invitation were motivated because this wasn’t a parish program but a small group for their teen for which they felt ownership. Parents were more aware than I ever could have been of teens who were in danger of falling through the cracks and made a special effort in reaching out to them. Were all the parents 100% on board? No, but even having just one parent driving this outreach for each small group, influencing their friends and their teenager’s friends made a tremendous difference.”

– YDisciple Youth Minister