By Emilie Ng
BRISBANE’S youth and young adult initiatives could soon participate in a survey that will provide the basis for a youth ministry plan between 2015 and 2017.
From September, two surveys will be used to collect data to form a draft report for a future youth ministry plan starting next year.
One online survey will be sent to young people, including those who “are un-Churched”, and another sent to people interested in youth ministry within the wider Church community.
The surveys are the next stage in the archdiocesan youth project directed by consultant Teresa Delsorte, who was appointed in February to head the project for a 12-month period.
Over the past six months, Miss Delsorte has met with youth and young adult ministries run by parishes, universities, social apostolate groups, religious orders and ethnic groups.
All groups were invited to discuss the future of youth ministry with her and with Brisbane archdiocese’s vicar general Monsignor Peter Meneely in three separate meetings.
Miss Delsorte said the conversations with Msgr Meneely were “a great opportunity to listen” to stories and perspectives from the various youth representatives.
One finding in talking to various youth representatives was the strong focus on improving personal relationships.
“There was an interesting conversation on social media that moved from really supporting it, to the emphasis on face-to-face and one-on-one,” Miss Delsorte said.
“You can grab someone’s attention on social media, but then the relationship is the real focus.
“There is a greater value in finding other ways to connect face to face with young people.
“The focus on the sacraments and the sacramental element of Christian life was also very important.”
Miss Delsorte has also found that the majority of youth initiatives catered to teenagers more than young adults.
“I was surprised with the number of youth groups,” she said.
“Parishes have a thriving number of groups, but not a lot of members are from outside the parish community.
“Ethnic groups would like to connect in with the wider community and share their cultures.”
While there are no significant solutions yet, Miss Delsorte said the next stage was collating clear data on the current state of youth ministry in Brisbane, beginning with online surveys.
The online surveys will be sent to parishes, schools and youth ministry groups by email.
“Anyone interested in youth ministry is invited to take the survey which will be made available online in September,” Miss Delsorte said.
Data will also be collected from future interviews with co-ordinators from 26 parish youth groups to form a draft report for a youth ministry plan for 2015 to 2017 by November 30.
