Full course description
Partner dioceses receive discounted courses. This link provides a list of partner dioceses and discount codes to use when registering.
Everyone knows that reaching out to youth is integral to the Catholic Church's mission. The confusion lies in how to do this outreach. In Youth Ministry, Megan Shepherd (Program Director of the McGrath Institute's Notre Dame Vision conferences for young people and youth ministers) leads students in adopting a comprehensive method to meet the spiritual, catechetical, and social needs of younger and older adolescents. This method is developed through close attention to the 1997 U.S. Bishops’ Document Renewing the Vision: A Framework for Catholic Youth Ministry, while also adopting insights from Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit. While this course is intended to help those who minister to youth specifically (youth and campus ministers, as well as pastors, directors of youth choirs, teachers, and coaches), it is open to all those interested in ways of forming the faith of young people in an era of increasing disaffiliation.
Course Content
Unit 1:The Goals of Youth Ministry
Unit 2: The Components of Youth Ministry
Unit 3: Responding to Today's Youth
Unit 4: Future Directions for Ministry with Adolescents
Course Format
- Five weeks in duration; first week for orientation.
- Up to 20 students in each course.
- Weekly assigned readings.
- Supplemental readings are provided to encourage further exploration.
- Written assignments (200-250) required.
- Facilitator-moderated weekly Zoom sessions with participants.
Participation Requirements
- Read assigned texts; keep notes, questions, and comments for class discussions.
- Answer weekly discussion question.
- Respond to each unit assignment.
- Attend weekly Zoom for each unit. If you cannot attend, you can still meet the participation requirements.
- Complete the course evaluation.
Time Expectations
3 to 5 hours per week, depending on your learning style and schedule.