Yes Catholic
GUEST BLOG POST
Youth Ministry saved my life. Literally.
When I was a Freshman in high school my mother said that I had to join our church's youth ministry program or we would move churches. For whatever reason, that was a big enough threat to make me join our Catholic Youth Ministry Program. Even though my family had raised me with good & strong Catholic values, I was nervous about diving into a whole world centered on Catholicism. Funny enough it was the GREATEST thing that ever happened to me!
One of the biggest blessings that came from the program I joined was that it was basically teen-directed. Sure, we had a youth minister, but she allowed us to write and lead the program. Meaning, we got a lot of hands-on training! I always have given credit to my professional formation as a speaker and emcee to my youth ministry years. I truly learned HOW to write and give a spiritual talk at the age of 13. I also was allowed to write, with friends, a youth retreat at the age of 18. These experiences were priceless and absolutely skills I still use every day.
However, the undisputed best part about youth ministry for me was the people that I met in the various programs throughout the years. My current best friends were once the youth I had mentored as an adult. As a teen and college student, I continued to work with people I met years ago in ministry. And the overall greatest gift was that I met my husband as a teen in the youth group! We were 15 and I hated him, although really I thought he was SO cute! We went to different high schools, but we became best friends. Finally, in our Senior Year, he asked me out. This past June in 2020 we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary! And now we are the parents of a Senior!
My life with ministry really got started as a teen but didn't develop into what I would understand it really was until 2018. When I became a professional speaker, emcee, radio/podcast personality, writer, and conference developer was when I truly understood just how important my mother's threat had really been in my life.