Youth Ministers Network
The CSYMI Youth Ministers Network is a network that forms, equips and resources post-school youth ministers engaged in a year of mission whilst actively participating in the life of the Catholic Church. Youth ministers are engaged in a local placement on a part-time or full-time basis within schools and/or parishes. Youth ministers support the implementation of the CSYMI youth ministry model in schools, develop parish-based youth ministry and build pathways for young people to engage with the broader Church. ACU-accredited Signum Fidei certificates are incorporated within the Youth Ministers Network formation and mission pathway.
Aims
The Youth Ministers Network was established with the following aims:
To provide a pathway for the engagement of young people into the life and mission of the Catholic Church beyond school.
To inspire, renew and equip Catholic schools as centers of evangelisation.
To provide ‘peer-to-peer’ ministers who can support teachers and leaders in the implementation of youth ministry programs including the CSYMI Four-Phase Model of student formation.
To establish a discipleship pathway that incorporates young people from school into the life of the Church.
To provide cross-cultural mission opportunities.
Youth Ministers Network Programs
The Youth Ministers Network provides a structured model and pathways consisting of formation, training and ministry involvement. The first program is the Formation for Ministry in Catholic Schools Program (Signum Fidei). The program consists of the Youth Ministry Equipping School, ongoing formation through tutorials, the Called Program and youth ministry itself which consists of 15 hours minimum of supervised ministry experience in Catholic schools and/or parishes. At the completion of this program, including assessments, youth ministers are awarded Signum Fidei Module 1 to 3 Certificates. This can be used for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) toward an elective unit of study in initial teacher education courses at the Australian Catholic University.
Oceania Evangelisation
The second program is the Oceania Evangelisation Program. Youth ministers completing the Formation for Ministry in Catholic Schools (Signum Fidei) Program, can opt to complete the Oceania Evangelisation Program. The training is followed by a mission experience. Mission experiences include short-term cross-cultural programs focused on conducting Youth Ministry Equipping Schools, Catholic schools ministry and other identified mission projects.
Signum Fidei
CSYMI has partnered with the ACU La Salle Academy to provide a formal accreditation for youth ministers through the Signum Fidei program. The Signum Fidei program consists of three modules. Completion of the program results in the award of a certificate for each module completed.
Youth Ministry Equipping School
The Youth Ministry Equipping School has been established to fulfil the following aims:
To gather youth ministry leaders, or those seeking to be called into leadership positions, forming them in the Catholic faith and equipping them for the work of evangelisation.
To inspire young people to live out the mission of the Church.
To nurture and develop youth leadership in the Catholic Church.
To give people a rich experience of Christian community and to deepen their understanding of community as a means of evangelisation.
The Youth Ministry Equipping School is for all youth ministry leaders to gather, be renewed in faith and equipped for ministry and mission. The Equipping School is open to all, including the following:
Teachers, key leaders of youth ministry teams
•
Anyone from parishes or ecclesial movements wanting to be formed for youth ministry and mission
•
CSYMI Youth Ministers Network members involved in post-school ministry positions within schools and parishes
•
Formation Tutorials
Utilising a video conferencing platform, national online tutorials are conducted across the formation programs. The tutorials include topics such as The Life of the Church and The Mission of the Church. These tutorials are conducted by ACU La Salle Academy staff and CSYMI leaders. Preparatory materials are sent in advance of the tutorial.
The Called Program
Youth ministers regularly meet in small groups to complete Called, a retreat program on discipleship. Called is the first of the Forming Leaders Series developed by the Catholic Leaders Formation Network. Called draws on the experience and expertise of influential Catholic leaders captured in short video presentations. The main objective of Called is to highlight foundational aspects of being a disciple of Christ and to join others in the Church who are on this journey.
Welcome & Introduction
Called by Jesus
The Praying Disciple
Journeying with Others
Nourished for the Journey
Sent on Mission
The Oceania Evangelisation Program
The Oceania Evangelisation Program (OEP) was first conducted in 2022 at Pentecost, with over 500 leaders participating in Hubs across the Oceania region. It was a powerful experience of the Holy Spirit inspiring and revitalising leaders and enabling a collaborative vision for evangelisation across the Oceania region.
The Oceania Evangelisation Program consist of two parts:
The Easter or Pentecost Mission Encounter, held over two days, is an opportunity to seek a more profound experience of the Holy Spirit, gather locally and with other leaders in Hubs across Oceania and receive training in missionary leadership.
Cross-Cultural Missions (optional) Typically planned for later in the year, these missions provide an opportunity for national and international short-term evangelisation missions to conduct Youth Ministry Equipping Schools, leadership formation, Catholic school visits and other mission projects aimed at supporting evangelisation in the Oceania region.
Other Formation and Training
Youth ministers have additional formation and training opportunities as members of the CSYMI network of schools including GROW CSYMI Workshops and online training courses. Dioceses and schools also provide complementary formation experiences for youth ministers.
A Ministry Experience in a Catholic School
The Youth Ministers’ formation program is an active ministry placement within a school, parish or community/movement. Youth ministers continue to be active in ministry and service to young people in a gap year, in a part-time or voluntary capacity.
There is no more powerful experience of formation than that of serving as a youth minister in a Catholic school or parish. Work as a youth minister profoundly transforms his or her relationship with God. The testimonials of youth ministers reveal how they have encountered the risen Christ in young people, their parents and teachers. Youth ministers in turn can also have a significant impact on school leaders and teachers as they inspire fresh thinking, new insights and a renewed passion for evangelisation.
Youth ministers primarily support the development, implementation and growth of youth ministry and the model of student formation within the school, and in doing so enhance the effectiveness of the evangelisation and formation of students. This includes supporting the planning and conducting of youth ministry experiences, supporting the implementation of the CSYMI curriculum and additional formation experiences.