Youth ministry with Jesus at the centre

As representatives of the world’s Catholic youth gather in Cologne next month, those who are concerned about the future of the Church should realise that a key strategy for ensuring the survival of the Church is investing in the youth (ages 15-20) and young adults (21-30).

What is going to be the outcome of World Youth Day? What lessons are young Catholics going to learn about their faith? And what lessons will the Church learn about how to attract the youth and keep them interested in the Church?

The Catholic Church pays more attention to Catholics under 18, and less to young adults. Generally there are no organised programmes for young Catholics after Confirmation. Yet, this is the time when many leave the Church, either joining other churches or stop going to church altogether.

Some university chaplains and parishes try to offer liturgy and singing that are meaningful for young people. Such efforts are highly appreciated. Nevertheless, many young Catholics are lost to the Church from about age 18 upwards.

As one involved in ecumenical activities, I know that it is not only the Catholic Church that battles to keep young people interested but the problems of the Catholic Church seems to be worse. Some, particularly the evangelical churches, seem to do a better job of keeping young adults interested in their religion. Some Catholic young adults may even find God and begin to have a fuller appreciation of the Christian faith when they begin to worship in Protestant churches.

What is the reason for this? Why should young Christians brought up in the Catholic Church feel closer to Jesus when they worship in an evangelical church?

For one, Protestant churches tend to put greater and unequivocal emphasis on the centrality of Jesus Christ in the Christian faith. They emphasise the importance of believing in Jesus Christ as one’s personal Saviour, meaning that one must consciously commit oneself to Christ and accept him in one’s heart as Lord and Saviour.

This is in line with the teaching of St Paul: “if you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. It is by believing with the heart that you are justified, and by making the declaration with your lips that you are saved” (Romans 10: 9-10).

Some young people may feel that the Catholic Church puts too much emphasis on obeying the laws of the Church and on the external and formal aspects of worship and not nearly enough on one’s personal relationship with Jesus and on what Paul calls “believing in your heart”.

For some, then, the Catholic Church may become a religion to which one belongs, not out of personal conviction but because it happens to be the parents’ religion. After a while, the need to please parents becomes unnecessary, and the fascination with the rituals wears off.

Evangelical young Christians tend to know their Bible better than young Catholics. Admittedly, some may adopt a narrow and even fundamentalist approach to the interpretation of the Bible. However, Bible cell groups are an established feature of the life of young adult Christians in some of the churches. When practising young Catholics participate in such sessions, they may find that their understanding of the Bible is inferior to that of the participants from other churches.

In our effort to grow Catholic leaders for tomorrow and to keep young adult Catholics interested in their faith we should, among other things:

-endeavour to help them to know and encounter Jesus and to develop a personal relationship with him;

-encourage them to read and know the Bible better, and to reflect on its teachings;

-promote the establishment of Bible study groups in which young Christians do not engage in a narrow study of the Holy Book, but in which they relate their discussion of the Bible to relevant matters of faith and to the issues young people have to confront in our time.

Professor Ngara teaches at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He wrote this article in a personal capacity.