Several Great Reasons for Young Adult Leaders to be in Orlando in April 2008
by Paul JarzembowskiSeptember 24, 2007
From April 20 to 23, 2008, hundreds of ministry leaders from around the country will converge on the Rosen Plaza Hotel & Conference Center in Orlando, Florida, for the first-ever National Ministry Summit. The National Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association (NCYAMA) will also host its annual Leadership Forum immediately prior to this historic event (from April 19 to 20), enabling young adult ministry leaders to attend both incredible gatherings in one week and in one place.
The National Ministry Summit is being convened because, at the crux of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, it is necessary for us to ask where we have been and more importantly, where the Catholic Church in America is going in the decades ahead of us. What new models of Catholic life, in parishes, dioceses, and elsewhere, are emerging today? With the sobering realities of scandal, clergy shortage, aging populations, and the fact that younger generations are feeling more and more disconnected from the life of the Church, it is so important that young adult ministry leaders be sitting around this national table.
The young adults to whom we minister and evangelize are now inheriting this emerging model of the American Catholic Church. We ask ourselves, to what are we inviting them to? How can we prepare them for leadership in the Church? How will they respond to the invitation? At both the National Ministry Summit and the 2008 NCYAMA Leadership Forum, participants will receive the latest research and data about young adults and their role in the emerging models of church. They will be able to network and share resources on best practices in how to engage young adults to deepen their connection to the Catholic faith, and even invite them to become leaders in the Church.
In addition, because the National Ministry Summit is co-sponsored by the Emerging Models partners, this gathering is a one-of-a-kind chance for bishops, priests, deacons, lay ministers, personnel administrators, and pastoral, parish, and council planning leaders to hear from young adult ministry professionals on the realities of younger generations. As we try to understand what the future of the Catholic Church in America will look like, it is critical that all of us are around the table, hearing the reality and working together to find effective solutions and directions for the years ahead.
The time for complaining about the future is at an end. The time for action is now upon us. The National Ministry Summit and the 2008 NCYAMA Leadership Forum are the best places to take those next steps towards our future.
