Confessions of a Catholic Youth Minister

Questions for National Catholic Register blog post written by Susan Klemond  you can find the blog post at  https://www.ncregister.com/ You live in Sugar Grove? We have have lived in Sugar Grove, Illinois since 2003. You have five children? Yes, four girls and one boy. Bethany, Rebecca, Johnmark, Abigail, and Elizabeth. My wife, Jan, homeschooled four of the five, two through high school and two through eighth grade, so far, we have one with a Doctorate in Mathematics, one with a Masters in Library Science, one with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Automotive, one who will earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing in May and our youngest just started college and is studying Fashion Design. Since Jan was a home school teacher full time, I worked extra jobs to make up for the lost in income.Some years, I delivered Chicago Tribune newspapers, I taught two of the Theology classes at St Francis High School for one school year, for several years I recruited attorneys fo...

Author unknown editing and updated by Mark Herwaldt  “Excuse me,” I said to the lady “but could I have a tract?” The lady's face beamed. “Are you saved?,” she asked. “Of course I am; I’m a believing Catholic,” I retorted. She continued, “I too was a Catholic - a Catholic for thirty-some years in fact. Now I've found Christ and I’m trying to tell everyone I know about salvation through Christ." "Could I ask Why you left the Church?” "You see,” she said, “I was born Catholic. I attended Mass every week, received the Sacraments and graduated from a Catholic school. Not once did I ever hear the gospel proclaimed. Not once! It was after the birth of my first child that a good friend of mine shared ‘the gospel’ with me and I accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior and became a Christian. Now I belong to a ‘Bible-believing’ church and I’m sharing the gospel with whomever will listen.” This shocked me. “You mean you belonged to the Catholic Church for over ...

In 1984, on a cold December night as I drove passed empty cornfields on Interstate 57 heading towards a Happening in Christianity weekend at Saint Therese Church in Kankakee, God spoke to me in a quiet whisper."You are going to give the Holy Spirit talk." I put my life into God's hands that night. I have never looked back.  For the next six years, I worked full time in various jobs in the business world including sales,  banking, and retail management while volunteering with Jan in the Happening weekends in Kankakee. I took on several leadership positions within the Happening. One weekend. I was chapel Head. We took a classroom and transformed it into a holy prayer space. Then the Chapel team had at least one person in the chapel night and day for the whole weekend. Because the weekend was covered in prayer, we saw God change the hearts of many people. On a another weekend I was kitchen head. I know some of you are thinking "Mark in charge of the cooking?! Did anyo...

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  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you;   I have appointed you a prophet to the nations . Jeremiah 1:4 One of my favorite movies is Simon Birch. It is a story of a middle school teen who had stunted growth. He was so tiny that he was cast in the Christmas pageant as the baby Jesus even in middle school. Still, he believed that God had a special purpose for him and that is why he practiced holding his breathe under water all summer every summer. I don't want to spoil it for you but he was right. Every one has a special purpose. Jeremiah was a prophet. Why did God will you into existence? God knew that I would be a youth minister and he started the ground work back when I was conceived in my mother's womb. He gave me the skills and temperament. I was the youngest of seven: five boys and two girls. My siblings say I was spoiled by my mother. I just observed what they did and did the opposite. LOL! I tried to teach tee...

In 2005, I was blessed to take some young people and adults from St Pius Church to World Youth Day in Germany.  We were going to Europe and had some extra days. Where would you go? Where do you think I took them? Drum Roll Please!! Rome and Assisi. Rome is an obvious choice with historic churches and Roman ruins. Why Assisi? This little medieval village built into the side of a mountain? Not very large. In fact, if you stood at the base of the mountain you can take in the whole town. This little town produced two saints Francis and Clare who changed the church forever. How did two people change the church? Francis and Clare had a simple faith and trust in God which impacted every aspect of their lives. They became an instrument of God's grace to others. Their faith was infectious so they attracted others. My group didn't want to leave Assisi because the town is so peaceful and well the gelato was delicious. Francis' father was a wealthy cloth merchant. Being from a wealth...

After a few years, the Antioch Youth Group was not attracting new members. The retreat would get a couple of new teens involved. The original members were graduating. The youth group model is ineffective long term as the original teens are comfortable with each other and are not motivated to bring in new members. The group eventually dies and you have to start over. I went to visit Frank Mercandte at St John Neumann Parish in St Charles. He was using a  comprehensive model which was centered on a Peer Ministry team. Teens were presenting content, leading small group, giving witness talks, performing skits, running games, leading retreats, and inviting teens to come to events. Done right, it was constantly reaching new teens. When the teens came to an event, the peer ministers were trained to be welcoming so that no one felt alone. After picking Frank's brain, I decided to go with this model. Still, I discovered that the group would only get as big as the number of adult lea...

And now, the end is near And so I face the final curtain My friend, I'll say it clear I'll state my case, of which I'm certain I've lived a life that's full I've traveled each and every churchway And more, much more than this I did it God's way Regrets, I've had a few But then again, too few to mention I did what I had to do And saw it through without exemption God  planned each charted course Each careful step along the byway And more, much more than this I did it God's way Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew When I bit off more than I could chew But through it all, when there was doubt God ate it up and spit it out  We faced it all and God stood tall! And I did it God's way I've loved, I've laughed and cried I've had God's grace, my share of sinning And now, as tears subside I find it all, all so amazing To think We did all that And may I say, not in a shy way Oh no, no, no...