Catechesis is “the whole of the efforts within the Church to make disciples, to help people to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, so that believing they might have life in his name, and to educate and instruct them in this life and thus build up the Body of Christ” (Catechesi Tradendae (CT), #1).

As youth ministers we are humbled and honored by Christ to bear witness to his name and to journey with young people as they come to know, love, and serve the Lord. We are catechists and proud of it!

Mediators and Evangelizers

As ministers in the Catholic Church, we are blessed with an abundance of documents from the church to guide and inspire us in our ministry. These resources provide for us not only the aim and purpose of catechesis as envisioned by the church and her bishops, but also form us in our identity as catechists.

And who do they say we are? First of all, we are "esteemed members of the Church's apostolate" (National Directory for Catechesis, #218). Our work involves more than educating (which is very important); we are also called to be "courageous witnesses to the Catholic faith," (NDC, #225) to be role models to young people in our actions, words, and attitudes. We are mediators, serving to facilitate "communication between the people and the mystery of God." (General Directory for Catechesis, (GDC) #156). We are evangelizers (NDC, #218), inviting young people into a new or deeper relationship with the one who loved them first, Jesus Christ. We are instruments of inculturation, who know that "catechesis takes flesh in the various cultures and milieu" without compromising the central message of the faith (CT, #53).

Each of these descriptors—evangelizer, instrument of inculturation, and witness—describe the deep and humbling person of the catechist we are called be. It is a complex role that can not be summed up in one term. As the church continues to grow in understanding of person, one thing will be a constant: there will always be the invitation for "the Lord Jesus invites men and women, in a special way, to follow him, teacher and formator of disciples" (GDC, #231).