Core Team
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St. Thomas the Apostle Youth Ministry Core Team members are committed to leading our youth into deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.
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Mission
The primary Core Team Member mission is to share Jesus with youth. Core Team Members are the heart and soul of the middle school and high school youth ministry experience.
The most effective way to share Jesus with youth is through relationship with them. Youth need mentors who:love God
remember the youth names
are interested in their lives
pray for them
are authentic
encourage and challenge them
believe in them
laugh with them
are patient
reveal joyThe goal of youth ministry is to create an environment to lead youth into a deeper relationship with Jesus and the Catholic Church. In this ministry we speak to youth on all levels: emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual.
Core Team Members challenge youth to live their faith as they experience the reality of their lives. Youth experience this sharing in an atmosphere of love and acceptance from their peers and the Core Team who are there to assist them in their journey.
For our youth ministry to achieve its full potential, the full support of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish is essential. Core Team works closely and seeks to initiate, organize and oversee experiences that will provide for an encounter with the Holy Spirit. Without an experience of the Holy Spirit in their lives there is no real relationship with Jesus and no chance to become who God created them to be.
Our Life Teen Core Team consists of adults who are twenty years old and older. Our EDGE Core Team also welcomes high school-aged leaders. Each Core Member is charged to reach out to youth on both an individual basis and as a member of their respective Core Team. Core Team assists in a leadership capacity with the fall high school retreat, spring family retreat and middle school day retreat in May.
Core Team ministry is about going, teaching, and making disciples.
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Seven Core Values
LOVE - We love because He first loved us. – 1 John 4:19. We must strive in all moments and circumstances to love others as Christ loved. This foundation, simple in premise and command, serves as the basis for our ministry.
EVANGELIZATION - We speak truth to God’s people, inviting them to know Him more deeply. Driven by a desire for all to know the mercy and love of God the Father.
JOY - We live by an unrelenting belief in the goodness of God and in His desire not for our momentary happiness, but our everlasting life. The spirit of our Youth and Worship ministries is one of pure joy, keeping life in perspective and allowing the peace of God to reign in our hearts, regardless of what the world might bring at any given moment.
VOCATION - We maintain openness to the call of God in our lives and a willingness to discern, respond and prioritize our lives according to that call. Whether designed for the religious, married or single life, we not only embrace the vocation for which we were designed, but ensure that it remains primary, not allowing God’s work in ministry to overtake God’s call to holiness.
AFFIRMATION - We refuse to be overwhelmed by the negativity pervading our culture. Words and actions are designed by God to bring life to creation, not death. We make every effort and take every opportunity to build up the Kingdom on Earth, rather than tear it down.
AUTHENTICITY - We live authentically, not denying our human weakness or shying away from the need for personal improvement, but working toward holiness, with resolve. The world needs quality examples of Catholic men and women who live out their faith. As leaders in ministry, we live our faith authentically, providing the living example of a Christian and giving hope that others, too, can follow Christ.
EUCHARISTIC SPIRITUALITY - We seek to become one with Christ in all ways. Through a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother, we develop a more profound understanding of Jesus Christ. Through the Holy Scriptures, we grow in sanctity through the Incarnate Word. Through openness to the Charisms of the Holy Spirit, we allow God’s love to permeate this world. Through adherence to the Church that our Lord established, we act in obedience and humility. Through our frequenting of the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist in Most Holy Communion, we become one with the living God. These intimate experiences with Christ are unmistakable signs of His love.
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Are You Called to Core Team Member Ministry?
St. Thomas the Apostle Parish is re-establishing a team of adults for both its parish youth ministries offerings, whose focus is to plan and implement the components of the LIFE Teen Sunday nights or EDGE Sunday afternoons. Pray to hear the call to serve in youth ministry. We are seeking a mix of faith-filled parents, college students, young adults and senior adults; single and married who wish to lead our teens by example. Applicants need not be theologians, just someone willing to love our youth, listen to them, and walk alongside young people as they encounter Jesus. Come and be a part of a Catholic movement that changes lives – including your own. Interested in serving on LIFE TEEN or EDGE Core Team? Our Life Teen and EDGE Core Teams are two distinct groups of adults (18 and up) in the parish who will help lead either our high school teens or middle school youth closer to Christ through creating welcoming environments, forming an intentional relationship, and journeying with them in their relationship with Jesus.
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Core Team Responsibilities
-Continually grow in their own relationship with God and maintain a daily prayer life -Provide a lived witness of a Christian lifestyle in and outside of Life Teen or EDGE events -Meet and build relationships with either teens or middle school youth -Assist the youth minister in planning Life Teen nights or EDGE afternoons -Attend monthly core meetings to plan upcoming month gatherings.
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Life Teen Core Team Time Commitments
-Weekly attendance at Life Teen Sunday nights during the school year or twice a month on Sunday afternoon for EDGE -Core Meetings monthly -Core retreat or training once a year -Potential retreat and or Conference once a year Thank you for your desire to serve the youth of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church. As a member of our adult CORE Team for either Life Teen or EDGE youth ministries, you will serve an important mission to lead teenagers or middle school youth and their families closer to Jesus Christ!
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If you are ready to set a meeting to discuss being a part of our Life Teen or EDGE Mission to lead teenagers or middle school youth and their families closer to Jesus Christ; simply fill out the CORE Team Application below. Once received, you will be contacted to set up a 1-on-1 meeting. This meeting will allow us to get to know you better and to give you the specific information you need to fully register as a volunteer for our youth. STEP 1 Complete and submit the Core Team Application below. STEP 2 After your application is processed, you will be contacted by our Youth Minister to set up a time to meet! STEP 3 Upon acceptance, you will need to complete the Diocesan Volunteer Application and attend a Virtus Safe Environment Training session. All details will be emailed to you once you have been accepted into the program. Thank you for taking the time to read this page and pray that you consider joining us! We look forward to meeting with you soon!
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Contact Us
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edwardsheffer1gmail.comYouth Ministry + Young Adults -
Core Team Member -
cnagorediocesetucson.orgParochial Vicar -
Core Team Member -
Core Team Member
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