June 2011Prepared by the Lasallian Youth Ministry Coordinator

James Camden

Goals of Lasallian Youth Ministry Activities

Faith development: To empower young people to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in our world today Service opportunities: To draw young people into responsible participation in the life of a Lasallian school and volunteer opportunities beyond the school Community experience: To foster the personal and spiritual growth of each young person

Focus Areas of Lasallian Youth MinistryProviding opportunities for growth in:

Community Life 

Catechesis/Evangelisation 

Leadership Development 

 Justice and Service 

Prayer and Worship 

Pastoral Care

Lasallian Youth Ministry Coordinator

Lasallian Youth Ministers

Lasallian “Share the Mission” Volunteers

Lasallian Youth Leaders

• Senior student of a Lasallian school who volunteers to be trained as a positive Christian role model to younger students. They are effectively 'big brothers and sisters' who facilitate retreats, social justice initiatives and Lasallian formation within the school.

Lasallian Youth Leader

• Post-school Lasallian who volunteers for short term immersion programs, youth ministry events, school-based mentoring programs and assists Lasallian Youth Ministers on retreats and leadership training within Lasallian schools. These volunteers pay their own expenses and receive no compensation. They may often come together for sharing and formation evenings.

Lasallian Volunteer

• Full-time volunteer who lives in a Lasallian Volunteer or Brothers Community for ten months. They are attached to a Lasallian school and work in association to identify and meet the needs of marginalised and disadvantaged youth in their local area. They receive a small stipend each week.

Share the Mission Volunteer

• Part-time paid employee of the District responsible for the development of youth ministry initiatives in selected Lasallian schools. They also coordinate post school activities in their local area and come together to form the Lasallian Youth Ministry Team for District events designed for mission, leadership training, association and formation.

Lasallian

Youth

Minister

Lasallian Youth Ministers

Lasallian  Youth  Ministers  are  part-time-paid  employees  of  the  District  and  are  responsible  for animating the faith development of young people in our Lasallian tradition.

Their  ministry  is  predominantly  within  their  ‘base  school’  but  approximately  20%  of  their  time  is spent assisting in schools without a Lasallian Youth Minister or on a team initiative. 

Their  role  involves  coordinating  the  Lasallian  Youth  Leaders  (LYL’s)  Program,  school  retreats  and reflection  days,  and  creating  new  and  innovative  experiences  of  faith,  service  and  community  for young people.

They have a responsibility to engage and connect Lasallian Volunteers (former students) to assist  in the ‘youth ministry life’ of their base school when possible.

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IN SCHOOL PROGRAMS

Lasallian Youth Leaders (LYL’s)

LYL’s  are  positive  Christian  role models  in  the  school  community  in  the  areas  of  faith,  service  and community with a particular  focus on  the  junior  students of  the  school.  They assist with  reflection days and class visits on various topics and participate in a number of social justice activities. 

Their membership  is  by  choice  and  they  participate  in  a  training  day.  These  young  people  are  the target audience of youth ministry in schools.

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Services available to Lasallian Schools

Many Lasallian schools use  the services of other youth ministry organisations  that are available  for particular year levels. They are often over priced, difficult to book, and provide leaders and facilitators who will never again have contact with the students of our schools. Lasallian Youth Ministry offers an alternative  to  this by providing  retreats and  reflection days  that use  ‘Lasallian Volunteers’ – usually former  students of  the school. This  is also a great  initiative  to provide Lasallian Volunteers with an opportunity to further their youth ministry skills.

50 Lasallian

Volunteers

1000 students

These  are  leadership  days/afternoons/weekends  that  bring  together  Lasallian  Youth  Leaders  from clusters of  schools within  regions. The time  is  spent  furthering skills as  leaders and adding  to  their knowledge of De La Salle. The students particularly hone their skills on working with junior students. 

Lasallian Encounter Days/Afternoons/Weekends

Attracts approximately 60 LYL’s each

event

District Lasallian Leadership Seminar

(Australia, New Zealand & PNG)

The school  leaders of each Lasallian school come together  for 5 days  to explore and share  in  their Lasallian  heritage,  leadership  from  a  Lasallian  and  gospel  perspective  and  to  feel  and  develop  a greater sense of Lasallian community.

70 attend from 23 schools

Lasallian Youth Gatherings

Young  Lasallians  from  the  District  gather  every  2  years  for  guest  speakers,  presentations,  prayer, community activities, and an outreach project. Within the 3 separate regions smaller gatherings are held on a more regular basis.

The true nature and purpose of the gathering is to share our Lasallian experiences in faith, service & community. They are held in different cities each time.

Attracts approx 100

participants each event

POST SCHOOL VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS

‘Share the Mission’ is a volunteer program of Lasallian Youth Ministry and the De La Salle Brothers in the District of Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. ‘Share  the Mission’  provides  committed  and  talented  volunteers  to  Lasallian works  for  a  period  of nine months, full-time, and creatively provides an avenue for volunteers to serve, grow, change their own life, and the lives of others who are marginalised in any way.  ‘Share  the  Mission’  is  an  opportunity  to  be  formally  associated  for  the  Lasallian  mission  whilst connected  to a Brother’s Community  for  inspiration and discipleship.  This unique ministry  is  about building and strengthening Lasallian relationships in order to bring young people closer to God. 

Share the Mission

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This  is a camp provided to disadvantaged junior students of Lasallian schools each year. Schools are encouraged  to  find  young  people  who  may  have  struggled  during  the  year  in  any  way  or  form whether it be school, home life or socially. 

Lasallian Volunteers are sought from the local area to provide leadership and mentoring to the young people present.

Follow up programs mean that this relationship is ongoing.

Camp LaSalle

Adelaide, Melbourne, New Zealand, Sydney, Queensland

Attracts 120 young

people each year

Attracts 80 Lasallian

Volunteers each year

Balgo  is  an Aboriginal  community,  900kms north-west of Alice  Springs,  just  inside  the WA boarder. The local school is conducted by the De La Salle Brothers. 

A  2  week  program  for  young  Lasallians  runs  twice  a  year  during  the  Summer  holidays  to  provide activities for the local young people. 

Lasallian Volunteers are sourced from Lasallian schools. 

Balgo Hills Summer Camps, Western Australia

Attracts approximately 20 Lasallian Volunteers each year

This  is a 12 day program where Lasallian Volunteers are challenged to serve and deliver  leadership training and Lasallian formation to young people in the four schools of Port Moresby. 

Volunteers in the program deepen the impact of the Lasallian mission in PNG whilst developing their awareness and understanding of what it means to be Lasallian in a developing country.

The  Lasallian Volunteers  complete  the  trip  by  facilitating  the  PNG  Lasallian  Leadership  Seminar  for 180 prefects in the region.

PNG Youth Ministry Road Show

Attracts approximately 6

Lasallian Volunteers each

year

www.lasallianyouthministry.org.au