The Center for Ministry Development supports the development of youth ministry that implements the U.S. Bishops' document, Renewing the Vision. This vision proposes a holistic ministry with youth that is directed towards the goals of empowering disciples, promoting participation in the community, and fostering the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person. Eight components of ministry combine to achieve these goals through a variety of settings:

• Gathered and non-gathered ministries with youth,
• Ministry with families of youth,
• Ministry to youth through the life of the parish, and
• Ministry to youth utilizing the resources of the wider community.

CMD's vision for comprehensive youth ministry is described in the following article:

A Comprehensive Youth Ministry Mindset [PDF]

CMD's approach for adolescent catechesis is described in the following articles:

Forming Young Disciples--Opportunities for Adolescent Catechesis [PDF]
Youth Growing in Faith as Part of the Intergenerational Community [PDF]

For three years, the Center for Ministry Development led a national research project in effective youth ministry practices in Catholic parishes. The following article summarizes these findings:

Effective Youth Ministry Practices and Models [PDF]

The Center for Ministry Development is working to provide dynamic resources for comprehensive youth ministry, including the catechetical component. The following article describes Youth Ministry Access and a collaborative project with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Religion Publishers called Call to Discipleship.

Youth Ministry Access and Call to Discipleship [PDF] 

The Center for Ministry Development supports the development of youth ministry through a variety of programs. In addition to these programs and services, CMD's youth ministry team provides specialized training and consultation services to dioceses and parishes upon request.

The youth ministry team includes: Tom East, Ann Marie Eckert, Sean Lansing and Cheryl Tholcke.