Teens growing in faith bear good fruit

After its first retreat, Sunday evenings at the parish have not been the same.

At the initial retreat, the teens used a DVD study from Ascension Press; they read Scripture; asked questions; and spent time in fellowship. Over time, word spread and attendance began to grow rapidly. The group was soon named, “Teen Bible Study”.
 

TGIF teens, from left, Kevin Gonzales and Ramses Barfield serve as door greeters at the Sunday evening Mass. Ervey Martinez for South Texas Catholic

Sunday night slowly became the night where teens came together to study, pray and praise the Lord through music and share service opportunities. Over the next four years, attendance and participation grew to an average of 50 teens every Sunday. Five studies from Ascension Press were used, including Theology of the Body, T3’s Mathew, Acts, Revelation and Teen Timeline.

Teen Bible Study not only allowed teens to come, but attracted young adults and older adults to get more involved in working with the youth of the parish. During this process, each teen grew deeper in their Catholic faith.

The parish soon found itself with a large group of teens attending Teen Bible Study on Sunday nights. Msgr. Mark Chamberlin decided the format should be engaged for high school faith formation. The high school CCD and Bible Studies were combined and, in September 2015, the program took on a new name—Teens Growing in Faith or TGIF.

TGIF’s mission is for high school teens from grades nine – 12 to be able to take ownership of their faith and provide teens with the tools necessary to place God at the center of their lives. The focus is to engage teens by giving them the opportunity to experience an in-depth knowledge of the Catholic faith and more fully understand what it means to be a Catholic.
 

TGIF teens, from left, Jaclyn Maldonado, Annika Sacky, Matthew Hogan, Matthew Perales, Grace Nohavitza, Julissa Navarro, Bridget Polasek, Nick Trevino and John Lay serve as altar servers, lectors and extraordinairy ministers of holy Communion during the Sunday evening Mass. Ervey Martinez for South Texas Catholic

TGIF is designed to serve teens through two years of confirmation preparation and allows for two additional years of faith formation prior to attending college. According to the Dynamic Catholic Institute, 85 percent of young Catholics stop practicing their faith within seven to 10 years of their confirmation. Our Lady of Mount Carmel youth leaders believe engaging with youth early and staying engaged with them after confirmation is critical to lowering those statistics.

With the help of 23 adults and four young adults, for at least 28 weeks, an hour and 45 minutes every Sunday, the focus for TGIF is learning and experiencing knowing God.  For the 2015-16 school year, TGIF incorporated three studies: Ascension Press’ Altaration, T3 Teen Timeline and Dynamic Catholic’s Decision Point, which is a confirmation study. Msgr. Chamberlin engages teens with special discussion on sexuality, the sacraments and manners.
 

Following Sunday evening Mass during their study session, TGIF teens do table group discussions from a lesson in the book on “The Holy Spirit”. Ervey Martinez for South Texas Catholic

Through TGIF, a teen Mass is now celebrated the first Sunday evening of each month. Teens serve as greeters, ushers, altar servers, lectors, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and singers on the teen praise and worship group.

Msgr. Chamberlain points out that TGIF is the result of God planting a special seed and teens accepting his call to love him and others; as a result, this seed bears good fruit off the vine.