Dear Youth

It has come to my attention how little the youth get involved in their churches. After high school, and even after middle school, youth begin to leave the Church because it does not apply to them. While mass is one thing and should be very formal, there are still other things within the Church that should grab people's attention.
My church has both a Youth Group and a Young Adults Group. The Youth Group has been flourishing these past few years, but the number is constant and by the time the kids reach senior year of high school, they no longer attend. And the Young Adults Group just started a year or two ago and slowly gains people over the summer but then loses them over the school year. Why is it that we lose people's interest in these things?
The Youth Group does have more fixed meetings; they play, eat, and talk. And they have camping trips and out of town activities through out the year. While the Young Adults have a chance to learn some new things about the faith as well as have opportunities to watch a movie or have a BBQ and play sports. Yes, the Young Adults get more freedom because they are legal adults and have more freedom of where they can go and what they can do at any time during the day. Yet this should not discourage the Youth Group from trying to have their own fun.
Another thing I have seen within the same faith, between churches, is the competition of the various Youth and Young Adults Groups. I mean, we all have a similar goal, to have fun while sharing our faith and talking about Christ, yet we are always trying to pull each other to one parish or another because our Youth/Young Adults Group is so much better then theirs. Maybe we all just need to take the time and visit some other parishes if only to see what they do different then our own. It will be taking a step of faith just to see something new, even if it makes you uncomfortable.
Also, people often hesitate to go to a new, or just a youth/young adults group for the first time, because they feel like they won't know anyone there or they won't be understood and will feel like outcasts. I have noticed this in my own parish, where we become very clique and it's hard to let people in. I hate it, some new person comes and I'll be the only one talking to them while every one else just looks at them and then goes on talking with their friends. So coming to a Youth Group or Young Adults Group for the first time can be daunting, but if you are willing to be patient and you will eventually make new friends. This does not sound that encouraging! Ha, now I have dissuaded any reader from coming to either one. But there will always be that one person who reaches out to you, and they are the people you will want to get to know better.
So back to getting the youth involved, how do we do it? I have often considered what even I could do to get people come and want to stay, though I wouldn't ever want to force some one to come against their will unless it was my brother. One thing that I know is that us young people want to have fun and enjoy our selves while we can before we go off to college, get a job, get married, and all that life stuff. I'm going to leave it here and write another blog when I hear some input. Tell me what you think of Youth Group and Young Adults and what you'd like to see.