The national statistics within our Church show that 79% of former Catholics leave the church by the time they are 23. Within that, 50% of all former Catholics have left the church before the end of High School. There are a whole plethora of issues that play into these brothers and sisters leaving the faith and there is no single initiative or program that will address all of these wandering souls; however, at EDGE we are committed to lead teens closer to Christ through providing a space for them to encounter the living God, be brought into the community, and to claim their role as a missionary disciple. The story of salvation history is also each of our own stories as we are all invited into that by God to cooperate in His Glory.
There is more to EDGE than just being about confirmation prep and meeting requirements to be confirmed. EDGE is part of a larger vision of the Youth Ministry here at St. Michael’s.
The mission of youth ministry at St. Michael the Archangel is to lead teens closer to Christ through an authentic community that is rooted in the Eucharist.
Our core values are to be authentic, sacramental, and missionary.
EDGE is inviting junior high students into this vision. Showing them they are called to live a life of authenticity, that the sacraments are what give them their truest identity, and they are called to share this with others. This initiative would continue to strive to invite, engage, develop, and empower teens to continue to lead others into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church, whether they are Catholic or not. EDGE is a continual invitation and not graduation from formation for all junior high teens within our parish boundaries.
Within the initiative of EDGE, we integrate the requirements from the Archdiocese and the recommendations from the USCCB to prepare our 7th and 8th-grade teens for the sacrament of Confirmation. Through this integration, we have established a two-year cycle to cover the depth of truth that we have in the Church traditions and teachings to prepare our teens to go out and be on mission.
We are here not as a substitute to the parent's role as the primary formator but to partner and supplement parents as we lead teens closer to Christ. We believe that when a teen has an authentic encounter with our Lord, they can go be change agents in bringing the Gospel into homes, parishes and communities.
Check out our Parent Life website for resources on how-to guide
your teen in a faith-filled way through modern-day culture!