Youth Ministry

My husband and I have been parishioners here at Holy Trinity for 24 years.  We have raised our family here. We have found community here.  We’ve grown spiritually here beside many of you. 8 years ago the Lord called me to be the Director of Youth Ministry. I accepted His call but had no idea what I was being called to. I prayed a lot and learned as much as I could. But the truth is He was only calling me to a greater love and to lay my life down in a way I never had before.  When I was a teen I had mentors teaching me how to follow Christ and it transformed my life. That example taught me what my role is now. I am honored to walk beside the families in our parish who have teens. I have learned so much from your teens. I am humbled by their desire to know Christ and seeing how they live that out in their lives.  And I am so grateful for Fr. Rafal’s support as well as  the families in Youth Ministry but also the support of the parish. This Youth Mass is our way of giving back to the parish, to say thank you for all your prayer and support.  We want you to see the fruit of that support, teens who are embracing their faith and living it out actively in the church and in the world.

I want to invite any family who has teens to join us in youth ministry for this year. I believe that Youth Ministry is a necessary component in a teens life to learn how to practice their faith and grow in a faith community of peers for them to know they are not alone on the journey.  As parents you are the greatest example of that faith. But when a teen sees other adults and mentors sharing and living out their faith it only reinforces what you teach them as parents.  Teens need a mission in this world.  In Youth Ministry the teens learn how to reach out their peers. In Youth Ministry the teens will learn how to listen to God to hear His calling on their life. He needs them to be his hands and feet in the world to bring hope and joy… teens have so much of both. Lastly, they need a safe place to ask questions, wrestle with thoughts and emotions and a way to make unexpected friends to support them.

If you have any further questions or just want to connect, please email me at youthministry@holytrinitywestmont.org

Thank you, 
Jenn Bartley - Director of Youth Ministry