a cause for celebration

"Youth ministry is about holding a young person's deepest identity until he or she is able to see it too. We hold onto the knowledge that these young people are the beloved of God, that they have gifts that enrich the world, and that their presence is a cause for celebration. We hold this understanding of young people until they can hold it for themselves. We seek to reveal their beauty back to them until they see it, until they believe it, until they can live from it grounded in God's love."

-Mark Yaconelli / Contemplative Youth Ministry