Youth Ministry

September 6, 2026 is the first day of faith formation!

The devil is working every moment of every day for the souls of our children.
With the grace of God, the sacraments, prayer and fasting, parents are their best defense.

Support for Families

When children are baptized Catholic, parents make a promise to the Lord to raise and nurture them in the Faith. St. Mary's Family Faith Formation recognizes that this is not an easy task. The primary purpose of Youth Faith Formation is to support parents in living out this promise on a daily basis. This is because the Church teaches parents are the primary educators of the Faith for their children. In light of this teaching, St. Mary’s Family Faith Formation provides opportunities for forming the whole family in the faith with an understanding that this is the most effective way for forming faith in our children.

Formation at Home and Weekly Mass are Essential

Unlike Math, English and other academic subjects, faith is not something that can be effectively taught in the classroom only. Rather, faith is a way of life that is best taught through day-to-day lived experiences and regular faith-based conversations that occur during the course of our daily lives. This is why parents are the best teachers of the faith to children.

What we do in faith formation programming is merely icing on the cake. Praying as a family, modelling and teaching our children to pray and read the Bible every day, attending Mass every Sunday, and regular confession are ESSENTIAL to giving our children the gift of lifelong faith.

Without these daily lived experiences, weekly Mass attendance, and regular confession, weekly faith formation at church can be an exercise in futility, unable to compete with daily messages from media, peers and secular education that contradict the teachings of our Faith.

The video below highlights the things families can do to raise children that will stay Catholic as adults.

Youth Ministry Sessions Sundays at 9:15am

As part of St. Mary's Family Faith Formation, St. Mary's Youth Ministry serves parents and children in Grades 9-12. The focus of the ministry is to encourage youth to grow deeper in relationship with the Lord by living their faith each day and by encountering the Lord through prayer and in their relationships with others. Catechists aim to focus on building strong personal relationships with youth and to provide experiences of living the faith as part of the ministry experience.

The ministry consists of weekly sessions held Sunday mornings at 9:15am, September through May. Parent sessions are held twice per month at the same time to provide parents with ongoing faith formation to reinforce living the faith at home.

Youth Ministry includes:

adult sessions twice per month
youth sessions two-three times per month
Opportunities to practice the works of mercy as part of class once per month and through a biannual mission trip.

2025/2026 Youth Ministry Curriculum

This year, grades 9-12 will be using two programs:

Venture: The Bible Timeline for High School introduces teenagers to the “big picture” of salvation history in a way that is simple to understand and easy to teach. It uses the revolutionary Great Adventure Bible Timeline® Learning System that hundreds of thousands of Catholic adults have used to learn the Bible. This eight-lesson program will get teens to open their Bibles and learn the story of salvation history—from Genesis to Revelation—with a focus on God’s covenants and biblical characters. When teens understand the Bible, their faith becomes a relevant and indispensable part of their lives.

Arise—Made for Wholeness from the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor, Michigan: The curriculum is a practical, easily accessible program which integrates the best of neurobiology with the call to virtue and holiness, leading adolescents and adults to happiness, holiness and secure attachment. The program explains brain development and how to grow our mind and heart using what has been learned from both neurobiology and the wisdom of Catholic spirituality.

Parents are invited to participate in a separate parent session twice per month during faith formation sessions.

If you would prefer to teach this curriculum to your child at home, we can provide you with online access to the program. Select that option when completing the faith formation registration form for your child(ren).

YOU are Essential: Parental Involvement & commitment to attend

First, we are here to support YOU in your essential role as primary educator of your child in the Catholic Faith. As a parent, you have more influence on your teen than you might believe. The noise of the world will never drown out the love you express for to your child on a daily basis. Although young people often act as if they want to be left alone, they are actually pining for guidance and interference from Dad and Mom.

Your child might not want to attend Youth Ministry, just like they might not want to study for a test or go to school. Yet, as a parent, you know what is best for their soul...a relationship with the Lord, fed by regularly receiving the Eucharist, going to Confession, prayer, reading Sacred Scripture, and learning about their Catholic faith. Learning the faith in Youth Ministry sessions helps youth gain understanding about why these things are best for them. It also fosters relationships with teens who have the same beliefs.

If you want the most for your child from youth ministry, you and your child should commit to attend regularly. Attending once in a while will have little effect as youth will be confused about content and won't have the opportunity to build relationships. For this reason, we ask parents and youth to commit to be regular, active participants in youth ministry programming.

Off-Site Opportunities for Youth

Youth Ministry offers a number of off-site opportunities for youth to grow deeper in faith. Many of these opportunities are free and some have a minimal cost. Youth raise funds in order to provide scholarships for youth ministry activities.

Youth ministry opportunities may include:

Summer Activities (these vary based on the year)
- Totus Tuus - Held here in Houlton, Totus Tuus is a week of dynamic learning for teens that motivates and equips them to live the radical call of the Gospel in today’s world.
- Summer Youth Ministry Campout and Hike in Baxter Park - this overnight camping trip is a kick-off event for our youth ministry program.
- Mission Trips - St. Mary's youth plan mission trips once every other year to locations in the United States.
Year-Round:
- Service Sundays - Youth are encouraged to participate in two Service Sundays in which they partner with adult parishioners and go out in teams to serve parishioners in need of home repairs or yard work. Service Sundays are a very important way for youth to learn through lived experience what it means to bring Christ to those around them.