Welcome Pastors! Why a pastors page you ask ...  Recent research indicates that the single most important factor affecting parish youth ministry is support of the pastor.  Pastors set the agenda for the parish that allows for youth ministry to grow and flourish or shrink and die.  There are many ways for the pastor to support youth ministry from supporting those who work with youth to working side by side with youth ministers.  Youth Ministry is a broad effort directed at forming youth into faith filled disciples of Christ - willing to live out of their baptismal vocation and participation in Church community here on earth.  Technically speaking, all adults who interact with youth in the name of the Catholic Church are youth ministers.  This includes DREs, Catechists, Catholic School Staff, Principles, Coaches of Catholic Sport Teams, Scout Masters, and of course Coordinators of Youth Ministry.  Bishop D'Arcy's Vision for Youth Ministry can be found here. The Policy for the Protection of Young People can be found at http://www.diocesefwsb.org/POLICY/pdf/volunteers.qxd.pdf All volunteers who work with youth under 18 must have a signed copy of page 23 of this booklet on file with your parish. Additional Resources for Pastors Diocesan Youth Ministry Directory (Coming Soon) Diocesan Youth Ministry Calendar Renewing the Vision From the United States Catholic Bishops Bishop D'Arcy's vision for youth ministry If you have any questions please feel free to call or e-mail Cindy Black at any time.  Our contact information is listed at the left.