Youth Ministry is So Advent

Source: www.thepracticingcatholic.com

Advent is about waiting.  Anticipating.  Expecting.  Preparing.  Hoping.  This sounds a lot like youth ministry to me.

We wait for youth to commit their lives to Jesus.  We wait for them so we can start our youth gatherings.  We wait for their parents to come pick them up at the end of our events.

We anticipate the arrival of youth at our gatherings with our eyes fixated on the door.  We anticipate their confusion or their silence when we are preparing small group discussions.  We anticipate their excitement when we announce the dates of retreats and rallies.

We expect the youth to behave when they are at Church.  We expect that more youth will come out to social events than teaching nights.  We expect that Father will ask us “So how many people came to youth ministry last night?”

We prepare prayer services, social justice excursions, and skits.  We prepare snacks to serve the youth either before, during, or after the gathering.  We prepare them to be able to share their testimonies with a world that so desperately needs to hear them.

We hope that we are making a difference in the youths’ lives.  We hope that they make good decisions especially in the face of temptation.  We hope that their homes are stable and that their friends are good.

Most of all, we love them where they are at and we lead them to an encounter with Jesus Christ.

Just as Christ entered the world to love and encounter us.

Clayton Imoo is husband to Gail and father to sons Sean Isaiah and Jacob Isaac and daughter Kayla Marie.  He has served as the Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver for the past ten years, helping parishes develop their own youth and young adult ministries.  When not doing ministry, Clay enjoys spending time with his family, playing music, playing sports, playing naptime, and writing blogs on topics such as family, faith, and the Vancouver Canucks.  Learn more about him at http://www.claytonimoo.com or follow him @claytonimoo   

Advent in Two Minutes

Following up on Doris' great post on Advent from earlier in the week, I wanted to share with you two quick videos that do an excellent job of summing up Advent in a catchy style.

The first one is by Busted Halo, a ministry that helps young adults explore their spirituality, listen to and encourage one another, and discover (or re-discover) the rich depths of Catholic tradition.




The second one is by Xt3, a Catholic content driven social networking site. 



May we all use this season of Advent to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus Christ. 

Clayton Imoo is husband to Gail and father to sons Sean Isaiah and Jacob Isaac and daughter Kayla Marie.  He has served as the Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver for the past ten years.  Learn more about him at http://www.claytonimoo.com or follow him @claytonimoo

Celebrating the Year of Faith

On Thursday, October 11, Catholics throughout the world began to celebrate the "Year of Faith" - it's an opportunity for Catholics to experience a conversion – to turn back to Jesus and enter into a deeper relationship with him.

The Year of Faith (that concludes on November 24, 2013) also calls Catholic to encounter Jesus in the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and rediscover the Faith and Church.

Many of you readers are aware that Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is literally, not symbolically, truly present in the Holy Eucharist – body, blood, soul and divinity -  and that we are truly consuming Jesus’ body and blood at Mass.  

So for this week I'd like to share with you a video that we did for my son Jacob's First Communion back in February 2011.  Enjoy!



Clayton Imoo is husband to Gail and father to sons Sean Isaiah and Jacob Isaac and daughter Kayla Marie.  He has served as the Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver for the past ten years, helping parishes develop their own youth and young adult ministries.  When not doing ministry, Clay enjoys spending time with his family, playing music, playing sports, playing naptime, and writing blogs on topics such as family, faith, and the Vancouver Canucks.  Learn more about him at http://www.claytonimoo.com or follow him @claytonimoo 

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

On our recent family vacation to Las Vegas we were blessed to see a few shows.  One was the Jabbawockeez (that I wrote about last week) and another was MJ Live – a tribute to Michael Jackson.

It was a great show, made even more entertaining by the fact that the performer had a hole in his pants (right where you don’t want a hole in your pants) for the first-half of the show.  My family and I marvelled at the actor’s physical resemblance to the late “King of Pop” and needless to say, his vocals and dance moves were spot on.

The entire audience loved it.  In fact, screams of “We love you, Michael” cascaded throughout the theater.  In retrospect, I sure hope they know they were watching an impersonator.  In a nice ironic twist, the actor’s name is actually Michael.  But I digress.

When I speak to young people about image and imitation, I talk about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.  That is, when someone copies you, generally it’s because they want to be like you.  I then go on to share stories of my kids and how they flatter me (good, bad, and ugly) but imitating me. 

But regardless of good, bad, or ugly, I know that I am not the BEST example to my kids all the time. For that example, we all need to look towards another loving Father: that is, God. And in imitating God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son, lies our challenge as Christians: to be the face of Christ to everyone that we encounter.

Wouldn't it be cool if every single person that we meet walks away thinking to himself: “Man…what is up with him? Where does he get that sense of joy and love from? Whatever it is…I want some of that!” Whether our family and friends are churched or unchurched, the way that we carry ourselves is a true form of evangelization.

Now that I think about it…it’s more than being the face of Christ. It’s being Christ-like completely. Compliments like “you’re awesome,” or “you’re a good friend,” or “you look great,” or "nice haircut" pale in comparison to the one that says: “You were Christ to me.”

That’s what I often tell people: the essence of being a good Christian is BEING, and not necessarily DOING.  After all, we are called human beings and not human doings.

Yes, imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery. 

God doesn’t need to be flattered.  But He does need to be imitated.

Clayton Imoo is husband to Gail and father to sons Sean Isaiah and Jacob Isaac and daughter Kayla Marie.  He has served as the Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver for the past ten years, helping parishes develop their own youth and young adult ministries.  When not doing ministry, Clay enjoys spending time with his family, playing music, playing sports, playing naptime, and writing blogs on topics such as family, faith, and the Vancouver Canucks.  Learn more about him at http://www.claytonimoo.com or follow him @claytonimoo

Letting Christ Stir Things Up (Chocolate Milk)

As youth ministers, we are constantly encouraging young people to be witnesses of God's love for us and to not have separate "church" and "non-church" lives.  When we let our secular and spiritual lives mix, then we are doing what we are called to do.  Just like milk and chocolate syrup. 

When we let Christ stir things up in our lives, our bond with Him will become more perfect.

And it will taste a lot better too!



Clayton Imoo is husband to Gail and father to sons Sean Isaiah and Jacob Isaac and daughter Kayla Marie.  He has served as the Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver for the past ten years, helping parishes develop their own youth and young adult ministries.  When not doing ministry, Clay enjoys spending time with his family, playing music, playing sports, playing naptime, and writing blogs on topics such as family, faith, and the Vancouver Canucks.  Learn more about him at http://www.claytonimoo.com or follow him @claytonimoo

Knowing Your Father

Father’s Day is always a bittersweet day for me, and this past one was no exception.  While I celebrate the blessing of my three kids, I also spend some time reflecting on my late father Larry who passed away on October 11, 2004 when he suffered a heart attack on the 17^th fairway at Burnaby Mountain Golf Course.  Not a bad way to go out all things considered...at least he was doing something he loved! :p

It goes without saying that I love Dad very much and I miss him dearly.  Every day, I feel his imprint on me whether it’s how I parent, how I don’t take myself too seriously, or how I think I’m a decent athlete.

In a conversation I had with my dear friend Megan over dinner last night, I lamented that I wish that my daughter Kayla, born in December 2007, had a chance to meet my Dad.  As she is the first Imoo girl in 75 years, there’s no doubt that he would have doted over her and likely spoiled her.  My son Jacob, born in September 2003, was barely a year-old when Dad died so at least they got to spend some time together.  And my eldest Sean, born August 2001, was the lucky one as he spent quality time with Dad playing golf, hockey, and basketball among others.

Megan and I both volunteered for an event that evening that focused on getting fallen-away Catholics to return home to the Church.  It was an inspiring night of testimony, faith, and hope.  During the evening we heard countless stories of people returning to the faith and encountering God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. 

In my evening prayer, it struck me that it wasn’t by accident that Megan and I had our deep conversation earlier in the evening.  I realized that the sadness I have for Kayla never getting to know Dad is the same sadness I feel for someone who doesn’t get to know God the Father...albeit intentionally or by circumstance.

That’s our primary goal as youth ministry leaders:  to lead young people to an encounter with God the Father.  We may do good relational ministry.  We may have awesome small group discussions.  We may model cutting-edge social media initiatives.  We may make professional promo videos.  And we may perform the most memorable skits and play the craziest games.

But all of these are for naught if we end up pointing young people to ourselves instead of to God.  It’s not about us; it’s about God.  Yet we sometimes forget this. 

It’s heart-breaking for a young person to come to your youth ministry events regularly yet not know who God is.  Not know all the great and mighty things God has done for him.  Not know how much God loves him.

Thus, let us all renew our commitment to enable young people to get to know and love God.

Before it’s too late.

Clayton Imoo is husband to Gail and father to sons Sean Isaiah and Jacob Isaac and daughter Kayla Marie.  He has served as the Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver for the past ten years, helping parishes develop their own youth and young adult ministries.  When not doing ministry, Clay enjoys spending time with his family, playing music, playing sports, playing naptime, and writing blogs on topics such as family, faith, and the Vancouver Canucks.  Learn more about him at http://www.claytonimoo.com or follow him @claytonimoo