12 Years a Director

Last week I celebrated my 12 year anniversary as the Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Archdiocese of Vancouver (I replaced Father - now Bishop - Mark Hagemoen in December 2002).  I was excitable, passionate, and eager to learn.  And I had no idea what the Lord had in store for me.

As an aside, I can’t really remember why I started on a Tuesday and not the Monday prior.  Maybe it had to do with my former employer PricewaterhouseCoopers.  Or perhaps it had to do with staffing issues at the Archdiocese.  But I digress.

I inherited a staff consisting of Gerard Garcia, Pat Gillespie, Analyn Perez, and Rob Mascitti.  We quickly hit it off, as I knew all of them reasonably well – and in Gerard’s case, very well – through my involvement with the archdiocese while I was serving as the parish youth ministry coordinator at St. Paul Parish in Richmond.

What impressed me right away was the dedication and commitment that the staff had to their work and their ministry.  It truly was a dream job to be paid to do what I loved:  youth ministry!

Over the past 12 years, I’ve been fortunate to work alongside some awesome people in the office.  Rob and Pat are still serving the Archdiocese while Analyn has moved onto exciting project management with Children’s Hospital.  Krissy (Chua) Litam and Sharon Goh have filled in at times in administrative roles, while Faye McCreedy (2006) and Erwin Fung (2013) round out our current staff.  And of course, Gerard is still there after all these years...I guess we’ll never get rid of each other haha.

I’ll put our staff and our work up against any youth and young adult ministry office in North America.  This is not meant to sound cocky or boastful; I’m just very confident in what we do and in the people we are blessed to work with.  People like youth ministry and young adult ministry coordinators and leaders, teens, priests, religious, parents, principals and teachers, campus ministers, diocesan leaders and fellow diocesan employees.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Archbishop J. Michael Miller here.  A large part of our success and our desire to serve is because of his leadership and support.  Despite my humourous (and pathetic) attempts to earn his friendship, he is indeed a wonderful advocate for not only me, but for our office and for the young Church.

Now this doesn’t mean we’re perfect.  Far from it, in fact...we have a lot that we haven’t accomplished.  And just like any family, we have our minor disagreements and differences.  But we remain loyal to each other and faithful to our mission of providing spiritual and professional formation for those who serve youth and young adults.

Along with wonderful people from this archdiocese, I’ve also met dozens of awesome people from beyond.  I love opportunities to network and share the ups and downs of ministry with my peers from across Canada and the United States whether they be fellow diocesan directors, youth ministers, young adult ministers, or young people. 

This job has taken me as far away as Johannesburg, South Africa.  It’s taken me to numerous provinces and states.  And it’s given me a venue to learn about my faith, hone my communication skills, and become a better leader.

When you look at who we’ve met and been able to bring up to our archdiocese, it’s a virtual who’s who of Catholic youth ministry, young adult ministry, and music ministry.  People like Matt Maher.  Steve Angrisano.  Mike Patin.  APeX Ministries.  The Jacob and Matthew Band.  Jesse Manibusan.  The list goes on and on .

I may have name-dropped Matt Maher once. Or twice. Or 1,000 times.

Some of these people have become my closest friends.  They’ve mentored me, check in on me, and opened their homes to me.  And they’ve undoubtedly added to my penchant for name-dropping.

Just last week at the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry, Jesse Manibusan was on stage as part of the Friday night Youth Ministry Extravaganza.  In thanking the 2,000 attendees for their work in youth ministry, he talked about how all of them were “heroes” to him.  And lo and behold, he mentioned my name as one of these so-called “heroes”.

I was surprised, flattered, and humbled.  And no, I didn’t pay him to say that.

The quintessential name-dropper (me) actually got name-dropped.  It meant a lot to me given that I consider Jesse a true hero in ministry and an inspiration as a minister and friend.  And he nailed my last name to boot!

Moreover, I fully recognized that it was a reflection on the good work that our archdiocese is doing as a whole.   Indeed, we are blessed with a lot of things:  strong leadership development.  A good social media presence.  Priest support.  Strong leadership in the parishes. Hungry teens (spiritually not physically).

I reflect back to the job interview back in November 2002.  The panel asked me how long I expected to be in the role if I got the job. 

I remember answering, “I’ll give it 7 or 8 years...until the year 2010.  We’ll see if we’re still moving forward at that point.”

It’s funny how God works.  2010 was an incredibly exciting year for me and our office.  The JP 2 Centre opened wide its doors to serve as a “Catholic Hospitality Centre” for the 2010 Winter Olympics.  The volunteers primarily came from the young adult community.  And just a few months later, in the summer of 2010, our office officially added young adult ministry to its title and mandate.

I’d say that’s moving forward.

The year 2015 presents us with another big change: we’ll be moving from 150 Robson to 4885 St. John Paul II Way (at the corner of 33^rd and Willow).  The new location and new surroundings will present some unique blessings and challenges.  I’m looking forward to leading our office through the transition period.

While I refer to my job as a “dream job” it truly doesn’t feel like a job at all.  I love coming to work every day.  I love the challenge and the responsibility that comes with directing an archdiocesan office.

Most of all, I get excited to think that we are helping youth and young adults encounter Christ to live out lives of personal and communal holiness.

I know I won’t be in this position forever.  Someday, someone much smarter and more capable will come along.  And If I ever get complacent or feel that the office is not moving forward, then I’ll know it’s my time to move on.

But I’m not there yet.  

There is still a lot of work to do.

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     

Spirit Day 2014: How I Know God's Building

Last Friday night, I had the opportunity to address 150 of our Spirit Day volunteers at their orientation prior to the big event on Saturday and Sunday.  The majority of these volunteers were in grades 10, 11, and 12.

“How many of you went to Spirit Day as a grade 7 student?” I asked.

I’d guess that 75% – 80% of the students raised their hands.

I continued, “So why are you volunteering this weekend?”

“To give back,” one student replied.

“So the grade 7s can experience the same joy that I did when I attended,” answered another.

“To make new friends.”

“To share my gifts.”

And then, amidst the excited chatter, one answer spoken softly and humbly shot right through me:

“God.  Everything we do this weekend is for Him.”

It was a simple yet profound statement.  The previous answers were really good and certainly inspiring and affirming.  But the “God” answer seemed to energize me as I went into preacher mode.
I reminded the volunteers that this would be the first taste of the “bigger Church” for many of the grade 7 participants.  That they would be not only the hands and feet, but the face of Christ to everyone they would encounter.

I implored them to recall their fond memories of their own Spirit Day.  I encouraged them to step out of their comfort zones.  And I reminded them to never underestimate the influence and impact of every encounter they would have.

Having said what I needed to say, I left them to continue on with their meeting.  Thanks in large part to the service of all our volunteers, the entire Spirit Day weekend was a tremendous success.  All in all, there were 2,100 participants (students and chaperones) and close to 200 volunteers.

The theme of Spirit Day was “God’s Building.”  Throughout the event, we stressed that each of us is God’s building with Jesus as our foundation and cornerstone.  And that God is dwelling in each of us and building us up to be stronger witnesses of our faith.

There were countless examples of how God’s building some wonderful things in our archdiocese:

• I know God’s building when I witness the joy and hope in the faces of the grade 7 students…a true spirit of wonder, awe, and excitement to be there.
• I know God’s building when there are over a dozen priests present to celebrate Mass along with another dozen seminarians serving alongside them.
• I know God’s building when young adults write an intelligent and entertaining script that springs to life on stage via the Stage Team complete with costumes, choreography, and genuine emotion.
• I know God’s building when members of the Logistics Team stand outside all day in the cold and rain just to make the experience a tad more enjoyable for the participants.
• I know God’s building when our Spirit Team are hoarse and dog-tired because of 2 days of screaming, shouting, playing and singing.
• I know God’s building when our Production Team humbly and tireless works behind the scenes to make everyone else look and sound good.
• I know God’s building when our ushers check 2,100 participants for name tags and food at the door…only to pick up after them after each session.
• I know God’s building when people challenge themselves by taking on new leadership roles causing them to push themselves like never before.  Similarly, I know God’s building when other leaders take lesser roles for the sake of leadership development.
• I know God’s building when one of the band members tells us that this is the smoothest youth conference he’s ever been a part of.  Or when a venue employee tells us that we are the most well-organized group that they deal with.

I know that it sounds like I’m bragging.  In fact, I probably am.

But we give all the glory, praise, and honour to God.  For through Him, with Him, and in Him, all things are possible.

Everything we accomplished on the weekend was indeed for Him.



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    

Youth Day 2014: Our Hearts Burning Within

This past weekend, our Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Archdiocese of Vancouver hosted Youth Day - our annual event youth rally for high school teens.  It was held on Saturday, May 3 at Archbishop Carney Regional Secondary School in Port Coquitlam.

Youth Day featured Chris Padgett as the Keynote Speaker and Jackie Francois Angel leading music. At over 450 participants, it was the largest Youth Day event since 2010.

The theme for Youth Day was "Our Hearts Burning Within" based on Luke 24:32 (The Road to Emmaus).  Throughout the day, we explored how our hearts can burn stronger for Christ and encouraged the young church to indeed develop positive healthy relationships like Jesus did with his disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Enjoy some of the sights (and implied sounds...haha) of the event.



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      

On Mission and Vision.

Earlier this week I was on the panel for Blueprints (an online youth ministry training resource) and our topic was Mission and Vision.  Among the many topics we discussed were the differences between the two, how to create them, and how to maintain and evaluate them.

For me, a vision statement helps answer the question of "Where are we going?"  It defines what success will look like and describes what the impact is going to be.  It is meant to be inspirational and doesn't necessarily explain the "how". 

Thus, I believe it includes a lot of what Jason Frizzell spoke about earlier this week here in his video blog on Vision.  It can be thought of as an orientation, a long-term direction, and even a destination.

Contrast that to a mission statement which tells the reader why your organization or ministry exists.  It is a bit more practical than the vision statement from a standpoint that it starts to dip into the "how".

As an example, check out our vision and mission statements for the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry (OYYAM) that I direct for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver.

Vision:  That all youth and young adults encounter Christ to live out lives of personal and communal holiness.

Mission Statement:  The OYYAM  exists to provide spiritual and professional formation for those who serve youth and young adults.

Enjoy this video...it's over an hour long but features insight from many prominent Catholic youth workers in North America...and me haha.

The intros start at the 7:30 mark and the nitty gritty begins as the 15:30 mark.



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     

Spreading Their Wings

Today I blessed to spend time with two good friends who are leaving town within the next few days to continue on their respective life journeys.

For dinner we hosted the myth, the man, and the legend Jan Chan for dinner at our place.  The kids (along with Gail and I) had been looking forward to his visit all week and unsurprisingly there was no shortage of things to talk and laugh about.  Jan shared stories of his two years of teaching in different cities in England along with his excitement of going to Melbourne to work for the upcoming year.  We played a fun board game (in which Jan, Jacob, Sean and Gail all tied for first leaving me as the only one in last) and enjoyed yummy fudge bars for dessert before Sean and Jacob defeated Jan and me in a friendly game of soccer on the Xbox (see a pattern here?).  It was a great night of both reminiscing and looking ahead.

Earlier for lunch, the OYYAM staff was able to meet Jeremy Keong for some all-you-can-eat Japanese food downtown.  It was a great discussion as we learned about all of Jeremy’s experiences during his first term studying at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute (for Studies on Marriage and Family at the Catholic University of America) in Washington, DC.  We listened to stories of magnificent Sunday brunches, sharing chores, and racing to meet deadlines.  Despite Jeremy’s constant threats to take my job one day, it was wonderful to see that one of our former parish youth ministry coordinators (and archdiocesan stalwarts) was doing so well in an undoubtedly challenging yet fruitful program.

I’m super excited to see both Jan and Jeremy “spread their wings”.  I imagine that moving away to study and/or work can be extremely challenging and stressful.  I wouldn’t know as I admit I’m a bit of a mama’s boy (now wife’s boy I guess).  But here are both of these young men thriving at what they are doing.

I consider myself blessed to have had the opportunity to serve with both of them in youth ministry (Jan at both the parish and archdiocesan levels and Jeremy at the archdiocesan level) and I hope that I will get the chance to do so once again in the future.  I’m fortunate to call them my friends and I take great comfort in knowing that we will be praying for each other.

In the meantime, I will marvel as they spread their wings and make their leaps of faith.

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 

Spirit Day 2012: "Almighty"

We at the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry (OYYAM) of the Archdiocese of Vancouver have just released our promo and registration material for Spirit Day - our annual rally for grade 7 students.  Spirit Day has quickly grown to be the largest Catholic youth rally in western Canada and it has blessed our churches in so many ways.

Close to 100 youth and young adult volunteers put the event together by serving on a variety of teams: the Stage Team, the Spirit Team, the Logistics Team, and the Production Team.  It's an awesome witness for the 1,900 grade 7 participants (and their adult leaders) to see so many young people (many of them former Spirit Day participants) serving at the event.

The theme for this year's event is "Almighty" - a recognition of God's power and strength. For God and with God, all things are possible.

Enjoy these 2 videos.  The first one is the official promo video and the second one is a music video parody of One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful".




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