Technology has brought a new dimension to youth ministry, as we know it. Gone are the days of locked diaries hidden in drawers. There is a new way to record one’s thoughts—the Internet blog. Blog is short for web-log which is an internet journal and youth are using this way to communicate, share, and reveal to whoever takes the time to read their page!

This article is an initial examination of how these personal revelations on the Internet affect youth ministry. These ideas are not guidelines or rules of operation. It is my hope that this article helps your youth ministry team formulate the best way to approach this issue with your young people.

Group Dynamics

Group dynamics are a normal part of any group. How are these dynamics affected when the young people use Internet sites or blogs to express their frustrations with their peers? Cyber bullying (use of Instant Messenger, text messaging, chat rooms, etc to bully someone) is a reality. In the past, if two young people had a fight at a youth group meeting, it was audible. As youth ministry leaders we had some context with which to diffuse the situation. Now a dispute can happen via cell phone (sometimes even at one of our gatherings!) and we have no idea what happened. If you see something negative written on a teenager’s MySpace page about another group member, should you talk to the teenager or do you just note it and observe how they interact at the next gathering?

Pastoral Care

Pastoral care is another aspect for consideration. What if you read on someone’s website that they are thinking of hurting themselves or are suicidal? I spoke with a teacher whose school district has a policy on these kinds of situations. The school counselors check the MySpace sites and if they read a health concern for one of their students they call the parents immediately. What is the appropriate response for the leaders in a youth ministry program?
In all of my research on this topic, I have not found any set of clear black and white answers to this question. I suspect that once we figure out the answers a new technology will come along to complicate the situation even more!
We are in a unique position because the young people we work with come to our programs because they want to be there. They know that we care for them and (in general) they listen to us and value our guidance. Their schools are teaching them about Internet safety. We have the opportunity to share this same information through the lens of our Catholic faith. We can remind them that we want them to be happy, healthy and holy. Everything they do, including their Internet use, affects this. As people of faith who love and care about them we want to remind them of the need to be safe on the Internet.

Parish/Youth Ministry Program Public Image

Do you want your youth group’s name used on the teens’ websites? The parish’s site? You may not be able to control this, but realize that all of the text on their sites goes into search engines. What does this mean? Someone doing a search for “St. Mary’s” (or the name of a ministry event or program) may find one of the results to be a teenager’s MySpace website. Consider the implications: Who are the people who might use a search engine for a parish, a youth ministry program, or a ministry event?

• parishioner looking for information about parish activities and ministries
• a visitor who is “parish shopping” and wants to know more about the community
• a stranger, with benign or less-than-benign intentions.

Could young people’s websites serve as a vehicle for evangelization—helping others to see and hear the Good News and encouraging others to attend church or youth ministry programs? Sure! But they might also (even unintentionally) raise concerns about the ministry program or push potential members away.

The American Camping Association suggests the following policy: Prohibit the use of images (pictures or logos) of or from your camp. You may also want to consider your position on teens’ using the parish name or youth ministry program name on their sites.

Potential Guidelines

If any youth in your program have web sites, ask them to look at their site with the eyes of faith. Does the content reflect who they are as individuals created in the image and likeness of God? Most teenagers do not realize that the entire world can see their web site and their blogs. I have posed many questions, and offer the following recommendations:

1. If you are going to look through MySpace and other blog sites, let the young people know that you are doing that.
2. Share your policy regarding reading information that indicates a potential danger to their own (or others’) health or personal safety.
3. Talk with your young people about Internet safety. Familiarize yourself with the MySpace Safety Tips. Another good resource is www.NetSmartz.org.
4. Determine your position on use of the youth group/parish’s name on websites in blogs, and communicate this position.
5. You may want to set specific guidelines for your youth leadership team regarding these issues.

I hope this information helps you to ensure that young people are happy, healthy, and holy on the internet. These thoughts are only the beginning of an important dialogue in the youth ministry community on this topic. I welcome your responses, opinions and questions. Please contact me at 716-847-8789 or dyork@buffalodiocese.org. May God be with you as we continue to journey in faith and grace!