Jesus Youth
Jesus Youth is a Catholic youth movement with a charismatic spirituality, spread all over India and in a few other countries of the world. It is “a network of young people who have experienced the love of the Lord in a personal way and have a taste of the fullness of life in Jesus.” The members of this movement, in their own unique life situations strive to set apart time for the Lord, responding to the challenges of today’s world in the power of the spirit . Convinced of their vocation to do something with the Lord, a number of young people from different Catholic rites engage in various ministries and faith formation projects under this wide umbrella of Jesus Youth.
1. Origin and Growth
It is not possible to point out a particular person as the founder of Jesus Youth. Rather than being founded by someone, it was evolving out as the youth wing of Kerala Catholic Charismatic Movement. In the 1970s the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (C.C.R.) touched the lives of many, young and old, and resulted in the formation of a number of youth groups. By the early 1980s, these groups had already matured into vibrant presence. In 1985, the International Year of the Youth, these groups came together under a single name, Jesus Youth, seeking a clearer vision for themselves and for the wider participation of the young people in the Church.
Over the past years the movement has grown far and wide. Today it is active in many Asian countries, United States, Canada and Europe. In many instances this is due to the initiatives of the members of Jesus youth, who migrated to other parts of the world for academic or professional reasons. In other cases, it is on account of some older people who, being deeply impressed by the transformation of the young people by their association with the movement, actively promoted Jesus Youth and tried to establish the movement in other countries.
2. Structure
Unlike other youth movements in the Catholic Church, Jesus Youth does not have a rigid structural set up. However it does have an organizational set up for co-ordinating its various activities. Jesus Youth co-ordinating teams at different levels are known as Service Teams. Each team consists of a Coordinator, a Pastor (priest), one or more lay Animator/s and members. There are Sub-zonal, Zonal, Regional, State, National and International Service Teams. For effective fellowship and better coordination Jesus Youth initiatives and ministries are networked at various levels. A zonal Service Team is formed from among the leaders of the Jesus Youth groups and ministries of a specific area and this team attends to the spiritual needs and activities of Jesus Youth in that zone. When there are different zones in a region the leaders of these zones come together to form the Regional Team. The National Team oversees these different regional teams and coordinates the national level initiatives. Jesus Youth has also an International Team (JYIT) that monitors and co-ordinates Jesus Youth at the international level.
In India Jesus Youth network and activities are co-ordinated by Jesus Youth National Team (J.Y.N.T.), which is accountable to National Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services (N.C.C.R.S.), India, approved by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (C.B.C.I). At the diocesan level the bishop gives guidance to the zonal Jesus youth team, in particular through the presence and assistance of the official diocesan priest liaison for Jesus youth appointed by the bishop.
3. Philosophy
By the philosophy of Jesus Youth we mean the convictions that propel them in their life and missionary endeavours. They are basically the following.
a. They consider themselves to be inspired and called by the Holy Spirit, to be at the service of the Church and the world, especially the youth.
b. They believe that they have been individually elected and called by the Lord to be part of the Jesus Youth fellowship.
c. They believe that their individual charisms and gifts will be better developed in the Jesus Youth fellowship to be at the service of the people of God.
d. They believe that youth is the hope of the world and the Church, and that the Lord has specially called them to creatively and positively direct the youth for the building up of the Kingdom.
e. They consider themselves to be part of that tradition of individuals and communities raised up by the Spirit at various times in history to renew the children of God through their commitment to the Heavenly Father.
f. They believe that they can fulfil their God-given mission through a faithful following of the Lord and his message revealed through the Scripture and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.
4. Statistics in the Archdiocese
In Kerala, Jesus Youth initiatives are co-ordinated in twenty one geographical zones and a number of All Kerala Ministries. The Jesus Youth groups in the Archdiocese of Verapoly come under the Ernakulam zone. The Ernakulam zone is also divided into 10 sub-zones namely, Paravoor, Aluva, Pachalam, Koonammavu, Kaloor, Kalamasserry, Vypeen, Kochi, Thripoonithura and Vaikkam. A number of Jesus youth ministries are actively co-ordinated in this zone. There are altogether seventeen Jesus Youth groups in the Archdiocese. The average strength of a group is around 17-20.
In Kerala, Jesus Youth initiatives are co-ordinated in twenty one geographical zones and a number of All Kerala Ministries. The Jesus Youth groups in the Archdiocese of Verapoly come under the Ernakulam zone. The Ernakulam zone is also divided into 10 sub-zones namely, Paravoor, Aluva, Pachalam, Koonammavu, Kaloor, Kalamasserry, Vypeen, Kochi, Thripoonithura and Vaikkam. A number of Jesus youth ministries are actively co-ordinated in this zone. There are altogether seventeen Jesus Youth groups in the Archdiocese. The average strength of a group is around 17-20.
5.Training Packages
With the objective of imparting personal growth and maturity, Jesus Youth members are given ample opportunities for attending different programmes at various levels. Some of the regular all Kerala programmes are given below.
a. Christophers: A four-day long coming together for high school students. This is conducted in different places during the summer vacation.
b. History Makers: A four-day Jesus Youth life style orientation programme for teenagers.
c. Discipleship Training Programme: A seven-day training programme for youngsters of sixteen to nineteen years.
d. Joy Conference: A coming together of the students who finish their higher secondary course with a view to grow in God-experience and commitment. This is conducted in Divine retreat centre in the month of April.
e. Parish/Prayer Group Leaders’ Training: It is aimed at providing the youth with training for effective leadership in a parish context.
f. Campus Warriors: A training programme for the first year degree students conducted during the summer vacation.
g. Nurses’ Training programme: A training programme organised by the Hospital Ministry of Jesus youth for the nursing and paramedical students and those who associate with hospital ministry.
h. Tejas: A yearlong Bible course offered in Emmaus, Kalamassserry. There will be classes on one weekend in every month throughout the year.
i. Full Timers Training Programme: A yearlong formation programme for graduates with 40 days’ orientation and one year full-time commitment to work in different parts of the country.
j. Master Builders: A 15-day life oriented leadership-training programme for students of 18-21 years.
k. Final Years Training Programme (F.Y.T.P): A fifteen-day life oriented leadership training programme for final year degree students.
l. Junior Evangelizers Trainers’ Team (J.E.T.T): A yearlong leadership formation with 4 to 5 training sessions without taking a full time commitment.
Apart from the above mentioned programmes there are also many other programmes which are conducted occasionally and according to the need of the time. All these programmes contribute greatly to the psycho-spiritual development of the members of the movement.
6. Achievements and Strengths
As it is evident from its name, Jesus Youth is a Christ-centred movement which considers peer mission among young people as its God given task. They believe that they are specially called by God to direct the youth for the building up of the Kingdom. This missionary orientation is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Jesus Youth Movement.
Responding to the divine mandate for mission, the members of the movement commit themselves to various ministries and apostolate in the Church. There are hundreds of young people who take one-year full-timership for doing voluntary missionary work. Besides this there are a number of other ministries to which they are committed. For example, Christeen Ministry (among children), Campus Ministry, Music ministry, Parish Ministry, Hospital Ministry, Outreach Ministry (among the poor and the suffering), Pro-life Ministry and ministries among floating professionals and married couples.
Jesus youth members are often seen passionately involved in organising exhibitions, youth conventions, seminars, retreats, out-reach programmes, music programmes and the like that help trigger spiritual revival in young people. They also engage in the ministry of evangelisation through print media (e.g. Kairos magazine), internet and other modern electronic media. Joynet is a Jesus youth e-mail network that helps youngsters share their faith experiences, messages and prayer requests with each other. Their openness to make use of the modern technology and communication media in carrying out their ministries has enabled them to be more effective and powerful in their apostolate.