EP15: Should Catholic Youth Ministry Exist with Fr. Chad

About This Episode
In Episode 15 of The YDisciple Podcast, Annie and Pete are joined by Father Chad Van Hoose, chaplain of NET Ministries, to wrestle with a question that many ministry leaders quietly (or loudly) ask: Should Catholic Youth Ministry exist?

Rather than offering easy answers, this conversation dives into the real tensions, objections, and assumptions behind the question. Together, they unpack:

• The claim that “youth ministry has failed”
• Whether declining Church engagement proves anything about ministry models
• If youth ministry isolates teens from parish life
• How peer community fits into Christian maturity
• The truth behind “parents are the primary educators”
• Whether youth ministry competes with family ministry
• The role of emotions in faith formation
• If the Church is just “one more demand” on teens’ time

Father Chad offers a grounded pastoral perspective, reframing many objections by asking deeper questions:
“How should the Church love, form, and accompany young people today?”

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Reflection for This Week

Take a moment to reflect:

• Which objections to youth ministry resonate with me most?
• Do my frustrations come from youth ministry itself — or how it’s been implemented?
• How integrated is youth ministry within the broader parish community?
• Am I forming disciples… or just running programs?
• How am I helping young people reorder their time around Christ?

Ask the Holy Spirit to renew your vision for ministry —
not as maintenance, but as mission.