September 28, 2022

Our Parish has transitioned from the typical classroom model for faith formation to a dynamic way of reaching teens where they are at. Edge is a nationally known Catholic program designed for Middle School students. Made and distributed by Life Teen Inc. Edge has been proven time and time again to be very effective. 

Hopefully not to confuse anyone, Life Teen is the High School youth ministry program and Edge is the Middle School youth ministry program. 

When I interviewed for this position, I was extremely excited to use these tools. At my former youth ministry job in Florida, at Blessed Trinity Parish, we utalized Life Teen and EDGE! I am very aware of how the program operates and to make it impactful, not just for the teens but hopefully to bring the energy that the teens get from an Edge night and to bring that energy home to their families. 

 A typical Edge night looks something like this:  

Large Group

• The teens arrive and he Core Team helps engage in getting to know the students. The Core Team is a group of adults who are involved with helping plan each night, lead prayer, lead games,
  lead the teaching and lead small groups. Without the Core team, this program would not be able to work. The Core Team welcomes the teens in our gathering space. We start as a large group.
• Get everyone settled
• Check-in with the week challenge, welcome any newcomers and introduce the night. (5 minutes)

Large Group

• Game-that is related to the theme of the night (10 minutes)
• Opening prayer (5 minutes)
• Teaching (10-15 minutes)
• Clip to Supplement the Teaching (5 minutes)

Small groups 

• Break out into our small groups (each small group has up to 15 per group. Our dream is to get that down to at least 12).
  During small groups is when we are able to dive into the material and is where the teens
  are able to take ownership of the material that was taught in the large group. (25 minutes)

Large Group

• Transition to the Church
• Send: This where we ask the whole group some of the questions that were asked during small group and have some brave souls
  share what they talked about during small group.
• Give the weekly challenge and any announcements
• Closing prayer 

We typically meet every other Wednesday of the month at the Holy Rosary church from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

To learn more about the program and to watch the promo video about Edge please visit their website: 

https://lifeteen.com/edge-ministry/

For those who wish to have their child Confirmed in 9th grade, it is required that they attend Edge in the 8th grade.

It is not too late to register for Edge. Please send me an email or call me and I'll get the necessary information for you. 

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me!