Every morning during Lent – Monday through Saturday – teams of Bishop Carroll Catholic High School in Wichita, Kansas students gather in the school’s auditorium for their spiritual workout. This Lent marks the God Squad’s fifth anniversary.In my experience, a lot of people involved with the Church look down on youth ministry like it is somehow dumbing down the Faith and using cheesy music and skits in a desperate attempt to make young people interested in God.
Initiated by Father Jarrod Lies, the school’s chaplain, the squad’s intent is “to take the training for spiritual life as seriously as music, sports or other things.” He based the idea on 1 Timothy, 4:7, which encourages us to “train yourself for devotion, for while physical training is of limited value, devotion is valuable in every respect, since it holds a promise of life both for the present and for the future.”
Because Fr. Lies is so involved in sports at the high school, he adopted sports terms for the God Squad’s activities. There are “coaches” (chaplain and teachers) who assist in organizing and arranging God Squad events, and “captains” (students who facilitate small groups) who lead prayers and discussion.
Articles like this show exactly why it is important to reach out to young people and to do it in a way that they can understand - not with an attitude of "kids these days just don't care" or "if I learned it this way, so can they." It takes daily training and real devotion for young people (all people, in fact) to see their faith as something significant in their lives. Programs like this can really help.
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