©2015 Life Teen, Inc. All rights reserved.

No part of this book, including interior design, cover design, and/or icons, may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.
The information contained herein is published and produced by Life Teen, Inc. The resources and practices are in full accordance with the Roman
Catholic Church. The Life Teen® name and associated logos are trademarks registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Use
of the Life Teen® trademarks without prior permission is forbidden. Permission may be requested by contacting Life Teen, Inc. at 480-820-7001.
 table of contents
04 SCOUTING TIPS ON BRINGING IN NEW 6TH GRADERS

06 ASK THE THERAPIST EDUCATING YOUTH ABOUT SEX

09 MISSING THE OBVIOUS THE IMPORTANCE OF A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR

11 A BRIEF INTRODUCTION CHURCH HIERARCHY IN 30 SECONDS

12 BOLD AND LOVING TIPS ON TEACHING YOUTH ABOUT SAME SEX ATTRACTION

15 BOUNDARIES AN EDGE ISSUE NIGHT ON SAME SEX ATTRACTION

29 REFRESHED AN EDGE ISSUE NIGHT ON MAKING TIME FOR GOD

39 DO-SI-DO AN EDGE SOCIAL NIGHT

amplIFY your mInISTRY
We all know very well middle school is a special time in everyone’s life. Some have
great memories, most have really awkward stories and we the few have decided to
bravely step back into this strange little world and do ministry with this remarkable
group of youth.

Being a middle school youth is not easy, and neither is serving them. That is why we
created Amplify. We want to assist you and your Core Team in serving the wonderful
youth at your parish to the best of your ability.

This magazine will provide many different articles that will give you tips on how to run
an Edge Night, how to relate and reach out to youth, and will help keep you up to date
with the newest trends in culture and social media. We encourage you to read these
articles and share them with your Core Team.

Amplify is a supplement to your Edge Semester Planning Guide. The Semester Planning
Guide provides for you all of the catechetical lessons that will make up the bulk of
your Edge Nights, but we also encourage you to incorporate Social and Issue Nights
which can be found in every volume of Amplify.

The Social Nights provide a great way to kick off the semester, or to take a break
during the year to have some fun and build community. The Issue Nights are meant
to hit on some of the hot topics that your youth are dealing with in their daily lives.
If your youth are struggling with something in particular like bullying, divorce, or
friendships look into using an Issue Night as a way to help guide and support them
through difficult times.

We pray that this magazine will bless you and your ministry and help you lead your
youth closer to Christ. If you have any questions, concerns, feedback, or ideas for
articles or Issue and Social Nights please do not hesitate to contact me!

I look forward to continuing to serve you and your parish. Know that Life Teen is here
to support you in all that you do, and be assured of our prayers for your ministry and
your youth.

God bless,

Amanda Grubbs
Edge Support Coordinator
agrubbs@lifeteen.com
480-820-7001

AMPLIFY 3
 SCOUTING
TIPS ON BRINGING IN NEW
6TH GRADERS
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

BY K E LLY COLL A NGE LO, GOOD SHEPHER D PA R ISH

Just a few years ago, I had the privilege of coaching Prayer. First and foremost, prayer needs to be at
girls’ varsity soccer at the local Catholic high the center of every youth minister’s life. Take time
school. It was an awesome experience working out of each day to specifically pray for the new
day in and day out with these young women. Being 6th graders, and everyone involved in your youth
part of a team consists of hard work, dedication, group. Pray and trust that God will put the youth
and sacrifice. For those who have played sports in front of you and give you the opportunities
or coached before you you need to invite them
know that, just like in. As St. Frances Xavier
youth ministry, there are Cabrini says, “We must
many rewards and many A PERSONAL INVITATION pray without tiring, for the
challenges. As a coach, GOES A LONG WAY. salvation of mankind does
one of my assignments not depend upon material
would be to “scout” the success . . . but on Jesus
teams we were going to alone.”
play. I would attend other
games and take notes on their strengths and Presence. Be present. Sometimes as youth
weaknesses. Essentially, I would find out as much ministers we get so busy in the office behind a
as possible about the other team and then assess computer or screen, and we forget to get out and
the best tactic when it came time for my team to be visible to others, especially our youth. This
play against them. I also learned that this same can be done in a variety of ways. The first way is
strategy of “scouting” could be applied to reeling to be present on site at the parish. If you always
in new 6th graders to my Edge program. Here are attend the same Mass every week, you probably
some practice guidelines I found helpful in this see the same families every week. Mix it up. Put
process: in some extra time and effort and be present
before and after every weekend Mass. Make
an announcement to introduce yourself and be

4 AMPLIFY
excited about your Edge program. God has called
you to this awesome ministry; let people know
you love your job. Another great way to connect
more at your parish and bring new youth on
board is to attend their faith formation classes.

The second way to reach the youth is to be

present off site at their school lunches, games,
or extracurricular activities. This allows you the
opportunity to connect with them in another
venue and be relational. Remember that youth
ministry is a ministry of presence.

Personal Invitations. The more personal your

correspondence, the more impact it will have
in the life of a young person. You can write a
personal note, make a phone call, send a text, or
best yet – find the youth in person! Cool flyers,
fun video invites, and social media are all great
tools, but we can’t fully rely on those mediums. Be
relational. Essentially you are asking them to make
the decision to attend youth group. A personal
invitation goes a long way, and it shows you care
about them as a person, not just as a group. Also
be sure that in all these interactions you follow
your diocesan’s rules for Safe Environment.

Through all of our interactions, we are called

to love. Though it takes time to develop trust,
young people will come to understand that you
love them if you are praying for them, if you are
present to them, and if you go to them in person.
Just like scouting for a game, we need to scout
young people for Christ. Go get ‘em!

KELLY is not a morning person; she loves

ketchup, blueberry cake donuts, and mint
chocolate chip ice cream. She got an award
for having the neatest hand writing in second
grade; her mom did her homework. She wants
to go to heaven and take as many people with
her with as possible.

AMPLIFY 5
 ASK THE THERAPIST
EDUCATING YOUTH ABOUT
SEX
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

BY CHE Y E NNE VA S QUE Z , FA MILY A ND M A R R I AGE T HER A PIS T IN T ER N

I remember having my first boyfriend in middle
school. My mother came to my bedroom after
hearing the news of my new relationship and
stated, “So you have a boyfriend? Have you kissed
him?” After my response of, “No,” she said in reply,
“Good, now don’t,” and left the room. That was
the most either of parents have ever discussed
the topic of sex with me to this day. It is important
that as youth ministers we are not only equipping
parents to help teach their youth about sex and
chastity, but that we are also not afraid to dive
into this topic.
Middle school youth are going through a stressful
developmental stage as they transition from
childhood to adolescence
and navigate the ups THE FUTURE OF OUR MIDDLE
and downs of puberty.
Middle school youth
SCHOOL YOUTH CAN BE PUT
are also at a curious AT-RISK DUE TO THE LACK
stage and ask a lot of OF EDUCATION ON THE
questions, so you can IMPORTANCE OF CHASTITY.
imagine that there will
also be curiosity when
it comes to sex. As a therapist and youth to porn. It is important to consider all these
minister, I cannot stress enough the importance contributing factors in the lives of our youth and
of discussing sex and chastity with your middle what are we doing in our ministries to combat
school youth. According to a study by the Center them.
for Disease Control and Prevention based on ten
states and six large school districts, “19.8% of
middle schoolers have had sexual intercourse”1.
This percentage rate continues to rise as youth
enter into high school. Christine Markham,
Ph.D and professor, studies middle school at
risk behaviors and reports, “These findings
are alarming because youth who start having
sex before age 14 are much more likely to have
multiple lifetime sexual partners, use alcohol or
drugs before sex, and have unprotected sex, all
of which puts them at greater risk for getting a
sexually transmitted disease (STD) or becoming
pregnant”2. As the exposure to sexual activity
begins at younger ages, the future of our middle
school youth can be put at-risk due to the lack of
education on the importance of chastity.
There are many factors
that contribute to the rise
of sexual activity among
middle school youth such
as social media (sexting),
early exposure of sexually
explicit content, media,
and easy Internet access

6 AMPLIFY
It is important to offer more than just one Edge back to them. It is also helpful to point them to
Night on sex every once in a while. There are different sound Catholic books and resources to
many things that you can do to help your youth help answer their questions (see list below). If you
understand chastity and the truth about God’s are still uncomfortable speaking about chastity or
plan for sex. Consider doing a series on Theology sex then bring in a guest speaker who specializes
of the Body, teaching about chastity and modesty, in speaking about these topics.
and utilizing the other Edge Issue Nights that touch
on hot topics of human sexuality. Our youth need As youth ministers of middle school youth, you
guidance in Catholic sexual education, especially have to connect with your youth’s’ parents when
the youth who attend public schools, as their speaking about sex. The parents should be
sexual education teaches utilizing contraceptives prepared and notified in advance about any Edge
as STD and pregnancy prevention. For many Night about sex. Public schools offer parents a
youth the concept and values of chastity are waiver to have their kids opt out of the teachings
being left unsaid. and we, as Catholic educators, also need to be
sensitive to parents’ decisions if they want to
As Catholic educators education their children
and youth ministers, about sex on their own. I
we sometimes perceive AS YOUTH MINISTERS OF would encourage you to
sex as a taboo topic, MIDDLE SCHOOL YOUTH, YOU offer the parent materials
or are uncomfortable HAVE TO CONNECT WITH YOUR on the subjects you will be
discussing sex and teaching and to follow the
chastity. However, we
YOUTH’S’ PARENTS WHEN “To The Parents” sections
need to step up and SPEAKING ABOUT SEX. in the Edge Nights.
educate the youth about Often times parents are
our Catholic model not equipped with the
of family and chastity. We cannot be afraid appropriate skills to discuss the topic of sex with
to speak about sexuality using appropriate their own children, that is why it is also helpful to
sexual terminology, while maintaining healthy provide them with many different resources (see
boundaries. I have experienced numerous youth list below).
asking deep and personal questions about sex,
sexual identity, puberty, and sexual orientation. I learned about sex from my next-door neighbor
Former teens of mine often tell me that I made and I learned about STDS/HIV in school, but I
them feel comfortable and safe when they learned the most about chastity from reading
were asking questions about sex. It is important books. A youth minister who wasn’t afraid to
the youth know that they can ask you the hard talk about sexuality suggested these books to
questions because they will ask someone and it me. I am now grateful for every chastity speaker
is better for them to get answers from you. I give I heard, every page in each of those books, and
youth different options for asking questions. It is for the amazing resources now available to youth
best to do large group or small group questions about chastity because they all protected my
about sex and chastity in gender specific groups, future. Learning about chastity and sexuality
and a good option too is to allow them to write from a Catholic source protected me from
questions down anonymously. If you don’t always diseases, unplanned pregnancy, and from losing
have the answer right away don’t be afraid, let my virginity before marriage. I wasn’t the kind of
the youth know that you will find out and get teen that asked the “why” questions, but I was

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance: United States, 2009. Surveillance Summaries, June 4, 2010.
MMWR 2010;59(No. SS-5).

2. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. (2009, April 10). Middle School Youth As Young As 12 Engaging In Risky Sexual Activity.
ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 14, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090408145354.htm

AMPLIFY 7
 curious, and I’m glad that there were resources
and books available to me that I could read to
have the answers. Make sure you have resources
about chastity and sex on your shelf and make
sure you share them with your youth. Some
youth maybe too shy to ask questions about sex
so place the books out in the open where they
can reach them.

Remember, do not be afraid, for God is with

you. Go to Mass and pray before discussing
heavy topics about sex and sexuality and reach
out to other Edge youth ministers or the Parish
Support Team for help on teaching these topics.
You are called to serve the youth and lead them
to holiness in all areas of life. Do so with great
confidence and love, and know that the youth are
seeking answers. Be the person to give them the
right ones.

Youth Resources:

• Worth the Wait by Life Teen

• That One Girl by Christina Mead (Life Teen)
• Man Enough by Dom Quaglia (Life Teen)
• The Princess and the Kiss by Jennie Bishop
• The Squire and the Scroll By Jennie Bishop
• Did Adam and Eve Have Belly Buttons by Matthew
J. Pinto
• LifeTeen.com

Parent Resources:

• Challenge Accepted by Life Teen

• Rocking the Catholic Cradle: Raising Little Saints in
a Lukewarm Culture by Mary Moore (Life Teen)
• Raising Pure Teens by Jason Evert and Chris
Stefanick
• Real Love by Mary Beth Bonnaci
• I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Josh Harris
• Saint John Paul the Great: His Five Loves by Jason
Everett
• Victory by Life Teen
• chastityproject.com
• theporneffect.com
• lifeteen.com

CHEYENNE is a Marriage and Family Therapist

Intern who works with severely emotionally
disturbed adolescents from Southern
California. In her spare time she enjoys singing,
exercising, eating ding dongs, and napping (not
in that particular order).

8 AMPLIFY
MISSING THE OBVIOUS
THE IMPORTANCE OF A
SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

BY JOE CHE R NOW S K I, L IF E T EEN E A S T ER R EGION A L DIR EC TOR

For anyone who watched Super Bowl XLIX (that’s to hear God in prayer, or we feel stuck in a routine
49 for us in the modern era) it may have been that is getting stale – a spiritual director can also
obvious to you that the Seahawks should have help us in important ways. Mine sometimes gives
just handed the ball to their star running back, me kicks in the butt, and at other times scolds me
Marshawn Lynch, during their last possession of for expecting too much out of myself. Above all
the game. The Patriots’ defense was tired, and else, he has given me great outside perspective
they couldn’t stop Lynch from running the ball. in my life as a man working in ministry, praying,
The Seahawks were a yard away from scoring and struggling with making my primary vocation
the go-ahead touchdown, the only question was primary. Because my spiritual director has an
whether the Patriots would have enough time outside perspective on my life, he has helped me
left after the Seahawks scored. But the Seahawks see some of the most obvious signs that I was
didn’t score because they didn’t do what seemed missing.
to be the obvious to everyone else. Instead of
running the ball with Lynch, they tried to throw If you are debating whether or not to find a
a pass. It was intercepted by the Patriots and the spiritual director for yourself, I encourage you to
game ended. put in the effort to meet
with one and talk about
I have often told God it as a possibility. Maybe
that when He wants me A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR IS NOT after talking, you’ll see
to make a big change A THERAPIST OR A FINANCIAL it isn’t a fit for you right
or to enter into a new now, or maybe you will
situation, He needs to do
PLANNER, BUT THEY ARE see the need to have
two things: put up bright SOMEONE WITH TRAINING AND someone journey with
neon lights, and hit me MORE EXPERIENCE IN SORTING you spiritually. Remember
across the head with a THROUGH SPIRITUAL REALITIES that a spiritual director
2 x 4. I don't pick up on is not there to answer
subtlety well - so I need all the riddles in your life
more than one obvious and to tell you what to
sign. Often God does not work in that way, and do, but rather he or she is there to help hold you
that is where spiritual directors can help us. They accountable, to challenge you, and to guide in
can help us to pick up on the things we might miss your quest for heaven.
when we are looking for the obvious.
If you’re not sure where to find a spiritual director,
A spiritual director is not a therapist or a giving your diocesan office a call also might lead
financial planner, but they are someone with you to some good ideas. You can also ask other
training and more experience in sorting through youth ministers in your area if they have a spiritual
spiritual realities. They can help us to see how to director, and who they go to. If there are Catholic
understand God’s movement in our life. When we colleges near you, you could contact the campus
get to points in our lives where we don’t know how ministry there and ask for suggestions of spiritual

AMPLIFY 9
 directors. There is also a good chance your pastor
knows many priests around and might have a
few suggestions of where to go. Essentially, if
you don’t have a specific person in mind, don’t be
afraid to ask around for help and pray for God to
lead you to the right person.

Countless Seahawks fans, coaches, and players

are regretting a giant “what if?” right now. A
spiritual director can ask us the right questions,
challenge us, and overall help us discern where
God is calling us and perhaps not calling us.
That help in discernment can be the difference
between living out God’s exciting plan for your
life, or looking back with a “what if?” later.

JOE is ridiculously blessed to be married to

Wifey of the Universe, and together they have 6
hysterical children. He loves running, attended
the greatest comeback in NFL history, and
looks forward to selling his house and touring
the country in an RV with his wife. He loves the
call Christ has placed on his heart to serve in
youth ministry.

10 AMPLIFY
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION
CHURCH HIERARCHY IN 30
SECONDS
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
BY A M A NDA GRUB B S , EDGE SUPP OR T COOR DIN ATOR
There is a lot that goes into making the Universal
Catholic Church operate smoothly. It is an
organization of people that spans the whole
world and in order for it to remain consistent in
its beliefs, there has to be someone to lead and
guide it properly. Within the Church, there are
many different roles, and there is also a hierarchy
or ranking of people according to their different
roles in the Church. Here is a brief 30-second
explanation of the hierarchy of the Catholic
Church:
In order for something to work properly, it needs
structure. All organizations of people need order
so that tasks can get accomplished, and the right
information can be passed on. Schools have
principals who oversee teachers, businesses
have managers who oversee and guide workers,
and the Catholic Church has popes, bishops,
and priests whose duty is to lead and teach all
the members of the Church. The hierarchy of the
Church is something that Jesus instituted. Before
He died, Jesus appointed Peter to be the leader
of the Church (Matthew 16:18) . He was the head
over the rest of the Apostles as they were given
the duty to pass on the teachings of the faith.
AMPLIFY
This role that Peter took is one that still exits
today because Peter was the first Pope. While the
Pope leads the Church, he is not alone in leading
it. The Pope has a whole group of bishops called
the cardinals whose job is to help the Pope make
big decisions. Below the cardinals in the hierarchy
are the bishops who are in charge of overseeing
a group of parishes called a diocese. Then each
parish is given a few priests and deacons whose
jobs are to lead and guide the people of that
parish. Even the people of the parish have the
task to lead and guide each other in the faith.
While all the roles in the Church are not the same,
we are all called to work together and to obey
those who oversee us. The Church hierarchy is
not about someone high up having the power
over everyone else, rather it is all based on the
importance and duty of passing on the faith and
helping and guiding everyone to the truth and
love of Jesus Christ.
AMANDA is so blessed to be married to her
best friend and to have a handsome little boy.
She loves music, the outdoors, and attempting
to cook every now and again. She is continually
amazed at how God has worked in her life and
is passionate about bringing youth closer to
Him. You can email her at agrubbs@lifeteen.
com or follow her on Twitter at LT_AmandaG.
11
 BOLD AND LOVING
TIPS ON TEACHING YOUTH
ABOUT SAME SEX
ATTRACTION
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
BY DA NIE L G L A Z E , S T. M A RY OF T HE MIR AC ULOUS MEDA L
The room fell silent as the question was asked,
“Raise your hand if you think the Catholic Church
hates gay people?” Awkwardness splashed across
everyone’s face like a tidal wave flooding the
room. As the 250 youth looked around seeing
who would be the first to raise their hand, one
girl raised her hand, then another and another.
About 30 youth eventually raised their hands.
“See everyone, there are people who don’t
understand Catholic teaching!” was sadly the only
response, and the last statement said before the
end of the Edge Night.
Same-sex attraction is one of the many reasons
why youth leave the Church, even as young as
middle school. Sharing the Church’s teachings
and truth on this topic has become particularly
difficult because of the media and current culture
trends that do not permit balanced and informed
conversations. In addition, many people,
especially youth, have personal experiences with
knowing someone who has same-sex attraction.
It has become challenging to openly discuss
the teachings of the Church without a constant
bombardment of intolerance, discrimination, and
misunderstandings.
12
As many of you probably recognize, the scenario
above is definitely not the correct way to approach
this topic. We are called to show the true love the
Church has for all of God’s children, but how can
one teach the truth without sounding combative?
How can you address this touchy topic with
middle school youth? Here are four ways to help
you prepare to guide your youth through this
topic:
1. Pray. Prayer is so important. Conversing with
God about approaching this topic, in teaching
or conversation, can help prepare your mind
and heart to speak the truth well. It is also
helpful to look into different resources, the
Catechism, Scripture, a blog post, or a book
are all great tools to mold our minds in truth
through prayer.
2. Understand no experience is the same.
Middle school youth experiences with same-
sex attraction VASTLY differ. Some have never
even thought of it, others might have friends
who say they are experiencing it, while some
might be struggling with it themselves. When
you are teaching or conversing about this topic
keep in mind the wide array of experiences
you are addressing and the different maturity
levels.
AMPLIFY
3. Always use pastoral language. This is probably
the trickiest part of guiding middle school
youth on this topic because one wrong word
and you can turn them off from the whole
conversation. When discussing this topic
ensure you only use uplifting and loving words.
Use words and phrases like ‘compassionate’,
‘unjust discrimination’, ‘chastity’, ‘love’,
‘Mother Church’, ‘inner freedom’, ‘friendship’
and ‘grace.’ Stay away from the words ‘hate’,
‘excluded’, ‘wrong’, ‘condemned’, ‘false’, ‘them’,
and ‘going’, ‘to’, ‘Hell’.
Side note: The language used within the Church
is to say that a person is “experiencing same
sex attraction”. This may not be language that
a teenager is familiar with; they may be more
familiar with “homosexual” or “gay.” You may
need to begin with these terms. Also saying that a
person who is attracted to someone of the same-
sex has a disease, or mental disorder is highly
offensive and the Catholic Church maintains that
the genesis of homosexuality remains largely
unknown and a variety of factors may be at
play. Remember that we are not defined by our
desires and we are all made from God’s design.
4. Truly embrace and understand what the
Church teaches. Knowing what the Church
teaches is the launching pad for all three of
the previous tips. You can’t just “talk about it”
without truly embracing and understanding
the teaching yourself. Same-sex attraction is
one of those hot-button topics that everyone
likes to discuss, and discussing it with middle
school youth is a whole different animal. If
you don’t know what you’re talking about,
and you can’t answer questions about Church
teaching in an honest and authentic manner,
you’ll not only confuse yourself, but anyone
you discuss this with. When it comes to issues
like this, it can greatly hurt not only your
reputation but also the Church and the truth
of Her teachings. Middle school youth can tell
when you don’t know what you are talking
about. So to help you prepare for broaching
this topic with middle school youth here is a
list of materials you could read on this topic:
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs
2357 – 2359
AMPLIFY
• Ministry to Persons with Homosexual
Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care, USCCB
Publication
• Gay, Catholic, and Doing Fine, Life Teen Blog
• Catholics Care About Gays?: The Myth
Debunked, by Christina Mean, Life Teen Blog
• God’s Divine Design: The Church and
Homosexuality, by Fr. Dan Beeman, Life Teen
Blog
• 7 Ways to Love our Brothers and Sisters Who
Experience Same-Sex Attraction, by Daniel
Glaze, Life Teen Blog
• Catholic Teaching on Homosexuality: New Paths
to Understand, Louis J. Cameli, Ave Maria Press
• Homosexuality and the Catholic Church, John F.
Harvey, Ascension Press
• Sexual Authenticity: An Intimate Reflection
on Homosexuality and Catholicism, Melinda
Selmys, Our Sunday Visitor
• The Courage to be Chaste, Fr. Benedict
Groeschel, Paulist Press
• The Truth of Homosexuality: The Cry of the
Faithful, Fr. John Harvey, Ignatius Press
Be brave and bold. Prepare yourself well to enter
into an open, honest, and authentic discussion
with middle school youth about same sex
attraction. Remember to pray and to approach
your youth with love – Christ needs you to reach
out to those who are most in need to and to guide
them into the truth. Do not be afraid, He has a
plan and gives you all that you need.
DANIEL has yet to lose a youth minister dance
battle. The Eucharist is his Arch Reactor. He has
been told that his loudness breaks the sound
barrier. Oh, he sometimes gets mistaken for
Justin Timberlake. Wanna socialize through
online media with him? Hit him up - @D_Glaze
13
14 AMPLIFY
 BOUNDARIES
AN EDGE ISSUE NIGHT ON SAME SEX ATTRACTION

AMPLIFY 15
 BOUNDARIES
AN EDGE ISSUE NIGHT ON
SAME SEX ATTRACTION
SCRIPTURE YOUCAT MEDIA
Genesis 3 65 SUGGESTIONS
Romans 1:18- 32 YouTube: “Why Does the
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 SUPPLIES NEEDED Church discriminate against
1 Timothy 1:9-10 • Shoebox gays?” by Christopher
• Cutout letters Stefanick
CCC • Pens YouTube: “The Third
2333 • Paper Way: Homosexuality and
2347 the Catholic Church” by
2357-2359 Blackstone Films
Life Teen Video: “Liberty” by
Jackie Francois (LTVS May
2013)

GOAL
The goal of this Edge Night is to help the youth
understand the Church’s teaching on same sex
attraction.
EDGE NIGHT AT A GLANCE
This Edge Night begins with a time for the youth to
brainstorm all the different types of relationships
they have in their lives. The Proclaim focuses on
the Church’s teaching on same sex attraction
as well as pointing out the difference between
temptation and sin when it comes to purity
and sexuality. The Break will give the youth an
opportunity to discuss the teaching and they
will also have an opportunity to write down any
further questions they have about this subject.
The Send involves a time of Adoration giving the
youth an opportunity to pray with their Core
Members and the Edge Night ends with a final
time for the youth minister to answer any further
questions on same sex attraction.
ENVIRONMENT
Put up pictures of the many different types of
relationships we have in our lives around the
room or make a slide show. Have pictures from
retreat of the different youth and their friends,
pictures of youth and teachers in a classroom,
pictures of parents with their children, pictures
of a husband and a wife, someone at the dentist
or doctor, etc.
CORE TEAM FORMATION
Pass out to the Core Team the teaching for the
night along with the article “Bold and Loving”
found in Amplify Volume 10 and then use the
following questions for discussion or reflection.
Also consider watching together as a Core Team
the video “The Third Way” from the Media
Suggestions.

16 AMPLIFY
• Do you have healthy boundaries in all the
different relationships in your life? What are
some that need to be fixed?
• Do you know someone who struggles with
same sex attraction? How can you approach this
relationship in light of what the Church teaches?
• How can you help the youth understand the
Church’s teaching on same sex attraction in
light of the current culture trends?
GATHER
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
(5 min)
Gather in all the youth, introduce anyone who
is there for the first time, and recognize any
birthdays. Give a brief introduction to the night
and begin in prayer.
RELATIONSHIPS
(10 min)
Supplies:
• Paper
• Pens
• Markers
Break the youth into small groups. Give them a
large piece of paper and as a group brainstorm all
the different types of relationships they have in
their lives. For example friends, parents, siblings,
teachers, cousins, aunts, etc. and encourage them
to get creative and think of as many relationships
as they can. At the end of the time have a prize for
the small group that has the most relationships
listed out.
As you transition into the teaching – go around
to each small group and ask them to pick one of
the relationships and tell the rest of the group
the proper way to treat that person. For example:
parents – we should respect our parents, listen to
them, love them, and be grateful for all they have
given us.
AMPLIFY
TO THE PARENTS
Please see the attached Parent Handout on page 24
to 25. Be sure to send this to your parents along with
the teaching well in advance of this night so that they
are aware of the topic you will be covering and will
have time to ask any questions.
PROCLAIM
“BOUNDARIES” TEACHING
(15 min)
This teaching can be found on pages 20 to 22.
Here are the main points from the teaching.
• Every relationship in our life has specific
boundaries.
• God's plan and purpose for sex is for it to be
within the boundaries of the Sacrament of
Matrimony between one man and one women.
• We are all called to live lives of chastity and
when we fall into temptation and sin Christ is
there to forgive us.
BREAK
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
(10 min)
Supplies:
• Paper
• Pens
Break the youth into their small groups, begin
in prayer, and use the following questions for
discussion.
17
 • What are some of the most important
relationships in your life? Why?
• Why is it important for us to have boundaries in
our relationships with others?
• What are the two main purposes of marriage?
Why is it important that marriage is only
between a man and a woman?
• Why is it important that we support and reach
out to those who struggle with same sex
attraction? What does the Church say we should
do?
• Why is it important for us to know the difference
between temptation and sin? What can we do
when we sin?
• Why do you think we will be the happiest when
we live within the boundaries God has given us?
Why is this important?
After you have discussed these questions give the
youth a slip of paper and a pen and have them
write down any question they may have about
the Church’s teaching on same sex attraction.
Collect these sheets of paper at the end of small
group time.
SEND
ADORATION AND PRAYER TEAMS
(20 min)
At this time bring all of the youth into the church
or the designated area for Adoration. Have a
music minister lead them in a time of prayer with
praise and worship as well as times of silence.
While the youth are praying, have the youth
minister and a few Core Members go through the
questions the youth wrote during small group
time – pick a few appropriate questions to answer.
Make sure you know the correct answer to these
questions before responding to them. If there is
anything you do not know the answer to do not
attempt to answer it and address it at another
time when you know the answer.
18 AMPLIFY
Along the back wall of the church, have a few
Core Members available to pray with the youth.
Make sure that there is one female Core Member
and one male Core Member together as a prayer
team. Explain to the youth that they can go to
these Core Members and ask them to pray with
them. The youth can have the Core Members
pray for a specific intention or they can just ask
to be prayed over. If you do not think that your
middle school youth would be open to this type of
prayer, consider having them write down prayer
intentions and bringing them up to a basket at
the foot of the monstrance.
ANSWERS AND CLOSING PRAYER
(15 min)
After the time of Eucharistic Adoration, bring the
youth back into a large group and answer some of
the questions the youth wrote down. Be sure to
only respond to questions to which you know the
correct answer. If you did not know the answer
to a question, assure them that you did not get
to answer all the questions at this time but you
will address them at a later time (be sure that
you actually follow up). If your priest is available,
consider having him help with this portion of the
Edge night.
End the Edge Night with a short prayer for the
youth to have strength to overcome temptation
and sin and for God to bless all the many
relationships in their lives.
Notes

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

AMPLIFY 19
 BOUNDARIES
KEY WORDS
Temptation – “An attraction,
either from outside oneself or
from within, to act contrary
to right reason and the
commandments of God” (CCC
Glossary))
Sin –“An offense against
God as well as a fault against
reason, truth, and right
conscience. Sin is a deliberate
thought, word, deed, or
omission contrary to the
eternal law of God” (CCC
Glossary)
Chastity – “The moral virtue
which, under the cardinal
virtue of temperance,
provides for the successful
integration of sexuality within
the person leading to the
inner unity of the bodily and
spiritual being” (CCC Glossary)

BOUNDARIES
In our lives we have many different types of relationships. We have
relationships with our parents, with our siblings, with our friends,
with our teachers, etc. There are also appropriate boundaries to
each one of our relationships. (Use some of the examples that the
youth gave from the opening game).

You all gave examples of relationships and then we saw how each
relationship is unique. We do not treat our parents the same way
that we treat our friends, and we do not treat our teachers the
way that we treat our little sister or brother. Each relationship
has a certain purpose in our lives and we act according to the
purpose of that relationship. For example we treat our teachers
with respect and listen to them when they are teaching, and we do
what they ask of us in regards to our homework and tests because
the purpose of the relationship is for us to learn from them.

There is another type of relationship that has a specific purpose

and important boundaries. That is the relationship between
spouses. The Catholic Church has always taught that the
Sacrament of Matrimony is reserved solely to be between one
man and one woman. It is important to note too that this is not the
same as the laws in some countries – but often times the Catholic
Church and laws of our world have not been on the same page. A
couple of notable examples are abortion and capital punishment.
But the Catholic Church holds fast to this understanding of the Genesis 1:26-28
Sacrament of Matrimony because it follows the design of how men
and women were created by God. Men and women were created
by God to have the potential for a unique relationship unlike any
other relationship, which is achieved through the Sacrament of
Matrimony. Every dating or romantic relationship between men
and women should have the end goal of figuring out if they want
to marry each other.

20 AMPLIFY
 Just like any of the other relationships in our lives – there are
specific things that are reserved only to be within the bonds of the
Sacrament of Matrimony. Sex is one of these things. God created
and intended for sex to take place in, and only in, the safety and
unity of the marriage of a man and a woman. When a man and a
woman have sex they create and strengthen the bond between
them, and they are open to the possibility of new life through
Genesis 2:24 conceiving children. Sex is meant only to be within the boundaries
CCC 2360-2363 of marriage because it is such a good and powerful thing (it creates
new life) that it should be saved to be shared through a life long
commitment made through the Sacrament of Matrimony. This is
what God has revealed to us: that sex unites a man and a woman
and brings about babies. We can see this same truth if we look to
the basics of biology. It is important to remember that only a man
and a woman through sex are capable of coming together in this
way and brining new life into the world.

We have many different relationships in which we are called to love

and care for each other but they have appropriate boundaries.
These boundaries are important because they keep us safe,
healthy, and happy and sex is one that is shared between a man
and a woman within the Sacrament of Matrimony.

SAME SEX ATTRACTION

There are many different ways that we can show love to different
people depending on the type of relationships that we have, but
romantic relationships should be reserved for men and women
CCC 2357 discerning the Sacrament of Matrimony. It is okay for men to
be friends with other men and women to be friends with other
women as long as they do not go outside the proper boundaries of
a friendship.

So what are people who struggle with same sex attraction

supposed to do?

Lets look specifically at what the church says:

“The number of men and women who have deep-seated

homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is
objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They
must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every
CCC 2358
sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.
These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if
they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the
difficulties they may encounter from their condition.”

Do you hear some of these words? That people who struggle with
same sex attraction are to be accepted, respected, and shown
compassion and sensitivity. We all need to support each other
CCC 2359 through the burdens and difficulties of life. Remember that there
are so many other meaningful relationships and friendships in life,
and anyone who struggles with same sex attraction is still called to
live a life of fullness in these other types of relationships lived out
with chastity and proper boundaries.

AMPLIFY 21
 TEMPTATION VS SIN
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that, whether or not Key Word
you experience same sex attraction, we are all called to live lives CCC 2337
of purity and chastity. It is through chastity that we will be able to CCC 2359
have relationships with others in the proper boundaries.

In order to have healthy relationships with others and life chaste

lives we must know the difference between temptation and sin.

Temptation is an attraction to do something that is contrary to

what we know is right and what God reveals to us as right. For
example, we know that it is wrong to yell at our siblings, but we
might be tempted to do so if they call us a mean name. Likewise,
temptation can come from our own thoughts or inclinations. For Key Word
example, if you struggle with same sex attraction but know that CCC 538
you should not act upon it but you still think about it or have
certain feelings towards someone of the same sex. This thought or
temptation does not make you a sinner or a sinful person. Sin only
comes in when we act upon temptations.

When we do things that we know are wrong and that Jesus and
the Church have taught us are wrong, this it is called sin. We are
called to pray for strength to not give into temptations and to not Key Word
sin, but at some point all of us will fall into sin. But the great news CCC 1849
is that God is always ready to forgive us of any and all of our sins. Romans 3:23
He wants us to be freed from sin and gives us the Sacrament of CCC 1422
Reconciliation to forgive us of our sins and to give us grace to not
fall into the same sins again.

Jesus ultimately wants us to be happy, and we will be the

happiest when we live in the way that He created us and when
we strive to avoid sin. We will be the happiest when we live within
the boundaries that Jesus has revealed to us especially in our
relationships with others.

22 AMPLIFY
Notes

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

AMPLIFY 23
 BOUNDARIES HANDOUT

PARENT HANDOUT
This week at Edge we discussed the many different relationships we have in
our lives and the different purposes and boundaries that exist within those
relationships. We emphasized the purpose and boundaries of the Sacrament of
Matrimony specifically that sex is intended only for a man and a woman within the
Sacrament of Matrimony. As a side note it is important realize that the Church’s
stance on marriage is not the same as the laws of many different countries – but
the Church and the law of the land throughout history have not always been on
the same page, such as the case of abortion and capital punishment. One of the
main relationships we discussed tonight was the nature of a relationship between
two men or two women, specifically the boundaries of friendship. Along with
this we talked about the Church’s teaching for those who struggle with same sex
attraction. The Church teaches that:

“The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies
is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes
for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and
sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.
These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians,
to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from
their condition.” (CCC 2358)

We helped your son and daughter understand how same sex relationships go
outside the proper boundaries of the friendships between two men and two
women. Along with that, we talked about how we are all called to live lives of
chastity regardless of our attraction to others – and that through living with proper
boundaries in all our relationships we will find the most happiness and fulfillment.

The following are more resources regarding the Church’s teachings on

homosexuality so that you can be more informed and help guide your son or
daughter through this difficult topic.

• “Today, the Church provides a badly needed context for the care of the human
person, when she refuses to consider the person as a “heterosexual” or a
“homosexual” and insists that every person has a fundamental identity: the
creature of God, and by grace, his child and heir to eternal life” (Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the
Pastoral Care of Homosexual People”, p. 16; 1986).

• “Therefore special concern and pastoral attention should be directed toward

those who have this condition, lest they be led to believe that the living out of
this orientation in homosexual activity is a morally acceptable option – it is not”
(Congregation, p. 3).

• “The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between

themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward
the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this
covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the
dignity of a sacrament” (CCC 1601).

24 AMPLIFY
BOUNDARIES HANDOUT

PARENT HANDOUT
• “The spouses’ union achieves the twofold end of marriage: the good of the
spouses themselves and the transmission of life. These two meanings or values
of marriage cannot be separated without altering the couple’s spiritual life and
compromising the goods of marriage and the future of the family” (CCC 2363).

• The truth is that the Church stands against the homosexual actions, not the
person. She teaches that the actions are intrinsically disordered and are outside
of God’s plan for sexuality and therefore sinful (CCC 2357, Genesis 19:1-29,
Romans 1:24-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 1 Timothy 1:10).

For Further Reading

• Theology of the Body, by Pope John Paul II (Boston: Pauline Books and Media, 1997)

• Persona Humana; Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics, by

the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on December 19, 1975

• Pastoral Letter on Homosexuality, by Most Rev. Thomas Daily, Bishop of Brooklyn,

NY on August 22, 1993

• The Homosexual Person, by Fr. John Harvey (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1987)

• Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual
Persons, by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and John Paul II

• Romans 1:18-32

• 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

• 1 Timothy 1:9-10

• Catechism of the Catholic Church 2357-2359

• YouCat 65

AMPLIFY 25
 BOUNDARIES CHECKLIST

EDGE NIGHT CHECKLIST

EDGE NIGHT DATE: WEEK PRIOR TO EDGE NIGHT:

____________________________________________ ⃞⃞ Hand out/email the Edge Night to the Core

Members
EDGE NIGHT TOPIC:
⃞⃞ Assign duties to the Core Team
____________________________________________
⃞⃞ Pick videos and/or songs

CORE TEAM ASSIGNMENTS: ⃞⃞ Gather all the supplies

Environment ________________________________ ⃞⃞ Email Core Team the Edge Night Core Formation

Opening Prayer ______________________________

WEEK OF THE EDGE NIGHT:
Games _____________________________________
⃞⃞ Prep for games and the environment
Proclaim ____________________________________
⃞⃞ Meet with the Core Member doing the Proclaim
Closing Prayer _______________________________ (if applicable)

Videos: ____________________________________ DAY OF THE EDGE NIGHT:

____________________________________________ ⃞⃞ Email Parents the information about the Night
and any announcements
____________________________________________
⃞⃞ Gather and Prep for the night
Songs: ____________________________________
⃞⃞ Pray!
____________________________________________

____________________________________________

Notes

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

26 AMPLIFY
BOUNDARIES EVALUATION

EDGE NIGHT EVALUATION

INSTRUCTIONS:
Evaluation is a key to successful ministry. Use the following questions to discuss
and evaluate your Edge Night.

What is going well at our Edge Nights? What can Would you be interested in leading prayer,
we improve? explaining games, or giving a Proclaim teaching?

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

Was there one particular part of this Edge Night Are our Core Meetings effective? How can I
you did not think was necessary? What and better serve you as a youth minister? What can
Why? we do to better serve our youth?

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

AMPLIFY 27
28 AMPLIFY
 rEFRESHED
AN EDGE ISSUE NIGHT ON MAKING TIME FOR GOD

AMPLIFY 29
 REFRESHED
AN EDGE ISSUE NIGHT ON
MAKING TIME FOR GOD
SCRIPTURE SUPPLIES NEEDED MEDIA
Jeremiah 29:11 • Candles SUGGESTIONS
Mark 6:31 • Adoration supplies Song: “All Who Are Thirsty”
• White Christmas lights by Kutless (Strong Tower, BEC
CCC • Paper Recording)
2559-2565 • Pens Song: “Restless” by Audrey
2672 • Chairs Assad (The House You’re
Building)
YOUCAT
493
498

GOAL
The goal of this Edge Night is for the middle
school youth to learn the importance of taking
time away from the distractions and noise of life
to be refreshed by God in prayer.
EDGE NIGHT AT A GLANCE
The Edge Night begins with Eucharistic Adoration
in order to surprise the youth and help them
begin the night feeling refreshed by prayer. After
Adoration, they will play a game that demonstrates
how hard it is to hear God over all the noise in our
lives. This will transition into the talk that explains
the importance of taking time away from noise
and distractions to build up a relationship with
God in prayer. The youth will then have time for
discussion and an activity to help them make time
for prayer in their daily lives. The Edge Night ends
with a prayer challenge for the upcoming week
and a large group prayer.
ENVIRONMENT
Set up the main room for Eucharistic Adoration as
the youth walk in. Have the lights dimmed and/or
hang white Christmas lights around the room to
create a peaceful light. Utilize as many candles as
possible around the altar.
CORE TEAM FORMATION
If we truly desire to grow in our relationship with
Jesus, it is essential that we carve out intentional
time to be in prayer and away from distractions.
Often we can become so focused on leading
others to Christ that we forget to take time out
of our schedule to bring ourselves to Christ. One
of the main Scripture verses we will focus on with
our middle school youth this week is about Jesus
taking the time to be by Himself and to pray.
Read the following Scripture verse and use the
questions for discussion or personal reflection:
“The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported
to him all they had done and taught. The because
so many people were coming and going that they

30 AMPLIFY
did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them,
‘Come with me by yourselves to a quite place and
get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a
boat to a solitary place” (Mark 6:30-32).
• How often do you take time in your day to go
to a quiet place to rest and pray? How can you
make more time for this?
• What is the significance of Jesus calling His
disciples to rest? How does this apply to you
and your life?
• What are some distractions in your life? What
can you do to make more of a quiet place in
your day?
• How can we lead and encourage our youth to
take time away from distractions?
GATHER
ENTER IN
(5 min)
As the youth arrive, have a few Core Members
outside the doors to the main meeting space.
Before the youth enter the room they will be
encouraged to turn off their cell phones and
iPods if they have one. If possible, have the youth
turn them in for the Edge Night. Have a box or a
bag to collect all of these items at the entrance to
the room. Then, have the Core Members instruct
the youth to enter the room in silence.
EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
(15 min)
As the youth enter into the room, have Core
Members there to help them stay quiet and
reverent and direct them to go and kneel or sit
and pray. Have your music minister play quiet
reflective music during this time of Adoration and
be sure to have a time for silence too.
AMPLIFY
TO THE PARENTS
This week, we talked about the importance of
taking time away from distractions to rest and
to have quiet prayer time with Jesus. In today’s
culture, it is easy to let screen time, school, and
even extracurricular activities become a priority
over our faith. We challenged the youth to think
about ways that they can be more intentional
about taking time away from distractions in order
to pray. Here are a few questions you can ask your
son or daughter this week:
• What did you learn about making time for God?
• What are some ways you are thinking of
“unplugging” this week?
• What are some things we can do as a family to
make more time for quiet and quality time for
each other?
After the Blessed Sacrament has been reposed,
play an upbeat song to end this time of Adoration.
ALTERNATIVE PRAYER
SUGGESTION
(15 min)
If your Edge program is newer or you do not think
that your middle school youth are at a point yet
where Eucharistic Adoration would be fruitful – the
following is a suggested alternative prayer to use
during the beginning of the Edge Night.
Gather in all the youth in silence and ask them to
sit down quietly. Begin with a brief explanation
about the importance of prayer and putting
it first in our lives. Then lead them in a time of
prayer beginning with an Our Father and then ask
for any specific intentions the youth may have for
the week (make sure that the Core Members are
ready to chime in if they youth do not respond).
Once all the intentions have been stated say a
prayer of offering them to God and then have an
extended time of silence for the youth to offer
prayers they may not have said out loud. They
may be uncomfortable in the silence but try to
challenge them by letting the silence be profound
31
 even if it is uncomfortable. Close this prayer by
saying a Hail Mary and a Glory Be.
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
(5 min)
Welcome all of the youth to the Edge Night and
give a brief explanation of why you began the
Edge Night with time for quiet prayer. Explain to
the youth that sometimes we can get so busy that
we forget to stop and pray, and that prayer is the
greatest way for us to be refreshed in our lives
and helps us to keep our focus on Christ in all that
we do. Then, introduce any youth who are there
for the first time, recognize any birthdays, and
say a short prayer.
OVER THE NOISE
(10 min)
Break the youth into two groups. Assign one group
the bible verse Matthew 28:19 “Go, therefore, and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit.” Assign the other group the bible verse
Luke 1:38 “Mary said, ‘Behold I am the handmaid
of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your
word.’” Instruct the groups to take turns shouting
their scripture verse as loud as they can all at the
same time – to make it more fun have some say
it as fast as they can and others a slow as they
can. The point of the game is for the other team
to correctly say the verse that the opposing team
was shouting out. Once one team has shouted
and the other has guessed, switch and have the
other team shout and the other team guess.
If you want to make this a competition, time to
see which team can correctly guess the verse the
fastest. If time allows play another round with
different scripture verses.
PROCLAIM
“REFRESHED” TEACHING
(10 min)
This teaching can be found on pages 34 to 35.
Here are the main points from the teaching.
32 AMPLIFY
• There are many things in life to distract us from
prayer and our relationship with Christ.
• Prayer will refresh us and help us to keep our
lives focused on Christ.
• We need to make places and time to pray in
order to hear God’s voice.
BREAK
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
(10 min)
Break the youth into their small groups. Open
in prayer and use the following questions for
discussion:
• What are some of the major distractions in your
day?
• How much time during the day do you spend on
your phone, computer or TV? Do you think you
spend too much time on these things?
• What is your favorite place to pray? Why? How
could you create a prayer space if you do not
have one?
• What is one way you like to pray? What is one
type of prayer you want to learn more about?
WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?
(15 min)
Supplies:
• Paper
• Pen
Keep the youth in their small groups and hand
out to each youth a piece of paper and a pen. Give
them time to write down everything they do in
one day, from the moment they wake up to right
before they go to bed. Tell them to be as specific
as possible and write down how much time they
spend doing each thing.
When they are finished, have them share with
one another to see how similar or different their
schedule is from the other members of their
small group. Then challenge them to find places
in their day to add time for prayer and silence,
which may require them to move things around.
Have each youth write down two or three very
real and practical changes they can make this
week.

TAKING IT DEEPER: SMALL GROUP

ADAPTATIONS FOR 8TH GRADE:
Supplies:
• Paper
• Pen
• Bibles

For the 8th graders looking to go deeper, have

them do the same activity of writing out what
they do each day but challenge them to put more
time for prayer in their days. Also discuss with
them how they can bring prayer into their daily
activities. Help them to share about the different
activities they do and how they can bring God
into those activities. For example offering up
their homework time and struggles for specific
intentions, or praying before sporting events, etc.

SEND
CLOSING PRAYER
(20 min)

Bring all of the youth back into the large group.

Challenge them to actually pray during the times
that they said they would during their small group
activities and ask them to be ready to share their
experiences at the next Edge Night. Close the
Edge Night by praying together an Our Father or
Hail Mary.

FURTHER ADAPTATION IDEAS

• If you are not able to do Adoration, bring the
youth into the church for prayer and praise and
worship at the beginning of the Edge Night.

• Invite a Core Member to share ways that he or

she has made changes to his or her schedule in
order to fit in prayer.

AMPLIFY 33
 REFRESHED
TEACHING
WORLD OF DISTRACTIONS
Often we are consumed with the noise of the world around
us, and there are countless things at our fingertips that can
continually distract us from what God is trying to tell us. Just like
our game demonstrated, it is hard to hear the word of God when
there is so much noise. This can happen in our daily lives too. Life
can get so noisy with TV or music on all the time that we cannot
hear things God may be trying to tell us.

When we take time to turn off all these distractions and pray,
we are making time for God on our lives and allowing Him to
refresh us and talk to us. Prayer is all about a relationship, and our CCC 2565
relationship with God is the most important relationship we have, Mark 6:31
so it is necessary that we find time in all the busyness and noise to
go to a quiet place to pray.

OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Begin this section with an example of a friendship. Call up a middle
school youth to be your friend for this demonstration.

This is my new friend (fill in the name of the youth). We have not
known each other for a very long time, and it is important that we
get to know a little bit about each other. So, what is your grade,
your favorite food, and your favorite thing to do on the weekend?

As soon as the youth tries to talk, have the speaker put in headphones
and turn on his or her iPod to listen to music – you can also play loud
music in the room to make the point that you cannot hear the youth’s
response. After a few minutes resume the conversation.

You know I could not really hear you, but I want to talk to you
more. Oh wait, I just remembered that my favorite TV show is on
right now and I cannot miss it again – all my other friends have
been talking about it and I do not want to miss out. So sorry,
maybe next time.

At this time ask the youth to go sit down and proceed with the talk.

This is not a great way to build up a friendship and, as you can

see, I did not really seem to care about this person. A lot of times
this is what our relationship with God can be like: We have good
intentions to pray – but we are easily distracted. Sometimes it
takes a lot of determination to pray and to listen to God. It is
helpful that we make a good environment to pray.

34 AMPLIFY
 MAKING SPACE TO PRAY
Since many of us can be easily distracted, and there are a lot
of things vying for our attention, it is important that we are
intentional in our prayer time. That means we turn off our cell
phones, iPods, computers, TVs, or leave them all in a separate
room. It also means not saying yes to every extra curricular activity
CCC 2672 or making sure that your sports events or hobbies do not take all
YouCat 498 your time and give you no room for prayer. It is important that you
YouCat 493 give yourself space to be quiet and to listen to God and to talk to
God. If you have a special place in your house or your backyard
– go there to pray. The point is to have some time to take a break
from all the noise, distractions, and busyness to be with God. If you
do this not only will you feel more refreshed but it will make you a
better athlete, musician, friend, and student because God will pour
out blessings upon you in your relationship with Him.

Prayer can look different for a lot of people. You can read scripture
verses, you can journal, you can pray a rosary, you can pray
traditional prayers like the Our Father or Hail Mary, or you can
simply sit in silence and say the name of Jesus. It is important that
you find something that works for you, and the only way to do that
Jeremiah 29:11 is by trying different things. You can also start small – even five
minutes a day can make a huge difference in your life. You do not
have to give up everything in your life and only ever pray, but God
does want to speak to you and refresh you. He wants to shower His
love upon you and be a part of your life so that He can help you.
God has great plans for you and He wants to share them with you –
all you need to do is give Him a chance.

One of the greatest ways we can pray too is at Mass. The Mass is
the high point of our faith and it is there that we receive the Body
and Blood of Jesus Christ. This is the best thing that we can do for
our relationship with Jesus and for our lives in general. At Mass
we are taking concrete time out of our lives to worship God and to
be present to Him and listen to His word. There is nothing more
essential to your prayer life and relationship with God than going
to Mass every week. If this is not something your family does I
challenge you to talk to them about making this a regular part of
your family life.

AMPLIFY 35
 REFRESHED CHECKLIST

EDGE NIGHT CHECKLIST

EDGE NIGHT DATE: WEEK PRIOR TO EDGE NIGHT:

____________________________________________ ⃞⃞ Hand out/email the Edge Night to the Core

Members
EDGE NIGHT TOPIC:
⃞⃞ Assign duties to the Core Team
____________________________________________
⃞⃞ Pick videos and/or songs

CORE TEAM ASSIGNMENTS: ⃞⃞ Gather all the supplies

Environment ________________________________ ⃞⃞ Email Core Team the Edge Night Core Formation

Opening Prayer ______________________________

WEEK OF THE EDGE NIGHT:
Games _____________________________________
⃞⃞ Prep for games and the environment
Proclaim ____________________________________
⃞⃞ Meet with the Core Member doing the Proclaim
Closing Prayer _______________________________ (if applicable)

Videos: ____________________________________ DAY OF THE EDGE NIGHT:

____________________________________________ ⃞⃞ Email Parents the information about the Night
and any announcements
____________________________________________
⃞⃞ Gather and Prep for the night
Songs: ____________________________________
⃞⃞ Pray!
____________________________________________

____________________________________________

Notes

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

36 AMPLIFY
REFRESHED EVALUATION

EDGE NIGHT EVALUATION

INSTRUCTIONS:
Evaluation is a key to successful ministry. Use the following questions to discuss
and evaluate your Edge Night.

What is going well at our Edge Nights? What can Would you be interested in leading prayer,
we improve? explaining games, or giving a Proclaim teaching?

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

Was there one particular part of this Edge Night Are our Core Meetings effective? How can I
you did not think was necessary? What and better serve you as a youth minister? What can
Why? we do to better serve our youth?

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

AMPLIFY 37
38 AMPLIFY
DO-SI-DO
AN EDGE SOCIAL NIGHT

AMPLIFY 39
 DO-SI-DO
AN EDGE SOCIAL NIGHT
SUPPLIES NEEDED • Cowboy hats
• Table • Star badges
• Table cloth • Cones to separate areas
• Plates • Country music
• Pulled pork • Bean Bags
• Pies • Milk bottles
• M&Ms • Balls

GOAL TO THE PARENTS

The goal of this night is for the middle school
youth to grow in community and get to know one
another.
EDGE NIGHT AT A GLANCE
This Edge Night will be a fun way for the youth
to get to know each other while playing country
carnival themed games. The night begins with
welcoming the youth and a prayer, and then
moves into small group game competitions and a
fun time of country dancing. The Edge Night ends
with a time of prayer and thanksgiving for the
great community.
This Edge Night was all about building community
among the youth. This Edge Night was country
themed and your child had some fun opportunities
to participate in different games and some
country dancing. Here are a few questions to ask
your son or daughter this week:
• What was your favorite game you played
tonight?
• Was there someone you met who you did not
know before?

ENVIRONMENT
At the front of the room put up hay barrels and
hang red and white checkered tablecloths on
the walls. Place various country themed props
at the front of the room such as cowboy boots,
cowboy hats, lassos, etc. Make a designated
dance floor area by either sectioning off a part
of the room with ropes or hay bales or you can
also rent a dance floor from a local party shop.
Around the perimeter of the room have some
of the suggested game from the Gather set up
and ready to go before the Edge Night begins.
Encourage the Core Team to come dressed up in
country attire.

40 AMPLIFY
GATHER PROCLAIM/
WELCOME & INTRODUCTION
(5 min) BREAK
Welcome all the youth to the Edge Night. Introduce COUNTRY WESTERN GAMES
any youth who are there for the first time, (25 min)
recognize any birthdays, give a brief overview of
the night and begin in prayer. Break the youth into their small groups and have
them take turns participating in the following
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP games. Have each small group leader keep track
BBQ CONTEST of their scores and have prizes awarded at the
(5 min) end of the Edge Night.

Supplies: • Bowling for Milk: Get a large picture of a cow

• Table and tape it to one side of a cardboard box to
• Table cloth use as a backboard for this game. In front of
• Plates the backboard place three old mini glass milk
• Pulled pork bottles. Give each youth a small soft ball and
challenge them to try to knock down all three of
At the front of the room set up a table with a table the milk bottles. Keep track of how many milk
cloth and three plates of pulled pork. Choose bottles your small group knocks over and give
three volunteers (or one youth from each grade) them one point for each bottle.
to come up to the front to compete. The youth
who finishes eating all the pulled pork first wins! • Bulls Eye: Print a large picture of a target and
hang it up on the wall. Give each small group
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP a different color or different design of stickers
(ex: cowboy hat stickers and each small group
PIE EATING CONTEST has different colors). To play have the youth
(5 min)
take turns. Blindfold the youth and spin them
around five times and then challenge them to
Supplies:
stick his or her sticker on the bulls eye. Keep
• Table
track of how many youth get stickers on the
• Table cloth
target – if they get their sticker just on the target
• Pie
they get one point if they get a bulls eye they get
• M&Ms
five points.
Clean up any mess from the previous game and
• Bean Bag Toss: Get five tin buckets and place
replace the plates of pulled pork with three pies.
them in a designated area. On the ground,
Call up three different volunteers from the crowd
about five feet from the buckets place a piece
to compete. This time though the youth will not
of blue painters tape to designate where the
have to eat the whole pie, rather hide 15-20 M&Ms
youth must stand to toss their beanbags or
in the pie and the first youth to find and eat all the
bean bag animals. Have the youth take turns
M&Ms wins.
tossing the beanbags into the buckets. Either
have each bag that gets in the bucket be one
point or designate different points depending
on how close the bucket is – for example the

AMPLIFY 41
 closest bucket is one point, and the furthest
bucket is five points.
• Cattle Round Up: Have some items for your
youth to lasso. Make a stand up cut out of a cow
or use a hay bale to be the cattle for the youth to
round up. Give the youth a lasso and challenge
them to lasso the cattle. The youth will get one
point if they hit the object with the lasso, and
five points if they lasso the object.
• If you do not have a music minister for the end
of the night consider praying a decade of the
rosary as an ending prayer.
• If you do not think your youth will like the time
of dancing, instead have a BBQ and spend the
time eating and socializing.

At the end of all the games have a prize for the

small group that has the most cumulative points.

DO-SI-DO DANCE
(20 min)

Bring the youth back into the large group. If you

have someone who knows how to square dance
or country swing dance bring them in to teach
the youth a few fun dances. If not, play some
fun country music and allow the youth to dance,
socialize, and play more of the games. Make sure
that the Core Members are dispersed throughout
the room and socializing with the middle school
youth during this time.

SEND
CLOSING PRAYER TIME
(15 min)

At the end of the Edge Night, gather all the youth

back together as a large group. Have your music
minister present to end the night with a few
upbeat and fun praise and worship songs. At the
end of the songs, ask any of the youth to share
specific intentions they have for the week and
offer them up by praying together an Our Father
or Hail Mary.

FURTHER ADAPTATION IDEAS

• If you have a small group of youth have them
participate in the games in groups of two or
three rather than their small groups. Or make it
an individual competition as far as who has the
most points.

42 AMPLIFY
Notes

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

AMPLIFY 43
 DO-SI-SO CHECKLIST

EDGE NIGHT CHECKLIST

EDGE NIGHT DATE: WEEK PRIOR TO EDGE NIGHT:

____________________________________________ ⃞⃞ Hand out/email the Edge Night to the Core

Members
EDGE NIGHT TOPIC:
⃞⃞ Assign duties to the Core Team
____________________________________________
⃞⃞ Pick videos and/or songs

CORE TEAM ASSIGNMENTS: ⃞⃞ Gather all the supplies

Environment ________________________________ ⃞⃞ Email Core Team the Edge Night Core Formation

Opening Prayer ______________________________

WEEK OF THE EDGE NIGHT:
Games _____________________________________
⃞⃞ Prep for games and the environment
Proclaim ____________________________________
⃞⃞ Meet with the Core Member doing the Proclaim
Closing Prayer _______________________________ (if applicable)

Videos: ____________________________________ DAY OF THE EDGE NIGHT:

____________________________________________ ⃞⃞ Email Parents the information about the Night
and any announcements
____________________________________________
⃞⃞ Gather and Prep for the night
Songs: ____________________________________
⃞⃞ Pray!
____________________________________________

____________________________________________

Notes

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

44 AMPLIFY
DO-SI-SO EVALUATION

EDGE NIGHT EVALUATION

INSTRUCTIONS:
Evaluation is a key to successful ministry. Use the following questions to discuss
and evaluate your Edge Night.

What is going well at our Edge Nights? What can Would you be interested in leading prayer,
we improve? explaining games, or giving a Proclaim teaching?

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

Was there one particular part of this Edge Night Are our Core Meetings effective? How can I
you did not think was necessary? What and better serve you as a youth minister? What can
Why? we do to better serve our youth?

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

AMPLIFY 45
 Notes

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

46 AMPLIFY