WHAT IS OUR MAIN FOCUS?
The main focus of SPARKS will be FUN and FAITH. We will begin each meeting with simple and fun games and activities, eat snacks, and then learn about and get involved in a certain devotional aspect of our Catholic Faith, i.e. – the Rosary, the Communion of Saints, the Stations of the Cross, Divine Mercy Chaplet, etc.

WHY DID WE CREATE SPARKS?
Why are we taking on this new venture? Back in May, several members of our Youth Ministry Core Team attended a day-long educational seminar presented by the Diocese featuring a nationally-known youth ministry expert who took us through the findings of a huge, 5-year long study of teens and their beliefs. Among the many interesting findings was the information that said if a young person did not have a “significant spiritual experience” before the age of 14, that the chances of them experiencing one in high school were dramatically lowered. Since the main part of our youth ministry focus at St. Joe’s did not even begin until teens are around 14, we felt that we were not doing our ministry as effectively as it could be done. Hence the formation of this youth group, and a new youth group for students in grades 7 and 8 called OXYGEN. The other interesting part of these findings were that these “significant spiritual experiences” never occurred in a classroom setting, whether it was in a Catholic school or Religious Education program.

WHAT ARE OUR GOALS?
Our hope and goal for SPARKS is that it will be 1) an opportunity for children from both St. Joe’s school and the Religious Education program to be together, 2) create opportunities and environments for the above mentioned “significant spiritual experiences” to occur, and 3) to create a “feeder” program for future involvement in the other parish youth ministry.