Thank you to st-joe.com for this image

Since 1985, Lifeteen has been "Helping teens grow closer to Christ and one another" through music, liturgy, work, and community.

Lifeteen was founded in 1985 in Mesa, Arizona by Msgr. Dale Fushek and has spread exponentially to become an international organization. It has been given the blessing of Pope John Paul II and the approval of hundreds of thousands of all ages all over the world. In the U.S., growth has been so great that five "hub parishes" have been established to better and more efficiently serve and help those wanting to become involved with the program or start a Lifeteen group at their parish. One of these parishes is Incarnate Word Parish here in St. Louis.

Lifeteen is built around the Mass. Each week hundreds of thousands participate in the Lifeteen Mass on Sundays which features more contemporary worship music played by a band instead of traditional hymns sung by a choir. The Mass is more upbeat, and usually features a more charasmatic priest preaching in ways that excite those gathered and fill them with Christ's message of love and salvation. During the Eucharistic prayer, the community is invited around the altar and usually join hands to become one in Christ.

After the Sunday Mass, the teens gather for what is called a "Life Night." This is put on by a group of adults known as the "Core Team" and is meant to help the teens understand the Gospel or different Church teachings more fully and shows ways in which they can live out their Christain values in their everyday life. Every once in a while, there is no Life Night, but instead a social where teens can interact with their peers and just hang out. Sometime during the week, there is another night where the group gathers for either "Praise and Worship" through music or a talk by a peer or a bible study session. This is meant to reenergize the teens until the next Life Night and offers a mid-week break from the hectic schedule of school and life.

Also during the year, there are several retreats put on of varying length and content. Some are week-long service retreats where the teens go out to different organizations in their community and offer their time and alents to do things for others. Other retreats are over a weekend and focus on praising God and learning about Him and themselves. Retreats can involve anywhere from 10-2000 people, and one thing is certain about them: after they end, you are not the same person as you were when it began.

Msgr. Fushek stated when he started Lifeteen that his goal was to make every person feel "welcome and loved in the Church." Twenty years later, Lifeteen is going strong and everyone involved agrees that they feel welcomed and loved by those around them, the Church, and most importantly, God.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH LIFETEEN

I have been involved with the Lifeteen program since May 2003 as a member of St. Joseph's Youth Group. I attend the Masses and Life Nights along with the nights during the week whenever I can. I have made many friends and grown much closer to God as a result of my involvement. I have also seen others change and grow closer to Christ, too.

The Lifeteen Mass makes you want to be there. It is not just hymns and readings, it is much more. It is everyone coming together because they want to be there and it is more exciting and enjoyable than any Mass ever was. The Life Nights have helped me to understand aspects of the Bible and my life that I had never really looked at and taken the time to examen before. They have changed the way I act and pray and just live my daily life. The weeknight sessions have been great. You get to see your friends and we all just praise God together and have a great time. They are also a place you can go when you are feeling down or upset, and you can be sure that someone will give up some time to be with you and help you out.

I have also participated in some of the retreats: including Christpower, Steubenville, and weekend retreats with just our youth group. Also, there have been several times when someone in the parish or a friend of someone needs some work done at their house, and some of us have given up a day or two to help them.

The biggest event that i have ever gone on, though, was just a few weeeks ago: World Youth Day 2005. It was amazing to see millions of people from all over the world their and was an experience that i will never forget. Not everyone there was involved with Lifeteen, but I was able to find and talk to a girl from Spain who was in a Lifeteen parish. That was just a testament to how that program has grown.

Overall, Lifeteen has been an amazing experience for me. It is almost impossible to describe what it really is, you have to experience it for youself. I do not know where I would be spiritually and in life if I was not involved with Lifeteen, and I really do not want to think about it. So I won't, and I will concentrate instead on enjoying my remaining time as a teen, and then my involvement as a leader.






Special Thanks to cephasministry.com and Lifeteen.com for their contributions to this site and article.