Frequently Asked Questions

What does a typical Sunday Life Night look like?
Life Nights are our weekly gathering for all high school students (grades 9-12) on Sundays. Life Nights begin with the 5:00pm Liturgy at the Church. We invite all teens to join us in the front pews for this dynamic liturgy. After this, we walk over to the Ave Maria Center for a provided dinner and a time to share in community with one another.

After dinner, we'll gather together in Marian Hall for a game or icebreaker, a time of prayer, and a relevant but more challenging message to help our high school students think through each of the adult decisions coming up in their lives. Following the message, we'll break into our small groups for a time of discussion surrounding the topic of the night. These discussion small groups are led by a team of safe-environment-trained adults who have a desire for the young people of our parish to know Christ.

Our Life Nights conclude by 815pm at the Ave Maria Center. 

Which Weekend Mass should we attend?
Our 5pm Mass on Sundays is sepcifically for our high school students and their families, but we encourage all students to attend any of our weekend Masses that works best for them and their family. 

Can students bring friends to Life Teen?
Sure! High School friends of any faith or church background or experience are welcome with us on any Sunday. Friends do not need to register in advance to join us. 

Who are the adults that lead the High School Life Nights?
We want you to have confidnece that our systems and places are good places for students. We have well-trained, background-checked, and thoroughly screened volunteers and staff.  

How can Adults help?
Life Nights require a large amount of planning and help. Parents are a key component to this. Whether it is assisting in attendance, food coordination, or simply as a hall monitor, we love having parents take an active part in their teen's catechetical development.

Along with our parent volunteers, we have a dedicated group of adults that take an active role in mentoring the youth known as our Core Team. These safe-environment-trained adults help to welcome the youth, lead faith-based discussions in small groups, and more. For more information about what Core Team entails, please see the description for the following roles:

• Life Teen Core Team Small Group Leader
• Life Teen Core Team Hospitality Team Member
• Life Teen Core Team Hall Monitor

Remember, God doesn't call the qualified, God qualifies the called. Please join us in praying as to what YOUR role in our High School Youth Ministry program is, and know that whatever God is calling you to, we will help every step of the way through training, accountability, and prayer.

Interested in serving on our adult volunteer team? Please contact Mike at [email protected] and let him now. He will set up a 1-on-1 meeting with you. 

How does a teen register?
Registration can be found at www.stlaurence.org/registration. If a high school student is not registered for Life Teen, they can still show up. If they like it, we will capture their information and follow up with them to register. 


What else do you offer besides Life Nights?
We offer a variety of different programs outside of Life Nights such as Bible Studies, leadership development opportunities, socials, service projects, and more.  In addition to these programs we take teens on a variety of different trips and retreats throughout the year including Steubenville (June), Camp Covecrest (July/August), The WKND Winter Retreat (February), and our annual Confirmation Retreat.


How does Confirmation work within Life Teen?
In Confirmation, Christians receive a special outpouring and deepening of the spiritual gifts that they recieved when they were baptized. This is needed to better love God and love others, which Jesus told us were the greatest commandments as His disciples in the life of the Church. (Mark 12:30-31)
 
St. Laurence Catholic Church's Confirmation preparation program is open to 10th or 11th graders who have been baptized.

For more info about Confirmation, click here.


Questions?
Mike Cleary -  [email protected]