YTM is a thirteen-month program for teams of two high school students and their parish youth minister, director of religious education, or Catholic high school religion teacher. These teams attend the two-week YTM Summer Institute in June, return to their parish or school to develop and lead a service justice leadership project during the school year, attend an overnight January retreat, and then return for a second two-week YTM Summer Institute. Individual youth who attend YTM without a pre-organized team are matched with mentors from their parish or from the program to assist them in developing their service/justice project.
At the YTM Summer Institutes, youth engage in theological study with professors of theology from Saint John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict, do community service at a variety of sites around Saint Cloud and the surrounding area, and experience a variety of Christian prayer forms. Youth in Theology and Ministry is open to high school students who have completed 9th grade by the beginning of their first YTM summer, who have had positive experiences of Church, and who want to gather with other like-minded youth and adults to explore faith and leadership.
The focus of Summer Institute I is "Celebrating Our Catholic Identity." The focus of Summer Institute II is exploring leadership within diverse religious, cultural, and economic settings. This program was developed in conjunction with the ten dioceses of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota: Region 8 of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry.
For youth participants, YTM is built on four pillars:
- Theology: Participating in theology classes and interacting with priests, religious, theology faculty, adult mentors, and undergraduate theology majors
- Prayer: Experiencing a variety of prayer forms, including Benedictine community worship, reflection, journaling, and the sacrament of reconciliation
- Service/Justice: Engaging in service to the St. Cloud area, learning skills necessary for future efforts, and developing a service leadership project for their home parish/school
- Leadership: Participating in learning activities that promote the development of leadership skills
Particiants also enjoy recreational activities such as swimming, volleyball, canoeing, and dances. Many find that in the course of two weeks, they make new friends from across the country.
