Discernment: Should I do this?
- Pray—Is God calling you to start a Catholic Club for your child?
- Time—How much time do you want to put into the club? You can meet once a week or once a month. All programs are flexible to fit your needs.
3. Place–Do you want to hold it at a Catholic school, parish or in your home? If you want to hold it at a parish facility, you’ll need to get permission from the Pastor, principal and/or Children’s Minister. Clubs should be seen as ministries of the parish like Vacation Bible School, Youth Groups and Bible Studies.
4. Money–There are no chartering or registration costs. All other costs are flexible. Each child should have their own books ($4.50-$5.95 at the online catalog ) Money may be needed for patches, crafts, shirts/vests, snacks or whatever else you wish to add to your meetings. Some leaders ask for a set amount up front and place one order, others have each member get their own supplies and charge a set fee for craft materials. Some are even included in their parish budgeting and have many costs covered.
5. Build it and they will come–Put an ad in your parish bulletin, send a flier home with the religious ed children, have a sign-up after Mass, send out emails to the homeschool community. These are all ways to invite youth to come to Catholic Clubs. Don’t forget to ask for adult volunteers, too. You’ll need them!
