NCYAMA Overview

Mission Statement

The National Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association (NCYAMA) is an organization supporting those who minister to and with single and married people in their late teens, twenties, and thirties. We develop and promote programs and resources while providing opportunities for networking and communication. We advocate for the full integration of young adults in the life of the Catholic faith community in order to connect them with Jesus, the Church, the mission of the Church, and their peers.

NCYAMA was established in 1982 and was run by an all-volunteer Board until August 2001, when grant money assisted NCYAMA in establishing its first National Office and hiring its first Executive Director. The Board of Directors is currently made up of 8 representatives from around the nation, which includes an Executive Committee.

Services and Programs Provided

NCYAMA publishes a quarterly newsletter, maintains a website (www.ncyama.org), convenes Young Adult Ministry diocesan and parish leaders, resources young adults and Young Adult Ministry leaders, provides national trainings and workshops, and advocates for ministry to and with young adults throughout the Catholic community.

Membership

Our current membership is made up of arch/dioceses, parishes, college campus ministry centers, national and regional Catholic organizations, religious orders, and individuals.

Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership

Along with the National Association of Lay Ministry (NALM), the Conference for Pastoral Planning and Council Development (CPPCD), the National Association of Church Personnel Administrators (NACPA), the National Association of Diaconate Directors (NADD), and the National Association of Priests Council (NAPC), NCYAMA continues its partnership in the Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership initiative.

NCYAMA is currently working on a brochure series for engaging young adults in pastoral ministry, as well as other research on the intersection of vocations to lay or ordained ministry with adults in their 20s and 30s. The series will be informed by focus groups that NCYAMA will host in 2006 and 2007. With the other partners, NCYAMA is also an active part of the conference planning team for the National Ministry Summit in Orlando, Florida, scheduled for April 2008.

For more information about this project, log onto www.emergingmodels.org.

Eye on the Horizon Project

NCYAMA is also collaborating with Washington Theological Union (WTU), the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM), the Catholic Campus Ministry Association (CCMA), the National Association of Diocesan Directors of Campus Ministry (NADDCM), and the National Catholic Student Coalition (NCSC) on a Lily-funded initiative named, “The Eye on the Horizon.”

Together, these organizations seek to foster greater communication and synergy between their ministries and, with a symposium model created at a pilot institute at WTU in July 2007, develop intentional pathways to pastoral leadership for youth, college students, young adults, and those who minister to them.