| Foreword | ix |
| Preface | xi |
| Part I | The Current State of Affairs | |
| 1. | Look Who's Missing and See Who's There | 3 |
| 2. | Regenerating Catholicism | 10 |
| 3. | Getting to Know Young Adults | 17 |
| Part II | Young Adults And the Parish | |
| 4. | Integrating Young Adults into the Life of the Parish | 23 |
| Stage 1 | Reputation | 26 |
| Stage 2 | Inventory | 27 |
| Stage 3 | Integration | 28 |
| Stage 4 | Invitation | 28 |
| Stage 5 | Separate but Similar | 29 |
| Stage 6 | Occasional Activities | 31 |
| Stage 7 | New Movements | 32 |
| 5. | Organizing a Parish Young Adult Group | 36 |
| Where Do We Begin? People before Programs | 36 |
| Strategies of Invitation: How to Find and Recruit the Right People | 38 |
| The Jesus Method of Organizing | 41 |
| A Young Adult Group Is Only as Good as Its Leadership | 42 |
| Hospitality | 48 |
| Planning Young Adult Activities and Events That Work | 50 |
| Putting It All Together: An Organizational Structure for a Young Adult Group | 55 |
| It's Not All Good News: Eighteen Things That Can Go "Wrong" in a Young Adult Group, and One Special Concern | 59 |
| To Summarize ... | 62 |
| 6. | Especially for Parish Pastoral Ministers ... | 65 |
| Celebrating Moments of Return | 65 |
| Preaching | 71 |
| 7. | Connecting Collegians | 74 |
| The Big Send-Off | 75 |
| Don't Forget to Write | 75 |
| Take the Parish to the Parishioners | 76 |
| Put Out the Welcome Mat | 77 |
| A Sumertime Special: Theology-on-Tap | 77 |
| A Summer Young Adult Mass | 78 |
| Part III | Beyond The Parish | |
| 8. | Regional Young Adult Ministry | 83 |
| The Mission of a Regional Young Adult Minister | 84 |
| The Tasks of a Regional Young Adult Ministry | 90 |
| 9. | Young Adult Ministry at the Diocesan Level | 98 |
| The Diocesan Office as Resource | 98 |
| The Diocesan Office as Advocate | 100 |
| The Diocesan Office as Pastoral Ministry | 102 |
| A Full-Time Job | 106 |
| Paying for Young Adult Ministry | 107 |
| Young Adult Ministry on a Diocesan Level: The Chicago Experience | 108 |
| Diocesan-Level Strategies | 113 |
| 10. | Principles for a Diocesan Ministry to Young Adults | 120 |
| Ten Principles | 120 |
| Guidelines for Event Planning | 125 |
| Hints for the Leaders of a Diocesan Young Adult Ministry Office | 130 |
| 11. | Young Adult Ministry, Chicago-Style | 133 |
| General Publicity | 133 |
| A Closer Look | 140 |
| Your Turn | 160 |
| 12. | Volunteers | 161 |
| Volunteers in the Young Adult Ministry Office | 161 |
| Volunteers beyond the Office | 168 |
| Conclusion: Our Preferential Option | 174 |
| Appendix A | Why Young Adult Catholics Go to Church and Why They Do Not | 177 |
| Appendix B | A Daily Lenten Journey | 183 |
| Appendix C | The Database | 201 |
| Appendix D | Creating and Maintaining a Dialogue Group | 204 |
| Appendix E | Eleven Ways to Use This Retreat Effectively | 212 |
| References | 215 |
| Index | 217 |
