Logos

The Logos Project is a ministry to young Catholics in the Auckland Diocese that allows young Catholics to celebrate their faith.

The aim of the Logos Project is to celebrate being ‘Young and Catholic” and it does this through Event Ministry and Service Ministry. Event Ministry involves putting on several events each year. Service Ministry involves training ‘Campus Ministers’ who can be alongside our young people, encouraging them in their Christian journey in our Catholic Secondary schools.

Marist Youth Project – LOGOS

Members of Logos gather outside the Logos house

In 2004, the Logos Project opened the “Logos Centre” in Onehunga, Auckland, and employed a Director to ensure that the many young adult volunteers who are part of the Logos Ministry Team are supported and guided into ministry and service.

Event Ministry
The Event Ministry involves around 40 Logos Team Members who are young adult volunteers. Through Events, the energy and talent of many young adults is focused upon a 4 hour gathering to minister to youth in a way that is real and relevant.

Through the ministry of the Music Team, Prayer and Teaching Team, Creative Dance and Drama Team, the Event Management Team, the Hospitality Team, Logos Team Members create an event where faith is celebrated and made meaningful for young people, music and drama encourage young people’s faith expression and witness, and the wealth of wisdom and guidance of the Church’s teaching and prayer life is shared with young people.

On average, around 500 young people are attracted to each of the Logos Events.

Service Ministry
The Logos Project seeks not just to train young people, but to engage them in service and ministry.

Effective ministry to young people requires good relationships to be established with them. This requires an on-going presence in their daily lives. To complement the work done at Logos Events, the Logos Project established a service dimension in 2002.

Campus Ministry and the formation and training of Campus Ministers / Catholic Youth Workers, has been a development in the life of the Logos Proejct whereby Campus Ministers are selected, receive training for a Certificate in Youthwork (and Diploma in Youthwork), and are placed in selected Catholic Secondary Schools to enhance the special Catholic Character of their School.

Campus Ministers involve themselves in retreat work, establish mentoring relationships with students, coach sports teams, complement the School Chaplain and Religious Education Syllabus with activities and sessions that connect faith to the real issues young people face. They input into school assemblies in a way that connects with young people and become a part of the pastoral care network in schools to ensure that young people who are in need of help and guidance are cared for appropriately.

The Campus Ministry programme has seen more Campus Ministers trained and many positive results and comments from young people whose lives have been touched by this peer ministry.

Logos is looking forward to finding new opportunities and ways of engaging youth and young adults into service in the future.

Frs Peter McAfee, John Jolliffe and Frank Bird are Marists currently engaged in this Ministry in 2005.