Youth ministry, also commonly referred to as youth group, is an age-specific religious ministry of faith groups or other religious organizations, usually from ages 12 to 30, whose mission is to involve and engage with young people who attend their places of worship, or who live in their community.
Nearly all dioceses and a great deal of parishes have some form of youth provision running, although a great deal of areas particularly in the developed world are finding youth work both more difficult and rare as the numbers of young people regularly practicing the Catholic faith continue to decline.
In contrast, though, the new and exciting developments of recent decades and particularly the influence of the new movements within the church are ensuring that youth work continues to be an active and fruitful field.
Most congregations or places of worship have a strict vetting process for their youth ministers, including but not limited to background checks, educational requirements and previous relevant experience.
Many Bible and Christian universities and colleges now offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in youth ministry.