Life Teen

Life Teen maintains a focus on helping teens fall deeper in love with Jesus in the Eucharist.[12] Primarily this is done through celebration of a youth-focused Mass, "the most important part" of every Life Teen and Edge program.[11] Particular efforts are made to create a welcoming atmosphere, reverent and relevant music, and an engaging homily that speaks to the issues in teens' lives.[11] While these liturgies often referred to by parishes as a "Life Teen" Mass, they are not a teen-only Mass, but a regular/communal Mass that is normally celebrated on Sunday evening.

Each week thousands of people attend one of these liturgies. The focus of the youth Mass is on helping teens and their families to fully participate, understand, and foster transformation through their prayer at Mass. Portions of homilies are often geared toward teenagers, their culture, and the relevance of their faith today.

The music ranges from traditional Catholic hymns, sometimes with a modern arrangement, to the latest Catholic worship songs. Instrumentation, quality sound and an emphasis on song as prayer help give an energy and reverence to these Masses. Life Teen has a transcription of a video talk by Fr. Robert Schreiner[13] explaining the role of music within Liturgy.

Following the Mass are gatherings that are aimed to be both fun and to challenge teens to go deeper in their relationship with God and to know more about their Catholic faith.[11] Known as Life Nights, they are systematic catechetical gatherings with four distinct segments: Gather, Proclaim, Break, and Send. These segments are derived from the flow of the Mass.[14]

• Gather: This section of the Life Night involves an invitation to the teenagers that welcomes them to a Life Night. This can be anything from an interactive game, a chance to win a prize, a skit or a funny video clip. Depending upon the specific night, some nights might utilize several of these aids. Also considered a part of the Gather is any promotion done at the youth Mass (which normally directly precedes a Life Night). This promotion can take several forms such as the Youth Minister making an announcement or the Core members passing out an object related to the theme of the night to try to pique the interest of the teens. The Gather is always directly related to the main message of the night.
• Proclaim: This section of the Life Night is devoted to the main teaching for the night. The Proclaim is advised to be 10–15 minutes long, depending on the topic. Typically, the presentation is usually given by the Youth Minister, another Core member, a clergy member, or a team of people. Life Teen also has a prepared DVD component for certain Life Nights which can be shown in place of a live teaching.
• Break: In this section of the Life Night, teenagers are given the chance to "break open" the message of the night. Typically this takes the form of small groups. Life Teen recommends one adult for every 6-8 teens in a group. Certain Life Nights recommend a large group wrap session or doing a group activity (like a prayer walk) to provide the teens a chance to digest the message of the night.
• Send: The send portion of a Life Night is to wrap up the Life Night by giving the teens a way to take the message they learned and apply it to their lives at home. Generally the send involves some personal prayer time. Depending on the night, teens might be given the chance to make a personal commitment to do something or not do something. The teens may also be presented with a small gift (such as holy water, a nail or a cross) to help them remember the message of the night. Life Teen also recommends the closing of each Life Night with a reminder of what the next Life Night will be and having the teens say as a group the Hail Mary and sing Ave Maria.

Life Nights come in three varieties: catechetical, issue, and social. Catechetical nights are designed to teach teens about some aspect of the Catholic faith. Issue nights deal with real life issues that teens deal with on a daily basis such as gossip, chastity, or drinking. Social nights are designed to help teens build friendships and develop stronger social bonds.[14]

Life Teen is guided by seven core values.[12]

1. Eucharistic spirituality - As the Eucharist is the "source and summit"[15] of the Catholic faith, Life Teen focuses the program on the Mass and receiving Christ in the Eucharist.
2. Love - Life Teen strives to show every teen that attends the Mass or a program offered that they are loved.
3. Joy - Life Teen professes that "Jesus is a reason to be joyful and excited about life" and attempts to make sure that every experience a teen has with Life Teen is a positive one.
4. Affirmation - As a community, all who take part in Life Teen are expected to support and encourage one another.
5. Authenticity - Life Teen encourages teens to live an authentic life, one where they do not wear a "mask" or pretend to be someone they are not.
6. Evangelization - As Jesus commissioned his disciples to "make disciples of all nations,"[16] Life Teen believes "that every teenager deserves a chance to have a relationship with Jesus" and invites all to participate.
7. Primary vocation - The adult leaders of Life Teen are also called to take care of their primary responsibilities ahead of their commitments to Life Teen or any other purpose.

Life Teen operates three summer camps: Camp Hidden Lake in Dahlonega, Georgia and Camp Covecrest in Tiger, Georgia.[17] The camps as designed to build friendships, including those with youths from their own parishes and those from other parts of the country, to allow the youths to have fun, and to deepen their faith through prayer and experiencing the sacraments.

Depending on the camp attended, they may mountain bike, play paintball, go hiking, white water rafting, zip lining, play with farm animals, play team sports, climb a rope course, go fishing, or play messy field games.[17][18]

The camps also encourage and assist teens to develop a deeper relationship with Christ. In addition to the Mass, teens can partake in the sacrament of Reconciliation, listen to dynamic speakers and praise and worship music, and attend Eucharistic adoration.[18]

Edge is Life Teen's middle school ministry for early adolescents in grades six, seven and eight. It is designed to meet the educational, spiritual, emotional, and social needs of young adolescents. Edge combines the best of Life Teen with the necessary adaptations to provide middle school youth with the ministry they need.

Edge Nights occur once every week during the school year, and also has social and recreational activities designed to create a greater sense of community among middle school youth. In addition, several national Edge Summer Camps are held in Georgia, Arizona, and Missouri.

Life Teen recognizes the importance of ministry not only to teens but also to their families, especially parents. Parent Life was created to have a lasting effect on Life Teen parishes, as a program to, for, and with parents that allow them to draw closer to Christ. The program solidifies and strengthens the family structure, and builds community within the parish.

Parents Life is facilitated by the parents themselves. One person or a couple coordinates the overall parent ministry to insure consistency. The leader/leaders are under the direction of the pastor or the youth minister.

Among all the programs Life Teen provides to the public, it also provides opportunities for people to become missionaries. People can apply to be full-time missionaries or summer missionaries. These missionaries can then be placed at any of the bases, which are located in Tiger, Georgia; St. Louis, Missouri; Mesa, Arizona; Haiti, and Houston, Texas. The mission for these missionaries is devoting to the rule of life in glorifying God in various ways when one is on mission duty and when one is not. Missionaries demonstrate their rule of life through building communities where anyone and everyone is welcome to join the worship lifestyle. The lifestyle of a missionary changes in sharing God's love to the world and become more respectful, disciplined, humble, and trustworthy among each other, the people, and God's rule of life.