August 5, 2014 // Local

Aaron Seng appointed diocesan director of youth ministry

Todays Catholic

Aaron Seng

MISHAWAKA — Aaron Seng has been appointed the director of youth ministry for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

The secretariat for the youth ministry office has been restructured. “In order to allow for closer collaboration amongst the Catholic Schools Office, the Office of Catechesis, and youth ministry, we have been brought together in one secretariat,” said Carl Loesch, Secretariat for Catholic Education. “We are looking forward to working with Aaron to support the catechetical needs of our parish youth ministry programs, our high school campus ministry departments and the diocese as a whole.”

“Aaron brings great passion and zeal to this position,” Loesch said. “Any time I am around Aaron, it is hard not to be encouraged by his enthusiasm for sharing the faith. He will be a great asset to the parish youth ministers and the young people of our diocese.”

Seng has worked with the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend for the past year.

“My work with the diocese involved serving in youth, young adult and men’s ministry,” he said. “This included speaking engagements at parishes and schools, planning and work on retreats and other events, small team formation, ministry trainings, communications consulting and more.”

“I have been blessed to work with many outstanding people along the way and look forward to now being able to focus specifically on serving those in youth ministry,” he added.

After a year of valuable insight into the many good things happening in the diocese, Seng said, “I was honored at Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades’s invitation to come into direct service of the many parents, pastors, volunteers, parish and school staff looking to effectively engage teens in the life and mission of the Church. I pray the Lord continues to bless this work.”

More than ever before, Seng said teens today are in need of vibrant and consistent witness to the joy and beauty of knowing, loving and serving Jesus Christ.

He said, “What’s more, they need this witness from their parents and other adults who will invest in their lives and mentor them in the journey of discipleship.”

“Young people at times feel unchallenged by a Christianity lived around them in a way that is anything but heroic,” he said. “Yet we are all called to holiness; and true holiness is always powerful, transformative and attractive.”

Seng is a native of South Bend. He and his wife Hayley and eight-month-old daughter Gianna-Marie attend St. Matthew Cathedral in South Bend. Seng has a Bachelor of Arts in catechetics and theology from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. He worked for the university’s Offices of Evangelization and Missionary Outreach while completing his graduate studies in theology and Christian ministry.

“Ever since a life-changing conversion to Christ in high school, I have held a great desire to serve the Lord and His Church in a radical way,” Seng said. “From that time on, I have been involved in the work of evangelization and equipping others for ministry. And the Church’s mission to and with teens and young adults has remained at the forefront of that work.”

His top goal is to serve the youth, he said, “Forming, equipping, supporting and networking the gifted men and women of our diocese who are in active ministry to and with teens will be an effective and sustainable way to reach as many young people as possible with the joy and beauty of the Gospel.”

An early project that will
launch in this regard will be a new website, which will serve as a platform for offering a wide array of resources, social media integration, idea-sharing forums, monthly newsletters, an event calendar and other tools that should be helpful in the field.

“This page will go live at www.fwsbYM.com on the day of our diocesan consecration (this August 15th), so be sure to take a look,” he said.