A foundation for young adult ministry includes various insightful works prepared by those having extensive experience in working with young people and in particular, the church’s desire to ministering with people in their late teens, twenties, and thirties based on the four goals of connecting young adults with Jesus Christ, the Church, the mission of the Church in the world, and a community of their peers as expanded in the cornerstone document Sons and Daughters of the Light: A Pastoral Plan for Ministry With Young Adults.

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote this pastoral plan (1996) and vision for ministry with young adults which also introduces background on who are the young adults of a parish, what young adults are searching for in their faith development, and how to implement that plan into action. (Spanish translation also available).

Another key resource related to ministering with young adults is Empowered by the Spirit: Campus Ministry Faces the Future.

Other valuable references include –

The Basic Guide to Young Adult Ministryby Fr. John Cusick, and Katherine F. DeVries , Orbis Books (2001). This is a critical pastoral resource filled with strategies and practical wisdom for how to ‘pass on the tradition’ to young adults written by the “grandfather of young adult ministry” Fr. Cusick who is the Director of Young Adult Ministry for the Archdiocese of Chicago

Bagley, Ronald, et al., eds. Becoming a Young Adult Responsive Church: A Guide for Implementing Sons and Daughters of the Light - A Pastoral Plan for Ministry with Young Adults. Naugatuck, CT: CMD, 1997.

Bagley, Ronald. "Ministry with Young Adults," Vision & Challenge, Vol.2 No.2.Naugatuck, CT: CMI), 1995.

Mahaney, Dennis, et al. Blueprints for Young Adult Ministry. Washington DC: NCYAMA Publishers, 1988.

Young Adult Works Over 200 programs and strategies for ministry with young adults. The first resource specifically designed to implement Sons and Daughters of the Light, the Catholic Bishops’ pastoral plan for ministry with young adults.

Connecting Young Adults with the Church

Connecting Young Adults with a Peer Community

Prayer for Young Adults