What: Youth Ministry for Grades 6-8

When:  Most Sundays at 5pm

Where:  Saint Raphael Church

Why:   Faith Formation should meet people where they are. We want to seize the opportunity to engage our 6th, 7th, and 8th graders in a setting more like Youth Ministry than a classroom—a testing ground where they can encounter God through prayer, service, and discussion and a refuge where they can explore who it is God made them to be.

We have the ability to engage our young people as individuals, to get to know their needs and desires, to field their questions and challenge their doubts. We won’t just teach the faith, we’ll explore it and encourage student’s to evaluate their lives and choices in the light of the Gospel. We’ll seek to answer the question “why does this matter?” and to draw the connection that faith isn’t one subject or piece of life, but is integral to our identity and how we occupy our place in the world.

How:   We offer 3 programs: Family Formation (4x / year for public school families and anyone else who is interested), Confirmation Formation (for those in 8th Grade seeking the Sacrament of Confirmation), and MSM Invite (a totally optional youth group for 6th-8th graders looking for a solid community in which to go deeper in their faith). Come check it out… we’re very excited for a new year of ministry to our middle schoolers! 

Family Formation:   4 times per year, we welcome 6th, 7th, and 8th graders with their parents and siblings to join us for an evening of food, fun, faith, and fellowship. Starting at 5pm in the PAC, we will share a meal together, listen to a speaker, and then have break out discussions first with our peers and then intergenerationally. We will end with prayer and some helpful planning tips for the week ahead. While this is the formation for public school students in Middle School, all families are welcome to join us!

Confirmation Formation:  Once a month, 8th graders only will meet to be formed for the Sacrament of Confirmation. The content of this formation will unpack what it means that Jesus tells us to go and preach the Gospel, and prepare their minds and hearts to be ignited by the Spirit in Confirmation.

Invite:  On most other Sundays, we invite all 6th-8th graders to join us in the Community Room to continue our adventure together, uniting them to encounter Christ and empowering them as His disciples. We'll cover topics ranging from the reasonability of faith to the realities of friendship, and from how to pray to would you baptize a martian. It's a fun way to explore our beliefs and build each other up in a community of supportive peers and mentors. All are welcome to join us - these meetings are free and optional, and guests are always welcome!

Hello All!

I am so blessed to be your Youth Minister here at Saint Raphael! I hope you know that, even if we have not already met, I love you and am praying for you. I hope that you, also, will pray for me.

Just a little bit about myself: I was born and raised just down the street in North Ridgeville, and went to Youth Group at St. Ladislas in Westlake. I started working for the Church as a Sophomore at Ignatius doing maintenance and landscaping, and, when I was a Sophomore at John Carroll, I began my journey in pastoral ministry. I once thought God might be calling me to the Priesthood, but He in fact had other plans. I got married to my High School girlfriend and best friend in 2015, and we now have two children together. And, God-willing, I will be ordained a Permanent Deacon in May of 2026.

Outside of Church work, I umpire youth through College prep baseball and love to cook, camp, read, hike, and (when I can) get to the gym. My favorite topics to teach on and talk about include whether we can baptize extra-terrestrials (or sentient Dolphins, or Veggie Tales Characters), how to die well, the weird but true facts of the saints and the Church, and whether or not we all live in the Matrix.

I greatly look forward to meeting all of you and getting to know you. I hope that you will join Saint Raphael Middle School Ministry soon... and stay with us!

Peace,

Zak

Formerly called "Unite" - we changed the name for clarity.

Once a month, all 6th, 7th, and 8th graders and their families are welcomed to share dinner and discussion, uniting in community and faith formation. 

This is the faith formation program for 6-8th graders who attend public schools, but we welcome all Middle School families to attend, no matter where they go to school.

Our hope is to offer a variety of topics which spark discussion both on the Family Formation night and which can be returned to throughout the week. There will be opportunities for age-specific discussion and inter-generational discussion each session.

Family Formation is four Sunday evenings a year from 5:00-7:30pm in the Saint Raphael PAC. There are no make-ups, although as far as possible we will make the materials available to families who want to have their own discussions at other times.

Dinner is always included! We want to provide you with an opportunity to be served and to engage with your family without worrying about the dishes or desserts. We know that Sundays are family time for so many, but we hope that our Family Formation can be part of that time of rest, resetting, and planning for a new week.

Confirmation Formation is for all 8th graders seeking to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. 

(Link to IGNITE Confirmation Prep)

We invite ALL Middle Schoolers to be part of the adventure!

On most other Sundays, we invite all 6th-8th graders to join us in the Community Room to continue our adventure together, uniting them to encounter Christ and empowering them as His disciples. We'll cover topics ranging from the reasonability of faith to the realities of friendship, and from how to pray to would you baptize a martian. It's a fun way to explore our beliefs and build each other up in a community of supportive peers and mentors. All are welcome to join us - these meetings are free and optional, and guests are always welcome!

INVITE is for ALL 6th-8th graders and meets 5:00-6:30pm on the Sundays that do not have Family Formation or Confirmation Formation.

Invite is formatted in a Youth Ministry Model where we will gather together in games or introductions, proclaim the Gospel,  break open the message in small group discussions, and send you off with sharing and prayer.

Invite is a great way to grow friendships, be a part of a supportive community, and be able to ask questions and find answers that you are looking for. We hope that you will join us!

Click the button above starting August 1st and you will be taken to the form to register. Any questions about registration can be addressed to Joanne Gill jgill@saintraphaelparish.com.

When registering for Family Formation, you will be asked to submit the $100 Materials Fee. This fee covers all  activities, and materials throughout the year, the cost of food, and opportunities for team formation. We do not make money on any of our ministries, but try to cover our expenses adequately.

When registering for Confirmation Formation, you will be asked to submit the $100 Sacrament Materials Fee This is a seperate fee which covers materials for Confirmation, especially the retreat in the spring.

The cost for both Family Formation and Confirmation Formation can be reduced or waived for financial need. Please contact Zak Jester.

Invite is free.

The full schedule for 2025-26 is available on this page. If a change occurs, we will give you as much notice as we can, although we do not anticipate moving any dates.

No. It is, however, the format in which Middle Schoolers in grades 6-8 receive faith formation at Saint Raphael. Because of this, the Family Formation nights are the required program for those in public schools. Invite Nights are totally optional but highly recommended opportunities to expand that faith formation throughout the year. Confirmation Formation is for 8th graders preparing to receive the Sacarament of Confirmation. 

No. The structure of MSM is such that you and your middle schooler can participate as much or as little as you want.

All 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are encouraged to attend Family Formation with their whole family. Anyone who participated in PSR in grades K-5 or who is in Public School should attend. Catholic school families are welcome, too!

Invite is totally optional, but a great way to extend faith formation throughout the year. You can come any time, you do not have to register for the year.

Confirmation Formation is for all those in 8th grade planning on receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation.

We do not subscribe to any pre-formed curricula. Instead, we have built our program around the proclamation of the Kerygma, the basic gospel message of Jesus Christ as lived out in the lives of saints and our lives today. That message is, at its essence, this:

         -God created us good, and has a plan and a purpose for our lives

         -We mess that plan up by sinning, we become less than ourselves

         -Jesus became human and died for us to restore God’s plan for us

         -We need to accept that healing restoration in our lives (repentance)

         -We need to live a healed life (prayer, worship, service)

Woven through this proclamation, we are able to touch on all of the topics found in the scope and sequence of a standard religious ed textbook, including revelation, the Trinity, Jesus Christ, sin and grace, the Church, Sacraments, and building the Kingdom of God.

The Catholic Church firmly believes that parents are the primary teachers of the faith for their children (CCC #2223). This means, it is your job to be the first ones to bring your kids closer to Christ. But we want to help you in that mission! We want to give you opportunities to grow in your own faith life, and to animate discussion with other parents and with you children about topics that really matter to you.

Plus, we don't want to create another box you need to check off. We want to be an avenue of rest and restoration that adds value to your life and your families. 

While we do offer Family Formation for the whole family, and hope that at least one parent or guardian can join, we understand that life has lots of moving parts. Please try to make this a priority. If only your child can make it for a session, please try to connect them with a friend so that they can be plugged in to others that they know. Or, ask a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or trusted friend to fill in. The more the merrier!

Yes! While the program is designed for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, we would very much welcome your whole family to join us for dinner and discussion. Currently, we don't have dedicated break-outs for younger students, and so they will be encouraged to remain with the adults. But, we are open to this event expanding and may be able to make this available going forward. We welcome your feedback (and any help!) as we continue to grow and shape MSM.

A short RSVP registration link will be emailed to each family 2 weeks prior to each dinner. Through this link, you will be able to tell us how many of your family members will be in attendance for dinner. As these dinners are catered, it is important that we have a rough count of how many will be attending a few days prior to each Family Formation gathering.

Yes! We always make sure that we have some extra food for this purpose.

Because of the limits of our abilities, we cannot guarantee food safety for allergies. If you have severe allergies, please consider bringing your own meal with you. We apologize that we cannot better accommodate you!

We invite ALL Middle Schoolers to be part of the adventure! 

Invite is formatted in a Youth Ministry Model where we will gather together in games or introductions, proclaim the Gospel,  break open the message in small group discussions, and send you off with sharing and prayer.

Invite is a great way to grow friendships, be a part of a supportive community, and be able to ask questions and find answers that you are looking for. We hope that you will join us!

From 5-6:30pm in the Community Room, near the Church.