After several years of limited activity, the Young Men of God (YMG) movement is seeking to re-establish itself as a formative ministry for young Catholic men in Australia.
Later this year the movement will host a three-day national men’s conference in Melbourne– it’s first national event for almost a decade – as it strives to once again be present in parishes across the country.
Chaplain of the movement Fr Terrence Shanaka MGL said YMG’s mission is to disciple and equip young men to grow in their faith, journey together in brotherhood, and witness to the Gospel in the world.
“It’s a safe place where young men can be vulnerable with one another and where they can truly share what’s going on in their lives,” he explained.
“We challenge one another to persevere in prayer, we challenge one another to have a healthy lifestyle and to find purpose in life.”
Initially founded by Fr Ken Barker MGL in Canberra in 2000, YMG became well-known in Australia as it grew and spread in the following years.
But the movement lost momentum as the original leaders grew older, Fr Terrence said.
“We didn’t have a proper leadership structure in place, to form leaders for the future,” he said. “All the leaders got married and started their own families, and we just didn’t have leaders coming through and taking on those responsibilities. There was also no pastoral support for leaders.”
A new setup is addressing this challenge, with the Missionaries of God’s Love (MGLs) training members to lead groups now and into the future, as well as providing spiritual and pastoral support to those leading local groups.
In 2024, a well-established men’s group in Adelaide decided to become a YMG group, kickstarting the movement’s revival in South Australia and providing great encouragement for a national revival. There are now YMG groups in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Canberra, with a new group starting in Perth soon.
Each group hosts regular gatherings of young men for faith formation and social activities, reflecting the movement’s mantra that transformation happens in brotherhood.
The movement also takes part in a mission trip to the Philippines each year, where the young men work with local communities to build homes for the underprivileged.
Fr Terrence said current social challenges like the declining mental health of men, growing loneliness leading to addiction, and the prevalence of broken homes, highlighted the importance of movements that seek to help men grow in faith and virtue.
“It’s a great time to address those issues, to help men to become spiritually strong, to be a good father one day, to have brotherhood in the long-term, where they can be accountable to one another,” he said.
“When we focus on young men we are also focusing on the generation to come… we form the man who is faithful to the Church and he passes that onto his children and the next generation.”
YMG is hosting an Adelaide men’s conference on June 6, as well as a national men’s conference in Melbourne from July 17-19. Find out more about the events here.
Image: Supplied
Words: Matthew Biddle