Ida Johns, coordinator of Youth Ministry and Junior High Religious Education at St. John Vianney Parish in Shelby Township, MI
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My name is Ida Johns and I am the coordinator of Youth Ministry and Junior High Religious Education at St. John Vianney Parish in Shelby Township, Michigan.

How long and why are you in professional lay ministry?

I've been in lay ministry for since I've been 23 yrs old and it began in the Maronite diocese. I've been at the Archdiocese of Detroit for the last 18 years. Why am I here? It's because God has directed me here. Never in wildest dreams did I ever think that I would remain in the church, in my profession. My whole life has been orchestrated and directed and I love the direction because it's very much apart of me and it always has been. I grew up very close to the church and a lot of my socialization was in the church and it just was natural progression. I've been working with teenagers way over 20 years now and it's been a real rewarding experience.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A lot of people always say I want to be a nurse, I want to be a teacher, those were the same things that I said and but my direction in college was always in a helping field. I have a bachelor's degree in sociology and I've always wanted to use my faith in the path that I chose and I think that's why I've been directed in this area.

Why are you good at what you do? What are some of your gifts?

I was asking my children that, and they said, because Mom, people are able to just talk to you and they're able to feel comfortable with you and I'm patient with people other than my family, and I'm very giving and loving and compassionate and you need to have those components to be part of this. If you don't love what you do, and you're not compassionate at what you do, you aren't going to be good at it. I'm just an easy going person. I'm fun, I like to have a lot of good times and I think that's what directs people towards me, I guess.

What is your job like? What do you do?

What I do is, I coordinate the program but there are a lot of people that help out. I mean I could never do this ministry in our parish without the help of all the people involved. I collaborate with the directors of religious ed, the adult directors we are always there for each other and that is the main component. I have people helping me in youth ministry, we have a puppet ministry that began out of youth ministry, and we have a junior high youth ministry. It's everybody working together and just collaborating, and having the same goals of bringing youth to church and to have them feel they have a home they could always be at.

Ida, you brought some tapes for us. Can you tell us how they illustrate your ministry?

On one of the tapes that I brought is when our youth group attends Rainbow.

This video is the opening session of Rainbow. It was Rainbow 19 and just the enthusiasm of the kids and the excitement. They are enthralled, and just being excited about their faith. It's just everybody being involved and not being afraid to show who they are and that they are Christian and that they are Catholic and they're just having a really good time.

There's another one from our mission trip that was just this summer. We went to Manistee Michigan. Another tape is our passion play that we started from the living Stations of the Cross and has developed over the years into a full-fledged play. It started out being youth group-oriented. All the students involved in ministry were able to be the characters. Now you see the entire parish. It's intergenerational. Families are involved; the entire parish just stands behind it. The enthusiasm of the members, there are 50 people that are involved in this play—it's just been a dream that has developed over the years.

This is the passion play from this year it takes place on Good Friday. Usually at the Good Friday service there are over 900 people that attend. It's incorporated into our service, so that is the first component of our service and then the Eucharistic part comes after. We developed that years ago, and each year people get more and more enthused and we keep adding parts so more and more can be involved. So there are areas that involve young children all the way up to grandparents.

Can you talk a little bit about the compensation you receive?

I don't need you to get specific but one of the reasons why people may not be drawn to lay ministry cause they have the perception that its no way to make a living.

Truly the compensation is just knowing that you're there to help somebody, because monetarily the compensation could not, like you said, could not be something you could raise a family on. However, just knowing that you're there for the kids and you're touching their lives making them want to do this in your place when you get older is compensation enough. You know, it's such a high to know that we are touching the lives of the young people and I think that's one of the biggest compensations of the job.

So what is your motivation to continue doing this? Would you recommend lay ministry to others?

I would definitely encourage people to go into lay ministry because it is so rewarding. Just knowing that we're there and that the kids have somebody to come to outside their homes and to make a home for them within the parish and to be there constantly, to mentor them, to counsel them, to just be there. Whenever they need someone to talk to other than a family member, they can come to open up. It just seems like they can open up much more to people in our field then they do to their immediate families.

Give me a list of all the hats you wear, personally and professionally.

I'm Ida Johns, and I'm a wife of 25 years—we just celebrated our 25th anniversary—I'm a mother of 2 wonderful children that have been in ministry with me throughout their lives. I am a religious ed coordinator, I am a play director, I am a youth minister, I am a Christian service helper, I'm a student, I'm currently going for my masters in counseling, I'm a friend, I'm a mentor, I am a family-oriented person, lots of hats.

Is there anything else that we can talk about that is important for people to know?

I think the most important thing for people to know is that the personal invitation is the key to bringing people in. You know, when someone calls you up personally and says I need you to share your gifts. You know you have something that I don't have and that I want and I know that will be helpful to everybody that you come in contact with. Just that personal invitation of people is how we regenerate our ministry. And to always collaborate and never try to be the one that does it all. Involve all those people that volunteer to just to bring in their gifts and to be there, to collaborate, to discuss, to brainstorm. All of that is so important, and to constantly be centered in Christ because if we don't have that, we don't have ministry. And if it wasn't for that, I probably wouldn't be in ministry as long as I have been. Just always be open to new and exciting things and accept people for who they are, where they are, and I think you'll always be successful in ministry.

We are definitely called and that is a gift that each and every person has. They don't know that they have and unless we help them to blossom, and that's what I meant through the invitation to call those people. Through our baptism we are called and it is our responsibility as Christians to call others to ministry and that's how we keep Christ's ministry alive in the world--that is constantly reach out to be there for other people.

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