Commentary
An interest survey of youth, parents, and parish leadership is an excellent way to determine the issues that your youth ministry must address. It provides a solid basis upon
which to build your youth ministry. It also builds interest and ownership in the people you consult.
In addition to surveying interest and determining what issues are important, you may also want to conduct a community resource inventory to determine what programs, services, and resources already exist in your community, who is providing them, and how you can take advantage of them.
If you select a youth survey, keep the questionnaire brief, ask only what you need to know, use simple language and format, distribute questionnaires in person, ask for pertinent demographic information, but no names! If you select the survey approach, distribute surveys where people are already gathered (e.g. after the Sunday masses, at programs, etc.). You may want to consider conducting a parallel interest finder by surveying the parents as well. Start by asking them what topics and issues concern them and what interest they would have in participating in particular programs or activities.
You can determine their own interest in parent programming as well as their expectations for youth ministry. Publish the results and thank all who participated. In designing your interest survey remember that parents and youth respond more readily to topics offering help on issues they are facing at the moment rather than on those ahead of them.