Sons and Daughters of the Light: A Pastoral Plan for Ministry with Young Adults

The U.S. Bishops’ original, comprehensive pastoral plan for ministering with young adults, with a new foreword from Bishop Robert Barron

Young adults are a vital part of the Church today, bringing energy, enthusiasm, and unique gifts to the faith community. Recognizing both the challenges they have been facing and the deep spiritual hunger many continue to experience, the Catholic Bishops of the United States wrote Sons and Daughters of the Light: A Pastoral Plan for Ministry with Young Adults as a timeless guide to developing vibrant ministries that accompany them on their journey of faith. This 1996 pastoral served as a key contributing resource to the U.S. Bishops’ 2025 national framework, Listen, Teach, Send.

This document, informed by years of consultations with dioceses, national organizations, and young adults themselves, provided the Church with a ministerial outline for addressing the needs and concerns of men and women in their late teens, twenties, and thirties—whether single, married, with or without children. It acknowledged and still speaks to the longing of young adults to belong to a faith community, engage deeply with Scripture and Tradition, and find answers to life’s most profound questions through a personal relationship with Jesus and his Church.

This comprehensive framework:

• Describes the life situations of young adults so the Church can respond effectively to their needs and concerns

• Addresses the feelings of isolation many young adults experience, offering guidance on building welcoming parish communities for this age group

• Calls attention to four areas that young adults often struggle with—personal identity, relationships, work, and spiritual life

• Outlines a vision for young adult ministry focused on holiness, community, and service

• Develops a practical and workable strategy for connecting young adults with Christ, the Church, the mission of the Church in the world, and a supportive faith community

• Distinguishes campus ministry from ministry with young adults and proposes a plan for strengthening the relationships between campuses and parishes

Sons and Daughters of the Light is an essential resource for pastors, campus ministers, young adult ministers, diocesan leaders, and young adults themselves who are engaged in leadership. Even after three decades, it provides a roadmap for developing ministries with young adults that serve as beacons of hope for the Church, the nation, and the world.

This new edition of Sons and Daughters of the Light features:

• A newly designed cover with beautiful sacred art

• Colored tabs at the top of each page for easy navigation

• Carefully designed pages to make each page readable, organized, and inviting

• A document summary explaining the intended audience, the document’s origin, and the purpose it seeks to serve within the mission of the Church

• The official text of this work written by the USCCB Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth

• A new foreword written by Bishop Robert Barron, Chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, in light of the latest USCCB pastoral on young people: Listen, Teach, Send

This edition is part of The USCCB Collection from Ascension, which features official documents from the United States bishops previously published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).