Officially launched at KAIROS 2008
The Youth Ministry of the NCCRS is not a new idea. Such an initiative was in operation as early as in 1980’s. Then it was known as the National Youth Pastoral Team (NYPT). This was a central team in which faith formation, leadership training, prayer life, Word of God, Sacramental life and commitment were given priorities and the youth were being formed. They in turn worked in the regions and brought up many more youth and they were responsible for organizing a national level Youth Convention in 1989.
In May 1996, a National Youth Consultation took place in Cochin wherein youth leaders from different parts of the country participated together with their pastors and animators. In that consultation, it was decided to start a Youth Council to have a wider base, both in participation and outlook and thus the National Catholic Charismatic Youth Council (NCCYC) was formed. The NCCYC tried to coordinate the regional youth initiatives in the Charismatic Renewal and in the process was responsible for organizing three National Youth Conventions, viz. in October 2002 in Bangalore, December 2005 in Chennai and December 2008 in Mumbai.
Youth ministries were formed in some of the prominent regions in India like The Torchbearers for Christ in Mumbai (1978), Hosanna Youth in Bangalore, Youth for Christ in Delhi, Young Christian Shepherds in Goa, etc., However, the National Service Team has been sensing for quite some time the need for a national level youth ministry that is networked throughout the country. The NCCYC, with its mandate for service and promotion of the Renewal among the youth, was not actually intended to establish itself as a ministry or to set up its branches in the regions. Subsequently after consultations with the youth representatives from the regions, the NCCYC came up with a proposal for starting a National Youth Ministry with a common name acceptable to all regions.
After prayer and discernment during two meetings of the NST and consultation with the chairpersons and regional contact persons and coordinators of NCCYC who were present at Nagpur for the Conference of Directors of Retreat Centers and Teams from 1 to 5 December 2008, it was decided to start Youth United For Christ as the youth ministry of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in India. This ministry was officially launched at the inaugural session of KAIROS 2008, the National Youth Convention in Mumbai held from 27 to 29 December, 2008.
By implication, with the institution of Youth United For Christ (YU4C) as the official Youth Ministry of the National Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services (NCCRS) as per Article 15 of CHARIS-India statutes and recognized by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), all the youth ministries of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of the various diocesan and regional service teams are to adopt the nomenclature of YU4C.