Our Vision for the Mission Team:

 Our vision is to form Dominican Mission Teams (DMT) of Vowed Religious and Young Adults to provide leadership workshops for youth and young adults nationwide based on the four pillars of Dominican Life and Dominican spirituality.

Our Purpose the Mission Team:

 Our purpose is to introduce youth and young adults to the Dominican Charism, including the four pillars, experience good preaching, and the call to work for justice and service.  It will also provide initial formation in Dominican spirituality, as well as tools and skills needed to introduce the “preaching” charism to their parish and campus communities.

     There would be a need for both vowed religious and lay staff members.  Vowed religious would provide both support and guidance to the lay staff members.  There would be a Coordinator, who is a vowed religious and three/four additional Team Members.  The Director would be responsible for the overall programming, budget, public relations and obtaining viable staff.  In addition to the Coordinator and Team Members, a part-time development director, would be an asset.  He/She would be responsible for finding grants to support the DMT in the future, and communicating information about the DMT to others.  The dream is that two teams would be formed (but we would start out with one and add on as deemed necessary).  Each team would include three/four young adults and at least one vowed member, or an associate or perhaps a former DVUSA member.

     The Team Members (TM) would be responsible for providing the workshops to youth/young adults.  They would need to be able and willing to:

• Take part in a week long training program during summer of 2010
• Travel regularly
• Initiate new programs
• Openly share their faith
• Relate well to youth/young adults

      All staff members would need to:

• Take part in a week long training program during summer of 2010
• Have skills and experience in giving presentations and preaching
• Be people of prayer and reflection
• Have some background in theology/catechetics

      Compensation for team members may need to be discussed.

Information on Mission Team Workshops, Marketing, and Travel

 Workshops:

      Workshops would be given for various lengths of time(not to exceed 3 days) depending on the needs of the youth or young adult group.  They would be rooted in the Gospel and Dominican Spirituality.  Presentations that are used at various conferences would be an integral part of the workshops.

 Marketing/Communications:

      Introduce Dominican spirituality and the Dominican charism to high schools, college campuses, parishes, Dominican family members and secular mentors of young adults.

• Send mailings, posters, brochures and emails.
• Follow up with phone calls.
• Work with Dominican family members, adult mentors, colleges and parishes to establish student gatherings.
• Establish a traveling schedule

 Travel:

      Visit high schools, college campuses and parishes. Schedule four nationwide trips that encompass the Midwest, North, South and East.

• Hold information sessions incorporating multi media and testimonials from current members.
• Presentation on Dominican charism/Dominican spirituality/Dominican mission/present day Dominican events for youth/young adults.  Present usable tools for participants to create milieus for youth to experience Dominican spirituality and preaching.
• Have information on all youth and young adult events sponsored by the Dominicans available to hand out to all attending.

Year One: 2009-2010

 Part 1:

• Using already applied for grant monies … visitations would be made to different areas of the country where contacts to college campus ministers, parish young adult group mentors and high school campus ministers have already been made.
• These adult mentors would be asked to gather other groups of adults, who minister to young adults, and students who are part of young adult groups, to hear about the Dominican Young Adult program and see if they would be willing to host one of the workshops being planned by the Dominican Youth Mission Team.
• DYA members who are part of participants in DYA chapters in those local areas would be invited to come and assist in the promotion of this new program to the staffs/students of these institutions.
• Three or four visitations to groups in different parts of the country would be considered plausible.

 Part 2:

• Vowed religious, associate members or perhaps former DVUSA members would be sought out to be part of the team.  Letters would go out to all members seeking their participation in this new project
• Young adults who have been former college preachers, and are now active members of a Dominican Young Adult chapter, would be sought for their participation on the team.  Each young adult applicant would need (2) letters of reference accompanying their application form.
• New networks would be expanded by using already established college/parish and high school contacts in different parts of the country.
• A week long training session would need to be planned for the young adults as well as the mentors who will be part of the teams.  Presenters and possible sites for this training are already being considered for this piece of the program.
• The initial group of trainees would total no more than 14.  Ten young adults would be sought and 4 adult mentors.  This would allow for the training of two teams (4 young adults and two mentors per team) and some additional people to substitute when needed

Year Second: 2010-2011

• Initially, one team would travel to 4 different parts of the country to give workshops.
• After each workshop an evaluation tool would be handed out to the participants to get their feedback on what they thought about the workshop and its benefits.
• At the end of each workshop the team would gather to process and review their experience.  Each team member would comment on their experience of the workshop and what value they felt it had to the participants.
• One of the adult mentors for the team would gather the evaluation material after each workshop and consolidate the feedback.  Pros and cons of each workshop would be highlighted for the team.
• A summary sheet would be written up for each workshop.  These summary sheets would be sent to the Director and then discussed with the team in a conference call which would be set up with each team after each workshop.
• An overall review of the new project would take place and future plans would be discussed.

Year Three: 2011-2012

• Following the plan for the second year of the program … this team would be sent to other parts of the country, which have not yet experienced these workshops and where the ground work of making contacts and networking has already been done.
• Depending on the results of the first year’s teams … a second team would be formed.

At the end of three years’ the program would be fully evaluated as to its worth and future.  Should the decision be made to continue the program additional funding sources, as well as staff, would need to be discussed.

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