Organisational Strategies to Bridge the Theological Language Gap: Exploring the Youth Ministry Practice of New Ecclesial Movements through Case Study Research

(Theological) language is an important theme in youth ministry. Conveying the Gospel message entails making it accessible and understandable to young people. Thus, it is important to bridge the theological language gap that can exist between organisers and young people in New Ecclesial Movements (NEMs), movements associated with religious orders, and general youth ministry practice. By describing aspects of NEMs and Catholic youth ministry in the Netherlands, introducing the theological language gap and presenting early findings of a Franciscan Youth Work case study, this article proposes four organisational strategies to bridge the gap.