By Tim Harfmann

Thousands of clerics and lay leaders are packing a Texas convention center at the Fifth National Encuentro this weekend to strengthen Hispanic ministry in the U.S. – and they’re  turning to the next generation to guide them.

“The Church is young and because the Church is young, the Church has a future,” said Archbishop Thomas Wenski of the Archdiocese of Miami, Fla.

Of the 3,000 representatives at the Fifth National Encuentro, or Encounter, 30 percent are under the age of 35. They, along with the nearly 100 bishops in attendance, want to address the obstacles young Hispanics face in the U.S. Catholic Church. Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, Texas, said young people need to feel that they belong.

“One of the greatest challenges among young people are they don’t feel like they belong to anyone for a really long time… and that’s in the culture. The Church has to offer a sense of belonging, like a family,” he said.

Growing up, Father Henry Torres, 27, was close to his parish family at St. Michael-St. Malachy in East New York, and received a strong foundation in faith from his parents, both immigrants from the Dominican Republic. But many of his peers had different experiences of church.

“What can we do to help heal a lot of the wounds that our young people have?” Father Torres said.

“What can we do to open the doors for Hispanic young people in order to help minister to their parents and, God willing, to their kids. So they’re, right now, the pivotal point.”

There are nearly 30 million Hispanic Catholics in the United States. A third of them are under the age of 18, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Bishop Olson says one solution to overcome the challenges is that young people must be willing to change in order to continue growing in the faith.

“Sometimes we approach the Church as too consumer friendly. In other words, I want what I want, when I want it; and I want it to fit me. Well, that’s an adolescent view of morality and it’s an adolescent view of life,” the bishop said.

Another suggestion from Miami Archbishop Wenski is to simply welcome young Hispanics – and allow them to lead.

“We can open our parishes, our schools, our apostolic movements to the talents and gifts of young Hispanics,” Bishop Wenski said. “They will participate, and they will contribute.”