Preparing to be a Missionary

For the past 13 years of my life, I have spent every August preparing to go to school, getting books, a backpack and sharpening pencils.  

Now, with graduation approaching at the end of this week, I find myself instead preparing for something completely different.  This August, I am leaving to embark on a mission that will impact more than 60,000 young teens across the United States.  I have committed myself to serving as a missionary for nine months with NET Ministries.

NET (which stands for National Evangelization Teams) selects around 130 young adults from all over the world to serve as missionaries throughout the United States. This year, they will be dividing us into 11 different teams and sending us out to lead retreats and do community service across the country. I will be departing in mid-August for Saint Paul,, where the organization is based. After five weeks of intense training, I will leave with around 11 or 12 other dedicated volunteers to serve, traveling in 12 passenger vans during my nine-month, nationwide mission.

Each team member accepted is required to raise $4,200 to help support his or her work as a missionary.  It’s been amazing for me to watch as family and friends throughout this community pour out so much generosity, and though I have around $1,500 left to fundraise, I know that I will get it all before August with so many people willing to give!

A member of Saint Michael Catholic Church since I was in elementary school, it has also been beautiful to see how supportive the parishioners at this parish are. Having parish NET Teams in our community from 2007 to 2009 really has shown youth here the positive affect this organization has on teens. 

As a freshman and sophomore in high school, I really got to know the NET Members, and they helped me through a lot of personal struggles. They were there for me to talk to, look up to and they really helped me to grow closer to God.  

Now, I feel honored that I get to do the same thing for teens around the United States!

More About NET Ministries:

NET Ministries is an international Catholic Youth Ministry that is committed to challenging young Catholics to love Christ and embrace the life of the Church. Based in St. Paul, they offer training in youth evangelization and lead over 1,000 retreats annually. Each year, nearly 130 young adult volunteers are sent out in teams across the United States to conduct retreats for Catholic teens. The 11 NET teams share their faith with over 60,000 youth in the United States alone, with dramas, music, games, small group discussion and large group presentations all used to present the Gospel in a dynamic and new way. To learn more about NET Ministries, visit www.netusa.org/ or call them at 651-450-6833. They are currently taking applications for the 2011-2012 year, contact mattr@netusa.org for more information on applying.