Why Small Group Discipleship?

“Youth ministry, as traditionally organized, has also suffered the impact of social changes. Young people often fail to find responses to their concerns, needs, problems, and hurts in the usual structures. As adults, we find it hard to listen patiently to them, to appreciate their concerns, demands, and to speak to them in a language they can understand.” – Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium

Why We Exist & How We Began

In the summer of 2022, after numerous promptings by the Holy Spirit, the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales (Toledo-Detroit Province), along with John Trabbic, began to discern how we could best serve and evangelize teenagers in the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio.

Current statistics show that in the United States:

• 60% of Catholic teenagers do not attend weekly mass
• 25% of teenagers say that their life has no meaning or purpose
• Age 13 is the median age young people decide to leave the church, even if they continue to “show up” for things.
• 40% of teenagers no longer affiliate themselves with any religion.
• 90% of Christians between the ages of 14-29 are leaving the church and abandoning active practice of the faith.
• Only 5% of teenagers actively participate in faith: i.e. pray and attend Mass once a week or more, say their faith affects their behavior, and that their faith is the most important thing in their life.

In Catholic youth evangelization, we continue to see young people encounter God, especially during sacramental, prayerful, or communal moments at conferences, retreats, or summer camps. However, after returning home from these events, their desire to live out a sacramental life in the Church often declines and their faith becomes inactive or even non-existent (cf. Parable of the Sower–Mt. 13:1-9, 18-23). Youth and campus ministers are also expressing limited capacity for intentional follow-up and high levels of burnout due to the amount of logistics, ongoing event planning, fundraising needs, and other pastoral responsibilities.

To discern the WHY behind these statistics, we started asking the following questions:
“What are the most basic needs of a teenager?”
“How can youth evangelization meet their most basic needs?

After a period of intentional prayer, research, teen-interaction, and discernment, we discovered that the most basic need of a teenager right now is relationship. Young people are desperate for meaningful relationships with God, peers, the adult faithful, and the Catholic Church. They seek spiritual friendships, spiritual mentorship, and reasonable explanations to their questions. Yet, within the Catholic Church, what environments have we created to make building these types of relationships possible?

In response to this growing need in the United States, a number of parishes, schools, and individuals over the past ten years have shifted the priority of their youth evangelization efforts from an event-based (large group) approach to a spiritual mentorship (small group) approach. This approach prioritizes intentional relationships, authentic witness, imitation, and customization via spiritual mentorship and small group discipleship. Thanks to those who have pioneered this shift, we now have the following statistics:

• Teenagers who participate in a small group with a mentor during high school are 59% more likely to attend Mass four or more times per month by their senior year of college than those who did not.
• 77% of teens who participated in a small group during high school identified themselves as active Catholics, compared to only 50% of those who did not.
• Of young people ages 13-25 with no adult mentors, 24% question if their lives have meaning and purpose. This number drops to 6% for those with even one adult mentor.
• High school students who participate in small group discipleship for two or more years are more likely to be committed to their faith, confident in defending it, and pursue living a sacramental life.

In the Fall of 2023, inspired by this newfound data, encouraged by many, and after continued promptings by the Holy Spirit, the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, along with John Trabbic, established Live Jesus Ministries.

The goal of Live Jesus Ministries is to equip Catholic schools and parishes in the Diocese of Toledo with the training, networking, and resources they need to create a spiritual mentorship ministry for teens at their location, primarily through small group discipleship.

We pray that this effort will help young people develop authentic, meaningful, and holy relationships with God, the Church, their peers, and the adult faithful, leading them to become lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ.