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 2022, after a season of prayer, discernment, and numerous promptings by the Holy Spirit, John Trabbic, Fr. Joe Newman, OSFS, and Fr. Ken McKenna, OSFS, began discerning new ways the Church could more effectively accompany and evangelize adolescent youth throughout the Diocese of Toledo.

At the time, studies over the past decade had consistently highlighted a growing challenge in passing on faith to younger generations in the United States. Research had shown declining rates of weekly Mass attendance among Catholic adolescents, increasing numbers of young people identifying with no religious affiliation, and a growing sense among adolescents that their lives lacked meaning and purpose. Many young people began disengaging from religious practice during early adolescence, emphasizing the need for a shift in our approach.

At the same time, through Catholic youth evangelization, we continued to witness young people encounter God in powerful ways, especially through sacramental, prayerful, and communal experiences at conferences, retreats, and summer camps. However, after returning home, many struggled to sustain a sacramental life within the Church. The initial excitement and encounter often faded, and their faith became increasingly inactive or disconnected from their daily lives (cf. Parable of the Sower – Mt. 13:1-9, 18-23).

Youth and campus ministers also expressed limited capacity to provide intentional follow-up and accompaniment due to the demands of event logistics, ongoing programming, fundraising responsibilities, and other pastoral commitments.

To discern the deeper “why” behind this reality, we began asking the following questions:

• “What are the most basic needs of young people?”
• “How can our youth evangelization efforts meet their most basic needs?”

After a period of intentional prayer, research, conversations with young people, and discernment, we began to recognize that one of the deepest unmet needs among young people today, and one often overlooked in evangelization efforts, is authentic relationships.

Young people are longing 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 about faith and life. Yet, within the Catholic Church, we must ask: what environments have we created that make 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 from relying primarily on event-based approaches toward prioritizing ongoing spiritual mentorship through small group discipleship. This approach prioritizes intentional relationships, authentic witness, spiritual imitation, and personal accompaniment through spiritual mentorship and small group discipleship.

Recent research has revealed the significant impact of intentional spiritual mentorship and small group discipleship in evangelization today:

• 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, after continued prayer, discernment, and encouragement, John Trabbic, Fr. Joe Newman, OSFS, and Fr. Ken McKenna, OSFS, with the support of Bishop Daniel Thomas, established what has now become Live Jesus Ministries.

The mission of Live Jesus Ministries is to equip Catholic parishes and schools in the Diocese of Toledo with the formation, resources, and support they need to cultivate a culture of spiritual mentorship and intentional discipleship for adolescent youth, 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, helping them grow as lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ.