2024 Evangelization Supplement
‘They make it cool to love Jesus’: Young adults reach out to youths, leading them closer to God
High school youths from St. Joseph Parish in Corydon and St. Mary Parish in Lanesville join together with NET missionaries on Sunday evenings for faith discussions, fellowship, food and eucharistic adoration. Here, the connection between the youths and the young adult missionaries shows as they play a game of Uno. (Submitted photo)
By John Shaughnessy
The question from the curious children made Cassidy Leonardo smile.
The middle-school students wanted to know what was so important for her to leave her home and family in California to come to Indiana.
The question gave her just the opening she wanted.
“I told them I felt called by the Lord to serve them and talk to them about the faith and show them who the Lord is,” says the 23-year-old Leonardo. “That intrigued them, and that led to more conversations about the faith.”
Her answer also shows the deep commitment she has as a member of NET (National Evangelization Teams) Ministries, the Minnesota-based organization that strives to help young Catholics “follow Christ and embrace a life of community in the Church.”
During the 2022-23 school year, Leonardo was part of a NET team that served four parishes in the New Albany Deanery: St. Joseph in Corydon, St. Mary in Lanesville, and St. Augustine and Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, both in Jeffersonville. This year, she is the supervisor for the NET teams for these four parishes, plus a team for St. Simon the Apostle Parish in Indianapolis.
“A lot of my experience last year was connecting with middle-school students,” Leonardo says. “This year, team members go and eat lunch with them at least once a week. We meet with them to have Bible studies, watch videos about the faith, and continue to just walk with them on their journey.”
Leonardo recalls a one-on-one moment that shows the difference that her approach made to a sixth-grade girl.
“Her mom dropped her off at a coffee shop,” Leonardo recalls. “She was really open about where she was in her faith. She started sharing the different struggles she was having. I told her that the Lord is with her, that he’s still there in the midst of her struggles—and that we can continue to pray to him about the struggles we have. It was a really good connection. I could see she saw that God is with her in her struggles—and also in the good moments.”
That one-on-one approach is a great blessing that the NET missionaries provide, according to the parish youth leaders they work with in the New Albany Deanery.
‘Their zeal for the faith is contagious’
“One thing that is the shining star for their ministry is they’re very intentional in meeting the youths. ‘How is your day?’ ‘How have you been doing since we met?’ ” says Katie Warren, the director of youth ministry at St. Joseph in Corydon and St. Mary in Lanesville. “When you’re trying to build a ministry to help youth grow in their faith and make that connection to the Lord, it’s important to have people investing in them, talking to them and answering their questions.
“Another great thing about the NET missionaries is they’re young. They love Jesus, and they make it cool to love Jesus. Their zeal for the faith is contagious.”
Kyle Naugle also appreciates the efforts of the NET missionaries in his work as the coordinator of youth ministry for St. Augustine and Most Sacred Heart of Jesus parishes in the Catholic community of Jeffersonville.
“One of the best things of having the NET team members is them being the extra hands and feet in the mission here,” Naugle says. “I’m new here, and they’ve been able to reach a lot of the youth who I haven’t had a chance to encounter yet. It’s made it a lot easier to reach youth that maybe me alone wouldn’t be able to reach.”
One experience shows that impact.
“We had a youth show up at youth night. She was lost, and she had no idea if she was in the right spot,” Naugle recalls. “The missionaries were able to invest time in her, meet with her, have coffee with her, just kind of talk about life with her. Now, she’s become one of my most involved students. It’s been really cool to see her growth and her willingness to try something new and come out of her comfort zone. And her family is involved, too.
“One of the things I appreciate about them is not only do they work with the youth, but they’re also working with the families. That youth’s mom now makes baked goods for the youth group and comes to a lot of the evenings. The whole family has gotten involved just based on their interactions with a couple of the NET missionaries.”
‘All we’re trying to do is plant seeds of faith’
Leonardo says the NET missionaries strive to help youths in their search for what’s true in their lives.
“You see that all the youth are just seeking the Lord, even if they don’t know what they’re seeking,” she says.
“The big thing I experience is that a lot of the youth feel they are alone in some aspect. They want a sense of belonging.
“I tell them they’re never alone because they have the Lord, they have a place to belong in the Church, and they are part of the body of Christ. My goal is for them to just remember the Lord is with them, to continue to draw closer to him, and to strengthen their relationship with him.”
She acknowledges that building relationships with the students—and having them grow deeper in a relationship with God—is sometimes challenging.
“Everyone is in a different place in their relationship with God,” she says. “Some have a really strong desire to grow in their faith or lead others closer to their faith. Some still have their walls up, but they’ll listen. We try to meet them where they are and take those little steps to bringing them to the Lord. All we’re trying to do is plant seeds of faith and trusting the Lord will cultivate them in his time.”
She has seen how that approach has deepened her own faith during her two years with NET.
“It helps me see God in the day-to-day life. A lot of what I’ve learned is to trust in the Lord, to trust in what he has in store for me.
“It’s been really beautiful to see the growth in the communities we’ve been working in. The opportunity to help them discover who they are—and discover who the Lord is—is really beautiful, too.”
(For more information about NET Ministries, visit the website, www.netusa.org.) †
