When Jason Becker interviewed to be the director of discipleship and evangelization at Haven of Mercy Area Catholic Community, he made his intention clear.
“Don’t hire me if you want to keep doing the status quo,” Becker told Father Ben Kociemba, “But, if you want to do something new and different and bold, then let’s get to work.”
Father Kociemba was ready.“If you were to think of a shoe making factory, what is its purpose? Make shoes, right? What are we called to do as a Church? Make disciples,” Father Kociemba said. “We’re trying more and more to give [members of the ACC] the tools to grow in their faith. Everyone is very familiar with how things were done years ago but the world has changed so much, and we have to take steps to continue to change with the current context. [Parishioners] are willing if we continue to give them the tools,” he added.
Becker believes that part of providing those tools is having members of their ACC become firsthand witnesses of missionary discipleship in action.
“We can’t just talk about it because that’s just an abstract idea for people,” Becker said. “We need them to see it and it will change the culture of the community.”
This fall, Haven of Mercy ACC welcomed a team of nine NET Ministries missionaries: four men and five women ranging in age from 18 to 22 years old, to assist members of the ACC take their faith from “maintenance to mission.” The ACC includes the parishes of St. Mary and Our Lady of Lourdes in Little Falls, Sacred Heart in Flensburg, St. James in Randall, Holy Family in Belle Prairie and St. Stanislaus in Sobieski. “We need to help our parishioners understand why we exist and their role in that,” Becker said. “It’s not a passive thing; it’s not a private thing. We are called as baptized and confirmed Catholics to share our faith with others. We need to help people get comfortable doing this, and [the NET missionaries] do this all the time.”
The hope is that the NET team remains in Little Falls for a total of three years, which will require agreement from all parties and a large financial commitment of the ACC, nearly $100,000 annually.
The ACC has shown commitment to this endeavor and is already seeing the fruits of their labors.
“It’s really changed things,” Father Kociemba said. “It takes time for them to get to know young people, and there’s trust that needs to develop. Now, you can tell with our young people that they’re starting to open up more to [the missionaries], and I’m starting to hear these reverberations from grandparents and other parishioners. We’re starting to see a real difference with these relationships forming.”
Karen Holmberg, her husband and their two teenage grandchildren hosted the missionarie at their home for dinner.
The family learned more about the work of NET and about each of the missionaries individually.
“They came bounding in and they were so easy to host, so gracious and immersed in our family,” Holmberg said.
When their meal was finished, some played outdoor games, some played inside and others stayed to chat with Karen in the kitchen. Then, to Holmberg’s delight, they asked, “Can we stay for prayers before bed?”
Since that evening, Holmberg can recognize the missionaries at Mass, ACC activities and around the community.
“They’re everywhere,” Holmberg said. “We are reaping the benefits, for sure.”
The missionaries, led by Allison Hanby and Adam Ware, have built trust by working in the Catholic schools, having lunch with students at the public middle and high schools, attending athletic events, providing retreats, being present and serving at key parish events.
“It’s been a real privilege to go to the public schools,” Hanby said. “We’ve been able to meet students who are not Catholic or even Christian, and that’s neat. Jesus said in the Great Commission, ‘Go and make disciples,’ so we need to meet students where they are, especially if they are not coming to us.”
NET Ministries currently has 10 teams throughout the United States. Six of these teams travel continuously to provide retreat experiences for youth. Two of the teams are discipleship teams that live in a community for the year to build a culture of discipleship. Two, including the team in Little Falls, are hybrid teams where their primary work is discipleship, but they also spend one week every month facilitating a retreat.
Hanby describes them as “prayer warriors” who, “instead of seeing prayer as a checklist item, really love spending time with the Lord in prayer.”
But their work goes beyond prayer to forming missionary disciples who walk with others on their faith journey.
Growing up with families who nurtured their Catholic faith, Hanby and Ware know this is vital and each can pinpoint moments in their life where someone walked alongside them.
“I knew so much about the faith, but I didn’t know it was a personal relationship,” Ware said. “Having a relationship with Christ is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Through that relationship and through prayer I have been able to learn so much about myself and who I truly am.”
The team of NET missionaries, along with Becker and Father Kociemba, encourage all Catholics to answer the call to missionary discipleship.
“As much as we can focus on the challenges of today, we’re seeing lots and lots of God moments,” Father Kociemba said. “The Holy Spirit’s working. We just have to give it the chance to work through us.”
Hanby recognizes that Catholics often get a bad reputation for sharing their faith or evangelizing, but she wants to encourage everyone to keep it simple.
“If you have truly encountered Jesus, we should want to be sharing him with others and allow the way that we live our lives to give witness to what God has done for us,” Hanby said.
“People will be able to see you’re a disciple of Jesus just by the concrete way you live your life, differently than what the secular world wants you to do. When someone asks ‘What did you do this morning?’ be honest and share ‘I prayed this morning.’ This can open the door for conversation. It starts by putting yourself out there.”
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Father Ben Kociemba discusses missionary discipleship
