Every Wednesday from Feb. 20 through April 30, listeners tuning in to “Family Rosary Across America” on Relevant Radio have been hearing about NET Ministries.
“They recruit young adults, and they train them, and they send them out in the country to give witness to teenagers and talk to them about Jesus Christ,” explained host Father Francis Hoffman, known as Father Rocky, between decades of the rosary during the program. Father Hoffman is the chairman and CEO of Relevant Radio as well as a priest of Opus Dei. “It’s vital for the Church, because there are so many things that can lead youngsters away from Christ.”
“Family Rosary Across America” reaches a potential audience of over 270 million in 41 states with a powerful running narrative of prayer and commentary and an infusion of intentions that provide human context. Whether consoling those who are suffering, or celebrating a birth or marriage, the power of collective prayer is put to task. Wednesday evenings, extra prayers are said for the West St. Paul-based NET Ministries.
This on-air partnership between Relevant Radio and NET Ministries is the inspiration of Joel Hazzard, a member of the board of directors for both organizations. Hazzard was previously recognized for his work positioning Eagan-based Ergotron as a market leader in the manufacture and sales of digital display mounting and mobility products while serving as its president and CEO. He retired in 2013 and became more involved in organizations like NET Ministries and Relevant Radio. Working with these organizations, Hazzard saw an opportunity to create significant and positive cultural change through the formation of young people.
A nonprofit founded in 1981 by Mark Berchem, a member of St. Joseph in West St. Paul, NET Ministries is a pioneering organization for youth ministry and evangelization. NET stands for National Evangelization Teams, according to David Rinaldi, also a member of St. Joseph in West St. Paul, who took the helm as president in 2023. Each year the organization recruits 100 to 150 young adults between the ages of 18 and 28, trains them, and sends them out as missionaries to dioceses across the United States to connect on a spiritual level with young people. They utilize what Rinaldi calls “relational evangelization.” They don’t simply teach or preach the faith but rather share their faith experiences. There’s more to faith than intellectual learning, Rinaldi said. NET Missionaries are sent out in teams, focusing on bearing witness to their faith on a personal level.
“We’re at the high school Monday through Friday, and we mentor students or disciple students throughout the day,” said Brynn Patton, a NET Missionary from the St. Michael-Albertville area, serving at JSerra Catholic High School in Orange County, California. Patton, a member of St. Michael in St. Michael, was a NET Ministries guest host on the Feb. 19 “Family Rosary Across America” program, during which she talked about her missionary work.
In seventh grade, Patton heard about NET Ministries from her youth minister and from others who had been missionaries. It stayed on her mind.
She went on a discernment retreat the February before high school graduation and felt it was a good fit and an opportunity to grow in her faith before going on to college. She talked with people who helped her further discern whether she would like to be involved as a touring retreat missionary or as a discipleship missionary serving at one location. Members of discipleship missionary teams, like Patton, may be embedded at a parish with a Catholic school where they are part of the staff for the duration of the school year. They stay with parish families and are at the school daily sharing their time and talents, joining students for lunch, conducting retreats for different grade levels, volunteering to help coach a sport, and attending or assisting in other after-school activities. Each activity represents an opportunity for small group exchanges and personal faith encounters.
Patton took a PSEO (Postsecondary Enrollment Options) class in sculpture at the University of Northwestern in St. Paul while in high school and has an interest in the arts. She’s had opportunities to apply her creative skills and interests to her ministry work. She has spent time after school at the JSerra theater, talking with students working on the set for the school’s spring production of “Ariel.” The senior playing the lead role in the production is a friend from one of Patton’s small discipleship groups, so Patton has been there to support her.
Patton said it’s hard getting started in missionary work and it requires perseverance to reach out, follow up, and invite young people. It’s similar to the work involved in building any good relationship. And the relationships that are created between NET Missionaries, like Patton, and the young people they encounter help lay the foundation for a stronger faith.
“It’s not like we’re trying to get anything out of anyone,” Rinaldi said. “We’re just trying to bring hope to young people and show them that there’s more to being Catholic than going through the sacraments.” After serving seven years in the U.S. Air Force, Rinaldi became a NET Missionary in 1997 and bubbles with enthusiasm over what can be accomplished through relational evangelization.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
The live “Family Rosary Across America” program airs nightly from 7-7:30 p.m. CST. Every Wednesday through April, a NET Ministries associate joins host Father Francis Hoffman, known as Father Rocky, as a co-host on the program.
Participate via the online video channel.
Listen in using the free Relevant Radio App.
Connections to faith and to others who share that faith are important in an era during which many young people report feeling an increasing sense of isolation as they seek to find themselves and their place in society. In 2023, Rinaldi pointed out, the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General published an advisory on a growing epidemic of loneliness, especially among young people. The report noted that the prevalence of social media use over personal contact plays a part in that loneliness. According to the findings, 95 percent of teens ages 13 to 17 reported using social media, and social media use contributed to a sense of isolation and loneliness by displacing in-person engagement, monopolizing attention, and reducing the quality of interactions. NET Ministries tries to address this by making in-person connections.
NET Ministries focuses on youth who are Catholic in name but may not have experienced the faith. Through small group discussions and prayer, NET Missionaries invite young people to open their hearts and embrace their faith. One of NET Ministries’ biggest messages is: A person’s identity is not based on how they look or what they do. A person’s identity is based on the fact that God made them in his image and loves them. And although the goal is not to proselytize, NET Missionaries can attract youth of other faith backgrounds by simply sharing God’s love.
“In reaching out to up to 100,000 young people each year, the lives changed most are those of the missionaries,” Rinaldi pointed out. “That’s the reason for the partnership with Relevant Radio — because we want more young adults to have this experience of growing in holiness and sharing their faith.” With so many people listening to the appeals over Relevant Radio, Rinaldi said he hopes more will realize the potential of NET Ministries and be inspired to join or refer others.
