We will invite young people to put their faith into practice: To learn to pray by praying together, to learn what discipleship is by discipling one another, and to learn from adult mentors who will journey together with them in exploring what it means to live our Catholic faith. God’s work is most visible in us and in our lives – not in textbooks and worksheets. That is why we lead with vulnerability in our ministries and relationships. 

This model allows 10th graders to learn to live and love like Jesus by being with trusted adults that live and love like Jesus. Adults and young people will deeply live the application of faith and Church teaching in a way that allows our young people to be seen and known, and not to let them quietly slip away from the faith with nobody noticing. Small groups will begin before the completion of the Confirmation preparation and continue to journey together. Furthermore, by exploring where Christ is meeting our young people in intentional ways, we live our Church’s tradition and not just learn it. 

Small groups will consist of 2 trained, faithful adults and 6-10 young people. They will meet 2-4x/month with the belief that the relationships will organically grow in having unstructured time together, too. The basic model of a small group session will be: Connect, Discuss, and Commit to incorporating a habit into my life in the next week. 

 

Preparation in 9th grade:  

• Fall/Winter: The adults who have agreed to be small group leaders for 10th grade will meet the young people and begin to develop rapport with them: 

	*Volulnteering at Confirmation retreat (Oct. of 9th grade year)
	*Giving witness talks in Confirmation session (~Jan.-Feb. of 9th grade)

• Spring: Small groups will begin in spring of 9th grade year, so there’s no momentum lost between Confirmation and the small group experience. 

	*Students will give feedback about who they’re interested in having as their small group leader before they are confirmed.
	*Confirmation will be in spring of 9th grade year.
	*Within one week after Confirmation, small group leaders contact each of their assigned students & their parents to invite them to connect. Small groups can meet on any day/time that works for everyone in their group.
	*Small groups begin meeting within 2 weeks after Confirmation. The first 5-6 sessions will include a Spiritual Gifts Inventory to learn more about the gifts of the Holy Spirit and discern what their gifts may be. From there, the students express interest in what they want to learn. The parish Faith Formation leader will be equipped with a list of resources of Catholic catechetical materials that can be the basis of future small group sharing.

                           

Small Groups in 10th grade: 

Small groups continue to meet 2-4x/month, and perhaps more frequently as organic interest in other social events emerges (i.e. going to coffee or social events together) They will grow in discipleship and may choose to keep meeting beyond 10th grade.