DISCIPLE: Youth Ministry Hires One of Their Own

This spring, Izzy Dehmer joined the STMA Catholic Youth Ministry staff as the newest part-time Youth Ministry intern. Here she shares takeaways from her year with NET Ministries and what she's looking forward to now that she's home. (Pictured: Izzy and her NET team, courtesy of Izzy Dehmer.)

Hi all! My name is Izzy Dehmer, and I am a parishioner here at St. Michael. Over the past nine months, I have been serving with NET Ministries, a Catholic organization that challenges young Catholics to follow Christ and embrace a life of community in the Church through relational ministry.

During this time, I served with a team of eight other young adult missionaries. We put on retreats for middle through high school youth. As the Eastern Regional Team, we spent most of our time in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. In that time I visited countless Catholic schools and churches and met numerous priests, religious, and other instructors of faith. I also met hundreds of youth, nearly 700 of which I led in small groups. 

Serving with NET has impacted me in so many ways. There were many moments in which the Lord allowed me to see the fruit of my ministry. Witnessing youth go from quiet and standoffish to open and ready to receive what God has for them was absolutely beautiful. I have also been able to learn to a greater extent what it means to meet someone and love them where they are at, how to understand that God uses all things for good even when it may be hard to see, and the power of asking and praying over a person.

The last thing I want to share with you all is how much my own appreciation for St. Michael has grown over the last nine months. I visited a wide variety of churches this year, and I've learned there really is nothing like St. Michael. We have such a strong community and parish life, while so many other churches are just beginning to build theirs up. We have three wonderful priests; many parishes share one priest between three or more parishes. Our sanctuary is also one of the most beautiful worship spaces I’ve ever seen!

I have many takeaways from my year with NET, but one of the biggest is my increased gratitude for St. Michael Catholic Church. I want to share my gratitude with you, because we have been so incredibly blessed! I never want anyone to take St. Michael for granted, and I want to encourage everyone to always be praying for the rest of our Catholic churches, as well as our own. 

Serving as a NET missionary was such a wonderful experience. It was filled with so much goodness, as well as its fair share of difficulties. One might even call it a “pressure cooker for growth." Now that I am home, I can’t wait to serve with our Youth Ministry team to help the youth of our own community encounter Jesus!

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This article appears in the Summer 2024 edition of the DISCIPLE newsletter. If you are not receiving DISCIPLE in your mailbox, contact the parish office at 763-497-2745  to register as a parishioner or update your contact information.