NET Ministries, also simply known as NET USA or NET (National Evangelization Teams) is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

youth

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organization.

History

NET Ministries was founded in the

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and is based in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

in the

Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis ( la, Archidiœcesis Paulopolitana et Minneapolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is led by an archbishop who administers ...

. NET's roots go back to the St. Paul Catholic Youth Center (CYC), which offered a variety of programs from 1939 to 1989. In 1980, NET's founder Mark Berchem, through CYC, organized eighteen

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youth retreats around southern

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. Young adults traveled in a van giving these retreats over a three-week period in January. The following January three teams of youth were sent to

Winona, Minnesota Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, Winona County, in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf (Winona, Minnesota ...

, Fargo, North Dakota, and

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. In 1981 these missions extended to a full year commitment. In 1982 the acronym NET (standing for National Evangelization Team) became name of this movement, inspired by

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1:17 and Luke 5:4. These developments were centred around the Catholic Charismatic covenant community 'Christ the Redeemer' (a member of the Sword of the Spirit association of covenant communities) where NET board member Jim Kolar works as coordinator. In 1988, Michael Kolar was the president of NET and director of the CYC. In depositions between 1988 and 1991, after being accused of engaging in child sexual abuse, Kolar admitted to having abused young adults at the Catholic Youth Center in St. Paul and elsewhere; after being the subject of a lawsuit by alleged victims, Koler voluntarily left the priesthood. CYC closed in 1989 and NET was incorporated as a nonprofit

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under the Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

NET in other countries

In 1988, NET Ministries expanded to Australia, and to Canada in 1994. NET Australia and NET Canada are now separate organizations. In 2004, NET Uganda started as an offshoot of NET Australia, and NET Canada started a sister organization in Ireland. NET Scotland is currently run through NET USA.

Programs

Each year, around 180 young Catholics from ages 18–28 are accepted to be "netters" for the year. After a four-week training, they are divided into around sixteen teams of 8-15 members. Each team is either a "retreat team" or a "discipleship team." Retreat teams travel around the United States in a van with a trailer, conducting retreats and parishes and schools. Discipleship teams are based at a parish or school and stay there the entire year serving the local parish community.

Notable alumni

* Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens *Bishop Scott McCaig

References

External links