St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, located in Modesto, has been an active parish since its founding. As it grew with the City of Modesto, under the leadership of Rev. Joseph Illo, it became a magnet for Catholics in the area, whether they were looking for a Latin Mass, homeschool co-ops, a convenient 24-hour chapel, or an array of ministries not offered elsewhere.
As the years passed, parish leadership changed, the parish diversified, drawing West Africans, Filipinos, Indians and more. As with many churches, ministries wax and wane, and the youth group that once drew hundreds of youth to its youth nights dwindled. The program draws around 30 to 50 young people and lacks volunteers. Some prefer the smaller group; others saw the potential for a new way forward to reach the hundreds of youth that are part of the parish.
Nathan Steingrebe, who worked as the youth minister in those days with Illo, with John and Francine English, approached Rev. Sam West with a new idea: bring in a NET Ministries Discipleship Team.
NET is an acronym for National Evangelization Team. NET Ministries was founded by Mark Berthum in 1980 in St. Paul, Minnesota. That first year, they offered 18 youth retreats throughout southern Minnesota. 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, Fargo, North Dakota, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In 1981, these missions extended to a full-year commitment.
By 1988, it expanded internationally and now leads retreats in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and Uganda. The model of NET USA has remained largely the same: teams of 8-15 young adults, trained in ministry, travel the country to give retreats engaging the youth and talking about Jesus. While most teams traveled, the organization consistently utilized one “home team” that stayed in the St. Paul area, providing retreats locally and running a youth group out of the ministry center.
As the program evolved, this model was taken on the road, and in 2005, NET sent out the first of its Discipleship Teams to Faribault, Minnesota, where teams served for four years. Then in 2024, NET piloted the model again, sending out Discipleship Teams to Little Falls, Minn. and Brighton, Mich. “What we love about this new team approach is the opportunity not only to impact just one parish or one school but actually go out to the surrounding community. We can drive about 200 miles around there to go out and do NET retreats,” said Annie Denn, NET VP of Marketing and Communications.
“I think it’s a good fit because we have an active community; there are easily over 500 teenagers in our church, and it’s like having eight youth ministers, who will be fostering the same time of invitation that Christ extends to his apostle where he invited them into something, to a relationship,” Steingrebe said. “It’s an extension in the religious education department, in youth ministry, of eight individuals who will be reaching out not only to teenagers and middle school students but also young adults. It will create a deeper sense of community within the young adult community at St. Joseph’s. Also, staying with host families, it will have this ripple effect of blessings; hosting for two weeks at a time will bring a life to the church that can’t exist without it.”
On August 19, 116 young adults arrived in St. Paul, Minn. to begin their training. They’ll spend two weeks of it at a camp in Wisconsin to pray, talk about formation and the spiritual life and then four more weeks mastering the art of retreats, relational ministry and small group dynamics. Team members raise $7000 before they arrive, but it just scratches the surface of what it costs to
The organization partners with parishes or schools to make this possible. The cost covers health insurance, a small monthly stipend, transportation expenses, six weeks of training before teams even hit the road and more. In reality, it costs $400,000 to train, send, and support a 10-person Discipleship Team each year.
To make this program possible, NET asks the parish or school to help partner with NET by raising a portion of the funds. Parishes find host families to house the team members, usually for two weeks at a time, and are asked to raise $100,000 to offset the cost.
When Steingrebe and the Englishes approached West about bringing a NET Team to St. Joseph’s, the parish said yes, but they would have to raise the money.
And so they began.
After applying and qualifying for a parish team, the Englishes and Steingrebe began a planning commission to organize a fundraising dinner. They invited others to join the commission, bringing together a diverse group of volunteer contributors, including Hughson’s Tanya Valasquez. “She had a natural happiness charisma that helped,” Steingrebe said, who at times felt overwhelmed by the dynamics and work of putting on a huge dinner at the church.
They scheduled the hall, made announcements after Mass and sold tickets. Valasquez and Francine English arranged for youth volunteers to help at the dinner. John English and Steingrebe reached out to donors before the event. Erin Webster took care of décor. Over 240 tickets were sold; they were at maximum capacity. By the night of the dinner, they had sold $12,000 in tickets and received $35,000 in additional donations. Jazmin Rocha-Palmino joined the team arranging baskets for the raffle. “It was a huge blessing because of our lack of experience, we didn’t realize when people come, how much they want to give,” Steingrebe said.
At the dinner, guests arrived at the O’Hare Hall, beautifully decorated, warm and inviting, and were welcomed to a cocktail hour and line dancing led by Francine English. West led the opening prayer after some banter on stage with Steingrebe, whose infectious energy added to the joyful spirit that permeated the entire evening.
After a buffet served by The Holy Smoker from Brentwood, Calif., Western Regional Director for NET Ministries Michael Donaldson spoke, giving the history and stats of NET in the area and beyond. The organization has been a staple in the Stockton Diocese since 1987 and, in that time, led 409 retreats for 27,172 youth. There are 18 NET alumni from St. Joseph’s alone, and at least 62 from the larger area.
After Donaldson’s presentation, Valasquez, Michael Webster and Steingrebe spoke about their faith journey, their experience on NET retreats, serving as NET missionaries, and hosting NET missionaries in their homes. Steingrebe closed by asking guests to consider how much they could give.
When it came time to announce the raffle winners, Steingrebe and West returned to the stage, livening up the crowd. Steingrebe held onto one choice prize, a catered dinner for 8 with West in a private home, but when the time came to announce the winner of that raffle prize, the winner was no longer present. The crowd shouted “live auction!” and so they did.
To Steingrebe’s shock, the numbers went higher and higher, selling for $5000. “It created this huge commotion of joy and shock,” he said. Everyone cheered. West led a final prayer, and the line dancing recommenced, as guests stayed, socialized, and spread the joy that characterized the evening.
The numbers are still being tallied up, but Steingrebe estimates they may be 75% of the way there. St. Joseph’s is still accepting donations to help. To contribute, contact the parish office at (209) 551-4973.
The team that comes will provide upwards of 50 retreats for other Catholic Churches or schools during their eight-month stay in Modesto. As of this writing, there are still retreat openings for the team, arriving in mid to late September. To schedule, visit NETUSA.org or call 651-450-6833.
Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on Sept. 1, 2026. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications and is committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.
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