National Evangelization Teams

NET stands for "National Evangelization Teams". We are a Catholic youth ministry that facilitates retreats for junior high, high school students, university students, and families. NET Ministries began in 1981 when an "experimental" traveling retreat team was sent out from the Catholic Youth Centre in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. After a favourable response, demand for the ministry increased and additional teams were assembled to meet these growing needs.

In Canada

Between 1985–1994, NET teams from the USA periodically traveled into Canadian dioceses to minister. In 1994, at the invitation of Archbishop Marcel Gervais of the Archdiocese of Ottawa, NET ministries of Canada officially opened its doors in Ottawa with the support of a generous donor. That fall, the first Canadian NET team began ministering in Canada. The Board of Directors was established with Archbishop Gervais as President and James Mikulasik as Executive Director. Today, NET Ministries of Canada sends out six teams of young adult volunteers who lead retreats and develop LIFETEEN programs for Catholic youth across Canada. The seventh team from Canada serves in Ireland under supervision of NET Canada.

In Ireland

In the Fall of 2004, NET Canada sent a three month mission team to Ireland to say "Thank you" to all the Irish missionaries of religious and priests that evangelized Canada by evangelizing the youth there. The following two years of expansion to a full ministry year has made a powerful impact in Ireland. The desires of NET Canada is to have a full-time office for NET Ministries to operate out of in Ireland.

Les Equipes NET

NET Ministries of Canada in the fall of 2006 introduced "Les Equipes NET". This is NET Canada's French initiative to minister in the French youth culture. With the success of the French teams' mission from October to December 2007,  intentions are to eventually have a full pastoral year of ministry.

Presently

Presently, there are NET Ministries offices in Canada, Australia and the United States. There are eight teams serving in the United States and six in Australia. Each year, several hundred youth volunteers are trained in these three countries.