NET Ministries

What NET Ministries does

NET Ministries is a privately held Catholic nonprofit apostolate founded in 1981/1982 by Mark Berchem and headquartered at the NET Center in West St. Paul, Minnesota. It recruits, trains, and deploys young Catholic adults (ages 18-28) as NET Missionaries on 9-month service commitments to lead parish and school retreats and embedded discipleship ministries across roughly 80% of U.S. Catholic dioceses. The organization has fielded 3,400+ alumni since inception, presents the Gospel to approximately one million youth annually, and reaches a cumulative 2.4 million young people over its 43-year history. Core field products are Retreat Teams (10-11 missionaries traveling to deliver multi-day parish/school retreats using four proprietary curricula: Known, Created & Claimed, Overflow, and Never Alone) and Discipleship Teams (6-8 missionaries embedded in a single parish or school for a school year). It is complemented by YDisciple, a tiered digital subscription toolbox ($19/mo Essentials, $595/yr Premium, $2,450/yr Pro, plus one-time study purchases starting at $49) hosted on ydisciple.tv and ydisciple.shop, accessible via iOS, Android, and Roku apps. Supporting programs include Lifeline and Lifeline Latinamente Eucharistic event series in Minnesota, Ohio, and California; Confirmation Retreat Weekends ($175/teen) and the Youth Discipleship Sprint conference at the NET Center; and ancillary offerings such as the Fear Not discernment podcast and the new Student Debt Assistance benefit launching September 2025.

NET's business model is a blended nonprofit revenue stack operating through two entities — NET Ministries, Inc. (the operating apostolate) and the NET Ministries Foundation (501(c)(3), Federal ID 92-2650455). Sources of funds include individual and parish donations via Classy, planned giving and stock donations through Charles Schwab, grants via a dedicated Grants & Solicitations Writer, missionary-raised partnership funds ($7,000-$8,000 of the ~$60,000 annual cost per missionary), retreat hosting fees (typically free/donation-based), and growing subscription/event fee revenue from YDisciple and the NET Center-based events. Technology infrastructure is conventional SaaS — Salesforce CRM, Webflow for marketing web, Formstack for forms, Vimeo for video, Spotify/Apple Podcasts for the podcast — with no disclosed AI/ML capabilities. Governance is provided by a Board of Directors chaired by Bishop Andrew Cozzens and a Foundation Board of Trustees chaired by Joel Hazzard; founder Mark Berchem serves as Interim President after David Rinaldi's 27-year tenure ended in 2025.

Name

NET Ministries

Legal name

NET Ministries, Inc.

Website

https://netusa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

NET Ministries is a Catholic nonprofit apostolate that recruits, trains, and deploys 18-28 year-old missionaries to lead parish/school retreats and embedded discipleship programs across 80% of U.S. dioceses, supplemented by the YDisciple digital small-group toolbox.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Catholic Youth Ministry Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (81311), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Missions & Evangelism Organizations (Domestic & International) (BPAGAJAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based & Mission Service Programs (EDAIAGAI), Faith-Based Education & Formation (Seminaries, Religious Schools, Catechesis) (BPAGAJAD), Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG)

Keywords

• Catholic youth ministry
• Youth retreat programs
• Discipleship formation
• Youth evangelization
• Small group resources

Headquarters

HQ city

West Saint Paul

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. General Donations: One-time and recurring charitable donations via the Classy donation platform to the NET Ministries Foundation, a 501(c)(3). Funds general ministry operations. Donations via check are also accepted.
2. Missionary Partnership Support Funds: Each NET Missionary is required to raise $7,000–$8,000 in personal partnership funds before serving. Missionaries who raise a minimum of $7,000 receive an additional $150 monthly reimbursement. This covers roughly half the $60,000-per-missionary annual cost, with the other half funded by mission sponsors, program fees, and the NET Foundation.
3. YDisciple Subscriptions & Content Sales: Recurring subscription revenue from YDisciple digital toolbox: YD Essential $19/month, YD Premium $595/year, YD Pro $2,450/year. Plus one-time single-study purchases starting at $49 from ydisciple.shop, and bundled YDisciple Essentials or 50%-off Premium access included for one year for retreat hosts.
4. Retreat Hosting Fees: Revenue from Catholic parishes and schools hosting NET Retreats (typically free / donation-based, with retreats bundled to include YDisciple access). Retreats are scheduled across the country for grades 7-12 youth.
5. Event Registration Fees: Fee-based events: Lifeline Upper Room ($50 in Ohio; $300 in Minnesota, including Upper Room Retreat registration); Confirmation Retreat Weekends ($175 per teen); Youth Discipleship Sprint registration (Starting at $599). Includes dormitory lodging and meals.
6. Stock & Securities Donations: Donations of stocks/securities transferred via Charles Schwab (Account 5711-6642, DTC 0164) under the NET Ministries Foundation account, providing alternative-asset charitable giving for donors.
7. Planned Giving & Bequests: Estate planning and legacy gifts facilitated through Catholic Legacy (catholiclegacy.com/org/net), supporting long-term endowed giving.
8. Grants & Solicitations: Institutional giving via foundation grants, matching grants, and solicited gifts, managed by the Grants & Solicitations Writer at the NET Ministries Foundation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion5 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

NET Ministries recruits, trains, and deploys Catholic young-adult missionaries (ages 18-28) in 9-month service years to lead in-person retreats at Catholic parishes and schools and to embed Discipleship Teams in local communities for the school year. The ministry also operates YDisciple, a digital subscription toolbox of small-group video studies, leader training, and parent resources for Catholic youth ministry, alongside a calendar of regional outreach events including Lifeline, Confirmation Retreat Weekends, and the Youth Discipleship Sprint.

Product overview

NET Ministries is a Catholic youth ministry apostolate offering a portfolio of mission, formation, and resource products organized around a core missionary program. The flagship is the nine-month NET Missionary Program, through which NET recruits, screens, and trains young Catholic adults (ages 18-28) and then deploys them in two field-team modalities — Retreat Teams (travel-based parish/school retreats) and Discipleship Teams (community-embedded relational ministry). Complementing the field teams is YDisciple, a digital subscription toolbox of small-group video studies, leader training, and parent resources (offered at YD Essential, YD Premium, and YD Pro tiers, plus single-study purchases). NET also delivers a calendar of local and regional programs including Lifeline and Lifeline Latinamente Eucharistic nights, Lifeline Upper Room, Confirmation Retreat Weekends, and the Youth Discipleship Sprint, along with ancillary offerings such as the Fear Not discernment podcast, the NET Alumni Association (NETAlumni.org), and the new Student Debt Assistance benefit (launching September 2025). Together these products form an integrated formation-to-discipleship pipeline for Catholic youth, their families, and adult ministry leaders.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• YDisciple: Digital subscription toolbox of small-group training resources (video studies, leader guides, participant journals, parent sheets) for Catholic adult leaders and teens, offered in single-study purchases, YD Essential ($19/month), YD Premium ($595/year), and YD Pro ($2,450/year) tiers.
• Lifeline
• NET Foundation
• NET Catalyst
• Youth Discipleship Sprint
• Student Debt Assistance (SDA)

Products and services

• Retreat Teams Travel-based ministry in which teams of 10-11 NET Missionaries drive across the country to Catholic parishes and schools (grades 7-12) to lead one-day or multi-day retreats featuring large-group talks, small-group discussions, personal testimonies, prayer, and games. Retreat themes include Known (Prayer), Created & Claimed (Identity), Overflow (Eucharist), and Never Alone (Confirmation).
• Discipleship Teams Community-embedded ministry where teams of 6-8 NET Missionaries live within a single parish, school, or county for a full school year, leading small groups, mentoring youth one-on-one, assisting with youth events, and participating in parish/school life. Current locations include Little Falls MN, Littleton CO, Newaygo County MI, and JSerra Catholic High School CA.
• YDisciple Digital toolbox of small-group discipleship resources for Catholic parishes, schools, and families. Includes video studies (many in English and Spanish), leader guides, participant journals, parent resources, and adult-leader training, delivered via subscriptions (YD Essential $19/month, YD Premium $595/year, YD Pro $2,450/year) and individual study purchases starting at $49. Accessible via web, iOS, Android, and Roku apps with offline playback.
• Lifeline Free monthly high-school youth Eucharistic encounter nights hosted by NET in partnership with the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, featuring Vigil Mass, a dynamic speaker, praise and worship, and Eucharistic Adoration. Held in Minnesota, Ohio (LIFELINE Cincinnati), and California.
• Lifeline Latinamente Bilingual (English/Spanish) variant of Lifeline designed for Latino Catholic high-school youth with an emphasis on Catholic Latino traditions and culture. Includes small groups and a free lunch. Hosted at the NET Center in West St. Paul.
• Lifeline Upper Room Application-based extension of Lifeline for high-schoolers seeking deeper discipleship. Includes pre-event presentations and Q&A with the Lifeline speaker, consistent small groups led by NET Missionaries, leadership formation, and opportunities to practice evangelization during Lifeline nights. Offered in Ohio ($50) and Minnesota ($300, includes Upper Room Retreat registration).
• Confirmation Retreat Weekends Two-day overnight retreats for 6th-12th graders preparing for the sacrament of Confirmation, held at the NET Center in West St. Paul, MN. Include adoration, reconciliation, Sunday Mass, large-group talks, small groups, and games; cost $175 per teen. Scheduled weekends: Nov 14-15, 2026; Jan 23-24, 2027; Feb 20-21, 2027; Mar 20-21, 2027; Apr 10-11, 2027.
• Youth Discipleship Sprint Multi-day (Tue-Fri) intensive for Catholic youth ministers held at the NET Center in West St. Paul, combining NET's retreat expertise with YDisciple's small-group content. Includes keynotes (Dr. Josh Packard, John Zimmer of FOCUS, Anna Carter of Eden Invitation), breakout workshops, working groups, Mass, adoration, and an actionable ministry plan; registration starts at $599.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,400+ young adults have served on a NET Team
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Archdiocese of St. Paul and MinneapolisflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosts Lifeline and Lifeline Latinamente Eucharistic encounter events at the NET Center in West St. Paul, MN. Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda presides at special liturgies during missionary training. The archdiocese also sets the safe-environment compliance standards NET follows. NET is headquartered within the archdiocese.
• Franciscan University of SteubenvillecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developed an internship that allows NET Missionaries to earn college credit at Franciscan University while serving. Open to gap year, transfer, transient, and non-degree students.
• Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Archdiocese of CincinnaticoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional Mission Hub locations where NET Discipleship Teams are embedded. The Archdioceses of Los Angeles and Cincinnati, together with the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis, set the safe-environment screening standards NET complies with.
• Classy (donation platform)coreTechnology or IntegrationHosts NET's online donation checkout for general donations and individual missionary support funds. Donors transact via classy.org to the NET Ministries Foundation, a 501(c)(3).
• Salesforce (via Jake DeBolt, Foundation Operations and Salesforce Associate)coreTechnology or IntegrationSalesforce serves as the foundation CRM and operational database for NET Ministries. A dedicated Salesforce Solution Designer sits on staff and the Foundation Operations & Salesforce Associate manages it as a core operational system.
• FormstackcoreTechnology or IntegrationHosts NET's online application, interest, and event-waiver forms. The interest form is the first step in the missionary discernment funnel.
• The McDowell AgencycoreOthersConducts criminal background checks specialized to accommodate missionary age. Includes National Sex Offenders Database search and USA Criminal Index search. The agency is also used by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
• VIRTUS / National Catholic Risk Retention Group, Inc.Others

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students): FOCUS is the closest direct peer: a Catholic nonprofit that recruits, trains, and deploys young-adult missionary teams onto U.S. college campuses for evangelization and small-group discipleship — overlapping NET's age-cohort, missionary-deployment model, and Catholic young-adult formation mission.
• Life Teen: Life Teen operates a parallel Catholic youth ministry platform built around parish-based retreats, small groups, and a subscription content resource (Life Teen's Summit), targeting the same Catholic parish and high-school youth segment as NET Ministries.
• Franciscan University of Steubenville Conferences: Steubenville Conferences hosts high-school Catholic youth conferences across the U.S. with theologically reviewed curricula and on-the-road retreat-style events — directly comparable to NET Retreat Teams in target audience, content review process, and travel-based delivery model.
• Dynamic Catholic: Dynamic Catholic is a subscription-driven Catholic formation content company producing books, programs, and digital content for parishes and individuals — competing directly with YDisciple's subscription tiers and small-group content offering.
• Renew International: Renew International runs parish-based Catholic small-group discipleship programs and processes, paralleling NET's YDisciple + Discipleship Teams focus on equipping lay leaders to form small faith communities.
• Totus Tuus: Totus Tuus is a Catholic summer youth program run by dioceses that sends teams of college-age missionaries to parishes for week-long summer catechetical programs — directly comparable to NET Retreat/Discipleship Teams in missionary-driven parish youth ministry.

Broad incumbents

• Formed (Augustine Institute): Formed.org is the Augustine Institute's Catholic parish-licensed streaming and study platform with a much larger content library — competing against YDisciple at the parish subscription level and backed by a substantially larger parent organization.
• Ascension Press: Ascension Press produces Catholic Bible studies, video programs, and small-group curricula sold via parish subscriptions — directly comparable to YDisciple's video study library and parish distribution model, with a broader product catalog.
• Catholic Relief Services (CRS): CRS is the U.S. Catholic bishops' international relief and development agency — not a direct competitor, but a structurally comparable large Catholic nonprofit with similar 501(c)(3) fundraising, donor-base dynamics, and archdiocesan partnership model.
• Youth Specialties: Youth Specialties is a long-established youth ministry training, events, and content provider (originally Protestant-leaning, now ecumenical) — comparable to NET's Youth Discipleship Sprint and adult-leader training as a training-and-resources provider for youth ministers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/netministriesusa
• Facebookfacebook.com/netministriesusa
• Instagraminstagram.com/netministries
• TikToktiktok.com/@netministries
• Xx.com/netministries
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/net-ministries

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NET Ministries