Catholic Newman Center

What Catholic Newman Center does

St. Teresa of Calcutta Newman Center, operating as "St. T's" and "LOPER Catholic," is a Catholic parish and campus ministry headquartered at 811 W. 27th St. in Kearney, Nebraska, under the canonical oversight of the Diocese of Grand Island. The organization serves students from the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), Central Community College (CCC), and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), offering Mass and sacraments, weekly FOCUS Bible studies, Adoration and Holy Hours, three annual retreats, Sunday dinners, intramurals, and service/mission opportunities. The parish employs 24 staff and is supported by six full-time FOCUS missionaries, providing dedicated relational ministry capacity.

The organization's product surface is a faith-formation program stack rather than a technology platform. Core offerings include Mass and Sacraments, FOCUS Bible Studies (with nearly 400 students participating weekly), Holy Hours and Adoration (close to 100 students weekly), three scheduled retreats (Frassati Weekend, Sanctifier, The Father's House), Sunday dinners, intramurals, and discipleship/mentorship. The underlying "technology" is operational: the organization uses Virtuous for online giving, GroupMe for student communication, Squarespace for its web presence, and Instagram for organic social. No proprietary software, AI systems, or technology product are indicated.

The business model is a nonprofit donation-funded model. All programs are provided free of charge to students; the organization raises revenue through one-time and recurring donations, a major capital campaign to fund a new church building, planned giving/bequests, and a matching-gift program via the NU Foundation. Customer segments include primary college-student "users," parents, alumni/friends, and donors/supporters. The go-to-market motion is community-led: personal invitation by FOCUS missionaries, word-of-mouth, campus presence, and donor/alumni networks. The organization is privately held under the Catholic Church structure with no institutional investors.

Name

Catholic Newman Center

Legal name

St. Teresa of Calcutta Newman Center

Website

https://lopercatholic.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

St. Teresa of Calcutta Newman Center is a Catholic parish and campus ministry in Kearney, Nebraska, serving UNK, CCC, and UNMC students with Mass, FOCUS Bible studies, retreats, and community programs funded by donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Campus Ministry

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Campus Spiritual & Religious Life (EDALAHAI)

Keywords

• Catholic campus ministry
• Religious parish services
• Faith formation programs
• Catholic bible studies
• College student ministry

Headquarters

HQ city

Kearney

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: The organization accepts one-time and recurring donations from individuals to support retreats, Bible studies, Sunday dinners, and student formation programs. Donors can give online through a donation portal, by mail, or through planned giving vehicles.
2. Church Building Campaign: A major capital campaign to fund construction of a new church facility, with supporters invited to contribute to this historic effort to create a permanent spiritual home.
3. Planned Giving and Bequests: Accepts legacy gifts through wills, trusts, and estate planning to provide long-term financial sustainability and support future generations of students.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

St. Teresa of Calcutta Newman Center is a Catholic parish and campus ministry providing daily Mass, sacraments, FOCUS-led Bible studies, Holy Hours, weekend retreats, Sunday dinners, and faith formation programs for college students at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), Central Community College (CCC), and University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). All programs are offered free of charge to students, with operations funded through donations, planned giving, and a capital campaign for a new church building.

Product overview

St. Teresa of Calcutta Newman Center (St. T's) is a Catholic parish and campus ministry serving UNK, CCC, and UNMC students in Kearney, Nebraska. The organization offers a comprehensive suite of faith formation programs centered on the Eucharist, including Mass and sacraments, FOCUS Bible studies with nearly 400 weekly participants, Holy Hours with around 100 regular attendees, and three annual retreats (Frassati Weekend, Sanctifier Retreat, and The Father's House Retreat). The ministry provides community-building through Sunday dinners, intramurals, and service opportunities, supported by a team of FOCUS missionaries and staff. An online giving platform via Virtuous enables donations for ongoing operations and a new church building campaign.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mass and Sacraments
• FOCUS Bible Studies
• Holy Hours and Eucharistic Adoration
• FOCUS Discipleship
• Frassati Weekend Retreat
• Sanctifier Retreat
• The Father's House Retreat
• Sunday Dinners and Community Events
• Service and Mission Outreach
• Intramurals and Community Recreation
• Campus Ministry Leadership Formation

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFOCUS is a Catholic collegiate ministry organization that provides professional missionaries to serve at the Newman Center. Six FOCUS missionaries (Megan Krueger as Team Director, Shayna Smits, Gabe Sehnert, Scott Russell, Monica Weinkopf, and Sydney Fisher/Delaney Olmer) serve full-time in campus ministry, leading Bible studies, discipleship, retreats, and community building. The partnership is fundamental to the organization's ability to scale relational ministry.
• Diocese of Grand IslandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Diocese of Grand Island provides canonical oversight and pastoral leadership through Fr. Neal Hock, who serves as both Pastor of the Newman Center and as the Diocese's Vocations Director. This connection provides denominational affiliation and access to diocesan resources and priests.
• Nebraska (NU) Foundation - Matching Gifts ProgramminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNU Foundation offers a matching gift program that allows donors to have their contributions to the Newman Center matched by the foundation, doubling or tripling the impact of donations.
• University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Newman Center serves as the primary Catholic campus ministry for UNK students, being described as 'the heart of Catholic life at UNK' and the largest faith-based group on campus. The center is located on/near campus and serves students from UNK, CCC, and UNMC.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• InterVarsity Christian Fellowship: The largest Protestant campus ministry in the US, with a comparable model of staff missionaries, small-group Bible studies, and student leadership development — a broad-incumbent analog competing for the same student mindshare on secular campuses.
• Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ): Major evangelical campus ministry with global reach, deploying staff and students for Bible studies, outreach, and missions — a broad incumbent in the same campus religious-formation category as a Newman Center.

Direct peers

• St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln): The Catholic parish and campus ministry serving UNL students in Lincoln — the in-state counterpart to St. T's. Operates with a comparable FOCUS missionary model, daily Mass, Bible studies, and retreats, serving a larger student body on a Big Ten campus.
• Catholic Center at Ball State University: Catholic campus ministry at a Mid-sized public university — closely comparable to UNK's scale, geography, and student profile, with similar FOCUS missionary deployment.
• Catholic Center at the University of Minnesota: Catholic parish and campus ministry serving University of Minnesota students with Mass, Bible studies, retreats, and outreach — a directly comparable Midwest university Newman Center.
• St. Paul's Catholic Center (University of Texas at Austin): One of the largest Newman Centers in the US, serving UT Austin students with daily Mass, FOCUS-style Bible studies, retreats, and a large parish staff — a comparable operational model at much greater scale.
• St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center at Purdue University: Catholic parish and Newman Center serving Purdue students — comparable in operating model (daily Mass, Bible studies, retreats, parish staff) and in being the primary Catholic presence at a large Midwestern public university.
• Newman Center at University of Wisconsin–Madison: Catholic campus ministry serving UW–Madison students with Mass, Bible studies, retreats, and community life — a comparable Big Ten-area parish-and-ministry model.

Others

• Diocese of Grand Island: The Catholic diocese providing canonical oversight, pastoral leadership, and vocations infrastructure to St. T's through Fr. Neal Hock. Not a peer in the competitive sense, but the governing institutional partner for clergy, sacraments, and parish status.
• FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students): The national Catholic collegiate ministry organization that supplies the six missionaries serving at St. T's. FOCUS is the operational backbone and capacity-multiplier for the Newman Center's relational ministry model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/lopercatholic
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/catholic-newman-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Catholic Newman Center