Center run by National Evangelization Teams draws hundreds of teens

Published: 2004-01-05

ST PAUL, Minn. (CNS) -- The Twin Cities' newest teen hot spot isn't the Old Navy store at the mall or the trendy nightclub downtown, but a converted gymnasium in West St. Paul known as the NET Center. More than a thousand kids cram into the center on the first Saturday of every month to listen to Catholic speakers, sing at the top of their lungs and celebrate Mass together in a program called Lifeline. They come from all over the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and as far away as the Dakotas, Wisconsin and Iowa, for an experience many describe as life-changing. Joe Roueche, outreach coordinator for NET Ministries, came up with the idea for Lifeline in 1995 as a way to make his organization more visible in the archdiocese, he said. NET (National Evangelization Teams) Ministries is an international youth ministry based in the Twin Cities that challenges young Catholics to love Christ and embrace the life of the church, according to the group's Web site at www.netusa.org.

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