Making Disciples: Spotlight on Skutt Catholic High School

February 19, 2019

Skutt Catholic High School is taking Jesus’ directive to go out and make disciples to a new level. New this school year, and the first program of its kind in our archdiocese, Skutt Catholic is home to a Discipleship Program.

It’s a program with a small group format for peers to meet and discuss Jesus and all things that are part of the Catholic faith.

“Personal encounters with Jesus are necessary. The discipleship program is a place to allow for that, for students to grow in relationship with Christ,” said Quinlan Keller, who is the facilitator of this program, working closely with campus minister Christine French.

High school and college can be particular difficult times in life, especially in a person’s faith life, with all sorts of challenges. That’s what the school wants to prepare its students to face – with grace and confidence.

“We are bringing experiences to high school students in their daily lives that will help nurture their relationship with Christ,” Kellar said.

Skutt Catholic’s goal was to have five small groups, consisting of 3-7 students per group, by January 2019. There have already been 13 groups formed to date – and counting.

The program team does not assign groups or meeting times. The groups form organically by word-of-mouth and personal invitation, so as to foster their authenticity. Groups are led by trusted adults within the Skutt Catholic community, recruited by Kellar to be mentors.  A typical meeting may include the small group reading an excerpt from a book or Saint biography or any number of other topics. It’s always a time to pray together and focus on scripture and what it means to in fact be a disciple in today’s world.

When asked how she would sum up the program, Kellar said: “Being a part of this is amazing. We’re growing every day and we are helping revitalize the Church through our youth.”

In addition to this new Discipleship Program, Skutt Catholic infuses Catholic identity and ethos into the student experience in many various ways. For instance, “Theology Thursdays” is another initiative run by campus minister Christine French – topics for these weekly lunchtime chats are set by students and last month the theme was “Life” and discussion topics included contraceptives, abortion, and euthanasia.

Picture that: lunchroom tables full of high school students voluntarily gathered to talk about responsible behavior. That’s the Holy Spirit at work in our schools. Every day.

Check out our school finder by clicking “Find a School” in the top right corner of our lovemyschool.com website for more information. Registration is going on now for the 2019-20 school year. Tuition assistance is available to help.