Bring the mission home with The Return From Emmaus Accompaniment Project!Yes! Yes! Yes! My parish will love this!

Every year, our young people embark on mission trips that set their hearts on fire. But what happens when they return home? How do we prevent that transformative week from becoming just a memory, and instead allow it to reshape the daily life of our parish? Through The Drexel Project, an initiative of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM), we invite your parish to build a lasting culture of faith and service by joining The Return from Emmaus Accompaniment Project. Rather than a one-time volunteer event, this project equips an intergenerational team of high school teens and adult companions to walk through a proven Design – Serve – Reflect framework.

That sounds AMAZING! What does it cost?

Registration is free for the first 5 groups! Plus, upon completion of the program, you are eligible to receive $1000 from CMT to implement a Design-Serve-Reflect project in your parish.

Blink. Blink. Can anyone sign up?

To launch this program at your parish, you first need to have registered for a mission trip with CMT in 2027. Beyond that, you will need a core team of 2 Adult Companions and 3 High School Youth Protagonists.

Adult Companions

Role: Listening mentors and co-laborers.
Commitment: Active participation as shared leaders, compliance with diocesan Safe Environment policies, chaperone mission trip, completion of mentor prep
modules, and support local mission initiatives.

Youth Protagonists

Role: Peer representatives, co-designers, daily site captains, and local project leaders.
Commitment: Attendance at all pre-mission and post-mission formation meetings, full participation in the summer mission trip, and leadership in the post-mission local project.

I know we can form a team! What will the program look like?

Here’s how the journey unfolds over 5 sessions and mission trip:

  1. Listening (Pre-Mission): Teens share their faith experiences, identify peer needs, and articulate hopes for mission, centering youth voice and protagonism with CMT’s Return from Emmaus Team.
  2. Equipping (Pre-Mission): CMT’s Return from Emmaus Team forms youth in leadership and theological reflection, preparing them to facilitate peer formation, while adult companions are supported in accompaniment.
  3. Planning (Pre-Mission): CMT’s Return from Emmaus Team reviews logistics as teens and adults collaboratively discern and assign leadership roles, reinforcing shared leadership.
  4. Missionary Discipleship (During Mission and Post-Mission): Teams reflect on their encounter with Christ and discern how to carry the mission into parish life, identifying concrete ways to extend service locally with CMT’s Return from Emmaus Team.
  5. Feedback (Post-Mission): Teams evaluate the experience to strengthen parish implementation and inform ongoing program development.

I can’t wait! How do I sign up?

Have you already signed your 2027 Mission Contract? Be one of the first 5 to register for The Return from Emmaus Accompaniment Project.

 

Register for The Return from Emmaus Accompaniment ProjectI want to bring the mission home! Sign me up!

Email michelle@catholicmissiontrips.net for more info. We look forward to walking alongside you and your young people as collaborators in Christ’s mission!