SPRINGFIELD — When Joe Austin, 33, was in college, he thought he was the big man on campus, because his father told him he was. After taking advanced courses at his high school in North Carolina, Austin was convinced he would earn all A’s when he went to Boston University.
“I was obsessed with being the smartest person in the world—to be an MD, PhD and go to medical school,” he told Reminder Publishing. “By the time I arrived in college, I had skipped all the intro level classes with AP credit and was taking the hardest classes you could possibly take.”
But Austin’s wild ride crashed in his first semester at BU.
“It was really tough. I was overwhelmed. I ended up getting straight D’s for the first time in my life. I was failing out of college,” said Austin, who has just been named director of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield’s new Office of Missionary Discipleship.
Austin is now in charge of expanding the church’s efforts to bring youth and young adults into the religious community. He’ll do it, in part, by telling young people how a religious retreat introduced him to humility after his academic meltdown in Boston.
“I went on an eight-day silent retreat, and it was a profound experience. It’s hard to put into words what happened there, in the middle of the forest. It was just me, myself and God, and He started speaking to me for the first time in my life. I had thought I was all that, and he knocked me off my horse,” said Austin.
A transformation
Austin joined the diocese as director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. He is now transforming his role, casting an even broader net and trying to reach more young people who are losing, leaving or have never considered joining the faith.
“There’s been a great decline in church attendance in Western Mass., and the one age category we’ve seen a lot of decline in is young people. Many parishes ask me to speak at their parish councils, and the first question they ask is, ‘How do we bring young people back into our parish?’ That’s a really challenging question,” said Austin.
Before diving into a solution, Austin said he is trying to identify what is keeping young people from attending Mass and church activities. He said part of the problem is culture in the northeast.
“They refer to Western Mass. as the frozen chosen. I’m from the south, and in the south, people are very warm, inviting and welcoming. That’s something we definitely wrestle with in the northeast, having that kind of welcoming desire,” he said.
Austin said he feels many people are not going to church because they are leaving the area for better jobs and lives somewhere else. Those who remain want to join a community, but he said some lack social skills and are finding it hard to fit in.
“Coming out of the pandemic, we saw a lot of youth and young adults wrestling with mental health issues, loneliness and relationships. Much of our lives were online, so now, being in person, talking to other people, is such a big challenge, and we really see that at all age levels,” said Austin.
A key demographic
The new office will be calling out to Latinos, and Maricelis Cruz, 27, is leading the drive to pursue this key audience. Cruz is now coordinator of the Youth and Young Adult Ministry.
“Studies show 60% of the population growth in Massachusetts is due to an increase in the Latino population, and a lot of those Latinos are young people,” she said. “There’s a real need for a Latino youth ministry that’s helping them to find the right tracks in their lives so they end up in the right group.”
Austin and Cruz are launching an ambitions series of events and programs to build all demographics and age groups, but their focus is on young people, from middle school into college. Since many are not in church, the challenge is finding them — determining what and whom they’re paying attention to.
A huge number of young people are reading content on the internet — but Austin is approaching that with caution as he considers sending messages to them online.
“A safe environment is extremely important to me. We have to be very careful with our presence online and how we interact with kids online in general,” said Austin.
Faith in God and finding His presence in a church community is the key message. Austin’s careful approach to delivering it may end up going through parents and guardians.
“Some parents don’t allow (mobile) phone use among kids, so that isn’t always the best way to reach them. You really have to be creative and know your audience. It’s important for me to have a good quality relationship with the parents and be ministering to them. That could be another way to reach out to kids,” said Austin.
Cruz said she and Austin are developing a network of youth ambassadors, primarily high schoolers, who can spread the word and attract young people to the Church and its activities, including retreats, that had such a major impact on Austin.
Cruz said she grew up in a religious home where her grandparents attended church faithfully, and where she watched her “charismatic” father play religious music and pray.
“That solidified my love for retreats because I love the music,” she said. “The Lord is very patient with me, because it took me so many tries and so many retreats. I’ve seen the change within myself. He is dedicated to helping me, and still loves me. That’s a beautiful message to share.”
