Three Parishes, One Youth Group: How Council Bluffs Built Something New

by David Dufek | February 8, 2026

By David Dufek

When teenagers arrive at the basement of St. Francis Xavier Worship Center, they drop their phones into a basket. The basket has Cookie Monster on it. He says, "Feed me your phones."

Then they talk to each other. That's it.

That Cookie Monster basket might be the most countercultural object in Council Bluffs. But for the 10 to 20 high schoolers who gather here twice a month, surrendering their devices is just the start. This is Fully Alive -- the city's first Catholic youth group drawing teens from three separate parishes.

It started after about 10 students returned from the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in November 2025. They didn't want to stop meeting.

"They were just so on fire when we came back," said Amy Peterson, a youth ministry leader at St. Patrick Parish. "They're like, 'We want to continue meeting. This is so cool.'"

What began as monthly gatherings at St. Patrick's grew to twice-monthly meetings, then expanded to include students from St. Peter's and Corpus Christi. The leaders -- Peterson, Heather Olson from St. Peter's, and Kendall McGrath from Corpus Christi -- found themselves rotating between churches, fielding the same logistical questions: Where are we meeting this week? What church?

They needed a permanent spot.

Olson had a suggestion: an unused basement at St. Francis Worship Center, where St. Peter's holds religious education classes. Her pastor agreed.

The teens made it their own. They hauled out old furniture, picked paint colors, painted the walls. They made a wish list on a whiteboard: fairy lights, a speaker, blankets. They got a foosball table and couches.

The Catholic Foundation of Southwest Iowa came through with a grant. The group asked for $2,500. They got $5,000.

"We're like, what -- extra fairy lights?" Peterson said.

One wall now holds handprints. When students graduate, they add their print, their name, their date.

The structure stays loose. Meetings run about two hours -- discussion on topics the teens request, snacks, games. When a priest is available, they hold Eucharistic adoration.

At a recent meeting, leaders set out two piles of paper slips – each pile containing the same set of Bible verses. Students drew from opposite piles, then found whoever held their matching verse. That person became their discussion partner for the night.

“And you could actually hear them talking about the questions they were being asked,” Olson said, “not just casual conversation.”

The students wanted more time.

For Olson, the city-wide model solved a real problem. "It's harder when you have a smaller parish and not as many youth to get it going."

The three leaders now plan together, share resources, and carpool to youth ministry trainings. Nobody reinvents the wheel.

Peterson sees the results in small moments -- students asking for more discussion time, sitting quietly in adoration on a Sunday night, their questions after learning about Eucharistic miracles.

"I've always said that when you have a friendship in Christ and the Holy Spirit, that's a friend for life," Peterson said.

"We have fun and we have faith and we have friendship."

The students don’t always like surrendering their phones to Cookie Monster. They keep coming back anyway.

High school students interested in Fully Alive can find meeting announcements and contact information in the bulletins at St. Patrick, St. Peter, or Corpus Christi parishes.

Youth group leaders from three parishes come together to facilitate Fully Alive youth ministry in Council Bluffs .

Teens help paint a space they can call their own for their youth group called Faith Alive in Council Bluffs.