LIFT (Living in Faith Together) is where life and faith come together.

In LIFT, we create community through small fellowship groups to share our faith and to care for each other as one family in Christ.

LIFT offers a chance for everyone in the communities we serve to share their lives with one another through a small group model that will allow them to get to know one another more fully. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we have the opportunity to discover Christ walking in our midst along the way. This is not a one time program; it is a core part of who we want to be at AVCC. We believe that by providing individuals and families with consistent opportunities to live their lives (and their faith) together outside of weekly liturgy, we will continue to foster a joyful and faith filled community committed to bringing people to Jesus and transforming the world around them.

LIFT runs for two Seasons per year, one beginning around the start of Lent, and one beginning each Fall, continuing into Advent.

Our Mission echoes the Mission of the Apple Valley Catholic Collaborative.

We are called to be a joyful and faith filled community that is rooted in:

Nurturing a personal relationship with Jesus
Serving and caring for one another
Sharing our faith and lives together

We are continuing our Pilot Program in Lent of 2023 with a limited number of new groups. Our hope is to launch this community wide in the Fall of 2023.

If you are interested in participating in the second stage of our Pilot Program (Pilot 2.0) either as a participant or a host, please fill out this form. We will contact you in early 2023 when we are ready to sign up new participants. 

We are currently running LIFT Pilot Program version 1.0. We have three LIFT groups, meeting every other week from September - December. To view Upcoming LIFT Sessions, please click on the Upcoming Sessions tab.

Group 1
Wendy and Barbara's LIFT Group - For mothers of teens and young adults

Group 2
Andrea and Tom's LIFT Group - For parents of young children - Hope in Hopeless times

Group 3
Sheila and Fr. Jeff's LIFT Group - Reflections on 'The Shack'

When the coronavirus pandemic hit our community, everything changed. This is not unique to AVCC or the Catholic Church as a whole. In response, we shut down our traditional Faith Formation programs and scrambled to put together something that could work while the pandemic ran its course. While we struggled in some areas, we also had a lot of epiphanies about what worked with our new models. We (re)discovered that providing opportunities for children and/or adults to be together in a small group setting yielded great results: a feeling of closeness, of shared experiences, of walking challenging paths together with others in our community. A feeling of not being alone. We believe that the small group model was essential in providing these moments of clarity and togetherness and want to expand that opportunity to everyone in our community.  

Under the guidance of Faither Jeff Archer, a worksgroup was formed to explore the idea of creating a cuture around a small group ministry at Apple Valley Catholic. Beginning in March of 2021, this group of staff members and community volunteers explored the concept. Research and analysis consisted of interviews with local and national communities of many faiths where small groups are an established part of their community.

In Fall of 2022 we launched LIFT Pilot 1.0, a trial version of LIFT with three groups, led by our workgroup members. 

Is this only for families?
No! This is for everyone. We will offer LIFT groups for folks from every walk of life. All are welcome and we hope to offer a group that will appeal to you. If you don’t see one you’re interested in, let us know!

Do I have to go to church?
Well, no, but as LIFT grows in prominence in our community, we imagine a greater impact in both liturgy and LIFT meetings when you are able to participate in both. But one does not rely on the other.

When will this start?
It's already started! In Fall of 2022 we launched a Pilot Program of three groups.  We will be launching Pilot 2.0 in Lent 2023 and hope to have open enrollment for all who are interested in Summer of 2023 for a Fall session.

How do I sign up?
We'll let you know right here.

Is this just another word for a bible study group?
No. Although there may be some LIFT groups who are interested in a deeper connection with the bible, it is not a requirement. These are not academic groups (unless you want one!) - our goal is to bring people together outside of liturgy to share their lives with one another.  

What will we be talking about?
Anything! We will provide conversation starters to every group, but the idea is not forced catechesis, rather to provide the opportunity to reflect and share with one another.  

Who will be leading these groups?
Your fellow parishioners. Are you interested in hosting a LIFT group? You do not need a degree in theology to be a LIFT host, we promise. Email us.

Where will we meet?
Anywhere and everywhere. We will make locations available on both of our “campuses” but the LIFT meetings will not be restricted to only at or around our church buildings. They can be in your homes, at local dining establishments, in the outdoors–wherever people want to meet.

Why this? Why now?
When the coronavirus pandemic hit our community, everything changed. This is not unique to AVCC or the Catholic Church as a whole. In response, we shut down our traditional Faith Formation programs and scrambled to put together something that could work while the pandemic ran its course. While we struggled in some areas, we also had a lot of epiphanies about what worked with our new models. We (re)discovered that providing opportunities for children and/or adults to be together in a small group setting yielded great results: a feeling of closeness, of shared experiences, of walking challenging paths together with others in our community. A feeling of not being alone. We believe that the small group model was essential in providing these moments of clarity and togetherness and want to expand that opportunity to everyone in our community.      

What if I don’t like my group?
We purposely have expiration dates for each group season. The default setting is for the group to disband, rather than to re-up. This will give everyone that chance to assess their comfort with moving forward with the same group, or exploring other options.