By JC Montenegro, PhD

(Sacramento, California) – What does it really mean to live our faith; to be Catholic beyond the rituals?

This question guided a recent formation workshop in the Diocese of Sacramento, which Luis Chacon and I facilitated on measuring impact in ministry. I entered the room ready to talk about indicators, data, and methods. Instead, we ended up talking about something much deeper: belonging.

Two Different Questions, Two Different Worlds

At first, I asked, “What is our charismatic identity as Catholics?” The answers came from the heart. People spoke about Jesus, faith, and the Eucharist. They mentioned service, the sacraments, and Don Bosco’s dream of forming good Christians and honest citizens.

Then I changed the question. “What impact do we want to have on young people?”

The tone shifted. Now they talked about participation, leadership, curiosity, and connection. They wanted young people to return, to serve, to belong. The words changed, but the desire behind them was the same: helping others find Jesus and community.

That small change in wording revealed something essential. When we talk about identity, we speak about who we are. When we talk about impact, we speak about what we want others to experience because of who we are. And in both cases, the center is the same: love that leads to belonging.

What Success Really Looks Like

When I asked, “How do we measure success?” people didn’t talk about numbers. They spoke about transformation.

Children who participate because they want to. Young people who live the Eucharist. Catechists who return to serve after receiving formation. Youth who connect faith with daily life.

Those are the real indicators of impact. Not attendance sheets, but hearts that stay open. Not reports, but stories of lives changed through accompaniment.

From Teaching Prayers to Showing Love

In our ministries, we often start by teaching prayers. That is good and necessary. But if those prayers do not lead to love, they remain incomplete.

The true goal is not just that children memorize words, but that they experience the love those words express. Teaching them to pray must help them discover a God who listens, forgives, and walks with them.

When catechists show God’s love through patience, presence, and compassion, the lessons become alive. The children learn that prayer is not only something you say, but something you live. They begin to understand that God’s love is not an idea, but a relationship.

This shift—from teaching prayers to showing love—is where measurable impact begins. Because what people remember most is not what we said, but how they felt when they were with us.

The Sacred Place of Encounter

Later, we reflected on another question: “Where did you feel God for the first time?” The responses were moving. Many encountered Him in service, in the Eucharist, or in moments of pain.

One person felt God while serving children with special needs. Another, during an illness. Another, at a retreat after losing a parent.

The pattern was clear. God meets us where we are vulnerable, and where love becomes real. He is present in community, service, and encounter.

From Method to Mission

By the end of the day, the whiteboards were full of words like testimony, dialogue, catechesis, community, and mission. Together, they formed the process of evangelization: from the first proclamation to the missionary call.

We realized that measurement is not about control or efficiency. It is about awareness. It helps us see whether our ministries truly help people encounter Christ and grow in faith. Measuring becomes a spiritual exercise that keeps us faithful to the mission entrusted to us.

The Heart of the Matter

In every discussion, one word kept coming back: belonging. We all want to belong—to God, to community, to something that gives meaning to our lives. When our programs create spaces of belonging, they naturally generate impact. When we focus on relationships before results, formation becomes transformation.

As Don Bosco reminded us, education and evangelization are matters of the heart. Numbers are useful, but they serve a deeper purpose. They help us see whether our work leads young people closer to Jesus and whether they find a home in the Church.

Maybe that is the truest form of measurement: when hearts stay connected long after the session ends.