Our Story
“What about the young people?”
This is a generation of people in need — of identity, of Christ and of community. In a world full of confusion, dissatisfaction and loss of faith, our young people are losing hope. It’s become more important than ever that Christ’s message be shared.
Acknowledging this challenge, Maria Tarbell, a professor and advisor for Catholic Student Ministry at Otterbein University, founded the Columbus Catholic Young Adult Conference. After attending the 2018 Columbus Catholic Women’s Conference, Maria sensed a message from the Lord during adoration, asking her, “What about the young people?”
Later that year, Maria met with Kate Kriegel, young adult director at Saint John Neumann Parish in Sunbury, Ohio, to begin discussing their mission for the conference: to empower young adults to transform their communities through their identity in Christ.
Guided with that original inspiration from the Lord, the two put together a team of people from across Central Ohio parishes and college campuses to launch the inaugural Columbus Catholic Young Adult Conference in the fall of 2019.
Today, the conference continues to inspire and transform conference participants through Christ, motivating them to return home to their parishes and get involved, not only as the future Church, but as the Church of today. Our story will always be consistent: through Christ, we will continue to give conference participants the practical tools and resources to live out their discipleship and create faith-filled communities of young adults where they live.