Our Impact
Real People.
Real Fruit.
The impact of the SJS Volunteer Missionary Program is not only measured by numbers, but by lives formed and missions sustained over time.
For over a decade, SJS Volunteer Missionaries have served in collaboration with the Church, accompanying students, families, and communities — and carrying what they have received far beyond their mission year.
Impact by the numbers
SJS Volunteer Missionaries formed
hours of mercy Mission
students mentored each year
Countless
students, families, and neighbors encountered
Behind every number is a person who has been formed in prayer, community, and mission — and who continues to live as a disciple.
Impact on the Missionaries
The most enduring fruit of this program is who the missionaries become.
Through an intentional year of formation, SJS Volunteer Missionaries grow in:
- Depth of prayer and interior life.
- Confidence in living and articulating the faith.
- Capacity to accompany others patiently and faithfully.
- Responsibility, leadership, and maturity.
- Freedom to discern vocation and next steps.
Many alumni continue to serve the Church as lay leaders, catechists, missionaries, spouses, parents, priests, and religious — carrying the habits of discipleship formed into every vocation.
Impact on the Church
SJS Volunteer Missionaries expand the Church’s capacity for mission.
Serving alongside the priests of the St. John Society and sisters of the Society of Mary, missionaries help sustain and grow apostolates that would not otherwise be possible.
Their presence allows for:
- Deeper personal accompaniment of students.
- Consistent evangelization and discipleship
Expanded outreach in parishes, campuses, and cities.
The development of new initiatives in response to local needs.
This collaboration strengthens the Church, not just because of the programs available, but because of the lasting relationships built over time.
Voices from the Mission
“My volunteer year was an incredible gift. It was a grounding year. A Holy Hour in the story of my life. A time to sit in intentional silence. To listen, to be taught, and to grow in foundational aspects of life that we don’t always learn elsewhere. Today, my Masses are far less calm and my Lectio Divina isn’t always peaceful—but the conversation continues, even in the middle of the chaos. I know I am never alone. I know that I am loved.”
Julia Thomas, Former SJS Volunteer Missionary
Fruit That Remains
The mission year is not an end in itself.
We form men and women who carry what they have received into whatever comes next, continuing to live as missionary disciples wherever they are sent.
The greatest fruit of this program is not only the mission accomplished, but the disciples formed.