Online Confirmation Retreat
Why create an online confirmation retreat?
Our team has decades of experience in Catholic youth ministry, and we know how important a solid retreat experience is during the Confirmation preparation process. Though we love the idea of taking teens away for an in-person, weekend retreat, we know that option is not always available or accessible for all students.
With that in mind, we worked with ministry leaders and Catholic speakers across the country (and around the world) to build an amazing, on-demand, virtual retreat experience…
Our online Confirmation retreat is not another avenue for more catechesis, but rather it’s a chance to create an environment of conversion and give young people opportunities for real world encounters with the Jesus who loves them.
That’s what preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation should be all about.
Greater works as both a high school confirmation retreat and a middle school confirmation retreat – depending on the requirements of your diocese.
Complete it in
Four Weeks or Two Days!
The best part of our online Confirmation retreat is flexibility! While we originally created the retreat to be a 4 week process, you can complete it on your own schedule. We’ve even crafted two separate retreat guides for parish leaders: a 4 week format or a 2 day weekend retreat. Each version comes with resources, roadmaps, and content geared towards your chosen format.
Video Based Content
There is no better way to communicate online than through video! With that in mind, we’ve brought in a team of speakers from across the country to create hours of dynamic video content that will keep your teens engaged from beginning to end.
Beautiful Daily Prompts
No one hates filling out worksheets more than teenagers, so we don’t give them any! Instead, our artists have created beautiful images that serve as a starting point for reflection and prayer. Students can download these images and use them as phone backgrounds or post them on social.
Parish Leader Roadmap
We don’t want your teens to experience our online Confirmation retreat in isolation – and we don’t want you to have to guess how you can help. We provide a step-by-step guide for the youth minister, director of faith formation, confirmation coordinator, or head cat wrangler.
Adult Guide
The Confirmation process isn’t just about the teen who’s receiving the sacrament – it should involve parents, sponsors, and other influential adults in that student’s life. Our adult companion guide can be accessed for free by any of those adults, and will walk them through how they can be intentionally involved in this retreat experience!
Printable Student Certificates
We want to make it as easy as possible for parents and parish leaders to keep track of students who have completed the online Confirmation retreat! All students can download and print certificates of completion.
FEATURING
Katie Prejean McGrady
Santonio
Hill
DAN HARMS
Jil Miller
Michael
Marchand
Norely Soto
Johnny philp
Tony Vasinda
Alyssa Vijil
Zach Martinez
Becka Landry
Crystal
Marchand
SPONSORING DIOCESES
Diocese of Orange
Diocese of Raleigh
Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Diocese of Reno
Diocese of Honolulu
Diocese of
San Jose
Diocese of Boise
Archdiocese of Milwaukee
OVER 15,000 STUDENTS
HAVE COMPLETED
THIS RETREAT!
Sign Up for Greater
Students register for the retreat on their own, once completed they can download (or print) a completion certificate for their parish leader.
Students
Student Accounts Include:
- The Four Week Retreat*
- Over 5 Hours of Video Content
- 12 Teaching Sessions
- 4 Virtual Prayer Experiences
- 24 Daily Reflection Prompts
- Printable Completion Certificates
$24
FOR 45 Days of Access
Download the Leader Guides
Accompaniment is a key component of any youth ministry program, so we want to give parish leaders everything they need to journey with their students through the Greater Retreat.
FAQs
We tried to pull together the questions we get asked most frequently, but please contact us if you have any questions that are not answered below.
Does my parish need an account?
If you’re a student (or parent of a student) and want to sign up, your parish does NOT need an account for you to do so. However, if you’re signing up for this retreat to satisfy a Confirmation prep requirement, make sure you check in with your parish leader first.
How do I know a teen actually completed the content?
Like you, we want to make sure your students are fully engaged with the retreat content – so we’ve setup two safeguards in place to help with that.
- All of the videos must be watched in full in order to continue to the next video. Students are not able to simply skip to the end of a video.
- Following each video they have to answer 4 simple multiple choice questions to check for engagement.
What age is this retreat designed for?
Our online Confirmation retreat was created with 10th graders as the target audience, but the content should be accessible and applicable for students in 7th through 12th grade.
What software do I need for this retreat?
The retreat is built on a 100% web based platform (so there is no software to download or install). All of the student materials and content are on our platform.
Students can access their retreat platform from any device with a web browser and internet connection – including computers, tablets, and mobile devices.
Small group discussions are parish led and hosted on the platform chosen by the parish leader.
Is there a small group component?
We believe that small groups are an important part of the retreat process, so if you are doing this retreat with a group of students, we recommend that you incorporate small groups.
All small group meetings/conversations are organized and hosted by the parish leader on the platform of their choice.
The Parish Leader Roadmap includes resources to help facilitate those small group conversations.
What if a student doesn't finish in 45 days?
The goal is for the 4 week version is for it to be completed in 4 consecutive weeks – but we give you a couple extra weeks just in case.
However, we understand that sometimes life happens, and you aren’t able to get things done according to the ideal timeline. In that case, you can extend your access to Greater for another 45 days by simply signing up again with the same URL – your progress will be saved, and you’ll start right where you left off.
Do you offer refunds?
Because this is an all digital resource, we are unable to offer refunds.
Do you offer bulk purchasing or discounts for parishes?
Not at this time.
Do you offer diocesan accounts or plans?
Not at this time.
Can I preview the content?
Unfortunately we don’t currently offer content previews at this time.
What’s the Difference Between the Four Week and the Two Day?
When a student signs up for Greater, they get access to the four week retreat. However, they are not forced to take four weeks to complete it. Instead, students are allowed to progress through the content at their own pace. But to make things easier for parish leaders, we provide 2 different guide books (we call them “Roadmaps”):
Four Week
format is perfect for students who want to
“go at their own pace”.
- Content is Spread
Out Over Four Weeks - Three 20-Minute Video
Sessions per Week - Weekly Prayer Experiences
- Daily Prompts for Reflection
- Quick “Session Check Ins”
After Each Video - Weekly Small Group Sessions
Two Day
- Completed in Two 7-Hour Days
- Twelve 20-Minute Video Sessions
- Group Prayer Experiences
- Virtual Group Games
- Quick “Session Check Ins”
After Each Video - Four Small Group Sessions
STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?
Contact our team at [email protected]