ALTUM YOUNG ADULTS · LOCAL CHAPTERS
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ALTUM YOUNG ADULTS · LOCAL CHAPTERS
There are thousands of young Catholics in your city searching for depth, community, and a faith worth living — and no one is reaching them. Two things make this possible: The Altum Ball and the Mental Prayer Challenge.
WHY THE BALL
Every Catholic young adult event in your city is reaching the same room. The same people who already go to Mass, already know each other, already part of the typical Catholic scene. The other 10,000 Catholic young adults in your city — the ones searching for something real — have never heard of any of it. The Altum Ball changes that.
The Assumption Ball is designed specifically to attract young Catholics outside the typical young adult scene through Instagram advertising targeting people who would never normally show up to a Catholic event. Beautiful, formal, and elevated — it is the kind of event people genuinely want to attend and bring friends to. The Ball is the front porch. The Mental Prayer Challenge is the interior of the house.
THE BALL (or a similar social launch event)
Clear organizing event for volunteers
Attracts young adults for what they are most immediately interested in: dating other serious Catholics
Outreach to those who are not regulars at YA events and connect them to local Catholic social scene
Fundraiser for community partners and for Altum
Kickstart for first prayer challenge
Local chapter started with outreach channels (Instagram, calendar of prayer challenges and national Altum conference group, volunteer team for the year)
--> connection with local groups, funds to outreach, pool of contacts locally
We've found there already an abundance of young adult social activities; Altum is not a social club and does not intend to compete with others for this; rather, we would prefer to encourage people to go to the other local young adult groups for that (ex: YCP, parish young adults, groupme's, Bible Studies, etc.); we act as a front porch to get people in the door and an place for spiritual formation.
Process:
-Chapter President committed to 2 years, events coordinator committed to 1 year, 3 challenge coordinators committed to 1 year
-calendar made for the next 18 months
-partner organizations to advertise
-organic word-of-mouth outreach
Goal:
-100+ at the first event; 400+ contacts
-fundraise $5000 for Altum to launch the chapter (this goes to the advertising budget)
Volunteers:
-help get word out
-help with logistics
-help with prayer challenge
THE ADVERTISING MODEL
The Altum Ball model only works because national Altum runs the advertising. We deploy Instagram ads in your city targeting Catholic young adults 18–35 who are not already connected to the typical Catholic scene. We bring people to the door who would never have found your community on their own. Your volunteers welcome them in.
This is what makes the chapter partnership different from anything else in Catholic young adult ministry. You do not have to build an audience from scratch. You bring the venue, the volunteers, and the hospitality. Altum brings the reach.
— Altum runs all Meta advertising for your chapter Ball and Mental Prayer Challenge
— You provide the core volunteer team and the local venue
— The national-local partnership is what makes scaling possible
THE MENTAL PRAYER CHALLENGE
Every person who attends the Ball is personally invited to the Mental Prayer Challenge — a free 30-day group accountability program for building the habit of daily mental prayer. Small groups of four to eight people. Weekly meetings with a trained volunteer coordinator. The five-step mental prayer method. Free to participate.
The Mental Prayer Challenge is the product. The Ball is what gets people in the room. The Challenge is what changes them. After 30 days, participants are invited into the SOCA Way — the deeper formation path for those who want to continue. The Ball brings people in. The Challenge forms them. The SOCA Way keeps them.
HOW launching a chapter workds
Rally a Core Team
Find four to six people in your city who are serious about their faith and want to build something real. You do not need a large team to start — you need a committed one. Your core team plans a Ball, coordinates the venue, and leads the Mental Prayer Challenge accountability groups.
Pick Your Feast Day
Choose a feast day to anchor your Ball. The Assumption of Mary on August 15 is the national anchor date but chapters have flexibility. The feast day framing gives the Ball a Catholic identity and a recurring annual moment to build around.
Find Your Venue
You need a space that feels elevated and beautiful — a ballroom, a historic hall, a rooftop, a courtyard. It does not need to be expensive. It needs to feel like an occasion. Budget roughly $3,000–5,000 for venue and production. Ticket sales at $50 per person cover this and generate profit for local advertising.
The Ball Itself
Formal attire. Dinner tables and a dance floor. A brief welcome from your chapter leader explaining what Altum is. Music. Dancing. Real conversation. The atmosphere does the work — your job is to create the conditions and let people find each other. Every attendee receives a personal follow-up invitation to the Mental Prayer Challenge within one week.
Launch the Challenge
Within two to four weeks of the Ball, launch your first Mental Prayer Challenge cohort. Small groups of four to eight people. Weekly meeting led by a trained volunteer coordinator. 30 days. Free to join. The Volunteer Outreach Team reaches out personally to every sign-up within 48 hours to place them in a group and walk them through what to expect.
THE LONG GAME
After the first Ball, you have a list. People who came, people who signed up for the Mental Prayer Challenge, people who want to stay connected. That list is the beginning of a real local community. The second Ball is bigger than the first because you now have a core of people who experienced it and want to bring their friends.
That is how chapters grow. Not through institutional programming or diocesan budgets — through genuine community that compounds. One Ball leads to one Prayer Challenge cohort. One cohort leads to a community of people who know each other and hold each other accountable. That community becomes the culture of your chapter.
The goal for year one is simple: one Ball, one Prayer Challenge cohort, fifty people through the challenge. That is the proof of concept. Everything else follows from that foundation.
START A CHAPTER
Fill out the form below and someone from Altum will reach out personally within 48 hours to talk through what starting a chapter in your city would look like.
By providing your phone number you consent to receive text messages from Altum Young Adults about chapter updates and events. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out.
No commitment. Someone will reach out personally within 48 hours.
NOT READY TO HOST A BALL YET? HERE'S ANOTHER WAY IN.
Not every city is ready for a Ball yet — and not every person who wants to be involved is in a position to lead one. The Volunteer Outreach Team is how you get involved before a chapter exists in your city. Volunteer Outreach Team members personally reach out to young adults who sign up for the Mental Prayer Challenge nationally — welcoming them, answering questions, and helping place them in accountability groups.
It is remote, flexible, and meaningful. If you have an hour a week and a genuine desire to help young adults build a prayer life, the Volunteer Outreach Team is where you start.
Duc in Altum — Launch into the deep.
A movement of depth. The young adult arm of SOCA — Souls of the Christian Apostolate, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in Denver, Colorado in 2018.
© 2026 Souls of the Christian Apostolate (SOCA). Altum Young Adults is a program of SOCA, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All rights reserved.