Yesterday I got an e-mail from someone who said she is interested in becoming Catholic. In many parishes, the inquirer might get a reply that gives the date when catechumenate classes start.

But that kind of reply deeply misunderstands the purpose of the first stage of the process — the Period of Evangelization and Precatechumenate. Our first response to a new inquirer should always be evangelization.

Let’s imagine my new inquirer, who I’ll call Mable. I haven’t met her yet, but I already know that Mable has a life story. And I know that life story has brushed up against and intersected with the story of Jesus Christ. What I don’t know is if Mable knows that — that she has already had multiple encounters with Jesus.

Evangelization is a process of first listening to Mable’s story and then discerning if she has had a conversion experience anywhere along the way. We might think this inquirer is already evangelized since she is now declaring her readiness to become Catholic. But that may not really be the case.

Even though she is asking to become Catholic and may have done some internet research about Catholic teaching, she may not know what it means to live a life that is everyday influenced and guided by the Holy Spirit.

She may not yet know what it means to live a life of sacrifice, imitating the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

She may not yet know that no matter what her life story is, good or bad, God loves her beyond her wildest imagination.

Or maybe she does know all this. The point is, we won’t know her level of conversion until we start listening to her story.

If your parish is like most, you may not have someone, other than you, who can reach out to a new inquirer and begin to listen to their story. But what if you could find someone who could help with just that one aspect of catechumenate ministry?

This article is about what you might think of looking for as the very next team member you recruit.

Defining the Ambassador of Welcome

Perhaps the most crucial member of your team, after yourself, is the Ambassador of Welcome. Some teams call this person the inquiry coordinator or precatechumenate coordinator, but I think a title with the word “welcome” in it better describes their role.

The primary role of this team member is to be an evangelist on the lookout for people looking to fill a hole, heal a wound, or find missing joy. Some might tell us they want to “become Catholic” as the inquirer who filled out our web form did. Some might just show up at church and sit near the back row. The Ambassador of Welcome has to have a sixth sense about who is seeking and needs someone to listen to their story.

The Ambassador of Welcome also has to treat every inquiry, e-mail, or phone call as a “Level Orange” priority. Many seekers are feeling wounded, and their inquiry is sometimes a small cry for help or at least support. We cannot know which inquiries are actually urgent, and so we treat them all as urgent.

And, of course, the Ambassador of Welcome has to be a world-class listener. You can structure a listening process in many different ways.

Five questions for inquirers

What has worked for me is a series of five “umbrella” questions that the Ambassador of Welcome asks over a series of three meetings:

1. Where have you been? (uncovering backstory and past experiences)
2. Where are you now? (diagnosing current spiritual needs and baseline assumptions)
3. Where do you want to get to? (identifying goals regarding habits, knowledge, memories, and attitudes about God)
4. How are you going to get to where you want to go? (mapping concrete steps, parish support, timelines, and resources)
5. How will you know you have arrived? (defining observable indicators of readiness and personal transformation)

I have found that inquirers tend to stall on the fourth question because they expect you to tell them what the plan is. But it is important to continue a listening posture and hear what the seeker thinks their next steps are.

When you engage in deep, sustained listening like this, you are already beginning the formation process. You are teaching the seeker that they are a child of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit to discern God’s will and accept God’s loving plan.

Listening like this also holds the seeker accountable because you are taking their own words and feelings seriously. That means they have to take it seriously as well.

If you’re interested, I go into a lot more detail about the five questions process in Seek the Living God: Five RCIA Inquiry Questions for Making Disciples.

When you engage in deep, sustained listening like this, you are already beginning the formation process. You are teaching the seeker that they are a child of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit to discern God’s will and accept God’s loving plan.

Finding your Ambassador of Welcome

This entire role of Ambassador of Welcome is a lot to ask of someone, and I don’t sugarcoat it. I tell them upfront that I’m asking for a sacrifice. But finding other parishioners to just do the listening piece for one or two inquirers is not burdensome. It is relatively easy to recruit assistant Ambassadors of Welcome.

Maybe you don’t have someone to fill this role right now. I get it. Like you, I’m currently wearing all the hats. But I know who I’m looking for next.

Other than Mable, I am currently listening to five other inquirers. I don’t have time for Mable right now. Somehow, I’ll make time. But I’m also going to ramp up my efforts to find an Ambassador of Welcome. Someone in our parish will be perfect for this role. I just have to pay attention to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and keep my eyes and ears open until I find that perfect person for the job.

What about you?

How does your parish handle initial inquiries from seekers, and what qualities do you look for when inviting team members to step into a welcoming role? Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments below!