When I was kid, Christmas morning was amazing. My brothers and I would race down the stairs to see what was waiting for us under the tree. After furiously ripping through the packaging, our faces would light with joy over each toy. And more often than not, after an hour or so of playing with […]
At every training institute we lead, Diana and I almost always hear from folks that what they love most about the event is the chance to hear great ideas from other RCIA teams. That’s always great to hear. But it causes me to wonder about a couple of things. The first thing I wonder is,
The power of ten — how to generate great ideas for RCIA
We are disciples. Being so has its pluses and minuses. The advantage of being a disciple The big plus is, we get to do the work of Jesus. This has been true from the very beginning. In Mark’s gospel, Jesus “called the twelve and began to send them out two by two” (6:7). While they
How to feed 5,000 on a Tuesday in Advent
The number-one reason RCIA ministry is so overwhelming is our inability to say no. I’ll bet you thought I was going to say lack of volunteers. Sure, more volunteers will help. But I once encountered a parish that had 35 members on its RCIA team. And they all felt overwhelmed. The truth is, no matter
Why RCIA ministry is overwhelming — and what to do about it
Avanti! That’s what Pope Francis says over and over again. Go forth! For Pope Francis, there is only one image of the church that is life-giving — a church that goes forth, that goes out of itself, into the streets. Pope Francis wants us to be a church that goes to the peripheries. This is
Pope Francis’s message to RCIA teams: Avanti!
Does your parish have a regular or occasional notice in the bulletin inviting new participants to join the RCIA? Can you identify the target audience? Who is the message written for? Who do you imagine reads it? Who are you hoping will respond to it? I read these notices all the time. They tend to
Why your RCIA bulletin announcement isn’t working — and what to do about it
Diana and I recently led a Making Disciples Institute, and about half of the participants had been involved with catechumenate ministry for five years or less. One of the consistent comments we heard was how overwhelming the process seemed to be. And it’s true. If you look at the whole scope of what the Rite
Move your RCIA process just three feet
There are four major components of Christian life in which we train the catechumens: word, community, worship, and witness through works of mercy (see RCIA 75). Today, we have to ask how these areas of Christian life translate in the digital culture. (Click here to read my previous article on evangelization and catechesis in a
Four ways RCIA teams can inculturate Christian life in the digital world
A foundational principle of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is that it bears “a markedly paschal character” (RCIA 8; see also 4 and 75.1). This has to be so because the church itself is born out of the paschal mystery. The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the first document produced by the Second
What RCIA teams need to teach about church
Diana and I recently returned from Australia where I gave a keynote presentation for the Christian Initiation Australia Network (CIAN) National Conference. The topic was New Tools for a New Age. My goal was to describe how to use the tools of social media to enhance the catechumenate process. As soon as I learned what the
