It took me a long time to think of myself as a catechist. When I was growing up, a catechist was essentially a religious education teacher. I never wanted to be a teacher. I’ve substituted for classroom teachers twice in my life, and I failed both times. I’ve never had formal catechist training. And I […]
Look for RCIA catechists who are good at these three things
Last September, Marcy seemed so relieved. When her pastor convinced her to take over the leadership of the parish’s RCIA program, she was worried that she didn’t know enough to do the job. “All the topics are already chosen,” Fr. Jonas had reassured. “All you have to do is find speakers to cover them.” He
Is the fear of being wrong controlling your RCIA?
Someone e-mailed recently to tell us about a high-school-age catechumen who had been denied baptism at a previous parish. The reason she could not be baptized, she was told, is because she failed the RCIA test. The test was a written exam, presumably about Catholic doctrine, that was more difficult than a college entrance exam,
Change can be hard. As human beings we are, by nature, resistant to change…especially when we think what we have right now is just fine as it is. But God and his creation are not static. Our relationship with God is dynamic…living, breathing, and constantly evolving, and sometimes that means altering course to keep moving
Is your RCIA open all year-round? It’s easier than you think
This year, you will be confronted with a challenge. I know this because it happens all the time in catechumenate ministry. You will encounter a new person — someone who is searching or hurting. Someone who is in need of God’s love. But this won’t be the “usual” seeker who shows up ready to begin
The RCIA Team Member You Need to Recruit This Year
When I was in my junior year in high school, I had an awakening of faith. It wasn’t spectacular or miraculous — unless you’re me. That is to say, it was somewhat private, and there was no dramatic “before” and “after” that anyone around me recognized. But I felt completely different. I was energized and
Four ways to help your parishioners live their apostolic vocation
My grandmother loved to watch chickadees flitting about her front yard. To attract them, she would hang a cage of suet off the corner of her front porch. I’ve never seen suet used by anyone else, and I always thought it was something unique to my grandmother. Suet is animal fat that is used in
8 Powerful Steps to Attract Inquirers
A press release is a general announcement that companies and event organizers send to media outlets in the hopes that the newspaper or the radio station will give them some free publicity. When e-mail became ubiquitous, the old-fashioned press release morphed into something else — spam. I got a dozen of these spam messages in
Stop sending out RCIA press releases
If someone asks you about becoming Catholic this summer, don’t tell them to come back in September. You can start catechizing them right away, even if you don’t have a year-round process. Here are 20 ideas to get you started. 20 ways to catechize this summer — even if you don’t have a year-round catechumenate.
20 ways to catechize this summer — even if you don’t have a year-round catechumenate
If you are trying to attract inquirers to your parish, consider blogging. A blog will draw people to your community every day of the year, at all hours of the day. Why should you blog? Here are five benefits to creating a blog for your outreach ministry. Attraction. When you write about compelling topics and
