If you go to any parish website in North America, you will get the very strong impression that children’s faith is formed in a classroom. Parish websites list expectations describing what children are to have learned by the time they reach each grade level. If you were to actually visit one of these parishes, you
Why children in the RCIA need a community, not a classroom
I’ve heard many RCIA team members confess to me that they failed because a catechumen just never “got it.” I’ve felt this too with catechumens who didn’t turn out to be as committed to discipleship as I hoped. I’ve shared war stories with pastors and RCIA directors about the “post-Easter drop-off,” when many newly initiated
Have we actually tried the RCIA?
This is the last in a series of posts on the RCIA’s six keys to making lifelong disciples. If you missed the last post in this series, click here to read it. As a reminder, the six keys are: As you read through these six keys and as you read over what we said about
Six Keys to Catechesis for Baptized Candidates
This post is the fourth in a series on how the conversion process in the RCIA makes lifelong disciples. If you have not yet read the previous post on the third and fourth RCIA keys for turning seekers into disciples, please click here. In that post, you will discover how important it is to reflect
Two keys to RCIA conversion that challenge our existing norms
This post is the third in a series on how the conversion process in the RCIA makes lifelong disciples. If you have not yet read the previous post on the first two RCIA keys for turning seekers into disciples, please click here. In that post, we said that formation for discipleship is a gradual process that
Two keys for conversion in the RCIA process
This post is the second in a series on how the conversion process in the RCIA makes lifelong disciples. If you have not yet read the introduction, please click here. In the introduction, we said, “Our biggest challenge in RCIA formation is deepening the conversion of our seekers to such a level that they become
The first two RCIA steps for turning seekers into disciples
Our biggest challenge in RCIA formation is deepening the conversion of our seekers to such a level that they become lifelong disciples of Christ. This task is so mysterious and so overwhelming that we sometimes give in to temptation. The temptation is to tell ourselves that it is up to the Holy Spirit, not us,
RCIA’s six keys to making lifelong disciples
If you have been reading the training articles on TeamRCIA for very long, you know that the RCIA is the model for all catechesis. But does the rest of the parish know? Who needs to know this stuff? You might consider “evangelizing” other catechetical teams in your parish to begin using the six principles of
Discover a simple way to help the whole parish catechize the RCIA way
We frequently get requests for a good syllabus, textbook, or curriculum for RCIA. The question presumes a model of faith formation that is not found in the RCIA. When a seeker shows up at your door, let’s call her Jane, you cannot possibly know what her needs are based on the sound of her knock.
How to use your parish as your RCIA textbook
We have all experienced hoop jumpers. A hoop jumper is someone who is present in body only, putting in the bare minimum required in order to “get baptized” (or become Catholic, or whatever their goal is). Sometimes these folks undergo actual conversion and move from hoop jumping to discipleship. But usually, they just jump through
How to reduce hoop jumping in the RCIA
