Using Renewing the Vision to Prepare for Early Registration to Faith Formation.

By Juan Rodriguez

Let me explain to you how Renewing the Vision helped me to Renew My Vision in Parish Pastoral Planning. I believe that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who published this document, stressed the importance of bridging the Faith Formation to Youth Ministry. One of the ways this document helped is by creating a step by step plan for marketing our Parish Faith Formation.

About five years into my work as a Director of Faith Formation and Youth Minister, I studied patterns of outreach that our neighboring Catholic School would use to increase the number of students. I’ve also studied the business models of schools and programs in the area, adopting their models and methods, applying it to our Parish Faith Formation and Youth Ministry. It began with the idea of creating a plan for an early registration promotion. It would take creating a network.

Here’s how I created the network; I went out into the Community and promoted our Faith Formation by…

1. Word of Mouth – one on one invitations, flyers with an application, posters with qr coding & website address, visiting parish groups & ministries.

2. Through snail mail, phone numbers (Landlines & Cell), cell numbers for text, emails, faxes (For local businesses) 

3. With schools and programs used local venues for promotions (Bulletins, local newspapers of the town, social media, etc) 

4. In developing online applications forms on our parish website.

Click On Icon for a Sample of our Online Application Forms
For Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation. 

The following year, I would repeat the process, increasing the network by collecting more addresses for Snail Mail, Emails, Phone Numbers, Fax Numbers, and Websites – I wanted to strengthen the Parish Network by contacting families, and groups for visits. I believed if the people are having a hard time coming to Church, then the Church needs to go to them.

Building the Network Fosters Future Vocations

In Part One of Renewing the Vision, the USCCB reminded us of the third aspect of having a Goal-Centered approach to doing mission work in our Community. It would also encourage us to look outside of the Parish Box for leaders, groups, organizations within our boundaries to create these goals.(1) Renewing the Vision is challenging us towards partnership. An example of a partnership was reflected in Renewing the Vision - networking with diocesan offices  in building the Church.(2) This small example can help us to understand the importance of developing a local network that not only helps us in our religious goals, but in developing the gifts, talents, and career vocations of our youth. So many of us as Directors of Faith Formation are saddened by the way our Junior High School and High School youth are struggling with their basic writing and reading skills. Could you imagine youth looking for work, but they lack the basic skills to help them succeed in their future? 

In the film, Lean On Me, Joe Clark (played by Morgan Freeman), challenges his teachers and staff to network their efforts in developing a strategy to help the youth of their Community to succeed. Imagine networking with Catholic & Public Schools in our Community in order to develop a Pastoral Plan that would better the writing and reading skills of our youth? As the Angel, St. Gabriel, said to Our Lady, “for nothing will be impossible with God”(3), Renewing the Vision gives us a reason to network locally, drawing resources and ideas for a common goal.  For society, it is seen as Networking, but for Catholic Christians, it is the practice of Communion of Saints. (4) For an increase in the number of students in your Parish Faith Formation, it would take the Director of Faith Formation & the Youth Ministry to work on a partnership with The Family Community, The Parish Community (Including Businesses, Civic Institutions, & Organizations), and The Catholic School Community.(5) 

If a Director of Faith Formation & Youth Minister can use this as a strategy, and practice it each year, evaluating their progress, this can awaken a Parish Mission. Just IMAGINE…

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1. Renewing the Vision PT 1, 4
2. Renewing the Vision PT 2, Goal 1, 11
3. Luke 1:37
4. CCC 954-962
5. Renewing the Vision PT 2, Goal 2, 11-15

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Juan Rodriguez is the Founder of the Youth & Young Adult Apostolate - Defenders of the Holy Trinity. He is a Youth Minister Consultant, using the document of Renewing the Vision, and creating an interpretation for a Parish Level development of Youth Ministry called Renew Your Vision. He is the Pastoral Associate, Director of Faith Formation, and Youth Minister at Queen of Angels Church in Sunnyside, NY. Married to his beloved Bertha M. Peralta Rodriguez, and the father of Liliana Maria Rodriguez. Juan is a lover of fantasy stories, dungeons & dragons, culinary arts, cigars, handball, and mixed martial arts. 

Click Here for an Introduction to
Renew Your Vision