Cultivating an Atmosphere of Discipleship - Version 2.0!

After being involved in ministry for 10 years I grew very tired of many things. I would consider myself one of those people who had the privilege of starting from scratch in ministry. When I first started, the parish gave me a desk with no phone, no computer, and no youth group! Following the advice of others who worked in youth ministry, after about five years I had what many would call a successful youth group. It was successful in many ways and became a very safe place where the youth and families could come together to grow in faith.

Fortunately (and unfortunately at times) I am rarely satisfied. Although the youth ministry I was leading was relatively successful, I really didn't feel it was meeting the greatest needs of the youth and families in the parish. I began to pray, study, and wrestle with my deepest desires for youth ministry in the Church.

I wanted a youth ministry approach that:

This is how Discipleship Focused Ministry came about. In 2012 I began working with a handful of parishes who desired similar things. Since then I have been asked to share my wisdom from this journey with many others. In 2014 I started sharing my experiences online through blogs, podcasts, etc. This course is the fruit of many conversations as I needed a way to get the information out consistently to those who wanted it.

So What Is This Course?

This course is the same training that I have provided "live" to hundreds of parishes in numerous different Dioceses. It includes every aspect of training and every resource that I give to parishes desiring to get started. In the past, I've opened the course enrollment for about two weeks and we've ran the course four times in the past three years with over 200 people attending the course. Now the course is available for purchase at any time.

What Does It Include?

By purchasing the course, you get access to 10 video lessons, a printable course workbook, numerous printable resources that you can copy for anyone in your parish, and discussion forums where you can dialogue about the content provided in the course and get feedback on how it may be implemented in your parish. The entire curriculum outline is listed below. You get lifetime access to the course and return to it and go through it again at any time.

Who is this Course For?

If you are a Pastor, Youth Minister, Faith Formation Director, or Director of Religious Education that is interested in deepening your understanding of discipleship and how a Discipleship Focused Ministry model can be implemented in your parish, than this course is for you.

If you are looking to change the way ministry is done in your parish, than this course is for you!

Who is this Course NOT For?

Although I am a bit bias, I find it hard to believe there is anyone involved in youth ministry that would NOT benefit from the content of this course.

That being said, if you are a small group leader or other type of youth ministry volunteer in your parish (not a parish leader), I encourage you to check out our other training options on the site. The Teach to Observe series is specifically geared towards small group leaders in a parish.