What Makes a Great Catechist (or a Terrible One)?
Every Knee Shall Bow (Your Catholic Evangelization Podcast)
CALLING ALL DIRECTORS OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AND CATECHISTS! This one’s for you. Dave “Cucumber Melon” VanVickle and I talk about the qualities that make for bad catechists vs. great catechists and how to find the right people for your program. This is a huge issue for religious education that is so important because the immortal souls of kids depends on it. We also have storytime with Dave on why Kenny Baldwin is A MONSTER (just kidding) and extend an extra-special welcome to long-time listener Ralph “The Party” VanVickle! We want to hear from you! Email us at eksb@ascensionpress.com with your story, question, or comment—or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave. SHOWNOTES What makes a good catechist? * You have a mature spiritual life with daily prayer and a mentality of fides quaerens intellectum or "faith seeking understanding". * You have an answer to this question: “Can you tell me about your daily lived relationship with the Lord?” * You prioritize the truths of the Faith and always tie them to the Person of Christ. * In the classroom, you make sure any craft or art project is truly effective and relevant to the lesson. * You understand that you are making a difference to the immortal souls of your students. * You have a DRE who is responsible for ongoing formation of catechists. What makes a bad catechist? * Unprepared, you haven’t read it or prayed about it. * You don’t know your kids’ names. * You never pray for them. * You don’t quote the Bible. * You never share your story of God’s movement in your life. * You don’t think about conversion, only communicating the doctrine. * You don’t see the whole and how it is all interrelated to Christ and the Trinity. * Prayer is nothing but a bookend to your class. How to find good catechists * Start a Bible study or adult faith formation event (or go to one that already exists) and see who shows up consistently and is serious about growing in their faith. * Invite specific people to be catechists. Don’t advertise to the whole church. You’re looking for people who are called, not guilted into it. * Do a ministry fair where people can come and see what ministries your parish has. * Pray and ask God for good catechists. * Be comfortable letting people go. 5 PRACTICAL TAKEAWAYS * Personal Prayer Time: Ephesians 4:1-16 * Memorize Catechesi Tradendae center of paragraph five. * Handwrite each kids’ name and pray for one minute for each kid in your class this week. * Prepare a lesson plan for one lesson on one topic and, keeping in mind good/bad catechist, write one sentence that ties it to Christ. * Come up with one example from your life per lesson plan. RESOURCES AND EVENTS * Dave’s School of Spiritual Warfare event in Akron, OH * Catechesi Tradendae * Chosen Confirmation Prep Program Support Every Knee Shall Bow (Your Catholic Evangelization Podcast)