EquipCast
Encouragement and inspiration for sharing your catholic faith
About the show
Sharing your Catholic faith with family and friends can sometimes feel daunting. Where do I start? How do I make an impact? Welcome to EquipCast, a weekly podcast from the Archdiocese of Omaha. We want to support your faith journey and equip you with the tools to express your faith authentically in your everyday life.
Each week, we’ll discuss practical advice and experiences from real people sharing their mission with the world. Each episode is filled with encouragement and inspiration so you can make an impact and make disciples in your own faith community. For more information and to stay connected with us, head to equip.archomaha.org/podcast/.
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Episodes and Blog Entries
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Episode 148: How to Recognize Sacred Moments: A Conversation with Archbishop Lucas
Episode | April 30th, 2024 | 42 mins 34 secs
acts of the apostles, archbishop lucas, catholic, catholic ministry, christian community, disciples, divine opportunities, evangelism, evangelization, faith sharing, holy spirit's guidance, inspirational conversations, making disciples, personal witness, spiritual encounters
Wouldn’t it be nice if God performed some undeniable miracle and every person in the world converted? The reality is…he did. Jesus performed numerous miracles, and people still walked away from him (John 6). So, we must look to the ordinary moments. Moments with coworkers, family members, new acquaintances, and friends that may seem mundane at first, but with an openness and attentiveness to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, they become opportunities to share one’s faith or engaging in conversations about spirituality. Today, I sit down with Archbishop Lucas to talk about those moments. He emphasizes the Holy Spirit's role in orchestrating these encounters and God's unconditional love for all people, regardless of their background or circumstances.
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Phase 5: Alignment - How to Build a Clear Path of Discipleship
Episode | April 23rd, 2024 | 43 mins 49 secs
catholic, catholic ministry, church ministry alignment, disciples, enhancing parish engagement, evangelism, evangelization, making disciples, maximizing ministry impact, ministry assessment tools, navigating ministry options, parish mission alignment, parish pathway development, parish strategic initiatives, strategic planning for parishes, strengthening faith communities
What do you do with ministries that existed before the clear path? By the time you see the fruit of changed lives in your parish, it’s likely that you will ask how you can help your non-clear path ministries serve the community’s mission and goal to make disciples. In this fifth episode of the series How to Build a Clear Path of Discipleship, Nicole Cook and Kristi Preisman from St. Columbkille describe the process of alignment. They began by talking with their ministry leaders to understand roles, strengths, and areas in need of improvement. They determined how each ministry aligned with the overall mission of the parish and identified areas where ministries needed to adjust. Their goal was to ensure that each ministry at St. Columbkille plays a meaningful role in helping people connect with God and take their next steps in their faith journey.
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Phase 6: Expansion - How to Build a Clear Path of Discipleship
Episode | April 23rd, 2024 | 45 mins 38 secs
catholic, catholic ministry, disciples, evangelism, evangelization, making disciples
Now that we’ve built a clear path, how do we make sure is survives? What comes next?
In this sixth and final episode of the series How to Build a Clear Path, Jenny Wiswell and Fr. Marcus Knecht from St. Gerald discuss the phase of expansion. They emphasize the importance of recognizing and responding to the diverse needs of parishioners at different stages of their faith journey. They underscore the importance of discernment, communication, leader recruitment, and staying humble and receptive to feedback. -
Phase 3: Implementation - How to Build a Clear Path of Discipleship
Episode | April 16th, 2024 | 38 mins 12 secs
catholic, catholic ministry, disciples, evangelism, evangelization, making disciples
Now that you have a plan to transform your parish, how do you get started? Implementing the Clear Path to Discipleship can feel daunting when you start to understand the scope of the change that is necessary. In this third episode of the series How to Build a Clear Path of Discipleship, Jonathan Sanchez-Hidalgo, Director of Evangelization and Discipleship at St. Charles Borromeo shares his experience navigating the complexities of implementing programs within a parish setting. He highlights the importance of community involvement, the need for flexibility and initiative, and the ability to learn from failures.
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Phase 4: Communication - How to Build a Clear Path of Discipleship
Episode | April 16th, 2024 | 40 mins 39 secs
catholic, catholic ministry, disciples, evangelism, evangelization, making disciples
Once you have a clear path built, how do you communicate it to your parishioners? Often, our parishioners are living in the new reality of the clear path, but they don’t yet see the big picture vision for evangelization. In this fourth Episode of the series How to Build a Clear Path of Discipleship, Jake Olson and Fr. James Keiter from Our Catholic Family describe how they navigated the phase of communication. They talk about leveraging different communication methods, the significance of personal witness and stories, and the need to communicate the clear path repeatedly to ensure understanding and engagement among parishioners.
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Phase 2: Discernment – How to Build a Clear Path of Discipleship
Episode | April 9th, 2024 | 42 mins 46 secs
catholic, catholic ministry, christian community building, church leadership, clear path to discipleship, community engagement, disciples, discipleship journey, evangelism, evangelization, faith-based storytelling, hospitality culture, making disciples, mission-driven strategy, parish renewal, prayerful leadership, spiritual discernment
What does the Lord say about the plans you have for your parish? As you seek renewal for your parish community, are you intentionally asking for the Lord’s input? While many of us are prayerful individuals, praying collectively with a team about the strategy for becoming mission-oriented probably feels like uncharted territory. However, if we want to succeed, we must invite the Lord to be part of the process. In this second episode of the series How to Build a Clear Path of Discipleship, Fr. Damian Zuerlein, Dcn. Doug Lenz, and Ann Lenz from St. Frances Cabrini discuss how as they brough change to their community, they remained open to God's direction and surrendered to His will, even when faced with challenges and uncertainties. Their experiences reflect a deep sense of faith and openness to the Holy Spirit's guidance in their parish life.
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Phase 1: Assessment – How to Build a Clear Path of Discipleship
Episode | April 9th, 2024 | 43 mins 9 secs
building clear paths, catholic, catholic ministry, church community assessment, clear path to discipleship, disciples, discipleship journey, evangelism, evangelization, evangelization efforts, faith formation programs, making disciples, parish growth strategies, parish ministry, parish outreach initiatives, pastoral conversion, phase of assessment, spiritual renewal
Does your parish’s current list of ministries help your people evangelize? It’s likely the answer is no. Most parish ministries were built during a time where people flocked to church. But the culture has changed, and our ministries need to as well. So today, I bring you the first episode in the series How to Build a Clear Path of Discipleship. Rachel Gifford, Director of Catechesis & Evangelization at St. Mary’s Parish, highlights her parish's journey through the phase of assessment. She shares how they examined existing programs to identify gaps in reaching newcomers and building up disciples for the work of mission. Challenges included resistance to change and feeling overwhelmed, but the parish found support in prayer, coaching, and revisiting their mission. Despite the difficulties, they saw positive outcomes, with new families registering and a renewed sense of faith in the community.
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Trailer: How to Build a Clear Path to Discipleship
Episode | April 8th, 2024 | 2 mins 41 secs
build your clear path, catholic, catholic ministry, clear path to discipleship, disciples, evangelism, evangelization, making disciples
Imagine if your parish provided a place for you to build relationships of trust with nonbelievers. Or if it had a ministry that proclaimed the Gospel and fostered conversions. What if your parish taught you how to evangelize and it gave you a space to celebrate and commiserate with others trying to do the same? Around here, we’d say that parish had a Clear Path to Discipleship. So how do we get to this ideal? If you want to hear real stories of parishes who have built a clear path, join us for our series "How to Build a Clear Path to Discipleship".
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Coach's Corner 14: How the Eucharist Breaks You
Episode | April 2nd, 2024 | 4 mins 47 secs
catholic, catholic faith reflection, catholic ministry, christian theology, disciples, eucharist and christian identity, eucharist transformation, eucharistic spirituality, evangelism, evangelization, healing through eucharist, last supper interpretation, making disciples, paschal mystery, self-giving, spiritual growth
If you allow it to, the Eucharist can break you. “But, Jim, why would I want that? Sounds awful.” We all know that the Eucharist is transformative because it unifies us to Christ and his body. But if we truly enter into that Pascal Mystery, it means we also can be “broken and shared” with the world. Join me for this Coach’s Corner where I take a short 4 minutes to encourage you in the mystery that was gifted to us at Easter.
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Coach's Corner 13: How to Pray When You Are Angry
Episode | March 19th, 2024 | 9 mins 50 secs
angerandfaith, biblicalguidance, catholic, catholic ministry, christianliving, disciples, emotionalfaith, evangelism, evangelization, godsgoodness, honestyinprayer, making disciples, navigatingemotions, podcastfaithjourney, prayer, spiritualgrowth
Have you ever avoided prayer because you were angry with God? I get it. Wrestling with our emotions, especially anger, in our relationship with the divine can feel overwhelming. But here's the thing: God can handle our raw, unfiltered emotions. Today, I'm diving into a topic that hits close to home: expressing anger to God while keeping our faith intact.
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Episode 141: Unity & Mission: Exploring Catholic and Protestant Perspectives
Episode | March 12th, 2024 | 1 hr 4 secs
bridging theological divides, catholic, catholic ministry, catholic-protestant dialogue, christ community church, christian unity, disciples, ecumenism, evangelism, evangelization, faith-based conversations, interfaith collaboration, making disciples, religious dialogue, spiritual openness, understanding different traditions, unity in christ
Is unity between Catholics and Protestants really possible? Just imagine the incredible things we could accomplish if we could learn to collaborate. We could address social issues, promote justice, and serve those in need, all while spreading the message of God's love through evangelization. It's an exciting thought, isn't it?
But, of course, in order for this dream to become a reality, we need to confront our fears and misunderstandings head-on. We need to foster unity within the body of Christ, embracing humility and openness along the way. That's why I'm thrilled to share an episode of unComfortable with you, a podcast from Christ Community Church in Omaha. I had the honor of joining them for a discussion on ecumenism, and let me tell you, it was eye-opening. -
Episode 140: Neighbors In Need: How to Leverage the Resources and Compassion Within Your Local Community
Episode | March 5th, 2024 | 53 mins 28 secs
addressing social isolation in omaha, building empathy in local communities, catholic, catholic ministry, christian service and compassion, community outreach strategies, disciples, evangelism, evangelization, jed mullenix ceo interview, love and compassion in omaha, making disciples, omaha church initiatives, omaha community engagement, spreading kindness in omaha, within reach organization
Did you know that only 8% of the people in our church pews can claim that they know the names of their 8 closest neighbors? As Christians, we aught to be on the front lines of the fight against what the Surgeon General calls and “epidemic of loneliness”. Omaha itself, , with all its strengths, grapples with mental health issues, people feeling isolated, and disparities in education and opportunities. So, in today's podcast, I sit down with Jed Mullenix, the CEO of Within Reach. He works to unify our local church communities around these issues. Together we can address community needs and spread the love of Jesus. He highlights the significance of pursuing proximity with neighbors, cultivating empathy, and committing to long-term relationships built on genuine care and compassion.