The EquipCast
Practical Evangelization & Parish Ministry Tools for Catholic Leaders
Displaying 5 items of The EquipCast with the tag "catholic mission".
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Episode 186: From Pew to Purpose: How to Live the Apostolate You Were Made For
Episode | June 17th, 2025 | 1 hr 40 secs
apostolate, apostolic mission, archdiocese of omaha, catholic, catholic discipleship, catholic evangelization, catholic laity, catholic leadership, catholic ministry, catholic mission, catholic parish life, catholic podcast, discernment, disciples, equipcast, evangelism, evangelization, fr. andrew mattingly, jim jansen, laity, lay apostolate, lay vocation, making disciples, ministry vs apostolate, mission in the world, parish ministry, renewing the temporal order, spiritual discernment, vatican ii laity, works of mercy
What’s at stake if we stay busy in church but miss our calling in the world? It’s easy to think serving at church—teaching, volunteering, helping with Mass—is the main way lay people live out their faith. But here’s the truth: our primary call isn’t just ministry inside the Church—it’s apostolate out in the world. That means bringing Jesus into your workplace, your neighborhood, and your everyday life. That’s where you’re meant to shine. And what’s at stake? Souls. If we don’t take time to discern our apostolate, some of the people God placed in our path may never encounter Him. This isn’t just about filling time—it’s about stepping into the mission only you can fulfill. The Church needs you. And the world desperately needs Jesus. Tune in for a powerful conversation with Fr. Andrew Mattingly, who tells us that sometimes, reaching the world means cutting back on “good” church programs—because when a parish is over-programmed, it can pull focus from the real mission. But when we zero in on what actually forms people for their apostolate, we gain clarity, energy, and fruitfulness. It’s not about doing more. It’s about doing what matters most.
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Coach's Corner 21: Hope – The Church’s Key to Renewal
Episode | June 3rd, 2025 | 13 mins 47 secs
archdiocese of omaha, catholic, catholic evangelization, catholic leadership, catholic ministry, catholic mission, catholic podcast, church renewal, cultural change in the church, disciples, equipcast, evangelism, evangelization, faith and culture, holy fear, hope, jim jansen, jubilee of hope, making disciples, mission and discipleship, parish transformation, pastoral conversion, repentance and hope, saints and renewal, spiritual renewal, tipping point
What if real cultural change is just 15% away—and we’re closer than we think? In this Coach’s Corner, I’m diving into something that’s been really stirring in my heart: hope. Not the wishful-thinking kind, but the kind that’s born from repentance—a deep turning back to God with a holy fear of offending His love. When we do that, we make space for His grace to move, to renew, to restore. That’s where real hope comes alive. I also talk about why I truly believe cultural change is possible—even now. Did you know it only takes about 15% of a group to shift the culture? That means if just a small part of our parish gets fired up for the Gospel and mission, it can spark something way bigger. I’ve seen it happen. And more importantly—God’s done it before. I share stories, reflect on saints and past renewals, and talk about how a mission mindset, paired with corporate repentance, can set the stage for transformation. I end the episode with a prayer asking God to move in power again—because I really believe He’s not done with us yet. If you’ve been feeling discouraged or wondering if your yes to God really matters, this one’s for you.
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Episode 134: How to Become a Contagious Catholic with Marcel LeJeune
Episode | December 12th, 2023 | 1 hr 1 min
catholic, catholic ministry, catholic mission, church transformation, contagious catholic, disciples, discipleship, evangelism, evangelization, faith and spirituality, inspirational christianity, making disciples, marcel lejeune, ministry, ministry leaders, parish involvement, prayer life
Have you ever met a contagious Catholic? I'm not talking about cold and flu season here – I mean meeting someone whose faith is so vibrant and inspiring that it makes you want to deepen your own spiritual journey. Well, today, I had the joy of chatting with one such individual. Marcel LeJeune helped create the world’s largest campus ministry at Texas A&M, and he spills his secrets on infusing your faith with contagious enthusiasm. One of his gems from our conversation: “Your inadequacies to the task at hand that you want to accomplish are nothing in the hands of a God who is infinitely powerful. All He has is messed up, sinful, insufficient people for the task that he wants to accomplish, and He laughs at us. All He asks is us to give Him a little bit of room and a small yes, and then get out of His way. Because here's the thing. I am neither the most talented, the smartest, certainly not the best looking of any of the people that I know, even in my local community. I'm not the best evangelist. I'm not the best theologian. I'm not the best writer or speaker. I'm not the best person to have a conversation with. I'm not the best listener. I'm not best at any of those things. And yet, God can still do big things through me, and you because God is bigger than I am and bigger than you.”
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45: Ministry or Apostolate?
Episode | February 16th, 2021 | 1 hr 3 mins
archdiocese of omaha, catholic apostolate training, catholic culture change, catholic discipleship, catholic evangelization, catholic lay formation, catholic leadership, catholic ministry vs apostolate, catholic mission, catholic outreach, catholic parish renewal, catholic pastoral vision, catholic podcast, catholic small groups, evangelical catholic, faith formation, fr. jeff lorig, jim jansen, lay apostolate, parish ministry, peter andrastek
Have you ever wondered about the difference between a ministry and an apostolate? Until recently, I hadn’t. These words seem like synonyms, and talking about their differences feels a bit like quibbling or semantics. However, because we’ve forgotten the difference, most of the energy in our parishes goes toward building up ministries. But without the apostolate of the laity, the Church becomes a country club, only concerned with serving its members. So what is an apostolate? And how does remembering help the lay faithful evangelize?
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Episode 32: Missional Amnesia
Episode | September 29th, 2020 | 48 mins 42 secs
alpha program, apostolic age, archdiocese of omaha, catholic culture change, catholic discipleship, catholic evangelization, catholic family evangelization, catholic leadership, catholic mission, catholic outreach, catholic parish leadership, catholic podcast, church growth strategy, divine renovation, equipcast, evangelization strategy, faith crisis, fr. jeff lorig, jim jansen, joy of the gospel, missional community, missionary discipleship, outreach to the unchurched, parish renewal, parish transformation, pope francis evangelization, rcia reform, spiritual renewal, the unstuck church, tony morgan
Have you ever used a Catholic buzz word like missionary disciple or missional church and received blank looks in return? It’s a surprising experience, but the reality is many Catholics still don’t know what the word missional means. It used to be that missionaries were the people who traveled to Africa, and the Church in America grew because Catholics had big families. Our biggest problem used to be caring for all of the people who came to the Church’s doorstep, but now, we find ourselves trying to proclaim the Gospel to a world that doesn’t know much about who Jesus is or what the Church is really about. Many of us even know a family member or friend who has walked away from the faith, but it’s often difficult for us to believe that this is part of a larger cultural trend. However, the reality is that the city of Omaha is among the top 30 most secular or “post-Christian” cities in the US. Collectively, we have missional amnesia. We’ve forgotten that we are called to go and make disciples. We lack an imagination around what a missional church looks likes because, until recently, we haven’t had to be one. So, what do you say to someone who asks what a missional church is? Tune in to hear Fr. Lorig and Jim Jansen's musings on this topic.