EquipCast
Encouragement and inspiration for sharing your catholic faith
Displaying all 2 Episode of EquipCast with the tag “church growth strategies”.
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Episode 178: Measuring Faith: How Data and Devotion Are Revitalizing Sacred Heart Parish
Episode | March 18th, 2025 | 50 mins 29 secs
archdiocese of omaha, building vibrant parishes, catholic, catholic discipleship, catholic ministry, catholic podcast, church growth strategies, church leadership insights, confession habits, disciples, equipcast, eucharist devotion, evangelism, evangelization, faith community, faith-filled community, father jamie zarse, leadership teams, making disciples, marriage enrichment, mass attendance, measuring spiritual progress, ocia growth, parish generosity, parish leadership, parish renewal, parish success stories, parish transformation, prayer warriors, rosary devotion, sacred heart parish, scriptural prayer, shawnee kansas, spiritual habits, transforming parishes
What does it take to build a thriving, faith-filled parish? In this episode, I sit down with Father Jamie Zarse, pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Shawnee, Kansas, to unpack his vision for renewing his parish—starting with a team of prayer warriors and leaders—and the spiritual habits that are transforming his community. From deeper devotion to the Eucharist and the Rosary to more frequent confession and scripture-based prayer, these simple yet powerful practices are sparking real change. Mass attendance is up by 18%, generosity is growing with an additional $408,000 in tithing, and parishioners are coming alive in their faith. Father Jamie also reveals why measuring spiritual progress and forming strong leadership teams are key to sustaining this momentum. He shares how his leadership team, a mix of staff and dedicated volunteers, meets weekly to ensure they are always working on the most important things. They even use innovative tools like QR code surveys during Mass to track engagement in key spiritual habits.
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Coach's Corner 2: Closing Churches
Episode | February 7th, 2023 | 8 mins 16 secs
archdiocese of omaha, catholic, catholic church, catholic faith, christian witness, church building preservation, church closures, church growth strategies, church leadership, closing churches, community engagement, cultural transformation, equipcast, faith renewal, missionary identity, new evangelization, pastoral vision, worship renewal
Did you know that in July of this year more than 20 parishes in our diocese will cease having Sunday Mass? Maybe one of these parishes is your own. The cessation of Sunday Mass will be one of the hardest events for faithful Catholics to process. It feels like the death of a loved one. However, this is not the first time God's people have had to deal with their worship in a particular place coming to an end. I’d like to offer lessons from the past. Why is this happening and what should our response be?