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Specific suggestions for using Growing Faith for catechist formation and preparation... Catechists, like all of us, are busy! Providing them with an easy-to-use and practical formation is essential. Growing Faith is perfectly designed for this use.

Encourage catechists to spend the summer before each season, reading and reviewing the material in Growing Faith.

If possible, gather them in small groups, as or a whole, every week or two for conversation. Encourage them to attend these sessions with their spouses, which will assist them to live and understand their faith in the context of daily household life.

If the entire 48 booklet course proves to be too much, select one of the suggested ten courses for each year.

Before each religious education year begins,

• Advertise in the bulletin and web sites and begin getting the word out person to person among the catechists.

• If possible, schedule gatherings of catechists a minimum of every two weeks to keep the energy flowing.

• Prepare volunteers among the more experienced catechists to assist those who are new to this ministry.

• Make sure you have enough copies of the Growing Faith booklets you will need for that season.

• Invite the pastor or other appropriate pastoral staff to be present.

One week before each gathering

• Review the Growing Faith booklet for that gathering.

• Organize whatever food and other supplies will be needed.

Supplies for each gathering of catechists

• Food and beverages

• Name tags

• Computer and projector for PowerPoint presentation

• Enough Growing Faith booklets for all your catechists

• Music to play as people arrive, and during breaks

• A Bible and copy of the Catechism for the facilitator

• If possible, personal Bibles for each participant

The Welcome

• Make sure your welcome is large and genuine.

Break Open the Word

• Use the process for breaking open the word as described in other whole community catechesis resources.

• Invite them to use Bibles of their own. Help them make the Bible their own personal and treasured book. Teach them to write notes in the margins, to mark the texts they love most, and to be able to find the Sunday readings themselves. They will pass this ability on to their students.

The Lesson

• Each Growing Faith booklet is designed to be used in three short sections, all within a single gathering. Use the step-by-step session plan for each booklet to lead this process. These session plans are presented in Part Three of the Facilitator’s Guide and are designed to work perfectly for catechist preparation.

• Allow plenty of time for discussion and conversation among the catechists.

• At the end, announce other catechetical activities that may be coming up in the near future, and be sure to leave plenty of time for informal socializing.

Afterward

• Many times people with the gift of teaching do not volunteer because they fear they do not know their own faith well enough to help others meet Christ and come to understand the church.

• Invite them to talk with you personally and privately if needed, or help make connections to the pastor, or the pastoral staff. Do not make your catechists feel that being a volunteer is somehow “less” than being a paid staff member.

• Make sure they always know when the next gathering will be. Keep the ball rolling. Excitement builds when the time between gatherings is short.

• Urge them to collect the Growing Faith booklets and return to them often.

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