Equipcast 213 Final

[00:00:00] Jim Jansen: Hey everybody. Welcome to the Quip Cast. So today I sit down with Peter Leveque. Uh, Peter is the executive director and founder of Xavier Mission Funds, and we have an amazing conversation, uh, talking about support raising and this beautiful, uh, you could call it new, but mode of funding and support for missionaries in the field, uh, that as the church, uh, begins to kind of rediscover her missionary identity and move back into op apostolic times that the Lord is providing through, uh, Xavier mission funds, uh, support system, uh, for those individual missionaries, for organizations, Catholic schools, parishes, even diocese, uh, to help provide, uh, support.

And the cost of living necessary, uh, for those individuals. Uh, it's really a fun conversation. We talk about how that type of giving and receiving is healing. Uh, we talk about the biblical roots and examples of the saints and the cool stories of Catholic educators and missionaries and new apostolates that are cropping up with the support of this, uh, mode of fundraising, uh, through Xavier Mission Funds.

You're gonna love today's conversation. Take a listen. 

[00:01:20] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Hey everybody. Welcome to The Equipped Cast, a weekly podcast for the Archdiocese of Omaha. I'm your host, 

[00:01:26] Jim Jansen: Jim Jansen. Now let's dive into some encouragement and inspiration to equip you to live your faith and to be fruitful in your mission. Let's go.

Alright, Peter Leveque, welcome to the Equip Cast. How you doing, sir? 

[00:01:44] Peter Levesque-Xavier: I am doing wonderful. Thank you. Beautiful morning here. 

[00:01:47] Jim Jansen: Yes, it is. It's a, uh, in so many ways. How long have we known each other? I mean, doesn't quite go back to 1999 unless we met maybe when you were a student. Uh, but like.

[00:01:59] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Yeah.

[00:01:59] Jim Jansen: It's been a while.

[00:02:01] Peter Levesque-Xavier: I think it was 2001, probably. Okay. 2000, maybe. 2001. It was one of the original focus. Uh. Well, it was a retreat, more like, uh, more like a retreat. Yes. Than a conference. Yes. But it was the first conference, and I think it was, it goes back to then, and I remember my sophomore year, you coming to my house and, uh, in Greeley and, uh, yeah, and meeting you for the first time.

So it's, been a long time. It's been, gosh, 20, 25 years now. 

Yes 

[00:02:31] Jim Jansen: it, it, has been Well, um, okay. Let me give you a chance to introduce yourself. Uh, um, it's been, you know, we haven't like, it's not like we've been, you know, uh, exchanging Christmas cards every year in between then. So for everybody else, and, uh, catching me up.

Peter, tell us a little bit about your story. When did you first meet the Lord? Talk about your call to mission. Like who are you? 

[00:02:55] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Yeah. You know, my story is, uh, some can resonate with, because it's not a very dramatic come to Jesus moment for myself, but more of a turning of a page. Uh, I, I had, uh, uh, a very, uh, strong upbringing in the church and was very involved with youth group in high school and knew that when I wanted, when I went to college, that I wanted to go to school and get involved with a Catholic campus ministry center.

And, uh, I wanted to find a wife, and I found both. That's great. But, you know, it was more of a series of activities that I did in, high school than a Than a relationship. And that's really the experience that I had in my freshman and sophomore year of college at the University of Northern Colorado where focus was, just getting started.

Uh, focus is so much a part of my story because, uh, they were the. The vehicle that God used to bring me to closer to Christ and to the church. And, uh, and so I, uh, it was really a deepening at that time, you know, the.

[00:03:54] Jim Jansen: Yeah. 

[00:03:55] Peter Levesque-Xavier: The, learning to, walk with our Lord as opposed to just watching our Lord kind of as the way I would make the distinction between my high school experience and my college one.

And it just reaffirmed some of the, charisms and the gifts that I had then. 

Knowing that I wanted to use them for the church, but wasn't quite sure what it was gonna look like. And, um, it was through my involvement with focus that I, fell in love more with the church and realized I wanna work for focus, but when the conversation came up to being a missionary and having to raise my own support, I was petrified.

[00:04:30] Jim Jansen: Yeah. 

[00:04:30] Peter Levesque-Xavier: And as a result, 

[00:04:31] Jim Jansen: you were not the only one, by the way. 

[00:04:34] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Yes. I was in good company. 

[00:04:35] Jim Jansen: You know that well. Yeah. 

[00:04:36] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Yes. And, uh, and so I. I said no for about five years, and I ended up working for the university in a, uh, uh, working with students in residence life, managing a commercial property that, uh, an apartment complex.

And that's where I kinda spent five years mulling over what I was going to do in the first few years of my marriage and still feeling a pull to the church, but not knowing what that was gonna look like. and a spot on the accounting team of focus opened up and I was like, I'm in. Yeah. So I it was hourly and it was not support raising and it was working for the church, so it checked off all the boxes and uh, ultimately it was stepping into that role that really just changed my life.

And, again, just the turning of these pages where it just gets richer and the experience was deeper and deeper, um, to the point where I ultimately was called through some, uh. Some challenges that were happening at home with our, employment on my wife's side. 

Uh, the need to raise support presented itself, and that's when I started raising personal support, uh, and building a network of, mission partners, people who supported me in my work.

Um, and, it really is where it all took off. 

[00:05:50] Jim Jansen: That, that, that's interesting, Peter. What changed? Because I mean, you just like, you know, said, I, like I, seconds ago one of the boxes was not support raising, and now all of a sudden you're in a circumstantial gr what changed? 

[00:06:03] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Well, you know, uh, the need in the family was really great for sure, for additional income.

And for, uh, growing support. And really, when you step into personal support raising You're allowing an opportunity in your life for our Lord to bless you even more. 

You're, in a fixed environment with a salaried job, but once you open the door for support raising, when you have a need because there's a leaky roof, or in my case at moments was a broken pipe from a bathroom.

you're giving our Lord the opportunity to provide for you in a way that he wouldn't necessarily be able to do. He, all things can be done through Christ, but I mean, in a financial way. You know, mission partners making extra gifts and covering that expense in a unique way.

And so. That, um, it really was a paradigm shift on looking at God's providences.

And for me and my life and my family and how I support my family and putting my trust and, looking at, this isn't my money, this is God's money, and I'm just a steward of those resources.

Even when they hit the payroll side, of course the organization no longer has control over those funds, but I do, from a, spiritual side to it.

I have to steward those gifts well and I will be accountable for how I steward those funds that have been entrusted to me. 

And it just really, it, caused me to look at not just myself as being on mission, but really how bought in am I to what I'm doing? Am I willing to essentially lay down my nets to follow Christ. And trust him in all aspects of my life and not just the ones that I want to delegate to him. 

[00:07:46] Jim Jansen: Man. Oh, Peter, that's so good. And I mean, you're, you know, I think most of the listeners know. Yeah, I was a, focused missionary for many years and I raised my own support. And just like what you're sharing resonates so deeply with my own experience.

I mean, I had to really believe the truth that none of it was mine. None of it. I was just a steward. I had to really believe that the Lord was going to provide for me. It's so deep. It's not, fundraising isn't hard because there's a technical difficulty. I mean, there are some skills to it, but it's hard because the deep seated in my heart, you know, generational past from, you know, father to son and all, these like about, you know, giving and receiving and worth and merit and independence.

All these things have to be brought. Underneath the, mantle of what it means to be a disciple. And, uh, at least for me, and I'm hearing a rhyme in your story as well, there were things that were like, oh, well that's really deep in me, but that is maybe not the way a disciple should think about these things.

[00:08:56] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Yeah, absolutely. The, layers specifically around the topic of trusting our Lord.

And how much, you know, in, in these salary type roles, we put our trust in security, and I'm air quotes here.

But security, uh, on, our assurance of our, care for the future is not necessarily relying on God.

Whereas as a missionary, you're relying on the generosity of others as well as, um, the, organizations that you partner with and who's helping you kind of connect, be the bridge to, those resources regardless, requires such a degree of trust every month, because really we don't know where it's coming from next month.

I mean, in, in theory we kind of do, but, not to, to a great extent. Things can happen at, a drop of a hat.

And so. Because we, uh, don't know. We are called to an even increasingly more deep trust in what we're doing for that. Um, and, so as a result, we're, at his mercy, you know? Yeah.

And it's, the security is not your, god, so to speak, but really.

Our Lord is our Lord and we rely on him. So it's an, increasingly level, an increased level of trust that he's calling us to. 

[00:10:09] Jim Jansen: And I don't know, I dunno if you would say this is your experience. I noticed two things that flow from that.

One would be, if I'm in a place of deeper trust, if it's more practical, if it's more habitual, if it's, you know, more complete to all aspects of my life, including my finances, that pays dividends. In my ministry work, uh, turns out right being a person of trust is really essential in the day-to-day stuff of ministry.

So I noticed that dividend and I can see you nodding. Uh, and then the other thing that I noticed is I am actually safer and more secure from a financial point of view when I'm in that place of trust than when I'm simply relying on myself, like practically. You know, having this community of individuals whose their own personal expression of faith and participation in the mission is coming through their giving, uh, to my work.

there's a deeper security and a diversification than it's just my paycheck and just, I dunno, it, seems like there's this Yeah, I, actually am more secure. Once I've been willing to step out in faith and trust the Lord to provide through this community of people. Is that your experience as well?

[00:11:35] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Oh yeah. No. And to the point of, the security, uh, dynamic. Yeah. The, trust that I have in my security is an empty. There's an, there's, it's, an empty security, whereas the, layers that come kinda get peeled away in trusting our Lord. 

[00:11:53] Jim Jansen: Yeah. 

[00:11:53] Peter Levesque-Xavier: There's, it's replaced with confidence and joy in our Lord.

and it, it does bring about a sense of peace to me and in my family as I model this for my children, um, and helping them.

Kinda walk through the idea of, um, you know. Personal stewardship and their resources and how they will approach, you know, an income in the future and, maybe even mission work, God willing, um, or a vocation rather.

But yes, there's so much fruit that comes from this abandonment that you have to kind of give to in trusting our Lord. Um, that does yield significant dividends from a grace perspective within my marriage, within my children.

And the relationships that I build. And it's interesting to see how that has, um, a, we talk about with focus, um, a spiritual multiplication, but really this grace filled multiplication that happens as a result of what we're doing, you know, in our family unit, right.

And how it trickles out into our extended family and their friends and the model that we are experiencing for them or sharing with them in, and how they're embracing some of that in their life in small ways. But you start to see a, turning of hearts, uh, just. Because of your example. 

[00:13:11] Jim Jansen: Yeah. As you're talking, I'm like, it's, I, experienced personal support raising, uh, fundraising, you know, different organizations call it different things.

But this kind of developing of a, community of individuals who support, uh, me on mission. I experienced it as healing wrong attitudes about money and work and reward and giving and receiving that were. Potentially and really tensions between my wife and I and our marriage.

Um, tensions that, caused me to live less generously, less courageously, except like those things were healed by the commitment to step out in faith again and again inviting others to participate in the mission through their prayerful financial giving.

Uh, like, oh gosh, that was healing. 

[00:14:10] Peter Levesque-Xavier: A hundred percent. Yeah. The, you know, even in my transition when I was connecting with my mission partners about moving from focus to now Xavier Mission Fund, I can't tell you how many mission partners AF that have been supporting us for years 

Ended the call by saying, I love you, and Wow.

It took me, it took my breath away because. I felt that about them because, not just because they're generous, but because they really invested in my family and reciprocated the intentionality and the investment. But when they told me that, it was almost like, you know, everybody encounters some, feelings of unworthiness at times in their lives.

Or they shoulders certain things or wounds and things. But it was just such a, moment of grace. For myself in, experiencing that. Um, and, even just in building a relationship with these folks who are giving financially 

You are sharing your mission in a way that invites them to grow in their, faith.

And it's, a beautiful thing because you realize that, wow, I'm ministering to college students, um, at a college level, but yet I'm also ministering to the people that are supporting me in my work.

And recognizing that their salvation depends on how they steward their resources. They don't have the time, but they have the money and I've got the time, but not the money.

And then together we're getting that work together. And so looking at them through that lens, it, and also communicating that back to them helps them to understand the role that they're playing in mission and Right. How, it's an invitation to participation. 

[00:15:49] Jim Jansen: Right. Their, significance is way more than just as a financial giver.

I mean, I remember sometimes I would be on a support raising appointment and I'd be inviting someone to participate. And I had been talking about my ministry and when I invited them, this didn't happen all the time, but every now and then I'd invite someone to, to participate and they would be confused a, about what I was offering or inviting them to.

They're like, uh, Jim, I mean, I love this, but I can't come with you onto campuses. I can't, you know, and they're like, oh, well, I mean, I, met, come with me in a metaphorical way. I want you to pray for me and I want you to, join in this work with a, with your financial giving. And they're like, oh, okay.

That sounds great. But, I was so passionate about the reality of their participation. 'cause I saw their lives and their family be blessed. By the participation. Uh, and even, I mean, this is a little bit, it's back what we were talking about before, but I, as a missionary, I experienced several significant economic downturns, uh, while being a missionary.

And I can't say that I was, you know, that my support raising was totally unaffected, but it was very minimal, you know? I mean, you know, every time there's a big drop in the economy, um, sometimes, you know, diocese and, wonderful nonprofits have to either close or take a major step back. And I felt very, little because when those individuals evaluated their giving, there was this implicit hierarchy that suddenly became very explicit.

They're like, well, we're gonna give to our pastor and we're gonna give to Jim because we can see the effect we, uh, of, this work. We can see the connection. And so it was just, uh, there was, uh. There was a safety and a security. Even when times got difficult financially, people felt that they were a part of something.

They saw the fruitfulness of it, and they, maintained their giving because they, they saw it. They saw the significance. 

[00:18:03] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Yeah, it was, I echo that and yeah, to that point, my experience was similar in that, um, even through that downturn, uh, specifically I'm thinking about like 2008 and 2020.

Yeah. Both of those environments, um, we were blessed beyond measure in some of those experiences. That was our experience. Uh, um, but to that point, you know, through the COVID time, it was a great opportunity to reconnect with mission partners and intentionally connect with them, say over Zoom in, in those ways.

Um, but because it's a. An invitation to partnership. It just was an opportunity to double down on that piece and Yeah. Uh, and, connect with them in a way maybe you hadn't before. Yeah. And so it was very, life-giving for us, but also for them as well. And, that really just echoes the, uh, the co-labor part of this mission that we are embarking on.

[00:18:53] Jim Jansen: Yes, 

[00:18:53] Peter Levesque-Xavier: In, sharing the gospel more broadly with the children of the church, but also with those who don't know the church Or know Christ, and, inviting them in. Um, it's just, uh, uh, another way that our Lord surprised me through those times. So. 

[00:19:10] Jim Jansen: Peter, it's probably, I want to, I wanna give you a chance to talk about now your work with, Xavier Mission Fund, but maybe before we do, I realize, you know, we're talking about this type of relational fundraising support, raising the variety of different kind of terms.

It's probably worth taking just a little bit of a detour just to talk about kind of like the scriptural roots and how this shows up in the history of the church. We don't wanna spend too much time, but this is something that we've lived for many years. Um, can you talk a little bit about some of the scriptural roots examples in church history of how this type of, uh, support raising, uh, shows up.

[00:19:54] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of history there, so it could take, um, plenty of time, a whole course even on but ultimately the idea was that as, uh, as, the disciples and apostles currently went out, they were living off of the means of the people that they were serving. 

And, um, and some of them were still doing their job, like Paul Tent making.

Um, but at times they made a shift into how they were doing ministry full time, and they were completely reliant upon those that they were ministering to, uh, living off of and with the people that they were serving. And so that's what it looked like, you know, biblically, um, as the church has grown different.

Uh, periods of time in the church, it looked a little bit different. So eventually the church, which was very flat at the time, meaning there was, uh, the disciples making other disciples.

And inviting people. You had the, body of Christ starting to grow very horizontally and not very vertically.

It took a long time for the church to build the hierarchy that became what we, know today, but ultimately it was very flat. And that's really what this heart of support raising kind of gets back to. Um, it's a flattened structure, meaning when someone gives to, in support of a missionary, while the gift is to the sponsoring organization.

Directed for the use of that missionary. Recognizing that not everybody, um, who steps into mission has the same need. And so if you are called to mission.

We are trusting in the province, providence of our Lord, that he will provide for you. And so maybe you're a, young father with, a few kids, or maybe you're a single individual, those needs are very different.

But our Lord is gonna provide for you in the state of that you're in. Um, and that need is very different. And as a result, um, you know, it allows for some flexibility in that. Right, 

[00:21:49] Jim Jansen: right. It's like a missionary who's serving in Nebraska versus one who's serving in Manhattan. 

Very different.

Yeah. We were talking before we turned the mics on. My son is serving, uh, as a missionary, uh, out in, uh, in California San Jose. And. I mean, gas is $6 a gallon and he drives a lot. Yeah. Uh, and it's just little details. It's like, oh yeah. That, that there's a flexibility that this mode of support provides. 

[00:22:17] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Yeah, absolutely.

So in the, history of the church, what went from a very, uh, decentralized model became more centralized. And you started to have organizations like, uh, the Dominicans and the Benedictines, who really started to take on some of these educational pieces, which really was evangelization at the time.

And, they took it on. And then later on, um, you know, the church became more structured and had, uh, the dicastries that, that, that really take on mission work in the church. 

And, all of the evangelization roles were being filled by, religious and men and women. And ultimately up until the modern church, uh, it was predominantly done by those.

And that's really just kind of where the lady focused on say, well, that's the responsibility of the priests and nuns. Well. With the decline in vocations since the, late sixties, the lady have stepped into that role more and they're looking more like the original. Church, the church in the time of just after the time of Christ.

And so as a result, we're starting to embrace some of that living off the means of the people that you're serving. Now, the means of commerce have changed a little bit before you were trading, you know, the goods that you produced on your farm or in your. 

[00:23:32] Jim Jansen: Right, right. 

[00:23:33] Peter Levesque-Xavier: In your mill. And now that, that is, is currency.

And what we've adopted as a church now really is, has been shaped kind of secularly by what the Evangelical church has done since the dawn of the tax code. So since that time, they have been refining this process for about a hundred years because they don't have the vocations that we do. And so the laity stepped in and they've built this model and that's what we've come to adopt in the nineties.

Starting kind of really with focus, or at least focus, is the organization that really launched with that.

And grew it to what it is now. Right. But ultimately. Seeing the fruit of the laity stepping in. We've gone from a more hierarchical structure of how we support mission work to a very more flat, decentralized approach where everybody shares in the responsibility of raising support and inviting people on mission, not looking at people as piggy banks.

As partners in mission. Right. So that's kind of in a very vague and very, you know, a high level. That's kind of where we're at with support raising and where we're at today with it. 

[00:24:36] Jim Jansen: Yeah. I, appreciate that, Peter. I just wanna highlight a couple of things that, that you said there. 'cause, you know, I mean, when we see it in scripture, I mean, you can even go all the way back to the Old Testament.

You see the way the Lord provides for, uh, all of his people, but particularly right. The, priestly people, the, Levites, you know, they don't get land. Uh, they get a portion of the tithe, and then later on you see St. Paul, he's, you know, he's, when we have the eyes to see it, when we read particularly the latter parts of his letters He's inviting current Christians, not only to support him as he cares for them, but to support his mission to those who don't yet know him. Right. You know, that. To, support his, you know, mission out to Spain and, other places. Uh, and so you start to see these like literally fundraising letters that are a part of, you know, Romans and other, uh, other things.

And then when we get to, you know, the, Dominicans and the Franciscans and the early Jesuits, you see, oh, that they are going around inviting people. To contribute to their work. And some of it is going for the poor that they're feeding. Some of it is going for educational materials, but some of it is going for their sustenance, right.

For, their, uh, costs of living. And I gotta believe that, right. St. Jean Juin of the Little Sisters of the Poor, there's great stories. Like she would just have this circuit, she would make the rounds and she would go back to the same people. And if she had the benefit of, you know, electronic funds transfer at a, giving portal, you gotta believe she would've used it.

Yeah. Uh, and so it's, yeah, it's beautiful to see, I think as the baptismal priesthood has kind of reawakened as, we've begin, begun to respond to the call of the church to step out into a mission. As baptized individuals. Uh, there, the Lord has found a way to provide. So it isn't all on the parish or the diocese to fund all of this.

Um, yeah, you know. Bishops ha have a way of, still helping, uh, individual missionaries and organizations discern and preserve their Catholic identity, but they don't have, thanks to this model, they don't have the responsibility to fund everybody. 

[00:27:06] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Yeah. Yeah, there's certainly something to, um, the pastoral approach that the bishop can provide in, in even just their physical support of what they're doing Right.

And how it's, it is a rising tide raises all ships, even when we support a missionary directly and not necessarily through the church. That does yield fruit for the church as well.

And, it, does a lot to build, um, towards, uh, a Christ-centered identity.

I think at the individual level, but also at the apostolic level, um, at the, church level, the diocesan level, and even in the church more broadly.

Um, because that really is so much a part of. Who we are. Um, and

Uh, it's, beautiful to see kind of how this has, um, grown and, made kind of come full circle a little bit in this way. And so as a result, we're seeing, a, an ignition, if you will. Right. Or a galvanization of, missionary work again that we haven't seen for, a while.

[00:28:10] Jim Jansen: Right. Well, and I, guess I would say it's like, you know, the transition from right Christendom to apostolic times. 

Um, that, that is, I think, rightly a kind of like a key for people to understand the times that we live in and the transitions we're experiencing. It's no surprise that in that transition, the Lord would provide a way for these new apostolic initiatives that he's stirring in the hearts of individuals.

Um, I mean, it just, it really is, we're, back to apostolic times and turns out there's, an apostolic mode of. Financial support, prayerful support, that accompanies that new kind of renewal that the Lord is, spawning all over the place. 

[00:28:57] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Yeah, that's certainly what kind of, uh, was an impetus for me in the discernment of starting Xavier Mission Fund.

[00:29:03] Jim Jansen: Talk about that. Give us, you know, 2021. Yeah. Um, you're seeing this need amongst, uh, leaders in the church institutions. In the church, individuals who are feeling a call to mission. Talk about the need, talk about the call to, to start Save Your Mission fund. 

[00:29:23] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Well, it was, uh, uh, with much resistance, unfortunately, and maybe it would've started a little a, little earlier had I, I been more, um, a little more trusting because I, was starting to move into the spirit of, security and working for an apostate that I wholeheartedly love and support and still do supporting a number of missionaries and, uh, but It was through conversations and, um, really they were. They were life giving conversations because mission partners were like, you know, you do such a great job in your role, um, uh, at focus. Um, and that role for clarity purposes, was always in a support role. I was never a field missionary.

Uh, working on campus, but I stepped into a support role initially, and I was unique because I had touched almost every node or every activity of our business value chain with focus. So talking about the front end with donor giving and, gift processing and payroll and accounting and business solutions, and, then all of our international work, I was unbeknownst to me was developing a skillset. 

That was going to lend itself towards starting an apostate that did the same thing, but for the church more broadly.

Still having this, unique and, deep desire to, serve the church, recognizing. Her and all of her, infinite wisdom and, the beauty of the church wanting them to be more successful from an administrative perspective, knowing that, that was my gifting.

I'm like, how can I leverage this better for the church?

And just through conversations with my wife over COVID and through mission partners, um, who had prompted me even earlier on, um, just recognizing I had a gifting and wanted me to do it more for the church. They saw something that I had not yet seen.

And one of the things that was occurring over the last half of the 2010 to 2020 piece was a number of apostolates coming to focus. Asking for help and getting started. 

And the, leadership was extremely generous. And, with their time, speaking of Curtis Martin, he would give them, you know, an hour or two of his time, kind of give them the 30,000 foot view.

But when you have an apostate that is just getting started and you've got this entrepreneurial spirit, one of the, key components is this desire to get into the weeds because they're looking for the formula. What is it gonna take to get things going? Yeah. And they naturally would say, well, to get into the details of what we're currently doing, let me let you talk to Peter Leveque.

[00:31:56] Jim Jansen: Yeah. 

[00:31:56] Peter Levesque-Xavier: And so they would come to my desk. I would give them as much time as they needed. Sometimes it was a lot of time, sometimes it was just a little bit. But ultimately ending with the conversation. Is there somebody else that could do this for us? 

And I was like, well, I am not aware of any, but if you find one, please let me know because I would love to share that information with the others that come across my desk. That.

[00:32:19] Jim Jansen: Yeah. 

[00:32:19] Peter Levesque-Xavier: And so ultimately that was what's what stirred in my heart, like, oh, maybe there's an opportunity here. And thinking about it from the missionary side and seeing focused missionaries who are no longer feeling called to minister at the college level, but wanted to bring this into, say, a Catholic school or bring this into.

A parish and not having the flexibility and being able to do that thinking, well, I don't really wanna start a nonprofit and seeing them go the secular route of, getting a traditional, um, salaried role at another, either for-profit or, or. 

another nonprofit, but one that kind of served the, area that they were feeling led into, um, wanting to solve that for them and find a way to, to leverage what we were doing at focus that was working so well and how do we deploy that more broadly within the church.

And so that was kind of the beginning of Xavier Mission Fund and starting in 2021. And, uh, a dear friend of mine who was working for the servants here in Denver, uh, came to me and said, uh. We're, looking at leaving because we don't wanna do more administration, we want to do more ministry. And I said, well, come on board as my first project.

And we started to figure out what this was gonna look like. And then by the end of summer, there was a couple more projects, and then a couple more projects. And ultimately, through the support of my mission partners, uh, it, grew enough that in 2025. Five January of 2025, I stepped away from focus to build this full time.

And with the support of my mission partners, we've, done that now for about a year, almost a year and a half now. Um, we now serve, uh, well in total have served over 107 missionaries or Apostolates. And, uh, we have, um, 25 that have come on just in, in 2026 alone. Um, and the need has definitely presented itself.

We're now the domestic administrator for what will be, um, uh, focused Europe. Um, it's changing a little bit over there as far as what they're gonna be called, but we're gonna be their, domestic administrator here in the us. Um, and now there's, opportunities in the church like St.

Mary's Catholic Center down at Texas a and m. They have staff who are raising support now. Um, and, the, collegiate campus ministry model is being one that's very fruitful for me.

And one that is giving us an opportunity to start helping them retain. Good staff, recruit staff maybe, that are looking to leave focus because they're no longer wanting to do the, missionary life, but wanting to still serve that demographic or serve more permanently in a location to plant their roots.

Sometimes that makes decisions to, to discern out, but these opportunities have presented themselves that are very life-giving for me because I'm doing what I love to do and it's making a meaningful change for some of these, for some of these projects. 

[00:35:13] Jim Jansen: Peter, talk about. Some of the other types of initiatives, missionaries you've supported in your first few years?

Sure. Uh, I heard, I'm curious, I heard you mention Catholic school teachers. Yeah. Just talk about some of the Yeah. Some of the types of projects. 

[00:35:28] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Yeah. So, uh, I come from a long line of school teachers, both Catholic and, public. And just growing up in that, environment, I've, been witness to the challenges that come with being an educator and being able to provide for a family.

And seeing this model, I, believe wholeheartedly that, um, the future vocations of our church are in Catholic schools today. And as a result, we want them to be formed well. And who's forming missionary disciples? Well focus is, and as people are leaving focus and stepping into an education role, I would love to be able to.

To, support them more broadly by, by supporting them with supplementing their wages, if at all possible, through some fundraising efforts to increase the compensation that we give them so that they stay in those, vocations longer term. Um, so I'm very passionate about education. My, my children are in Catholic education, uh, and it's been very fruitful for my, family and grace-filled.

And, uh, I want to support, uh, that effort and I see this model being such a fruitful model for, education.

Now it does come with different layers and different challenges, um, that we're slowly kinda walking through. Um, but we have, um, a small Catholic school in Chicago that we're currently partnering with, and there are several conversations with other schools who are interested in our model of what we're proposing for them and walking alongside them.

We become an extension of that school and represent that school when we partner with them. And so it makes deployment of this missionary model in the education. Education setting very, easy because we do all of the administrative work.

That is our gifting. And so when a school partners with us, they don't actually have a whole lot of administrative, uh, additional administrative work that we, we shoulder that for them.

Um, and so the idea is that we're gonna continue to bring this partnership model to education. Where we have people that maybe have stopped giving to the church, but maybe would like to give and invest in, say, Catholic education and make a meaningful change in the classroom.

By retaining and recruiting really, um, uh, faithful and um, uh, and well-formed missionaries who are educating our children.

So the education piece is one of the verticals that we are currently working on, uh, and, growing. Um, and it's, uh, one that's starting to continue to bear fruit. We have a number of teachers that have come on board that are raising independently. Um, we have some, uh, some small micro schools that we're working with.

And then, um, conversations with larger schools about what this would look like in deployment through, um, say a Catholic high school. So those are some of the, education side. 

[00:38:09] Jim Jansen: Could we dig into that? 'cause like, I'm just like listening to you and I'm just grinning from ear to ear because it, almost sound, I mean, who wants to argue with Right.

Paying Catholic grade school and high school teachers? Paying Catholic educators adjust wage, you know, and, helping the best of our teachers to be able to persist in that vocation and to raise their own families and to be able to afford to send their own children to Catholic education. I mean, that's the, you know, there's a lot of things I think that are sometimes scandalous in the way we, we care for, and pay for our, Catholic educators.

But the weirdest one is when I can't afford to send my kid to a Catholic school. 'cause I teach at a Catholic school. I mean, that's like, and I know some organizations have fixed that by offering tuition breaks. Um, but you're saying you're able to help either supplement an individual teacher's salary as they do support raising, or maybe even for the entire school, help them.

Help their faculty raise support and then handle the payroll and all of the, kind of the behind the scenes admin for them if they're, interested in that. 

[00:39:30] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Yeah, there's, uh, yeah, there's certain layers depending on the, partnership that we offer there. Sure. But, um, the school still has full autonomy and full, uh, uh, supervision of all their teachers.

The teachers, employers of record are the, is the school. Right. Um, we are just an extension of that and, um, yeah, we're only just starting to see the fruits of this in, that demographic. But, uh, I think that the field is very ripe for, growth and for grace to kind of abound in this area. And, um, I'm excited to see where it's headed.

'cause it's, yeah. Uh, it's so meaningful for them and, teachers already know how to squeeze blood from a turnip, if you will. 

[00:40:10] Jim Jansen: Yeah. 

[00:40:11] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Make the most of their str you know, because they are on, a fixed income. And, um, and so a little goes a long way and I'm seeing some of the, I mean, with the teachers that I've experienced on average, um, you have teachers that are raising anywhere from, about a thousand dollars to up to $2,500 in additional monthly support.

Which really does close the gap on their need. For, a livable wage, especially in some of these areas like, you know, you mentioned Manhattan, right? Or California. Like, those are great, uh, examples of where it's very difficult for teachers to live because, and even plant roots, um, in that way.

Um, and, we want to make a meaningful change in that respect. 

[00:40:52] Jim Jansen: Yeah. Oh, it, I mean, it's fantastic and again, for sometimes. for the ability. Some, you know, some educators are their dual income houses. Uh, but for some, you know, if the teacher is going to be the primary breadwinner, uh, and if they're having, you know, multiple children open to life, there's that, there's a, need, we talked about this earlier, that, you know, it's, not necessarily the same, uh, for a single teacher who is only providing for themselves versus a teacher who has multiple dependents.

And the ability to kind of supplement that so that primary breadwinners can stay within the educational profession. It's just, uh, it's, really exciting. And I know what, we'll, provide your info later so, you know, for people who, wanna dig in even deeper. Uh, but I just appreciate.

Camping out there for a little bit because it's so exciting and, you know, you don't have to be a genius to notice that there is something very fragile and strained about our current educational model. That, you know, that, the strain that parishes are feeling now, it's becoming a larger and larger percentage of their budget.

Uh, and, we're not, you know, it's not because we're overpaying teachers. We're, probably still underpaying them. And so. To have this as a, supplement, uh, even, a full scale solution is super exciting. So. 

[00:42:25] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Yeah. 

[00:42:25] Jim Jansen: Peter, what else? 

[00:42:27] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Well, it also, the parish level, you know, the same uh, use case really lends itself to parish based roles where, uh, a pastor maybe is unable to fill a full-time, you know, family life ministry or even youth ministry role by inviting a missionary in who raises their own support.

The idea is they're bringing their own income stream. So it, Make something possible that was previously impossible based on their budget constraints. Um, and so it, yes, it lends itself to, to, to helping in that way. Um, and, yeah, we don't presume to have all the answers, but we, a lot of the situations end up being partly prescriptive, and so it means navigating some of their own challenges because every diocesan structure or school structure or parish structure, there's variations that we have to navigate.

Uh, that's been one of the most interesting parts of this is learning how the church works.

And, the vast opportunities, uh, that present themselves and how each situation, while there's a, good portion of it that is very replicable, there's a still a large portion or a, significant portion rather that is, um, uh, prescriptive and we have to kind of navigate those pieces together.

Um, uh. Such as giving to a school and the, Catholic radium, you know, the church tax that happens in, that environment.

And how do we navigate that within the confines? Uh, how do we navigate the additional payroll taxes that come with paying somebody? And we have solutions for that and as well.

So we, we try to, identify all of the hurdles that kind of prevent them from, uh, you know. From Stop to Go and, what makes it possible for them? And that's really our hope is that we make things possible for the parish to, to thrive to, for the school to thrive, or the apostolate who's just getting started, but needs someone to employ somebody, um, or to pay missionaries or to, uh,

walk with them as they start their nonprofit and, helping them see what needs to happen to get things going. You know, it seems very daunting to start a ministry or to start a nonprofit. And we, see ourselves as, the, partner that helps demystify that process. So it seems very, uh, tangible and impossible for them, kind of removing some of those roadblocks, which for them often are just, uh, you know, uh, clouds.

They just don't, they can't see through it. We help them kind of see through those and what it's gonna look like on the other side. 

[00:44:49] Jim Jansen: Man, I mean, Peter, it's, you know, in a word, you're offering wisdom. I mean, you've got this experience of like, this is how, you do this. These are some of the legal constraints.

Here are some of the questions you need to ask yourself, and then we will help you. You know, it, it's rare it happens, but it's pretty rare, you know, that someone who's like, kind of called to a pastoral ministry role also has this kind of administrative charism, uh, and a love for accounting. I'm not saying it's never happened, but But, to say like, Hey, let us be your accountants. Let us be your, business develop, not business. Your, ministry, apostolate development coaches. We're gonna help you do this. We're gonna, we're, gonna bring our gifts and our experience to bear. Um, it's super exciting. 'cause I mean, it is often, I don't know how many times I think I've heard individuals who maybe have an inkling of a, of an ongoing call.

But without support like this, they're like, well, I mean, I guess, I guess my, my, my time serving the church is done, you know, and I'll try and be a faithful member of the parish. Uh, but the, but without something like Xavier, I wonder how many kind of like Yeah. Just apostolates in ministries and, um, yeah.

Mission vocations, uh, get either stunted or lost. 

[00:46:12] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Well, thank you for that. And, yeah, I agree. I think, you know, even in thinking through a few, of the projects that have been with me for a long time now, since the beginning, um, one of them is, Paradigm Missions, and they are kind of an extension of what Focus is doing, but also at the high school level in San Diego.

And it's just so exciting because, you know, we take for granted our gifts sometimes, and in taking it granted, you don't realize the gift that you are for some. When you, when I connect with someone and they're like, oh. You, they, get so excited about the partnership and I'm, and I, and, I, chuckle a little bit to myself because I forget that we are solving a problem that they currently have not been able to solve.

And when they find that we exist to help them, it's like a light bulb has gone off for them and their, enthusiasm is, Overwhelming sometimes, but it's exciting for me because it brings me so much joy to know that we're solving some of those pieces. Um, an example I was just thinking of as you're chatting is there's a, ministry on the East coast called Fight Club Catholic, and it's a, I love the name.

Um, and, uh.

[00:47:14] Jim Jansen: Wait, say, it again. Slower. 

[00:47:16] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Sure. Fight Club Catholic. 

[00:47:18] Jim Jansen: Okay. 

[00:47:19] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Fight Club. It like, yeah. And it's like the movie, I don't recommend the movie necessarily, but, uh, uh, but, uh, but like the movie, and it's a men's purity initiative and they accompany men who struggle with, um, uh, pornography, uh, struggles.

And it's beautiful because you, get excited to see the men that are excited about being a part of Fight Club. I mean, it just sounds really masculine, you know? And, but it's very fruitful and it's continuing to grow. He's now, uh, the gentleman that, that is leading that initiative, his name's Matta Harrow.

He was starting this off the side of his desk as the campus minister at the University of Maryland there.

And, or one of the universities in Maryland. And, um, and ultimately the, he started his apostate but didn't really know what was next and how to kind of get it off the ground.

And we were able to come in through an introduction from a dear friend at Focus and, uh, we met him and then we became his, administrator.

We were a fiscal sponsor for him as he was getting started. And now he's got a, really strong program. He's got three or four staff. We've got a couple more missionaries coming on board. And the fruit just is, is. coming from his apostle. He's got multiple locations now where he's doing, it's, um, uh, um, I, believe it's a little bit more like a, 12 step type of a program for For men that struggle there, but it's an accompaniment ministry and, um, and it's just beautiful to see the fruit of that apostate. But really we just served as the, conduit for him in a way that, um, uh, he couldn't see. Path through, and we've just walked with him and now he's got his own nonprofit.

He's, registered as a public charity, and he's got, he's hiring staff and he's, it's thriving. And that brings me a lot of joy because we We were responding to the grace that we were given to really kind of help launch others who were struggling to get things going. And there's a lot of really great initiatives that are coming out in the church and we're serving them, uh, in a very concrete way that, that makes things possible.

And it brings me a lot of joy. 

[00:49:24] Jim Jansen: Yeah, man. That, is so beautiful. Again, talk about, like a deep, need in the church, you know, a accompaniment for those, struggling with, addictions. Uh. And, that would not have happened without the wisdom experience and kind of the support structures, uh, that you guys were able to put in place.

Uh, what else? I just wanna invite you to share some stories, you know, brag about, uh, some of the, projects, because there I can tell it's a joy for you. I mean, I can see your face at our conversation. Sure. Everybody else can just hear your voice, but it's a joy for you to recognize. All of this good work.

Much of it is, I'm still probably even unknown to you, but all this good work that is moving forward. 'cause you're like, yeah, I know. Tax law. Yeah. I, happen to like accounting a little nerdy, but turns out you need that help. 

[00:50:25] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Yeah. You know, um, it, it's interesting, you, step into your apostate and this is kind of the advice that I give, you know, folks, uh, that are kind of on the fence about getting started.

Um, or like, what's my first step? And, really it's a simple message is take one step. you're not taking three or four or five, just take one and then discern and take one more. Um, and. You know, there's some opportunities that have presented themselves with this work that I was unaware of, like, um, the men's and women's ministry, that, that kind of caught me by surprise because I didn't, uh, necessarily see that coming in, and I'm sorry, the.

I'll clarify the men's and women's ministries that they're just getting started at Texas a and m. Uh, if you're following, what's going down there at St. Mary's Catholic Center? Aggie Catholic? Um, they, they have every year they have a, very large population of students that come into the church and focus is there and there's a lot of fruit coming from their work.

But one of the things that they're seeing with this brand new Catholic Center there, and, with the, with, the community is a need for spiritual direction. And the priests are really limited. Their resources. And a lot of what the priests, uh, find with those who are just getting plugged into spiritual direction actually could be given through the laity.

So they've created a men's and women's ministry where they're hiring young, faithful men and women into a role that when someone is initially coming into the church and they wanna start spiritual direction, they'll start with the men's and women's ministry. And they kind of triage what they're doing on college campus, the, campus there, and giving them an opportunity to plant roots with, uh, an active prayer life in the reception of sacraments.

Right. And really the, the, foundation that they need to really begin the conversation of going deeper with, say, a priest or a sister who can, is trained to be able to give them that direction. Right. And I love that. I just never saw that ministry coming and, um, and it was a connection through another project of, evangelization that someone made an introduction.

And so, uh, it brings me a lot of joy to meet with them because they're hiring some incredible missionaries when you're doing something on your own. It's wonderful and it's very life-giving, but when you are able to then start expanding your work by inviting others to join you 

It's, like the work just multiplies itself, but also the fruit multiplies as well.

And so it's, that growth is just so, um, uh, it's impressive. I take no credit for any of it. Um, but it is so neat to see a spiritual multiplication, if you will, of that, piece. Um, and, I'm, I've got a couple other, uh, folks, women actually, um, who are, doing parish based missions and spiritual direction, and they go through, there's some, uh, some, uh, apostolates that really train others and kind of doing this triage work Is really neat. And it's neat to see that growth is starting to occur and they're able to, support our religious, you know, from this perspective where before the, it's really tapped into, um, ministries that are. You know, struggling because of Uh, overwork and, the abundance of the need.

It can be overwhelming for some of them. 

[00:53:50] Jim Jansen: Yeah. I mean, I just to, to build off that you, like, I've seen so many times where, uh, you know, I mean, well-trained priests and religious, I mean, again, you know, like eight plus years sometimes, you know, of formation, uh, and then sometimes additional training and spiritual direction, and they are equipped to walk someone through the finer points of discerning what God is actually saying in their prayer and where he's inviting them to move next.

And that. Genius. That training sometimes gets swallowed up by all of these people who've had a fresh conversion. And they're like, so now what? They're like, well, I mean, start praying every day. You know, and, the ability to have someone who can just say like, Hey, let's start praying every day. Let me help you.

Uh, getting people started to relieve some of that burden so that then when they are ready for that, fine tuned, help me really hear the voice of the Lord and, discern with me based off your expertise and training what the Lord is really asking. Um, that it's like they're, it's like we're preserving their expertise and their vocations because this problem, thank you evangelization of all these people who just need to establish a basic habit that's being addressed by these other laborers.

[00:55:17] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Yeah. No, it's, uh, it's amazing because the people that are stepping into these ministries are well-formed. they're very educated and they're uniquely positioned to support the church more broadly. Um, and this is only gonna feed, I believe, the vocations of the church. Yes. Um, we're already starting to see that just from the, natural, um, involvement and participation of students in just saying how our lords using focus to bring about vocations Is, beautiful. Um, and, uh, it's, an impressive feat there. Other opportunities that have presented themselves. Like, for example, there's a ministry that I'm partnering with that does a lot for the mental health of priests and seminarians and bishops. And it's neat, like, uh, that's not an a demographic that I necessarily would've thought to, serve, but that because of their experience in the way that they, uh, in their, unique position to be able to see that they're now offering a great service to the church that can help, uh, a priest, bishop, or seminarian transition from seminarian to real life.

Or a, newly ordained priest who might be overwhelmed by the responsibilities of a, parish who being a pastor. Or a bishop who's newly ordained and needs, you know, all those to have more resources ready for them to support them. Um, it's just beautiful to see the, these, uh, the giftings rec people recognizing their giftings and stepping into that space and just see the, it flourish is so exciting and encouraging for me as a, lay person.

Um, and, uh, and also for the future of our church as well. 

[00:56:55] Jim Jansen: No, I mean, I, happen to know who you're talking about there. big fan of Prism Ministries. Yeah. And, you know, it's one of those things, I mean, again, having now worked at a diocesan level, their ability to come alongside a bishop and say, I know you want to care for your priests.

Um, we can help you. we've got this, you know, experience and this network of coaches and spiritual directors and counselors, and we can help leverage that and Oh yeah, it's, it's actually accessible to you financially because we have these, you know, these support teams. Um, I mean it's really, it's such beautiful work that is, I mean, just, yeah, just one of, you know, dozens of, examples that, that Xavier's uh, helping to make possible, Peter, are, time's flying?

I just wanna give you a chance. What do you wish. Leaders in the church knew about your work and what do you wish individual? Just, you know, somebody who's like, they served in a ministry role, maybe they did step out. Uh, what, do you just, what do you wish people knew about your work? 

[00:58:10] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Uh, I, yeah.

Thank you for that. I wish that people knew, um, how having a partner in this space could be grace filling for them and how much it would, how, it can support them. Um, getting the right people on mission without necessarily inviting somebody onto your team permanently, say through a W2 role or a payroll role at a, diocesan level.

But knowing that you've got a partner in mission who wants to shoulder some of the areas that, um, really are very important from an administrative side, but ones that from are really hard to tackle, That you've got a partner that, that can, that is willing to solve some of these challenges and look at things through a different lens than maybe you're accustomed to learning.

It's, funny, as I approach some of these relationships and even at the diocesan level. You, I've done this now for 20 years, and it's very clear to me how this all works. But when I connect with someone at a diocese who is not used to what we do it, they're, it almost, they almost stop in their tracks because they're like, wait, what?

Like how this is, I, don't understand. They kind of catch themselves in their, uh, their, the way that they approach. And it's almost like, wow, I've never thought of this. But when you present the option, they're like, but it makes sense. Um, I love to see that the person kind of have a bit of a paradigm shift on how they're approaching it and thinking about something outside of the box and not solving some of the current challenges with what they've always done, but rather with something a little bit different.

And even just looking at it through a new lens. Um. we're building rapport within the church, and we've started to build that with all these relationships. And it takes time. And when they don't know you, then they have to get to know you. And so it's providing that opportunity that I welcome the opportunity for them to just come alongside us and just watch for a little bit.

And, then we can start to build on that relationship of, trust that they're gonna need. Because ultimately that partnership does involve a financial one at times. And when that happens, you know, it gets a little bit more. Um, it's just a layer that we have to walk through with them and we want to walk with them through that.

Um, and we wanna talk through their concerns, all of their objections, all of their questions that arise with. Compensation and, um, and we want to become an expert in the area of compensation, in, in navigating, uh, some of those dynamics that, uh, people are trying to talk about. Well, you know, as salaries have grown, so have ministry based roles.

Well, how do we make sure we can sustain somebody in this role and what does that look like and, how How do we make this possible? And so, um, just know that we're, in it for the long haul. We don't look at this as a sprint, but a marathon. And, um, and we would love to, to get to know the, school or the church or the parish or the pastor or the bishop and just begin a conversation that talks about making some of their goals more possible and how could we accompany them with that?

Um, and, uh. Yeah, I think that's where I would start with, 

[01:01:16] Jim Jansen: Nice. 

[01:01:17] Peter Levesque-Xavier: That connection. 

[01:01:18] Jim Jansen: Peter last thing here. I wanna give you a chance to speak to someone who's listening. And they're not a bishop, they're not a diocesan, CEO, they're not a pastor at a parish. Um, but they feel a call to mission. And up till now it hasn't seemed possible because they, couldn't imagine a, an adequate compensation for their cost of living and their financial obligations.

Um, what do you wanna say to somebody who's like, oh no, maybe there's a way and there's a hope kindling in them, um, that, maybe they could serve, uh, in, a full-time role. 

[01:02:04] Peter Levesque-Xavier: I would say I've been there. And, uh, I recognize the feeling of, what's tugging at your heart. And I would invite you to be open to hearing how the Lord might be prompting you, whether through us, whether through another apostolate or even just through the discernment process of raising support and thinking about fundraising as, you know, all some of the preconceived notions maybe you have around fundraising to, to really just, uh, open your heart to the ideas, uh, of what we're presenting and, giving it a, fair chance to ex to walk with us.

Help us educate that perspective and, equipped you with better tools to make better decisions. And ultimately not discounting certain things before you know what's, what it, really entails. And just allow yourself to be surprised by our Lord in this way. And if you're interested to, to reach out, happy to have conversations with you.

Um, and you know, I think one of the, one of the challenges that I've experienced recently is, um, the idea of casting vision for people who are, uh, wanting to give to Apostates. And there's a few service organizations in the church that I would encourage people to consider giving to and And us being one of them, because it allows us the opportunity to, fill a function that is often lacking in many organizations.

And, um, it's not as, uh, interesting at times from an administrative perspective, um, to necessarily give to a service-based organization because we are an agency, we are providing a service. We're not the ones on the, we're not the boots on the ground. We're the, cooks in the kitchen.

And, uh, and it's great. It's very important to be a part of that. So. 

[01:03:58] Jim Jansen: Yeah. Peter, thank you. How do people connect, uh, with Xavier? 

[01:04:03] Peter Levesque-Xavier: I think the best way to connect with us is through our website, xavier mission fund.org. Okay. Uh, from there, there's, uh, opportunities to, to chat or call or text us, and we would love to meet you.

We would love to meet anyone who wants to find out more about what we're doing and, uh, and join our newsletter. Xavier mission fund.org would be the best. 

[01:04:23] Jim Jansen: Awesome. We will link to that. Peter, thank you. Thank you for the conversation. Thank you for everything you're doing. Um, I really, it's, a joy to, hear about this and to get even just a little bit of a glimpse of all of the lives that are being changed because you like accounting, because you, can come alongside people.

So thank you for what you're doing. 

[01:04:50] Peter Levesque-Xavier: Well, thank you for having me. This has been a, pure joy and, uh, um, I'm grateful for the opportunity to connect with you. 

[01:04:58] Jim Jansen: Alright, everybody, you know, somebody who needs to hear this conversation. Let the Lord remind you, uh, who that is. Uh, and when you're at a safe spot, uh, be bold.

You share this out with, uh, whoever, the Lord brings to mind and needs to hear it. And, uh, thanks for listening. Thanks for listening to Thep Cast. We hope this episode has inspired you to live your faith and equip you to be fruitful in your mission. Stay connected with us by going to equip arch omaha.org.

God bless and see you next time.