[00:00:00] Jim Jansen: Hey everybody, welcome to the EquipCast. So, I just sat down with Rick and Monica. They work for Alpha, particularly in a Catholic context. And we had a fantastic conversation about, well, like, how do you recreate a culture of evangelization in your parish, in your youth ministry? Right. We talk about the power of questions.
Uh, we talk about how evangelization, the core message of the gospel, uh, has to precede our catechesis and our worship and how when it does, everything comes alive. It's a really fun, hopeful conversation. If you are interested in evangelization, if you felt any of the frustration of trying to catechize people who just don't seem to be that interested, you're going to love today's conversation.
Take a listen. Hey everybody, welcome to the EquipCast, a weekly podcast for the Archdiocese of Omaha. I'm your host, 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.
Monica Martinez, Rick Grinstead. Welcome to the EquipCast. How are you guys doing today? Doing great. All right. So, we have a little tradition here. Uh, we're going to dive in. You guys have wonderful day jobs. Uh, you both work for Alpha and, uh, in particular in a Catholic context, but we'll give you a chance to introduce yourselves and tell a little bit about your story.
So, Ms. Monica, why don't you start us off? 

[00:01:36] Monica: Ladies first. 

[00:01:38] Jim Jansen: Yeah. 

[00:01:39] Monica: For everybody listening, I'm not going to give you the whole I'm not going to say how many years I've been on this earth, but I'll give you the latest. Who is Monica sitting with you today? I'll start at, I always like to think about, you know, we're always called to this ongoing conversion.
And so, I sort of look at this last part of my life. I hope it's not the last part of my life, but this most recent... 

[00:02:02] Jim Jansen: Recent part, yeah, let's not say last. 

[00:02:05] Monica: It honestly, okay, I'm going to get dark, but it's going to go light. Okay. This is a rebirth story, but it did start right after my dad passed away, passed away about five years ago.
And it was just one of those times in my life. There, a lot of my, um, dad's story and my story really led me into ministry in the Catholic church. Doing marriage and family studies and different things like that. So, when he passed away and that part of, you know, my life was very much different. I just had a ton of questions.
So, one thing about me is that I, I have a lot of questions. I ask a lot of questions and I try to sort of seek understanding and wisdom and things like that. And that can be a good thing, but that can also be a really challenging thing when there's no answer in sight, seemingly, you know? So, for me, I was sort of, um, and this is going somewhere really quickly, but I was really meditating on this book for a while.
There's a, a quote that talks about a car's headlight and that it shines for 15 feet and that 15 feet will get you all the way home. So, God knows how much clarity that you need in life. 

[00:03:13] Jim Jansen: Wow. 

[00:03:13] Monica: That he, he's not asking you for clarity. He's asking you to follow him. And so that quote was something for many, many months, sort of got me through some really, really challenging times.
And I really will say, I kind of see it more clearly now in light of just my most recent sort of area of growth in my relationship with God. And that's just my understanding and relationship with the Holy Spirit has really just been transformed in that way. My dependence on the Holy Spirit. You know, now I find myself working for Alpha.
I was doing diocesan ministry before. And moved and everything. But yeah, anyway, so now I'm working for alpha and in Ohio, the, you know, the heart of America, where all have, 

[00:03:59] Jim Jansen: That's great. I just have to say there's some listeners from Nebraska who are like, what? It's like, isn't that a little, isn't that a little North left of the heart of America, but That's fantastic.
Well, Monica, I'd love, maybe we'll like, we can have fun with this. We can kind of turn things around and let you ask a few questions. Usually, I get to ask all the questions, but let's, let's get into this, but we can let you, uh, I'll let you ask some questions here. All right, Rick, what's your story? 

[00:04:23] Rick: Well, there are just so many things to unpack.
Of what Monica just said. I know, I know. And that's okay. Uh, I too am an avid reader and I believe it was in Mad Magazine that said No, I don't have a good quote. I'm sorry. I'm Rick Grinstead. So, uh, I actually work for the cathedral in Knoxville, but, uh, I also work for 

[00:04:43] Jim Jansen: Wait, wait, wait. For the geographically challenged, Knoxville.
Is that Ohio too? 

[00:04:47] Rick: No, it's the, it's actually the heart of the United States, Tennessee. 

[00:04:51] Jim Jansen: Wow. Okay. 

[00:04:52] Monica: I think that's more of the esophagus somewhere on the body of the. 

[00:04:57] Jim Jansen: Wow. That's good. Let's see if we can offend everybody. Keep going. 

[00:05:00] Rick: Yes. Yes. Hopefully there are no doctors listening. Yeah. Because they stopped listening about 10 minutes ago.
Yes. My little faith journey. So, I was raised by a Dominican nun. Um, my mom was a Dominican nun for nine years. She took final vows and then promptly left and had a family which was great. And it was in that order, so there's no controversies, nothing crazy to talk about. She's a wonderful woman. But you know, my story began much later because she was a schoolteacher when she had left the convent. And so, we had a 20-minute drive to school every day.

[00:05:34] Jim Jansen: Wait for it. 

[00:05:35] Rick: Yep. Dominican nun raises you, you got 20 minutes. Oh, you're praying the rosary. That's going to happen. And here's the thing. It's not just a 20-minute drive to school. It's a 20-minute drive home as well. So, we got doubly blessed, which made me doubly irritated for the longest time. 

[00:05:54] Jim Jansen: Two rosaries a day.
That is impressive. 

[00:05:57] Rick: Well, yeah, it can go one of two ways. For me, it went the other, but I did in, in high school, have a conversion moment at a retreat, a very powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit that made me start to question everything. And through college, really came into my own faith and have loved my Catholic life ever since.
Uh, so much more to tell in that story. Uh, but we'll, we'll keep moving. 

[00:06:23] Jim Jansen: That's awesome. When you say question everything, you mean like everything the world had told you, right? 

[00:06:29] Rick: Yeah, absolutely. And really questioning, What I had been told as a kid having to go through church and, and clearly still questioning geography because I don't know where the esophagus is, but it was really, it was, uh, it was a questioning of, of self and of life and is there more than just kind of sports and things that I like?
So, it really set me on a good path. 

[00:06:53] Jim Jansen: That's awesome. I love it. Look at the, look at the intersection questions there. 

[00:06:57] Monica: Full circle. 

[00:06:58] Jim Jansen: Yeah. And that's a great, that's a great setup. Because I, I love the way, you know, there's, um, at times you talk to someone, uh, who's associated with alpha, it's like, well, we start conversations, right?
We start conversations on important things. So, I want to give you guys the chance just to get us started here. Tell us a little bit about what alpha is and then how it benefits a parish. 

[00:07:19] Monica: I like to describe. Why Alpha? So Alpha, essentially, it's a course, right? It's a course around the Kerygma, um, and there's different elements of it around the small group experience, but essentially it is really meant to be a shallow entry point for somebody to have conversations about the basic elements of faith and life and meaning, and really it's a place for people to come and ask their questions.
And for us to just listen. And so, yeah, I mean, Rick, how would you describe it other than the 11 to eight weeks and there's this course and this talk, but how would you describe it? 

[00:07:58] Rick: Yeah. I mean, there are the logistics of running anything, right. But at its core, Alpha really is an invitation to just have great conversations about life.
I mean, we don't often get to talk about these bigger questions. We're too preoccupied with the things that don't matter. This forces us into at least having a conversation or listening to a conversation about things that we kind of sweep under the rug for as long as we possibly can. And until we're kind of forced into it through usually tragedy.
We have to answer these questions, right? But what I love about Alpha and what it does is it forces people like me, theologians, to zip the lip and intentionally listen to people. And so that forces that little, that muscle of intentional listening, uh, that we desperately need and to allow people to journey, not to just question, answer, question, answer.
It's, it's about journeying alongside. 

[00:09:06] Jim Jansen: I love that. I mean, here you, like, I just have to point out that maybe slightly counterintuitive, like what is alpha? Well, it's a, it's a course, right? You know, it's an eight-week, 12-week. It's this course where we listen, you know, not that, not that we talk to people about the big questions.
But we raise the big questions, and we listen to them. I love that Monica, not everybody. So, we're only going to publish the audio here, but you're wearing this lovely shirt that says, love, love listens. Yeah. Great. Talk more about that. And maybe a little bit of how this like intensive course of listening to people talk about the big issues, big questions of life, how does that change a parish?

[00:09:48] Monica: Well, here's the, here's the genius part about it. It's not. You know, oh, Alpha's so smart, and we just figured out this is the way to reach people's heart. But it's really just in perceiving, oh, how did Jesus do it? What was Jesus? How many questions did he ask people that he encountered? And yeah, it might've just been the way of teaching at that time, but for us it's really helpful.
Right? We, a lot of biblical scholars will say that Jesus was actually 40 times more likely to ask a question than to give a direct statement. Yes. And so. Questions and curiosity and helping other people, even as they're asking these questions is just part of the way of love, right? There's a quote that we like to say a lot at alpha by David Augsburger.
And he says that for the average person being listened to is so close to being loved, it's almost indistinguishable. So, you know, there's just a lot of people walking around that are feeling isolated or unheard or misunderstood. And that can cause a lot of unrest. So anyway, yeah, the, the aspect, the emphasis on truly listening to understand, not to be understood, to, um, be interested in what a person's saying and not just to be interesting and to, you know, to, to impress other people, it's a skill and it's.
I think people know it's good, you know, but it's not always something that is easy to do. 

[00:11:11] Jim Jansen: No, well, and it's a, it's a lost art, but I mean, you're kind of blowing my mind here when you think about it. It's like, so love becomes. A right takes on flesh, takes on a human nature. Love becomes a man. And how does that love manifest questions, shared meals, conversation?
Yes, miracles and big sermons. But like. Yeah, when you really start to get into it and thank you nerdy biblical scholars who like really like kind of do the stats and track every time Jesus has an encounter, he he's asking questions far. He's asking questions and he's telling stories far more than he's Yeah.
Uh, laying out a truth. I mean, he does that. He's not afraid to do that, but he knows, yeah, I guess he's, he's a carpenter, but he's a pretty good fisherman too. Right. And I mean, it shows Peter out right, right away. I think that's, he goes right to the heart of Peter's gifting as a fisherman and does it better and impresses him.

[00:12:14] Monica: Yeah. 

[00:12:14] Jim Jansen: Classic, how do you recruit men? Anyway, that's awesome. 

[00:12:17] Monica: Yeah. It's funny. There was a retreat, an alpha youth retreat. And they got an audience with the Pope. And so, he was actually speaking with these young people, and he was talking, Pope Francis was talking all about questions. And he said that he thinks God loves questions more than answers for people because questions.
Leave you open. And even if you are 80 years old, it keeps you young because you're open to what's at the other end of it. Whereas if you have all the answers, even if you're, you know, 15 years old, which they all do, right. They have all the answers. It keeps you stunted. It doesn't keep you open to God. So, I really love that, especially, you know, I shared earlier that I'm a girl who's always trying to understand things and asking questions and yeah, it's a, it's a good relationship I think, builder between me and God.

[00:13:08] Jim Jansen: What are some of the fruits that you've seen from parishes that are evangelizing using Alpha as a tool? 

[00:13:15] Monica: So, Rick's our Catholic Youth Specialist, and I'd love for him to share just a little bit about young people getting the space to be heard and listened to. 

[00:13:25] Rick: Yeah, I think, uh, again, it all started by me just kind of exploring what Alpha Youth was and using it in a confirmation setting as a program, which is a Pretty good way of destroying things, um, because when you have just a program mindset, just here, just plug this in, press play, question, answer, but it wasn't that.
And so, to see, to have the ability, what, what blew me away initially was, the video was our turn to talk, and the small groups was everybody else's turn to talk. And what that opened up was a whole can of worms that I was not expecting. I didn't realize how many students that were in confirmation had no basic knowledge of the faith.
None, zero. And here they are going to receive confirmation. And they don't even know that Mary and Joseph were Jesus’ parents. Some of them didn't even really know who Jesus actually was. And so, it really opened my mind, first of all. But what it allowed for the students was to be honest. Was to be real.
And we hadn't been allowing a space for them to be real. We just kind of wanted them to behave first and then, then believe, and then, then you can belong. And it was in that order, whereas alpha youth kind of really flipped the script on us and on me in particular, but also on the youth, I don't think they were expecting.
Moments of us just going, okay, well, what do you want to say? And whatever you say is completely fine. You're not getting kicked out of confirmation class. You, we're just going to keep moving forward. We've been really blessed to work with a lot of different Catholic churches around the United States with alpha youth and to see.
The openness of young people, you know, the stats, uh, we were saying a little bit earlier, but Barna has some great stats about this new generation that they do not care about proving God's existence. Rather what they want is an encounter with him. 

[00:15:33] Jim Jansen: Yeah. I want to know him. 

[00:15:34] Rick: Yes. Doesn't that make so much more sense?
I mean, you know, my generation is, uh, let's use, uh, St. Thomas Aquinas's five ways to, uh, prove the existence of, which is great. Those are, those are wonderful things, but this new generation feels to me so much more like the apostles’ time where people were just, let me encounter Jesus. Let me encounter the Lord.

[00:15:56] Jim Jansen: Yeah, this is, my gosh, I mean, my head's kind of exploding here. I want to like, Rick, I want to go back to something you said. You kind of flip the script. You let these young people talk. The stats about youth faith practice after receiving the sacrament of confirmation is just devastating. I mean, it's just, you know, like, if you can imagine, I mean, it's like a cliff.
They just totally fall off. What's changed now that you're, that you're listening to the youth and you're letting them express these questions? What's different? 

[00:16:32] Rick: Yeah, that's great. Great question. What, what I've encountered, what we have found is ownership. So let me tell a quick story and it'll tie in.
When I was in Florida as a youth minister, we had no space for our youth. We were literally meeting in a conference room. It was terrible. You know, we broke tables. It's youth ministry. So, they kind of wanted us out. We wanted to be out. It worked out really well. My pastor said, why don't you take this house that we own that's on the property and it's yours.
So great. Uh, we're going to need to renovate it. And so, we did. And we put sledgehammers into teenagers’ hands, uh, with proper supervision and... 

[00:17:13] Jim Jansen: Sign the waiver. Yeah. 

[00:17:14] Rick: Yeah, exactly. Parents were there. Uh, and then they ripped up the floors. They, uh, tore, literally tore down walls in this place to make one giant place.
I picked out the color of the paint that was on the walls, uh, that people would forever see. They got to choose what was inside. The video game says everything. It was all of them. I specifically chose freshmen to do this because I knew they would be there for four years and something tremendous happened that I wasn't prepared for.
I knew they would have ownership. I, I knew they would feel that, but what they did for everybody else that walked in those doors, I never once had to say, Oh, clean up this flood. We got to clean up. That's it. They were cleaning. They, they took such pride and ownership in that place that nobody had to prompt them.
It was theirs. They owned it. And that is what is happening when we allow for a real and authentic sense of, like, encounter with the Lord. Can we just let people be honest instead of student, teacher, student, teacher, question, answer? Rather, can we just, I don't know, journey together and allow you to talk it out, work some things out.
The question, the answers are all there. I'm never afraid of any question because I know the answer. I know who is the answer. So, I'm never afraid of any, bring on the questions, say what I have heard some stuff over my years.
It would make some, some people run for the hills and question whether anybody's Catholic anymore. But the beauty that comes out of the ownership, when they work through it with the Lord, alongside you, rather than question it. 

[00:18:54] Jim Jansen: Yeah, well, I mean, right, to extend the metaphor, you basically hand these youth a sledgehammer to remodel and demo their own faith.
And what happens is they end up building a foundation on Christ. And I mean, it's like, they actually can't knock out the supporting walls because Jesus is there. The truth is there. And then they come away owning it. As their own, which is again, statistically exactly the opposite of what typically happens, uh, when we stick with the kind of the, you know, the teacher students model of faith formation, particularly for the youth.

[00:19:36] Rick: Yeah. This wasn't, uh, parents renovating a room and then saying, Hey kids, look what we did for you. This was, we put the work in, we have sweat equity in here, and now it's ours. It's not our parents. It's ours. 

[00:19:49] Monica: I love that. I love actually Rick, Rick and I have worked together for a few years now and I've never heard that story.
So that was super cool. Like just the analogy of it, you know, because I think it's super relevant when you think about it. People are all people of all ages are deconstructing faith, right? And so just even the analogy around, I used to say like, Oh, I'm decluttering my faith right now. I'm trying to see like, Okay.
What is not really honoring my relationship with God and all these things. But I love its analogy, Rick, of we're, we're building something together. I think is the operative word together so that if it's building through listening, that's the hammer we're giving them, you know, if it's hospitality, that's what they want to be able to give to other people.
That's so cool. I love that. 

[00:20:34] Jim Jansen: Well, and I love the way you said that. I mean, we're talking. Monica, we're talking specifically about youth, but actually every generation is doing this. Like the post COVID mass attendance numbers, baby boomers aren't doing any better. I mean, baby boomers are disaffiliating with the faith, stopping their practice.
You know, Gen Xers, of course, everybody likes to pick on millennials, iGens. But in, in fact, it's kind of a universal phenomenon. Everybody's trying to figure out what, back, right back to our, you know, HGTV back to like, there's good bones in this faith, but I'm trying to figure out what, wow, what is the foundation?
And sometimes, sometimes even if someone has been Catholic all their life, the foundation isn't on the person of Jesus. It's simply a cultural thing. And that doesn't seem to hold up in today's culture anymore, but ironically, right, culture versus culture. 

[00:21:32] Monica: Well, and it is, it is all about culture. So, we talk about this a lot when we're sort of helping people not only understand the what of alpha, but the why and the how we really emphasize.
Culture because so Father James Malin of divine renovation, he's often heard saying that for his parish and parishes alpha as a course has been great. It's been wonderful, but alpha as a culture has been phenomenal, right? It's not just meant to be the secluded space where you're getting all of this.
It's really meant to influence not only the four walls of the parish, but your community, your life, you know, it's supposed to be. So yeah, I think it's incredibly relevant. Just to kind of see how it's impacting. So, when we talk about culture, it's not that we're saying, Oh, we need to, um, see which dogmas and doctrines and you know, that we need to keep.
And no, it's really, what is our habit? How can we, what are the questions around our habits of sharing the faith that we can ask, Oh, how could we maybe. Upgrade, update our habits for sharing the faith because it's not a matter of that. We're not doing it It's just how are we doing it? And is it effective anymore?
Recently here in my diocese at least Our church has been, well, not our church, the Catholic church has been in the news, and it always is. And it's not a great thing, right? We just learned that there's a parish here that is no longer going to be having mass on Sunday. It's only going to have it on Saturdays because they, they were like 15 percent of the parish was filled on any given Sunday.
And so, it's just interesting to me. I don't know if anybody else does this, but you go to the comments, right? I don't know why I do this, go to the comments, but I want to see like, What are people's reactions? Are we asking? So, for the average person, they're saying like, Oh yeah, you know, it's because, you know, the church isn't doing this.
The church isn't doing that, you know? And it's like, nobody's really asking the question. Well, what can I do? You know, it's always like, what can our priests do? What can the people working at the parishes do? The bishops do? But fewer people are asking, what can I do? 

[00:23:34] Jim Jansen: You're not in a great spot when you're like, well, the church, and if that church doesn't include you, if that, if that isn't also me, right, I'm talking about me, it's like, oh, that's, there's something a little off.
Okay. So, I want to go after two things. I want to come back to the question of culture, like the difference between, you know, a parish that lets Alpha set its culture. And maybe kind of like the default setting that many of our parishes have. But I think it's important, you know, Alpha began Holy Trinity Parish in Brompton, not a Catholic parish.
For some Catholics, they don't know what to do with that. They're maybe a little hesitant about Alpha because it's not, it wasn't explicitly Catholic in its founding. Uh, obviously as an organization, Alpha is like, Hey, we really like Monica and Rick. And so, we have. You know, staff that are specifically dedicated to helping people do alpha well in a Catholic context.
But I just want to give you a chance to talk about that. What do you, what would you say to someone who's like, they're just, they're confused or maybe uncomfortable with that. You know, their, their loyalties to the church run deep and they're just not sure what to do. about the fact that Alpha wasn't begun as a explicitly Catholic ministry.

[00:24:47] Rick: Yeah. I know for me, uh, I just recently had this conversation with one of my young adults who, you know, he's been through Alpha twice, and we were holding another Alpha course, and it just really kind of hit him. He said, you know, Rick, where are the Catholic Alpha videos? And I just, you know, question, well, what do you mean?
I don't know. We're the ones that specifically talk about Catholics. Okay. Well, the focus of the, of Alpha is Thema a starting point. The gospel message. Mm-Hmm. Jesus Christ. Right. And so, I, you know, I, I use the lens of, well, the, the popular show, the chosen. Right? It's, it's huge. Jonathan Rumi, good Catholic guy playing Jesus, right?
He was the guest speaker at the Right to Life March this year. I said, he's Catholic! And we're not asking for the Catholic version of the Chosen videos either, because it is really centered around the Kerygma. It is centered around the Gospel messages as a starting point. Yeah. It's not the, it's called Alpha.
It's not called, what would it be, Omega? Yeah. 

[00:25:54] Jim Jansen: Uh, well, yeah, yeah. Omega is the last one. Yeah. But yeah, for you non scholars out there, alpha is a letter. It's the first letter in the Greek alphabet. 

[00:26:02] Rick: Yeah. 

[00:26:02] Jim Jansen: Alpha, beta, gamma. 

[00:26:03] Rick: Which is where we get the word alphabet. Oh, good. Yeah. So, you know, I also, when people ask about this Catholic, you know, the Catholic context, I, and I very much appreciate that.
Because we are very guarded, uh, against things that are not Catholic, right? Just as, as a Catholic, you're like, Whoa, it's not, it's not Catholic? 

[00:26:21] Jim Jansen: Yeah, we are super brand conscious. Like everybody would, you know, all of like the famous brands would be jealous. I mean, it's like brand loyalty is our thing, baby.

[00:26:31] Rick: Yeah. I often, I often try to help people see it through another lens of, well, when you go to mass on Sunday, right? And when you're sitting in the pew and you're listening to the gospel being read, well, it's the same gospel that's being read in all Christian churches. It doesn't change yet. The Catholic context is that you're listening to it at mass.
And then you will also hear more about it through the lens of the Catholic church and then encounter Christ in a very real way, uh, with the Eucharist. So, if you want to know how it's in a Catholic context, well, maybe that helps a little bit to understand. 

[00:27:08] Jim Jansen: Yeah. I love that. I mean, the content, the context is so huge because similar things would come up.
You know, I was blessed to be one of the first focus missionaries and people are like, you're reading the Bible. Does the, does the bishop know? Because in their mind, that was a non-Catholic. Devotional practice activity and they're a little suspicious and I'm like, I, I, you know, it's like, well, I mean, it's, it's the Catholic version and actually nobody, nobody, when they go to a, a Bible study in a Catholic context decides, you know what, I really appreciate this, but now I'm going to go become Lutheran.
It's funny, it's actually the context that often makes all the difference, because the scriptures are Catholic, the core gospel message is Catholic, Jesus, from a certain perspective, was Catholic, right? And unless you intentionally prune those things off or put it in a context that would cause a misinterpretation, the tree will grow up to be Catholic, because the seed is Catholic.

[00:28:13] Monica: Right. Well, and I think it's just acknowledging what the church is already encouraging us in. And that is that first proclamation and how important it is for our faith, that kerygma, right? Evangelii Gaudium. That's really huge. I mean, there's all these different, really cool quotes, right? That you can probably pull, but there's one that I really love, and I am cheating.
You can do that on a podcast where you have a computer for me. Okay. Can I read this? 

[00:28:39] Jim Jansen: Absolutely. Well, and just, just. Like for, for the, for the non-scholars out there, kerygma is just a, a, a Greek word that means preaching, but it is become like, like it's become a synonym for, oh, the core message of what the apostles preached, right?
God loves you. Sin screws it up. Jesus is here to fix it. What do you say? Right. It's like that core message of the gospel. That's what kerygma means. And Pope Francis. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. is all about it. Not like he's been unique. John Paul II, Paul VI, John XXIII. It's been a crazy intense message from the church for the last 50 plus years.
But okay, give, give us that quote though. 

[00:29:21] Monica: So, John Paul, the second, like you said, he's the one that said, Hey, you know, all pastoral action should be pointing towards evangelization. We're not sharing any of this to make anybody feel guilty, but it should, hopefully it like wakes us up a little bit. Like, okay, what does that mean?
But so Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis goes on to say, he says, we've rediscovered the fundamental role of the first announcement or kerygma, which needs to be the center of all evangelizing activity and all efforts at church renewal. He said on the lips of everyone recounting Jesus. The first proclamation must ring out over and over.
And that is that Jesus loves you. He gave his life to save you. And now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen, and free you. And that's what we're That's what it is. That is that first message. Jesus loves you. He's here right now. He wants to be with you. So that's really what the conversation that Kerygma is all about.
It's letting a person who maybe is hostile to the idea of faith or Christianity or, you know, whatever, sit down with this message and say, well, what do you think? Well, how does that make you feel? What does that look like for your life? And to just sit with that and understand and meet, meet Jesus. I loved what you were saying.
And I love what both of you are saying about context. I think another question to ask about alpha and Catholicism is why does it work in the Catholic Church? I think we have so many different contexts to be able to help people in these ways. Like Rick was talking about confirmation. This year, the past few years, we've been talking around the Eucharist, right?
And the Eucharist as our source for mission. And we have this focus, right? Starting on July, the faithful on mission and Jesus is our source in the Eucharist and then transforming. I mean, it's just the different ways that we're able to help. Introduce people, meet the person of Jesus is just such a blessing.
And like you said, Jim, my faith, my Catholic faith has been strengthened through all of this, through all of these different ways. 

[00:31:25] Jim Jansen: Well, and when we have the eyes to see it, you know, cause for many of us, the, the getting reacquainted with the primacy of evangelization as like who we are as Catholics. When we get reacquainted with the core message of the gospel, suddenly it's like everywhere in the Catholic Church, you know, I mean, again, just silly things like you look at a stained glass window and it's, you know, it's like somebody in a robe, you know, standing, holding a crucifix and there's, there's a crowd around and you have this missionary saint and they're like, basically it's this image of someone putting The saving message of Jesus's sacrifice on the cross front and center and the, and the physical posture of this person, if you can imagine them holding the crucifix out, it's like this visual representation that we have when we've been fruitful, we've led with the gospel because all the other stuff is amazing, but it doesn't make sense without Jesus, right?
Yeah. Yeah. That's so good. I love, I want to go, cause just, I'm, I'm a nerd at heart here. You guys have a really impressive list of, uh, endorsers here and I know it's even just, just half of it. You know, you mentioned Father Mallon, Archbishop, uh, Vigneron, Father Michael Schmitz. And Cardinal, uh, Cantalamessa, and this is funny for those who don't know who Cardinal Cantalamessa is, he has like the ultimate resume.
It's like, so what do you do? It's like, well, I used to be a college professor and I've been the, you know, the preacher for the papal household for the last three popes. I mean, it's un, unbelievable. John Paul II, Benedictine Pope Francis. I'm going to be right nerdy here too. I'm going to cheat. I'm going to read, uh, one of the things he talks about.
He's talking about the proclamation of the kerygma. And he says, in the ancient church, there was a clear distinction between the kerygma, that core message, and catechesis. And the kerygma was a starting point of faith, and catechesis was to form the faith. But the faith itself really only blossoms by hearing the kerygma.
I want to give you a chance to talk about that, because Rick, I mean, working with young people, Monica, you worked in a diocesan setting, oftentimes we're trying to lead the way with the kerygma. And we run into resistance. Can you talk about the difference you experience when you lead the way with the gospel and, and how the kerygma follows?

[00:33:54] Monica: We're both looking at each other. Well, I think it's funny because I was just talking with somebody, Oh, amazing parish. You know, you were mentioning all these different. Organizations and people and that are sort of partnering or endorsing alpha. And anyway, I was having a really great conversation with amazing parish the other day, but we were talking about this sort of aspect of sharing the faith where oftentimes we, we share the faith as if it's a fire hose, right.
Or, or as if it's, we're starting with trigonometry. before they even have the algebra, you know, underway. Like they have that understanding of the basics, right? 

[00:34:30] Rick: No, I think that's tremendous. You know, what, what is the heart of the gospel, right? It, it is listening. It is invite, it is invitational, and it stems back right to the first Pope.
It was an invitation from not just Jesus, but it was an invitation from his brother first to come and listen to him. 

[00:34:53] Jim Jansen: Right. Andrew to Peter. 

[00:34:55] Rick: Yes. So, when we, when we hear Andrew be invitational because Jesus was invitational, it has to begin with an invitation. I think so often, again, this is a lifelong Catholic being raised by a Dominican nun speaking. So. 

[00:35:10] Jim Jansen: Two rosaries a day. Don't forget two rosaries a day. 

[00:35:14] Rick: Good luck finding another qualified person like that. I would say all my life, well, most of my life. It was, well, how do we invite people into a relationship with Jesus? I know, let's invite him to mass. Well, hold on, wait, that's drinking from the fire hose because I can't think, I can't think of any other way to really shock the system than to invite somebody who's never been to a Catholic mass before, or doesn't even have a relationship with Jesus into mass.
Uh, Catholic calisthenics and words and phrases and, uh, bowing and crossing the, I need to cross my heart. What am I doing? You know? 

[00:35:55] Jim Jansen: Yeah. There's so much orientation and like kind of critical assumptions to be able to receive the mass. 

[00:36:04] Monica: Right. Well, and you have to be initiated, actually, fully initiated to fully participate.

[00:36:08] Jim Jansen: That's the whole point. Yeah. I mean, I love the way our Archbishop, Archbishop Lucas, you know, talks about this. I mean, as Catholics, the Eucharist and the Mass are so precious to us. And so, some of the statistics that show Catholics disbelief or confusion about the Eucharist is heartbreaking for us, but I love it.
He takes it one layer deeper. It's like, okay Yeah, yeah Catholics don't know people who would claim to be Catholic don't know that that's really Jesus But it's like but do they know who Jesus is have they met him because if you've met him Then the news that he's hiding Under the form of bread and loving you in that way, just like he said he would, that's far more plausible and interesting when you know who he really is.
But sometimes we, sometimes we start with, you know, we start with the Eucharist because it's so precious to us and we forget everything about our faith. Again, including the most central things, like the Eucharist, they don't make any sense without a relationship with Jesus and a basic understanding of who He is.

[00:37:18] Rick: That's so funny that you say that because I was literally this morning in a conversation with a young adult, non-Catholic, who is exploring the faith. Grew up Southern Baptist. His whole family is Southern Baptist, so he's getting pushback, but he has just, and we're seeing a lot of this in our, in our area, young adults just questioning it, coming to us with questions.
And so, he's, he's all in now, he's actually signed up for OCIA. Mm-Hmm. and, uh, is ready to go, except he says, I still have one stumbling block. He says the Eucharist, he said. I actually do believe that that is Jesus. I, you know, nothing else in the scriptures says it's not. He says it is. So, I, I, I believe that he said, but how can it also be divine?
Is it, is it really, is it the one sacrifice? Is it, is it? Constant sacrifice. Is it? How can it be his body? If he still got about, you know, he's got lots of great questions. 

[00:38:11] Jim Jansen: But those are great questions. I mean, you're right. Your Dominican roots should just be like exploding. 

[00:38:17] Rick: On fire. I was on fire because you know, just basic.
I just broke it down. Just asked him. I said, what if, what would it, because he was, his real question was, what about adoration? Like, I don't know about, quote, worshiping the Eucharist. I understand receiving it. I understand receiving Jesus, but I don't understand worshiping it. And so, uh, it really came down to an encounter said, what if literally, just think for a moment, if Jesus came knocking on your door, what would be your posture?
How would you encounter him? He said, face down on the floor. I said, there you go. 

[00:38:53] Jim Jansen: You know, that is such a great illustration, Rick, of this, when the kerygma has led the way. When an encounter with Jesus has happened, suddenly you're in this amazing Eucharistic catechesis, you know, with this young man. And that's what so many of us are like, if we're a natural teacher, that's like, Oh, we love to share all of the Catholic stuff.
We want to share those things but getting the chance to do that. requires the invitation, the listening, and the encounter. And that's what Alpha is trying to do. I mean, in some ways, right? It's the best setup for those of us who love catechesis. It's like, let's lead the way with these questions and this meal and the conversation and this encounter with the Lord and the Spirit.
And then you won't be able to stop them. They'll be so hungry to know more about this person they've met. 

[00:39:47] Monica: Yeah. Father Simon Lobo, um, he, he gives a talk called Making Sunday Matter. And it's actually what he's saying in it. He's like, the Eucharist is not the church evangelizing, the Eucharist is the church at worship.

[00:40:01] Jim Jansen: Yes. 

[00:40:01] Monica: And that's so important. So, what that means is to make Sunday matter, it's the six days before Sunday or however you want to look at the calendar, the days of the week after Sunday, but that's when it's happening and that's why we exist. So, it is. It's like that road to Emmaus. Right? 

[00:40:16] Jim Jansen: Right. 

[00:40:16] Monica: You look at those two disciples walking on the road and they're standing there with Jesus, right?
The risen Lord. And they still don't recognize him. It takes time. It takes conversation, right? He's asking them questions. Wait, what happened? And they're like, uh, hi, are you new here? How did you not know that we had the Messiah come and did it, right? And it wasn't until what happened, right? They spend all this time.
Their hearts were like Burning inside of them. And then Jesus is like, all right, guys, going on. I got stuff to do. Have nice talking with you. And they're going their way. Right. They're hungry. They're human nature. They're like... 

[00:40:49] Jim Jansen: No, no, stay. 

[00:40:51] Monica: Right. No, come with us. Come, you know, come eat with us. And when do they recognize our risen Lord?
The breaking of the bread, right? And that's like sort of our road to Emmaus. That's what we're trying to do. Those six days before Sunday, right? Helping people have encounter experiences, not just an explanation. Those are, here's the things we like to say, sort of like these sound bites with alpha, right?
And we're talking about habits for sharing faith. How do we renew the habits? So, we're looking at conversation, not just proclamation. We're looking at being fruitful, not just factual. So, pausing on that, right? Fruitful. And this is all, a lot of this is based off of research, right? We're asking non-Christians, what would it take for you to be interested in talking with Christians, with, you know, entertaining the idea of this whole faith thing.

[00:41:43] Jim Jansen: Yeah. It turns out I'd be willing to talk with you if you'd let me talk. 

[00:41:47] Monica: Yeah, but they're saying like, we want to see that it actually makes a difference in the world. 
You're not just saying like, well, Christian unity and all these things, but like, are you guys actually harmonious? Are you really? Yeah.
Welcoming. Are you really doing good things in the world? So being fruitful, not just factual, having a sense of belonging, not just welcoming. Right. Rick said it so well before where it's not just like, okay, first you got to believe this. Then you have to behave this way. And then you become, but it's actually like, Number one, you belong and your questions and your hurt and your story, first and foremost, it belongs.
And then hopefully then you believe and then you become right. So, belonging, not just welcoming. And then finally an experience or an encounter, not just an explanation. And people don't want to just hear, Hey, God loves you. God is powerful. They want to feel the love of God. They want to encounter the power of God and then let them loose because they've got something.

[00:42:46] Jim Jansen: Well, and I mean, and that's two things. One, that's exactly the road to a man. So, you see Jesus evangelizing them with questions and with conversation. Then there's this pinnacle moment where they recognize him in the breaking of the bread, and then they become evangelists and they run back out and tell everybody else.
So, you see, like, the, the preceding evangelization, this Eucharistic moment, and then the evangelization that follows it. And like, so you, you start to see the cycle, but also, I mean, we've kind of come back to like this, like, Oh, this is the cultural difference that Alpha. Evangelization, right? It's not this, this like thing that only happens Wednesday night, that when it becomes a culture in a community, whether it's a youth group or a whole parish, where we're a community that listens, we're a community that has conversation, we're a community that talks about Jesus, we're a community that like experiences him, all the stuff that you said, like, man, that is.
That's different than, you know, many of our experiences at many of our parishes. 

[00:43:58] Rick: Yeah, that's the one I want to be a part of. Right there, all that description you were just laying out, sign me up, I want to be in. Right. And it all comes, it all stems from being open. Monica said it. Well, the Pope said it, Monica quoted him.
Are we an open people or are we a closed people? People. And one of those ways that we can experience that closedness is even when we're at mass. Mm-Hmm. And we are just, it is just about us. It is only about me and God. And that's it. I'm not saying hi to anybody. Don't sit in my pew. Uh, I'm not here for the bulletin.
I'm not here for announcements. I've got my way of doing it. And we're old because we're closed. But rather, that's what's so encouraging about the new generation. They're so open. I mean, they, they might be overly open. That's okay though. We can, we can work with that. We, I think you can work with open way easier than you can work with closed.

[00:44:53] Jim Jansen: Yeah, yeah. Our celebration of the liturgy is a communal event. But that experience is so much richer when one, you actually know the people there. But two, there's this Not just, hey, everybody here has been baptized at some point, uh, a few of us a long time ago. But, like, everybody here has a, like, living encounter with the Lord.
Not, you know, not that it's always, you know, leprechauns and rainbows and butterflies in our prayer. You know, and our lives are easy, but like, but he's alive to us, you know, that, that we in our own ways experience what the disciples on the road to Emmaus did. 

[00:45:37] Monica: Yeah. Real quick, if you could run with me on this analogy, cause I've been sort of like, it's been kind of tossed around in my head and my heart lately.
So, tell me what you think about this. I feel like there's an aspect of the faith that has become almost like, and I'm not, Totally I'm not dogging like fast food, but it's almost like a fast-food faith. Whereas like, you know, we talk about the Eucharist. We talk about this like sacred meals and there's all these different examples throughout scripture of sacred meals.
And of course, us as Catholics, everything that you were saying, Jim, right. That it's meant to transform us, unite us as a community, but not just so that we're insular focused, but we're transformed in the image of Jesus so that we can live out the great commission. And what has happened to us is we kind of, it becomes like a fast food, you know, sort of like faith, a fast-food experience where we're just sort of becoming gluttonous.
And it's not about nourishment and it's not about really using it as the energy that we need to be able to be who we truly are in the world. And not to say that I'm eating salads every day. Okay.

[00:46:40] Jim Jansen: No, but like, I mean, I was like, you said fast food and part of it is like, Oh man, if like, if father preaches too long or, you know, or they sing the third verse and this thing goes more than 55 minutes, you know, there's going to be an uproar.
It's like, wait a minute. What? That's so weird. If you think about what we're actually doing, it's a, it's a wedding celebration, it's a wedding reception. It's a, you know, uh, it's a family reunion. It's a, I mean, all of these like scriptural. More than metaphors, but like descriptions where the Lord gives us a peek into what's actually happening there.
Who's like, well, this wedding reception is really awesome, but I, you know, I got a golf teatime here and it's just, it's just weird. 

[00:47:26] Monica: I've totally been at, I've totally been at receptions where they're watching Buckeye games at the wedding reception. 

[00:47:31] Jim Jansen: No, but that sounds fun as a football fan. I'm like, I want to have, yeah, I want to have a piece of wedding cake and maybe a beer and watch a football game too, and dance with the bride and... 

[00:47:42] Monica: I do think it's important for us to acknowledge that even in alpha and so many aspects of our faith, it can be challenging. You look at the amount of investment in terms of time, because everything for alpha, all of our content, our training, everything is free.
And people often ask us, wait, how do you do that? But that's not a conversation for now. But. The investment of time to walk with people in this intentional way. It isn't a fast-food sort of experience. It meant to be a sacred sort of meal and it's comfortable. It's casual. It's low pressure. It's supposed to be very non-threatening, but it could take eight to 11 weeks.
And then another challenging aspect for many Catholics, many people is the Holy spirit encounter, because that's a huge element. 

[00:48:28] Jim Jansen: Yeah. Say more. 

[00:48:29] Monica: If we're inviting people. To number one, listen better to maybe have conversations with people who are far from the church, possibly hostile to have all these things where you're putting yourself on display or, you know, making yourself vulnerable, you are dependent.
We are dependent on the Holy spirit to do the work, to be the one ministering to us that we're just present for it. So, there is an. a very important key element. It's often referred to as the high point of alpha, where it's the time together, the day away, where we get to introduce the person of the Holy Spirit.
And then again, give an encounter. And it's not, it's very gentle. It's very meeting people where they're at. It's nothing crazy. 

[00:49:09] Jim Jansen: Yeah. No, but yeah. Thank you for saying that because I think. Part of the reason, in my experience, people who are a little uncomfortable with like, wait, you're going to introduce people to the Holy Spirit, is that maybe attempts for them where people were well-meaningly trying to introduce them to the Spirit, it did feel a little forced.
It, it felt a little, they felt a little judged because they didn't have the experience that the person sitting next to them did. And then suddenly they're feeling, you know, less than in some way. And You all, you're saying like, no, what it's like, we want people to meet the spirit, but in a gentle, peaceful, personal way.

[00:49:47] Monica: Right. Rick has, I just love the stories that he tells about young people and when they're empowered. I mean, I know I've had my experience. It surprises me sometimes when the young people are empowered with the Holy Spirit. But yeah, I know Rick has led some really great conversation with families and things like that.
But I don't know if you want to share a little bit about what your experience has been there, Rick. 

[00:50:09] Rick: Yeah, I think when you encounter the Holy Spirit, so Cardinal Candela Mesa, we spoke about him, the papal preacher for the last three popes. Listen, if you, he's featured, of course, on the, on the Alpha Series.
And when you see him, he is the guy that you just want to, sit there and listen to and hug and just be around him and just let him pour into you because he is filled with the Holy Spirit. He doesn't just have access to the Holy Spirit. He's filled. Well, every Christian has access to the Holy Spirit.
Every single Christian, when you were baptized, you received the Holy Spirit. But there is a difference, a stark difference between having access and being filled. And you know when you encounter people that are filled. I've seen the Holy Spirit work. I've stopped expecting how the Holy Spirit is going to work because he can work any way he wants.
We recently had an Alpha Youth Day together, and I've seen the Holy Spirit do some incredible things. But here's one that was just, it caught me off guard. As we're praying with students, in particular, one, one girl just starts kind of crying a little bit and talking about how she just wishes she could have a better relationship with her father.
Immediately. Her father calls her on her cell phone. Immediately. I said, wow, now that's a coincidence! In another room. Cause there were lots of students, another student, this is all simultaneous. Another student is getting prayed over and saying, I really wish my sister would just talk to me. Immediately her sister texted her. In a third space, a student was talking about a friend that couldn't come to the alpha day together and talking about how they were going through a rough time and that they really wanted to pray with them right then and there. What do you think happened? She texted her right then and there, simultaneous things happening.
And yeah, you could say, well, coincidence. I don't think so. Not like that. The Holy Spirit can work through phone wires through outer space. I'm not putting any limits on the Holy Spirit anymore. And when you encounter the Holy Spirit. You only want, you only want to be around it, surrounded by and share it.
And that's the beauty of where our scripture comes in. You don't put your light under a bushel basket. That's when you're filled with the Holy Spirit. Don't just hide it and don't let anybody else know about it. This is meant to be a shared gift. 

[00:52:51] Jim Jansen: Yeah. Well, Rick, I love those stories because you're talking about like, so like, yeah, these powerful places where we know the spirit is at work and God bless some of the extraordinary gifts and manifestations and things that he does, but you're like, he's bringing reconciliation.
He's bringing unity, he's restoring and healing and, and the deepest desires of our hearts. He's like, here I am. I got it. Yeah, I mean, it's just, it's, yeah, very beautiful. 

[00:53:20] Monica: And for people to know that it's not, it doesn't come down to right. I, that I had wise and beautiful words, right? What does the scripture tell us?
It's just that we ask him that that's it. We just be available. A lot of the times when we're helping people to prepare. To do prayer ministry is what we call it. We really try to help just posture inwardly, you know, have a posture of humility, you like, you know, how great your God is, you know, that he's going to show up, you know, he loves you.
So that internal humility, knowing that, okay, I'm going to pray for somebody, but I have the humility to know that it's not me that's at work. Right. And then you have sort of like a, it's an expectant, right? You're, you're waiting. Also, you have this expectant waiting. I have a great guide. He's coming, you know, I don't know what, like Rick said, I don't know what's going to happen, but then you have this like element of internal abandonment, right?
In the sense that you don't know fully what the other person across from you needs, but God does. And you just, again, it's just this internal sort of letting go of needing to be anything more than just yourself, just available. You don't have to have the wisest words or know all the scriptures, but just be present and let the Holy Spirit flow through you.
And what can happen? I have really, really briefly. This time that I prayed for a gentleman that actually wasn't even, he's from another country, so there was a little bit of a language barrier. He spoke Portuguese, which is like kind of similar to Spanish, but either way, it was, um... 

[00:54:48] Jim Jansen: But different enough from English.

[00:54:51] Monica: But so, I prayed for him a little bit and then also he was kneeling in front of me, which is, I had never experienced that. I was like, well, okay, you don't need to do that, but okay. So, he's kneeling in front of me and there was a moment where I stopped saying any words. I don't know if it was just sort of a loss for words.
I just felt very much prompted to just not say anything. And it wasn't until the next day, and he was crying during this time. And again, I was just sort of like, just there. And then of course we finished the prayer, and he gave me a big hug and it was really nice. And he looked very emotional. Well, I didn't learn until the very next day that, because he came up to me really excited, you know, but he shared with me that.
In the moment that I just got quiet, that I wasn't saying zero words, he had actually lost a child earlier that year, his four-year-old drowned in that moment. He could smell his child and then the silence in that time. And it was just, I mean, there were other things that he shared with me, but again, I said nothing.
I was just there. And then I share those things because I think it's important for people as they just, again, are filled with a boldness and just like a peacefulness and knowing that like God can use you and he wants to. And people, it's funny, you know, people are open when you ask them like, gosh, I'm really sorry.
Can I pray for you? I mean, I think a lot of the times we'll say it, we'll be like, I'm going to pray for you. Bye. And I'd be kind of, I know I've done it a lot. 

[00:56:20] Jim Jansen: Some. Time in the undisclosed future in a secret prayer place. I'm, yeah, if I remember. 

[00:56:28] Monica: Yeah, if I remember. And so again, it's, it's not to say that, I mean maybe you're doing it all the time, but just when you're prompted to do so, I don't know about you, Rick, or, or you Jim, but like people do tend to have an openness to say like, sure, why not?
Okay. 

[00:56:44] Jim Jansen: Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. I, you know, I love just the way you're talking about this. You're kind of highlighting another aspect of alpha. And so, you know, I mean, we've, we've talked about this before, I think before we, we turn on the mics, but you know, here in the Archdiocese of Omaha, we've talked about.
Parishes need to build a clear path of discipleship, right, that they need to know how they connect with people who aren't a part of the faith community, how they introduce people to Jesus, how they help them mature as a disciple, and then how they equip them to be a missionary disciple. Alpha is often thought of, rightly so, as one of those tools that's really helpful to foster conversion.
You know, a conversion moment, something that introduces people to the person of Jesus. But what you're talking about, Monica, is like Yes, but it also forms people to be a missionary disciple. It reminds them to say, you don't have to be a theologian. You just have to listen. You have to be in relationship with people.
So, open your heart, open your home, share a meal and rely on the Holy Spirit, you know, and knowledge of your own weakness and confidence in your God is a great recipe to be a fruitful missionary disciple. And it's funny. I mean, it's like, again, alpha is not just. evangelizing people, but it's also forming people for mission, because maybe if you're working this retreat or you're a part of this, you know, the hospitality crew, a table leader that trains you for all your other interactions, not just the Wednesday night when you're doing the alpha team.

[00:58:20] Rick: Yeah, exactly. And that's why, that's why we love, or I've always loved using the core values of Alpha in all of my ministries, right? Because when you allow for spaces that are real and you have a relational ministry, you're, you rely on the Holy Spirit and you help foster that leadership, that reproducibility, it only benefits the entire church.
It only benefits everything that your hands are touching. And then. Because we have that reliance on the Holy Spirit, you know, it's the right thing to do. I never have to question if I'm, if I'm inviting the Holy Spirit in and letting the Holy Spirit lead. I never have to question, uh, if, Oh, is this, uh, is this right?
Is that, is that right? No, it's, it's the, it's not me. It has nothing to do with me other than I said, yes. Right. And so, using those core values, I think in all aspects of ministry are just, it's just smart. Uh, I think Monica might've said it about. Yeah. Alpha is not the only way. My goodness. Right. Jesus gave people many ways to encounter him.
Fishermen, uh, farmers, former women who did other jobs that maybe we don't speak about, right? But there were many ways to encounter the living Christ. And so, yes, we, we work with Alpha, and we work for Alpha, but there are so many ways that those values can be instituted to allow people to encounter the risen Christ.

[00:59:50] Jim Jansen: Yeah. Amen. Our time is totally flown, but I want to just do quick, you know, like we here in the air sizes of Omaha, we have, uh, partnered with, uh, you all at alpha. When you guys first pitched this, right, the big selling point, it's like, how about we provide support and it's free, it's free, which was, which was great.
That worked in very well, uh, to the budget, just talk a little bit about parishes, youth ministries, uh, what are some of the, the kind of like the supports that Alpha in a Catholic context offers? To a parish that's either interested in learning more or maybe improving how they utilize alpha as a tool.

[01:00:30] Monica: Yeah. So, this is just the exciting part about being able to partner with the diocese as we get to sort of, we built out this calendar with the archdiocese of Omaha. And essentially, we have four ways for a parish to opt in to just sort of get more of an encounter with alpha. So, the first way is. Exactly that encounter alpha.
So, we walk through different previews where we're praying with you. We're giving you the experience that a guest would have. We pray every single month with, and for the archdiocese of Omaha. So, I can't remember which Wednesday it is. So, you can come and have an encounter with us. You can come unpack culture with us.
In fact, tomorrow, Rick is going to be leading, um, what we call the Youth Ministry Mindset. It's online, hour and 15 minutes, and it's actually going to be talking about the values through the lens of confirmation. So again, you can unpack culture with us. Training. This is a huge one. August 3rd, I believe, is the National Alpha Training Lab being hosted by the Archdiocese of Omaha.

[01:01:29] Jim Jansen: Right here in Omaha. 

[01:01:31] Monica: Right. And within reach is going to be also, it's going to be a really great sort of ecumenical way to. Come together, right, be fruitful together, um, and train around, not just running alpha, but growing alpha. And then the archdiocese is actually going to speak a little bit more into the clear path initiative and sort of unpack that and through alpha.
And then just being empowered. There's amazing, especially in the archdiocese of Omaha, there's parishes that are really utilizing the culture of alpha in a great way. And so, we're just really trying to highlight and nurture them as well. Giving them opportunities to come speak into culture conversations and display different things.
So, lots of different ways to get involved. Um, but really, we just want to support. We want to support parishes getting started. We have specialists. Um, part of the free alpha package is you can actually go onto our website and say, I am running alpha for a third time. I'm running it for the very first time.
And it'll assign you a specialist to walk through sort of those essential elements of getting started. So. 

[01:02:31] Jim Jansen: Yeah, that's fantastic. I wish so August 3rd, uh, anybody, and you're welcome. We're not going to card at the door. So, if you're, if you're actually from like Lincoln or Wichita, we'll let you in as well, St.
Louis, you're welcome. I'm not going to be there August 3rd myself. I'm sad. I'm going to, I mean, I'm happy. I'm going to be on a mission trip, but Archbishop Lucas is going to be there. So, uh, it's going to be a really fun event. We're really, uh, yeah, really looking forward to it real quick. If you want to find out more about Alpha in a Catholic context, where do you go?

[01:03:01] Monica: So, you would go to Alpha usa.org/catholic, or you could email either myself or Rick, which is monicaMartinez@alphausa.org. 

[01:03:12] Rick: And Rick grinstead@alphausa.org. 

[01:03:16] Monica: Exactly. 

[01:03:17] Jim Jansen: And Grinstead is Stead. It's not Stud. Grinstead. S T E A D. 

[01:03:23] Rick: It's a mistake that's made all the time. 

[01:03:26] Jim Jansen: Very common mistake. We'll link to those in the, in the show notes.
So, so nobody's confused. It's like, I typed in Rick Grinstead, and I just couldn't find it. It bounced back. All right. You guys are awesome. Thank you. Really. We appreciate your time. Thank you for what you've been doing. This is fun. Our time is totally, totally flown. 

[01:03:45] Rick: Thank you, Jim. 

[01:03:45] Monica: Yeah. Thanks so much for having us.
This is so much fun. 

[01:03:48] Jim Jansen: All right, everybody, you know, somebody who needs to hear this conversation, uh, maybe they're thinking about culture. Maybe they're, they're, man, they're, they're interested in, in learning how to listen again and they're open to rediscovering. What it means again, to be a missionary disciple in the culture we live in.
Um, when you get to your destination, when you are safe to use your phone, share this out with a friend. Thanks everybody. Thanks for listening to the EquipCast. 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.archomaha.org. God bless and see you next time.