Prepare your catechists for the upcoming year

By Rosanne Coffey

Why do we need volunteer catechists? It should never be “to fill a slot.” You want volunteers called to share the gift of faith with the children in your parish—volunteers who are excited and feel called to this ministry. With this in mind, along with the following tips, you should have no trouble trusting that God will provide you with just the right people.

Be Excited
Feelings are contagious. Let them be positive and uplifting.

Communicate
Your positive feedback will transfer to their attitude and ministry, and help both of you feel comfortable working together and with your fellow catechists.

Pray
This means to prepare not only your curriculum, but your heart, mind, and attitude as well. Don’t be afraid to pray—personal prayer will give you strength for a new lesson and motivate you to engage your students. Ask God to guide you and inspire you to find ways you can best lead people to have a closer relationship with God.

Plan
Create a list of expectations you have for your catechists. It will be much easier for volunteers to come forward if they know up front exactly what they are being asked to do. Make the potential time commitment for each week clear to them so they can plan accordingly. The better prepared you are, the better your lessons will be and the more your catechists and students will grow in their faith.

Train
Make sure your catechists are ready to face the year. Be sure they have powerful lessons with engaging activities. Brainstorm together. Have them share their ideas with the other catechists to create a sense of teamwork. Be sure to keep these training sessions fun, prayerful, and informative.

Mentor
Working as a team will allow you to learn from others and for others to learn from you. It is especially important to help guide first-time catechists as they may need more guidance than an experienced catechist. Be ready to answer whatever questions they may have, and be available for them.  

If you keep these ideas in mind, your catechists will be ready to face any challenge. Your hard work in preparing your catechists will be rewarded when you see their students making new and exciting connections to their faith.

Editor Rosanne Coffey

Rosanne was named editor of RTJ's Creative Catechist in April 2010. She was previously advertising manager and worked in marketing for RTJ's Creative Catechist, Today's Parish and God's Word Today. For over 20 years she taught in Catholic schools. She has also been a catechist and associate director for the Norwich Diocesan Office for Faith Formation.