Who Catholic Essentials is for
Whether you are leading a school, pastoring a parish, or seeking the truth for yourself, this program provides the foundation you need.
Principals & Administrators
School leaders who need a reliable, effective way to strengthen the faith, theological knowledge and spiritual formation of their teachers, especially those who may be struggling to practice the faith themselves.
Catholic Teachers
Educators who are looking to grow in their own faith and crave a deeper, more robust spiritual formation, so they can teach their students from a place of genuine conviction.
Pastors & Parish Priests
Pastors who want to provide more for their parishioners with high-quality, ready-to-use videos and resources for parish Bible studies, young adult groups or adult faith formation series.
RCIA & Faith Formation Ministers
DREs, catechists and youth ministers looking for engaging, time-tested resources to teach their students the whole story of salvation or to train their own parish volunteers.
Seekers & Converts
Anyone interested in becoming Catholic, currently in RCIA, or simply wanting to finally understand the beautiful, cohesive truth of the faith.
“The ‘heart’ of our redemption is the starting-point of every process of Christian education.”
St. John Paul II · Letter to Families (Gratissimam Sane), 16
We are failing our teachers
Only about 20% of the teachers in our Catholic schools actually practice the faith, and we ignore it.
The problem isn't that they aren't practicing, and it isn't the hiring process. The problem is that our training programs, textbooks and in-service days are built as if every teacher already believes, prays and trusts the Church. Teachers who were never evangelized, catechized or formed get a program that skips the very things they need.
Meet them where they really are, and your faculty room becomes the greatest evangelization opportunity you have.
Fix Your Catholic School Training Program4 minutes · The problem, the errors, and a three-phase solution
Why other catechetical programs fall short
Programs on both ends of the spectrum miss critical elements of training teachers.
The Doctrine-First Model
This approach assumes that simply handing teachers a list of the Church's doctrines and teachings will equip them to teach the faith. It ignores the fact that an effective teacher must teach from their own conviction and relationship with Jesus Christ.
It does little to evangelize the teacher and focuses on heavy catechesis: the theology of the Trinity, mortal and venial sin and more, all without first introducing them to the God who holds their redemption.
The Experience-Driven Model
This approach trains teachers mainly through sensational testimonies, miracle accounts and other emotion-generating experiences. It does not give teachers true content to stand on or to pass on.
When the feelings fade, there is no deeper reason to trust the teachings of the Church, and no clear path to intimacy with Jesus Christ.
Evangelize. Catechize. Form.
A comprehensive program that trains teachers in three distinct phases.
Phase I · 33 videos
Scripture-Based Evangelization
Uses Scripture to bring teachers into an encounter with Jesus Christ. It teaches the entire story of salvation as a whole, and uses the very text of the Bible to drive the message to their hearts. Nothing we can say compares to the way God chose to say it in the inspired text of the Bible.
View series →
Phase II · 30 videos
Apologetics-Based Catechesis Coming soon
Uses the Old Testament, the New Testament and the documents of the early Church to define and defend the teachings of the true Church. It doesn't make the false assumption that simply teaching what the Church teaches will stir conviction in teachers' hearts.
View series →
Phase III · 15 videos
Spiritual Formation Coming soon
Draws on the wisdom of the saints, the mystics and the spiritual classics on the interior life to give teachers a clear path to intimacy with Jesus Christ, whether the feelings are there or not.
View series →
See it in the classroom
Some of the best lessons, each with a full lesson plan and before- and after-watching worksheets.
Bible Timeline OverviewStart here · 8 minutes- Lesson Plan PDF · Soon
- Before You Watch PDF · Soon
- After Watching PDF · Soon
The Fall of Adam and EvePeriod of Creation · Part 2- Lesson Plan PDF · Soon
- Before You Watch PDF · Soon
- After Watching PDF · Soon
Jacob Renamed As IsraelPeriod of the Patriarchs · Part 2- Lesson Plan PDF · Soon
- Before You Watch PDF · Soon
- After Watching PDF · Soon
The Curriculum Map
Every lesson is mapped in sequence and cross-referenced to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, so you can see exactly what is taught, when, and where it comes from.
Curriculum Map PDF · Coming Soon
Testimonies
Stories from teachers and catechists using Catholic Essentials in their classrooms will appear here.
Using the lessons? Share your story.
A teacher who saw what was missing
I served in youth ministry programs for 7 years and taught in Catholic schools for 5 years. During that time I kept finding the same problems: children were either being catechized but not evangelized, or evangelized but not catechized. And many Catholic teachers had a beautiful devotion but lacked a deep understanding of Scripture and apologetics.
In my years of Catholic education I saw an overwhelming turnaround, watching the most anti-Catholic students become zealous and devout Catholics. One memory I treasure: at lunchtime I would often slip away to the chapel for time alone with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The students picked up on it and began flocking to the chapel with me every day, spending their lunch doing the same.
I don't consider myself charismatic, a good conversationalist, or very interesting to others. But I believe I can rightly attribute their devotion to the framework and methodology you will find in Catholic Essentials.
Education
I earned a master's degree in Urban Education at Loyola Marymount University. I also studied Catechetics and Evangelization at the graduate level at Franciscan University of Steubenville, a critical step in discovering the principle at the heart of this work: evangelize before you catechize.
Yet even strong catechist formation programs rarely evangelize teachers themselves; they assume teachers already know Christ. Catholic Essentials puts that principle into practice for the teachers who need it most.
About MeMy experience in the classroom and my education