Get the confidence you need to be a children’s RCIA catechist

 

 

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“I have been working with children in the RCIA process for eight years and have never had any kind of workshop or training in this area. I am looking for insights on how to reach our ten children in the RCIA this year.”

 

You wouldn’t believe how many versions of that story we’ve heard. Many, many children’s RCIA catechists are working hard to bring children to deeper faith in Jesus. But often, they have never been given the training and support they need to succeed as much as they’d like to.

 

 

What if you had the support you need?

 

But what if? What if there were a simple, straightforward way to access the exact training you needed for this ministry—training that didn’t require you to get on an airplane, spend money on a hotel, and be away from your family and job?

 

Well, that’s what we asked Rita Burns Senseman. Rita has been a rock-solid support for children’s RCIA catechists for a couple of decades. We asked Rita if there was a way to put her immense knowledge online so it could be available for you.

 

Here’s what she told us…

 

“Absolutely!”

 

 

Rita immediately loved the idea of providing online support for you and folks like you who are forming child catechumens in the faith. Here are the reasons Rita believes you will benefit from this online training:

 

 

 

  • You will learn everything you need to know about running a successful children’s RCIA process. By providing the material online, it’s always available. You can come back to it again and again as you need to.
  • You will feel confident you are helping your children become Catholic. Rita is going to show you, step by step, what you need to do and how to do it.
  • You will have a safe place to ask questions, propose ideas, and get feedback. Unlike a live workshop where you get maybe ten or fifteen minutes at the end of a session to ask questions, you will be able to ask all the questions you want here. And you’ll have the benefit of not only Rita’s insights but all of your “classmates” from across the United States and Canada.

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Click the button below if you’re ready to sign up! Or, keep reading to find out what you get when you sign up today.

 

 

Here’s how this works

 

Over a 10-week period, we’re going to give you 10 interactive learning modules that will give you the confidence you need to be an even more effective children’s RCIA catechist. Each of the 10 modules includes three to six sessions of course material. The beauty of this is that you can read or listen to the course material when you want and where you want. You never have to “go” to class.

  • Each session will be 2- to 5-pages long, in either PDF or web page format. You will start receiving links to your sessions on September 19, and you can read and digest them at your own pace.
  • These sessions will also be available in audio format if you prefer to learn aurally.
  • Each session will also include a summary exercise worksheet to help you integrate the course concepts for your particular situation.
  • Registration for the course includes free membership in a support forum where you can ask questions, complete exercises, or just chat with other catechists.
  • Throughout the course, you will have access to Rita Burns Senseman to answer your questions and offer additional advice.

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Here’s the best part

 

Because of your support of TeamRCIA, you are going to get a terrific discount on your registration fee. More about that in a minute.

 

What’s in the course?

 

Here’s how we have things organized right now. This could change as we go, based on the feedback you’ll be providing and the questions or suggestions you have.

 

Module 1. The single most important thing you need to know about children in the RCIA

 

In this module, you will envision a new way of forming children in faith. You will do that by learning the core elements of conversion that guide the entire RCIA process.

 

Module 2. A new vision—your parish guide to the journey of faith

 

In this module, you will master the steps and stages of leading children on their journey of faith.

 

Module 3. Parents are your essential partners

 

No matter how much time you spend with your children, you will never have as much influence as their own parents do. In this module, we’ll cover why it is so important to make parents your partners and how to give them a significant role in the conversion process.

 

Module 4. Apply some healthy peer pressure

 

Every parish has an often-overlooked source of spiritual support for their child catechumens. That source is, of course, the other children in the parish. In this module, you will discover how effective peer companions can be in your formation process.

 

Ready yet? Click now, or keep reading.

 

 

Module 5. Look for the road signs of faith

 

Signs are important. In this module, you will learn the key sacramental signs in the rituals of the church. These sacramental signs are the actual presence of Jesus.

 

Module 6. Listen to the children

 

At the very start of this journey of conversion, we have to ask the children why they want to learn more about Jesus. In this module, you will explore ways to listen closely to what your children say and create a process that moves at their individual pace.

 

Module 7. Develop an apprenticeship plan

 

The formation process for children is going to look a lot like vocational training, because we are training them for their vocation as baptized Christians. This module will show you how to develop that training.

 

Module 8. Teach the faith

 

The goal of children’s RCIA is to help children grow into an intimate relationship with Jesus. In this module, you will discover how learning the doctrines of the church flows out of that relationship.

 

Module 9. Say yes to Christ

 

The next step in this process is to clarify and affirm the children’s choice for Christ. In this module, we will show you how the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults provides a time of spiritual reflection to prepare for the climax of the faith journey—sacramental initiation into Christ.

 

Module 10. Review the journey

 

It is essential that we take stock of where we started and where we’ve come to. And then we need to look forward and ask, what’s next on the journey of faith? After completing this module, you will have a clear understanding of how to provide a time of “mystagogy” for your newly initiated children.

Your discounted price

 

As I mentioned, your support of TeamRCIA grants you discounted registration fee.

 

Deadline: For this one week, if you register by 11:59pm PDT on September 11, 2011, you can get in for only $174.99 a person. That’s 30% off the regular price of $249.99. After September 11, the 30% discount will no longer be available.

 

Click the pink button to reserve your seat

at this special price

 

 

 

Money-back guarantee

 

Rita gets rave reviews every time she offers her expertise to folks. She has so much experience and knowledge about children’s RCIA. We really think you are going to find the information in this course to be solid and helpful for creating (or improving) a fabulous formation process for your children.

 

But if you don’t agree, just let us know after the first week or two. We’ll be very happy to refund your tuition and keep you as a friend.

 

Who is your instructor?

 

Watch this brief video to find out more about Rita. Or just read the text below.

 

 

 
Hi, I’m Rita Burns Senseman coming to you from my kitchen table here in Terre Haute, Indiana.

I’m so pleased that you are interested in the RCIA with children. It’s been over 25 years since I first began my ministry in children’s RCIA. It all started back at St. Andrew parish in Indianapolis when I was a brand new DRE. And I remember descending these long narrow steps that went down to my basement office in this small house that served as the parish office.

And there on the corner of my desk was this handwritten note, and it said, “These children want to become Catholic,” and there was a list of four or five children’s names. That’s where it all began.

At that point I had absolutely no idea what to do. But somehow, with a lot of good help from some people at St. Andrew’s who were already doing RCIA with adults in the parish, and because I miraculously stumbled onto this document called the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults—together we figured out how to prepare unbaptized children for baptism.

So I would love to talk with you more about how to figure out how to prepare unbaptized children for baptism and initiation into the Catholic Church. I hope to talk with you more about that later.

 

TeamRCIA

San Jose, California

 

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