Reintroduce Your Community to the Gift of FORMED

“It is the priest’s job to lead people to Christ, to show them how much they are loved and get them to realize their duty to evangelize the Good News to others. I learned early on as a priest that very few know their faith, and those who do, don’t really know it. FORMED is amazing and has helped do that. With our recent successful relaunch, my parishioners continue to thank me for providing this service. I can’t wait to see all the new materials FORMED will be providing in the future.”

—Fr. McCarthy, St. Ann’s Parish, Cincinnati, OH

When a community first gets FORMED, there can be an initial burst of activity as many explore the platform and dive into their faith by participating in a small-group or parish-wide study. With time, however, your FORMED subscription may become underutilized as many in the community, including new parishioners, are simply unaware that they have access in their parish and their homes to inspiring, faith-enriching resources on FORMED.

St. Ann Church of Groesbeck in Cincinnati, Ohio first acquired their FORMED subscription in 2015. In the years since, St. Ann’s found that the parish and its members weren’t engaging with the faith-enriching resources on FORMED like they would hope.

So, St. Ann’s Father McCarthy recruited Cincinnati local and Augustine Institute’s Senior Orientation Specialist, Louise Karas, to facilitate a relaunch of FORMED in their parish. Louise has outlined 5 simple steps she took to relaunch FORMED with an engaging parish-wide study:

1. Choose a weekend.

Use the liturgical calendar to your advantage by selecting times of the year such as Advent or Lent during which Catholics feel more motivated to engage with their faith. St. Ann’s Parish chose the first weekend of Lent to re-introduce FORMED.

2. Select a series on FORMED for a parish-wide study.

Parish-wide studies give new FORMED users a place to start exploring all the faith resources on FORMED, and also give your parish family a common place to begin faith-sharing conversations with one another. Many do not know where to begin learning about their faith, much less discussing their personal faith journey, but giving the entire community the opportunity to engage with the same faith materials and topics gives them a natural starting point.

For their relaunch at Lent, Father McCarthy chose to lead his community through A Lent to Remember, a beautiful study on God’s mercy in the Sacrament of Confession that uses Augustine Institute original series Forgiven and Symbolon.

Decisions on the right series will vary from one parish to another, but an excellent unifier in every community is the Mass. The new Augustine Institute original series, Presence: The Mystery of the Eucharist, will give your parish family a common love for the Eucharist, and bring new meaning to the family meal you share in the Mass every Sunday.

3. Prepare FORMED Promotional Materials.

Utilize printable promotional materials such as FORMED business cards, flyers, and bulletin inserts to spread the word in your community on your relaunch weekend. To peak interest in your choice of parish-wide study, use printable parish-wide study promotional materials, available for a variety of FORMED studies.

St. Ann’s parish leaders were able to print FORMED business cards at a reasonable cost of $25 for 1,000. These cards included details on the parish-wide study and instructions on how to sign up for a free FORMED account using St. Ann’s newly-created Custom Registration URL.

4. Include a Personal Invitation from the Pulpit from Father and/or a Parishioner.

(Scripted “Pulpit Pitches” are available in FORMED promotional materials and parish-wide study promotional materials)

The power of the shepherd’s voice cannot be overestimated. Ask your priest to mention FORMED and the series you will be studying together at Mass during his homily or invite everyone to participate in the parish-wide study in an announcement after Mass.

At St. Ann’s, Father McCarthy included FORMED in his announcements and Louise spoke for 2-3 minutes at the end of each Mass, offering brief words about FORMED and the upcoming parish-wide study. Throughout the parish-wide study, Father can also continue to encourage engagement by forming his homily around that week’s study session (see “Homily Talking Points” and “Bulletin Blurbs” in parish-wide study promotional materials).

A Pulpit announcement also provides the opportunity to help parishioners register for FORMED and download the FORMED app on their mobile devices before they even leave the parish! Announce that there will be individuals outside the chapel to assist everyone in registering for FORMED and getting started on the mobile app.

5. Conduct a “Reverse Collection” to give your parishioners an at-home reminder.

Ushers at St. Ann’s distributed baskets and parishioners were encouraged to take home one of the printed business cards explaining how to sign up for FORMED and how to find the selected study.
You can also ask volunteers to hand out business cards or flyers at the door after Mass, which gives parishioners the opportunity to have any questions answered.

After the initial weekend, Father McCarthy and parish leaders continued the relaunch efforts throughout Lent by inviting the parish to an upcoming four weeks of Fish Fry events and Stations of the Cross, to be followed by a viewing of A Lent to Remember and a discussion.

After their relaunch, St. Ann’s quickly witnessed a 52% increase in registrations. Engagement among these parishioners likewise saw impressive gains, with more persons actively utilizing FORMED resources each day.

To learn more about conducting your own successful relaunch, contact parishcare@formed.org to schedule a conversation with Louise Karas today!