It likely started with off-handed anecdotes at deanery meetings:

"We have a lot of people for OCIA this year."

"Us too!"

A parish here, a parish there - until everyone started talking and realized that it wasn't just their parish.

Across the United States, and the world, 2025 and 2026 brought a boom in OCIA interest.

It was big enough that even the New York Times covered it.​

First, praise God!! The Holy Spirit is clearly moving.

Second - are you ready for Him?

Because when you hear all of that, you probably have one of two reactions:

• Exhaustion, because you spent 2026 drowning in more inquiries in one year than you've had in the past decade combined (the best kind of problem to have...but still a problem)
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• Or feeling a bit of "holy jealousy" at the parishes that had such big OCIA increases last year because you didn't.

No matter how large or small your 2026 OCIA class was, promotion season is upon us, and I have a LOT of tips for how to promote it strategically at your parish.

(Like how you're probably promoting OCIA in the least effective place possible and the super simple fix you can make so it works astronomically better.)

But these tips are way too long to put in an email (even for me), so back in 2024, I recorded them all in this webinar.​

You can still access it for free, and since those of you who start OCIA formation in the fall are likely beginning to promote it now, I wanted to share it with you in case it would be helpful!

​You can request the replay from the webinar right here.​

(Note that this was recorded prior to the RCIA to OCIA switch, so I do use the old language, but the strategies still apply!)

It's 41 minutes, and you'll learn:

• Why your current OCIA promotion strategy isn't working
• Time-saving tips to promote it effectively without adding a ton more work
• A step-by-step marketing strategy to reach the people who actually need OCIA so you can grow your program
• The "bulletin trick" that will get your current parishioners to promote OCIA for you

All right in time for promoting OCIA if your sessions begin this fall.

(It's helpful for both OCIA directors and parish communications staff!)
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Now what if you had more OCIA inquirers than you could manage last year?

We still want to have a clear promotion strategy!

Because 1) obviously we want to reach everyone God has called us to reach. There's still more souls who want to become Catholic that we can help!

And 2) having a communication strategy in place will help you walk with them more effectively and make sure you capitalize on the increased interest.

In other words, the more we streamline the promotion process, the more you can focus on walking with these eager souls!

So go mark some time off on your calendar this week to watch the webinar replay!​

And once you do, reply and let me know if you plan to implement these strategies - I'll pray for your communications to reach all the souls you're called to bring to Jesus this year!

For His greater glory,

Emily