We're kind of used to making big "asks" in the church:

• Donating to capital campaigns and a plethora of second collections
• Volunteering to lead a group or become a catechist
• Following counter-cultural Church teachings

But there's one ask we make every year that I would argue is the biggest one of all:

Do you want to become Catholic?

I mean, think about everything that is involved when someone responds "yes" to that question:

Spending months attending weekly classes, committing to embracing the teachings of the Catholic Church, actually believing in God and Jesus and the impacts that decision has on your life - and often without support or even open discouragement from family and friends!

It makes asking someone to donate to the capital campaign seem easy.

And how do we phrase this biggest "ask" we make all year? ⬇️

With a (let's be honest, pretty boring) factual paragraph or two in the bulletin that we maybe share to social media and call it good.

Listen, I'm all about trusting the Holy Spirit will bring whomever we're supposed to impact to us.

But we have to give Him something to work with.

Because there are three main problems to that approach:

1. We're not putting it in the right spot - because your bulletin and social media are mostly only seen by people who are already active members of your church.
2. We're not sharing it convincingly - because we pack the announcement full of stuffy, insider language that doesn't help people considering converting or completing their sacraments actually know this is for them or feel like we understand them.
3. We're not taking them on a journey - because jumping out of the gate with "hey, want to be Catholic?" is like putting an engagement proposal in the bulletin and hoping that girl you like happens to see it and wants to marry you on the spot.

So how do we fix those?

1. We get really clear on the roadblocks or hesitations people have when considering converting and the language they use to describe those feelings. Then we reflect that exact language back to them in our promotions.
2. We figure out where those people are (likely not our normal church communications channels) and how to reach them with our promotions.
3. And then we take potential converts on a journey - instead of jumping right to joining OCIA, starting out with something small and accompanying them until they are ready to take that step.

I teach you exactly how to create that strategy in my free OCIA promotion strategy training, "5 Essential Communication Strategies to Fill Your OCIA Classes."

But the summary is:

➡️ You promote a free guide to becoming Catholic (answering top questions about Catholicism, what people should know before converting, etc.).

➡️ Then, from the people who download it, you send them a series of emails inviting them to attend a "come and see" event, where they can have their questions answered before committing to OCIA.

(Even if you tell people there's no commitment by attending OCIA...there is a big psychological step to even going to one meeting. A "come and see" type event feels less like making the decision to convert.)

➡️ At that event, you then invite people to consider joining OCIA and follow up with them personally.

All throughout, we use design and writing that speaks to our ideal person - who, remember, is not already a devout, active Catholic - reflecting their hesitations and questions back to them so they think, "They really get me."

It's more steps than just putting the generic "OCIA classes begin in September" ad in the bulletin...but it works a LOT better.

But here's the problem:

I know you're busy and don't necessarily have the time to come up with this strategy AND create all of the communications materials to support it in just a few weeks before classes begin.

​Which is why I made them for you in the OCIA Promotion Pack!​

(And to celebrate the start of OCIA classes soon for many of you - it's 15% off right now with code OCIA26!)

Inside, you'll find planning resources to put that strategy ⬆️ in place easily: promotion planning sheets, "come and see" event sample schedule, freebie ideas, etc.

And then dozens of templates you can use to simply swap out your information and be ready to promote it - well! - in as little as 30 minutes.

You'll get:

"10 Things to Know About Catholicism" freebie template
​A PDF guide people can download as a first anonymous step

Two registration page templates​
So even if you don't have the best or easiest website, you can still have a beautiful and clean registration page for your "come and see" event

Content for 5 automated emails​
​To follow up with freebie and event registrants

7 flyer template designs

14 graphics and captions for social media​
​Including 3 short-form video templates

Graphics and captions for Meta ads
​And a training on how to set them up within Ads Manager

All designed with intention to specifically attract the attention of and journey with those considering becoming Catholic, who just need the right nudge to get them to take the next step.
​

15% off through September 1 with code OCIA26

Promoting OCIA isn't like promoting any of the other programs your church offers.

It marks the beginning of a monumental life shift - and I truly think it's the most important offering we promote all year.

So whether you create your own or want to save some time by using the templates I've created, our goal is that even our promotions themselves - the way they're phrased and designed and where we advertise it - all help people to feel the love Jesus has for them before they even enter the classroom.

Praying that your OCIA promotions this year reach the people God has asked you to accompany and moves their hearts to accept His invitation!

For His greater glory,

Emily

P.S. Want to promote OCIA well this year but don't have time to create something from scratch? My OCIA Promotion Pack contains 30+ editable promotion templates, plus everything you need to set up a strategy that invites and accompanies potential converts from "Wait, is the Catholic Church actually right about that?" all the way to their first OCIA class and beyond. Grab your parish's pack with 15% off using code OCIA26.​