Curating with Care: Tailoring Religious Education for Your Parish Community

The New Year hasn't happened, but we're already discussing summer at our parish. The kits for Vacation Bible School came, and I've been scanning through the curriculum. The content we purchase is always great; however, nothing we find fits our parish perfectly. And while companies do their best to improve their products, I don't think we'll ever find the perfect curriculum that works for everyone.

People will ask me if I've ever thought about writing content. I do quite a bit for my parish, and right now, I'm working on a project with Ydisciple for middle school students (check it out here); however, writing everything we do is time-consuming, and as a director of formation ministries there, are other things I need to do.

Whenever a parish or a catechetical leader is struggling to find the right content, I suggest to them curating. When we intentionally curate our content, we not only find incredible resources to share with our congregation but save a little money, too. But intentional curating is more than finding a video on YouTube or changing some of the language on a Bible Study you purchased. If you want to offer content to your congregation effectively, no matter the age you are working with you need to:

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Who are the people in your parish? What do they do with their time? What season of life are they currently experiencing? Do they work multiple jobs? Are they constantly in transition? Is language a barrier? When you take the time to look at the children, teens, and adults in your mission field, you allow yourself to curate materials that speak into their lives.

The audience is not only impacted by content but so is methodology. If you serve a transient community (e.g., military, young adults), you must ensure the content you offer can be shared if groups want to continue virtually when people cannot gather in person. Additionally, if you use video content, you must ensure the speaker is relatable to your audience. This is especially key if working with young people or with different cultures.

No matter your audience, research what is going on in their lives. If you are the pastor, make sure your parish council can keep you up to date. If you work with young people or families, connect with the local schools or other churches to see what they know. Make sure you are listening and learning as much as you can so that you know how to share the Truth. 

DEVELOP A PRODUCTION RHYTHM

Every year I want to have every single week of content planned for our kids and teens, but then something happens in the world and we then have to decide on how to pivot. At the same time, I don't want to be last minute because I know my leaders need to review, embrace, and own the content they are given. The solution is to make curating and creating content a part of your routine.

What that looks like depends on the person, but to figure it out, you'll need to work backward. Pick a deadline for when you want material to hit the hands of your leaders. Do they need a week or several to be ready to go through the content?

Next, determine how much time you need to go from idea to finished product. If you are relying more on creation, you'll need extra time. If you have a good sense of resources, it might not take long. 

Make sure you have a team and a system (e.g., a cloud-based folder like Google Drive) that makes distribution simple. When you involve others, they'll help you teach your volunteers how to use the content, they'll keep you true to your deadlines, and alleviate the pressure to produce everything on your own.

Lastly, make sure you are selecting a time each week to work on content. It might be a little bit of writing or could be browsing videos and materials. Just make sure you are intentionally guarding that time to do these things.

TRAIN YOUR TEAM PROPERLY

I've always believed that if you have the right leaders, it doesn't matter what content you hand them. While none of our parishes are filled with biblical scholars or theological gurus, they do have men and women who love Jesus and the Church. Even though you can't teach them the entire knowledge of the faith, you can introduce them to habits and exercises that will allow them to embrace the content and share it properly with the people they shepherd.

You'll want to start by showing them how to prepare themselves as catechists. Tell them to find time to pray before reviewing the content, and then when they do set their eyes on it for the first time, make sure they do it slowly. Have them write down what they are learning and discovering. Invite them to add anything that they believe can amplify any takeaways from the content.

You'll also want to teach your leaders the art of listening. Show them how to listen empathetically, ask the right questions, and guide their students to unpack the faith independently. Help your volunteers see that a huge part of what they do is accompanying others in their faith journey. 

When you train your team properly, you give them the confidence they need to grow other disciples. Even if the content you offer is incoherent, your team will know what to do. They'll see the main objective behind their role as accompaniers. 

To get to the point of intentionally curating your content will take time to develop, but the long term impact is worth it. Developing the right content will become a part of the culture and a habit that goes beyond your tenure. People will understand that while what they teach matters, it's how you share that brings people even closer to God. 

If you are looking for assistance with content development, set up a free consultation with us. We'll use that time to help you understand your audience and connect you with resources to grow disciples. To set up that consultation click the button below.