Archdiocese and OSV Institute will host workshop on innovation in evangelization

The Archdiocese of Baltimore and the Our Sunday Visitor Institute will offer workshops Nov. 10 to help parish leaders explore how to innovate in evangelism outreach, learning how to take a project from idea to action.

Craig Gould, director of the Office of Family, Youth and Young Adult Ministry within the Institute for Evangelization in the archdiocese, said that through the process, clergy and lay leaders in ministry will learn how to turn their objectives into a real project, and apply for grant funds to help bring it to reality.

The OSV Institute is providing the training, which will be offered in a morning and evening session Nov. 10 at the Betamore Campus for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 101 W. Dickman St., Baltimore.

The two-and-a-half-hour sessions for “Explore” will begin at 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., with the evening session livestreamed.

Gould said that when he took on his role in the newly created Office of Family, Youth and Young Adult Ministry, he considered how it would differ from the previously separate Office of Marriage and Family Life and Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. 

He also wanted to ensure that the work of the office lives out Archbishop William E. Lori’s vision and mission expressed in “A Light Brightly Visible 2.0,” in which he frames parish ministry within the context of making missionary disciples.

Gould said the OSV Institute has been offering grants to parishes and organizations, especially through its OSV Challenge that provides funds to Catholic innovators for personal development, professional guidance and idea incubation. However, the program was not receiving many grant proposals directly from dioceses and parishes.

The “exploration of innovation” workshop this month will introduce ministry leaders to the concept and help them talk about new ideas. Then, beginning in January, OSV and the Archdiocese of Baltimore will begin a series of monthly programs that will 

help them move from idea to a concrete project to meet an objective, such as reaching out to families with young children, or reaching out to young adults. Such a project might have many parts, each of which needs to be developed. The monthly series would lead to an opportunity in fall 2022 to apply for grants from the archdiocese to complete the project, with some possible support from the OSV Institute. 

“We want to help them apply, and walk with them in executing their project,” Gould said.

The sessions are open to priests, deacons, parish leadership, catechetical leaders, youth ministry leaders and more. Key volunteers in those ministries could also find the workshop useful.

Attendees must register at archbalt.regfox.com/explore. 

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