Advancing Our Church
The Advancing Our Church Podcast was established in 2017 to contribute to the ongoing dialogue around best practices and education on Catholic Stewardship, leadership, and Advancement. Since then, the podcast has evolved into topics such as evangelization, finance, and even Bitcoin. The podcast’s mission is to advance the mission of Jesus Christ in all ways we serve Him as a Church.
Episodes
May 5, 2024 • 63 mins
With the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) approval of the Bitcoin Spot ETF in January 2024, Catholic institutions now have the opportunity to make Bitcoin part of their investment portfolio. Mark Yusko is a highly respected and sought-after voice on Bitcoin. He is a devoted Catholic, and he spoke at the 2022 Catholic Crypto Conference. Mark answers many questions CEOs of Catholic institutions need to be asking, like,...
Mark as Played
April 14, 2024 • 43 mins
Lisa Hough joins Jim Friend for an expansive conversation on a variety of Bitcoin topics, including social justice, national security, preserving energy that is unalterable, and Bitcoin's compliance with our values as Catholics. She begins by giving an overview of the case for Bitcoin and offers some advice on how Catholic institutions can understand Bitcoin's value and how it aligns with our faith. During the conversation, Lisa re...
Mark as Played
April 7, 2024 • 55 mins
Dave Baranowski rejoins Jim Friend for a conversation about working in parish Stewardship in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. Dave discusses how parishes are working together to regionalize ministries and create more opportunities for all parishioners. As a result, parishes are becoming more creative, collaborative, and welcoming than ever before. Dave also talks about how he trains disciples (not volunteers) in parishes to use thei...
Mark as Played
March 17, 2024 • 43 mins
Fr. Allen Hoffa is on the Leadership team for Integrity Restored, a ministry to help restore the integrity of individuals, spouses, and families that have been affected by pornography and pornography addiction. In this episode, we learn more about how this ministry provides education, training, encouragement, and resources to break free from pornography, heal relationships, and assist parents in preventing and responding to pornogr...
Mark as Played
March 13, 2024 • 34 mins
Will Murley is a Financial Advisor who specializes in helping Catholics make a holistic financial plan, give to charitable organizations, and invest according to USCCB guidelines. Will shares his experience of being a missionary and how he used to raise money. He also shares how he helps Catholic families choose investments that align with the Church’s teachings and values. Learn some of the common obstacles that Will sees to finan...
Mark as Played
March 3, 2024 • 29 mins
Deacon Ed Shoener returns to Advancing Our Church to talk about how the Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministry has grown over the past two years since we last met with Deacon Ed on AOC in Episode 110. Deacon Ed also speaks about his recent trip to the Vatican for the first Vatican-sponsored Catholic Mental Health Conference. The goal of Deacon Ed's organization is to accompany people who struggle with mental health challen...
Mark as Played
February 25, 2024 • 23 mins
Jim Friend is joined by Colleen Scariano, one of the founders of SoulCore, a movement born from the desire to nourish body and soul through prayer and core strengthening and functional movements. The story of SoulCore began with a devastating loss that led Colleen to a deeper devotion to the Blessed Mother and eventually to the conception of SoulCore. Jim and Colleen discuss the creation of SoulCore and the tremendous response they...
Mark as Played
October 22, 2023 • 39 mins
This is not a headline that we're accustomed to seeing in Catholic Education; the "Diocese of Venice has grown Enrollment by 30%" in the past year. Fr. John Belmonte, S.J., Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Venice, has waiting lists at most of his schools, and now the diocese is planning for expansion. Fr. Jeff Putthoff, S.J. serves as a strategic consultant for the Diocese of Venice, and the two men have brought new inn...
Mark as Played
October 8, 2023 • 37 mins
The report, Why Catholic Schools in Florida Are Growing: 5 Things to Know, aims to amplify the success of Florida’s Catholic schools and offer lessons for Catholic education everywhere. Lauren May and Ron Matus from Step Up for Students join Jim Friend on today's episode to discuss this remarkable data and why Catholic Schools throughout the state of Florida are growing enrollment and expanding their mission. With the recent expans...
Mark as Played
September 24, 2023 • 22 mins
The back-to-school season was once filled with exciting anticipation as children embarked on a new learning adventure. However, in recent years, schools have become ground zero in an attempt to fundamentally transform America. Traditional academics, like reading, writing, and arithmetic, have been replaced with agenda-driven curricula to reform the values of our youth and less to provide them with the critical building blocks of a ...
Mark as Played
September 12, 2023 • 41 mins
Today, we are joined by Rob Faughnan, CFRE, who will share some of his recent research on parish giving and some strategies to enhance offertory and increase engagement. Rob is a seasoned organizational leader with 20+ years of fundraising and operations management experience in the nonprofit sector. He is recognized for demonstrating a natural aptitude for managing effective major gifts, annual giving, and direct mail fundraising ...
Mark as Played
August 27, 2023 • 28 mins
Jim Friend talks with Fr. Joe Laramie, S.J., National Director for the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network. Fr. Joe became the national director in 2020. He lives in Milwaukee and travels widely to offer talks and retreats for this ministry. He is also a National Eucharistic Preacher for the Eucharistic Revival. Fr. Joe was ordained in 2011 and he previously taught at all-boys high schools in Kansas City and Colorado and served as a co...
Mark as Played
August 21, 2023 • 55 mins
Join Jim Friend and this expert panel for a conversation about giving to Catholic parishes, dioceses, and other organizations. Our panel includes Bevin C. Kennedy, Cabinet Secretary, Development and Communications for the Diocese of Manchester, Joseph M. Gillmer, CFRE® CSPG CAP, Executive Director of Development for the Archdiocese of Washington, DC and Scott Whitaker, Secretariat Director of Stewardship and Development for the Dio...
Mark as Played
August 14, 2023 • 41 mins
On today's show, Brian Crimmins and our host, Jim Friend, discuss the recent Giving USA 2023 report. The two discuss why philanthropy and the number of donors in 2022 is down from the previous year and what can be done about it. Join this discussion for insights on how religious and nonprofit leaders can take action to be successful in fundraising in 2023. Brian and Jim discuss relationship building, some macroeconomic factors, and...
Mark as Played
August 6, 2023 • 30 mins
Published: August 7, 2023
Join us for a discussion about the relationship between Development and Communications. How do we optimize those roles to work in unison toward the goals of your nonprofit organization? Join Jim and Jennifer Melville Trefelner, APR, CPRC, the Director of Communications and Development for the Diocese of Palm Beach. Jennifer has been a guest on Advancing Our Church many times over the years. She brings a...
Mark as Played
August 5, 2023 • 36 mins
Published: May 14, 2023
Today we welcome Katie Boller Gosewisch, the Executive Director of the U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking, which was founded in 2013 by a group of Catholic Sisters who were committed to ending human trafficking and supporting survivors. They’ve created a national network of resources and support made up of 110 congregations of women religious and another 70+ individuals and groups spread thro...
Mark as Played
August 5, 2023 • 49 mins
Published: May 01, 2023
Today we will be talking about Evangelization with our special guest Tom Quinlan. As Catholics, we are called to spread the Good News of the Gospel and share the love of Christ with others. This is what evangelization is all about, and it’s a crucial aspect of our faith. Pope Francis has emphasized the importance of evangelization, calling on all Catholics to be missionary disciples and to go out to the p...
Mark as Played
August 5, 2023 • 44 mins
Published: April 10, 2023
We’re pleased to have Dr. Laura Sicola on the podcast this week because communication is a common thread in the work of Advancing Our Church. Laura talks with us about communicating through storytelling, using common and accessible language with our audiences, and she touches on crisis communications. Laura also speaks about the importance of aligning our verbal messaging with our nonverbal cues, how to...
Mark as Played
August 5, 2023 • 26 mins
Published: March 26, 2023
We welcome Andy Lesnefsky, the President of Vagabond Missions, a national organization that shares the Gospel with inner-city teens by equipping young adults to serve as Catholic missionaries. Since 2018, Vagabond Missions has quadrupled its footprint by opening missions in 4 new cities. Vagabond has staff serving inner-city teenagers in Pittsburgh, Wichita, Steubenville, Mobile, Oklahoma, Indianapolis,...
Mark as Played
August 5, 2023 • 26 mins
Published: March 12, 2023
A partnership between ACS Technologies and Villanova University’s Center for Church Management in the Villanova School of Business examined the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on church giving. With over 1000 U.S. Catholic parishes participating nationwide, the findings were revealing. Join Jim Friend and ACS Technologies’ Terry Poplava to learn about the far-reaching implications for our Church. For mo...
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.