The EquipCast

By Jim Jansen | Everyday Evangelization & Parish Ministry ToolsSociety & Culture Religion & Spirituality Christianity Education Relationships

The EquipCast episodes

October 27222: A Pentecost Game Plan | The Missionary Courage Our Parishes Are Missing
I sat down with one of my longtime friends and mentors in ministry, Tom Quinlan, and what started as a conversation about the mechanics of parish life quickly became a masterclass in missionary courage. So many of us in ministry are completely exhausted. We run sacramental prep programs, coordinate volunteers, and check every conceivable box, only to watch young couples and families slip through our fingers the moment a sacrament is complete. We take that burden on our own shoulders, wondering what we did wrong and burning out under the lie that if we don't save the parish, nobody will.
Tom cuts straight through that noise with an honest, freeing reality check: God never asked us to do the Spirit’s work. Our place is to support God’s movement.
Episode Timeline:
[00:00] - Introduction
[06:48] - The four movements: Surrender, radical gratitude, and finding true joy
[14:50] - The unvarnished reality of parish formation
[21:55] - Why baptism is our greatest missed opportunity
[28:16] - The holy courage to rebuild tired ministries
[34:21] - "We cannot do this": Getting out of the way of the Holy Spirit
[39:33] - From consumers to stakeholders
[49:59] - The new Pentecost game plan: Reclaiming our missionary calling
[55:34] - Permission to exhale and let God carry the work
Resources Mentioned
Excellence in Ministry
At Home in the Heart of God
Six Keys To Evangelizing Baptismal Ministry
Parent Sacrament Formation
Our Trusted Partners
Faith and Family Life Catholic Ministries (FFLCM) helps Catholic parishes and dioceses transform fragmented faith formation into an integrated, family-centered pathway of lifelong discipleship. Through the Pathways Formation suite, practical resources, leader formation, and ongoing accompaniment, they equip leaders to engage families, build sustainable teams, and cultivate faith that is lived at church and at home.
⭐️ Enjoying the Show?
If The EquipCast is helping you navigate the realities of parish leadership, please take 60 seconds to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your review helps other tired ministry leaders find these tools and realize they don’t have to walk this path alone!
Connect & Take the Next Step:
Grab Your Free Tools: Get the playbook that actually changes lives at EverydayEvangelization.org.
Bring This to Your Parish: Discover strategic training and accompaniment at Anchor Consulting.
Read the Book: Order your copy of A Clear Path: How to Make Missionary Disciples in Your Parish.
The EquipCast is powered by Everyday Evangelization in conjunction with Anchor Consulting, delivering practical evangelization strategies and parish ministry tools to help you leave your ministry better than you found it.
Copyright © 2026 Anchor Consulting. All rights reserved.
1 hr 1 min
October 23Broadcasting Your Belief | How Lane Grindle Brings Faith into His Profession
With the Milwaukee Brewers making an incredible run to the World Series, all eyes are on the diamond. But behind the microphone, how does the play-by-play voice of the team keep his soul grounded in a high-visibility, high-stress career? This week, Jim Jansen sits down with Brewers broadcaster Lane Grindle to solve a problem every busy Catholic faces: how to stop separating your "work self" from your "faith self". Lane shares real-world wisdom on navigating a grueling travel schedule, surviving the intense culture of modern youth sports, and maintaining the daily disciplines needed to remain an intentional husband, father, and man of faith.
Episode Timeline:
00:00 – Introduction: Meet Lane Grindle
03:36 – Lane’s journey into the Catholic Church.
06:14 – The Grace of the Reset: Why Lane goes to Confession once a week.
07:20 – Life in the Broadcast Booth
12:59 – Learning how to leave work at work.
16:47 – How sending of gratitude letters transformed Lane's spiritual life.
22:36 – How relationships build real trust in professional clubhouses.
28:59 – Athletes that Inspire Lane.
32:24 – Surviving Youth Sports: Practical advice for parents on teaching kids to dream big while keeping Mass the priority.
41:44 – Small daily habits and making holy decisions.
Check out more episodes of The EquipCast at EverydayEvangelization.org!
Our Trusted Partners:
Faith and Family Life Catholic Ministries (FFLCM) helps Catholic parishes and dioceses transform fragmented faith formation into an integrated, family-centered pathway of lifelong discipleship. Through the Pathways Formation suite, practical resources, leader formation, and ongoing accompaniment, they equip leaders to engage families, build sustainable teams, and cultivate faith that is lived at church and at home.
⭐️ Enjoying the Show?
If The EquipCast is helping you navigate the realities of parish leadership, please take 60 seconds to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your review helps other tired ministry leaders find these tools and realize they don’t have to walk this path alone!
Connect & Take the Next Step:
Grab Your Free Tools: Get the playbook that actually changes lives at EverydayEvangelization.org.
Bring This to Your Parish: Discover strategic training and accompaniment at Anchor Consulting.
Read the Book: Order your copy of A Clear Path: How to Make Missionary Disciples in Your Parish.
The EquipCast is powered by Everyday Evangelization in conjunction with Anchor Consulting, delivering practical evangelization strategies and parish ministry tools to help you leave your ministry better than you found it.
Copyright © 2026 Anchor Consulting. All rights reserved.
47 min
October 20221: The Story Behind the Thresholds with Doug Schaupp
Are you like me? You try everything you know to share your faith with the ones you love, only to feel like you hit a brick wall. Today, I want to share with you the framework that changed my approach. I sit down with Doug Schaupp, the ministry leader who co-developed the Thresholds out of his own period of deep ministry burnout. He shares so candidly about coming home, getting in the shower after another failed conversation, and feeling completely defeated. But the beauty of Doug's story is that our fruitlessness doesn't mean God has stopped working. It’s actually an invitation to trade our rigid assumptions for true, humble accompaniment. When we stop trying to "slay people with apologetics" and instead learn to listen, ask better questions, and honor where they truly are on their journey, the weight falls off our shoulders. It turns evangelization from a high-pressure sales pitch into a joyful, relational walk toward Jesus.
Episode Timeline:
[00:00] - Introduction
[02:09] - Doug's Personal Story and Ministry Roots
[07:03] - Hitting the Brick Wall and Shower Defeat
[08:27] - Mapping the Journey: The Origin of the Five Thresholds
[10:30] - The Unexpected Impact of the Thresholds
[16:59] - Breakdown of the Five Thresholds
[24:04] - Trading Rigid Assumptions for True Accompaniment
[30:40] - Pathway Thinking and Creating On-Ramps for Seekers
[43:27] - How to Get Started
[48:19] - Ecumenical Friendship and Future Collaboration
Resources Mentioned:
I Once was Lost
DougSchaupp.com/
Episode 94: The Thresholds of Conversion and Discipleship
The Thresholds Game
Our Trusted Partners
Faith and Family Life Catholic Ministries (FFLCM) helps Catholic parishes and dioceses transform fragmented faith formation into an integrated, family-centered pathway of lifelong discipleship. Through the Pathways Formation suite, practical resources, leader formation, and ongoing accompaniment, they equip leaders to engage families, build sustainable teams, and cultivate faith that is lived at church and at home.
⭐️ Enjoying the Show?
If The EquipCast is helping you navigate the realities of parish leadership, please take 60 seconds to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your review helps other tired ministry leaders find these tools and realize they don’t have to walk this path alone!
Connect & Take the Next Step:
Grab Your Free Tools: Get the playbook that actually changes lives at EverydayEvangelization.org.
Bring This to Your Parish: Discover strategic training and accompaniment at Anchor Consulting.
Read the Book: Order your copy of A Clear Path: How to Make Missionary Disciples in Your Parish.
The EquipCast is powered by Everyday Evangelization in conjunction with Anchor Consulting, delivering practical evangelization strategies and parish ministry tools to help you leave your ministry better than you found it.
Copyright © 2026 Anchor Consulting. All rights reserved.
51 min
October 13220: Reimagining Diocesan Support | How Dioceses Can Equip Their Parishes to Thrive
Diocesan offices have operated for decades with the best of intentions: launching youth rallies, running marriage retreats, and generally, drawing people to events at centralized locations. While well meaning, these events can unintentionally usurp the work of the parish. They draw people away from their faith community rather than helping them build deep relationships and make disciples in their own neighborhoods. So what if a diocese made the bold choice to stop running programs and start supporting the work happening in the parishes? Fr. Gary Kastl joins me to talk about how the Diocese of Tulsa tore down its traditional department walls to build a Parish Support team focused entirely on the parish front lines. Because a diocese shouldn't compete with its parishes for people’s time; it should equip parishes to thrive.
Episode Timeline:
[00:00] - Introduction and welcome
[01:28] - Fr. Gary Kastl on rural Oklahoma roots and meeting Christ
[04:35] - Finding a priestly vocation and asking hard questions
[12:46] - Why the church exists and keeping our eye on the mission
[17:18] - The problem with waiting for someone upstream to tell you what to do
[22:23] - Why central chancery programs can draw focus away from local parishes
[26:14] - Measuring spiritual return on investment with the widow's mite
[30:32] - OCIA as the primary health metric for making new disciples
[34:44] - How Tulsa dismantled office silos to build a Parish Support Team
[38:50] - Shifting from asking pastors to do one more thing to offering help
[44:16] - Overcoming programmatic habits through real accompaniment
Resources Mentioned
The Diocese of Tulsa Parish Support team
Our Trusted Partners
Faith and Family Life Catholic Ministries (FFLCM) helps Catholic parishes and dioceses transform fragmented faith formation into an integrated, family-centered pathway of lifelong discipleship. Through the Pathways Formation suite, practical resources, leader formation, and ongoing accompaniment, they equip leaders to engage families, build sustainable teams, and cultivate faith that is lived at church and at home.
⭐️ Enjoying the Show?
If The EquipCast is helping you navigate the realities of parish leadership, please take 60 seconds to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your review helps other tired ministry leaders find these tools and realize they don’t have to walk this path alone!
Connect & Take the Next Step:
Grab Your Free Tools: Get the playbook that actually changes lives at EverydayEvangelization.org.
Bring This to Your Parish: Discover strategic training and accompaniment at Anchor Consulting.
Read the Book: Order your copy of A Clear Path: How to Make Missionary Disciples in Your Parish.
The EquipCast is powered by Everyday Evangelization in conjunction with Anchor Consulting, delivering practical evangelization strategies and parish ministry tools to help you leave your ministry better than you found it.
Copyright © 2026 Anchor Consulting. All rights reserved.
53 min
October 06Hot Take | The New Evangelization Requires Repentance
We spend a lot of time searching for the next best practice or ministry tool, but what if our efforts are stalling because we have skipped the most essential step? In this hot take, I give my thoughts on why genuine renewal requires turning back to God. JD Flynn, co-founder of The Pillar, joins me to discuss why authentic evangelization flows from converted hearts. And why a collective, public witness of contrition could be precisely what unifies and revives the Church today.
Episode Timeline:
[00:00] – Introduction
[00:36] – Why best practices are not enough without repentance
[01:46] – Evangelization ad gentes versus calling God's people home
[02:46] – What public and corporate repentance could look like
[04:24] – Reimagining Lent as a collective witness to our neighbors
[05:24] – The power of a penitential revival in the Church today
Our Trusted Partners
Faith and Family Life Catholic Ministries (FFLCM) helps Catholic parishes and dioceses transform fragmented faith formation into an integrated, family-centered pathway of lifelong discipleship. Through the Pathways Formation suite, practical resources, leader formation, and ongoing accompaniment, they equip leaders to engage families, build sustainable teams, and cultivate faith that is lived at church and at home.
⭐️ Enjoying the Show?
If The EquipCast is helping you navigate the realities of parish leadership, please take 60 seconds to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your review helps other tired ministry leaders find these tools and realize they don’t have to walk this path alone!
Connect & Take the Next Step:
Grab Your Free Tools: Get the playbook that actually changes lives at EverydayEvangelization.org.
Bring This to Your Parish: Discover strategic training and accompaniment at Anchor Consulting.
Read the Book: Order your copy of A Clear Path: How to Make Missionary Disciples in Your Parish.
The EquipCast is powered by Everyday Evangelization in conjunction with Anchor Consulting, delivering practical evangelization strategies and parish ministry tools to help you leave your ministry better than you found it.
Copyright © 2026 Anchor Consulting. All rights reserved.
7 min
September 29219: Underneath the Pectoral Cross | The Heart of Bishop William Joensen
Today, I talk to Bishop William Joensen of the Diocese of Des Moines, IA. I wanted to step past the formal title so you could get to know the man behind the pectoral cross, and he certainly didn't hold back. Bishop Joensen gives us a transparent look into his life and faith, sharing how a pre-med path in Iowa unexpectedly led to the priesthood and what it was like taking the helm of a diocese just months before the pandemic hit. From some fun banter about Iowa-Nebraska rivalries to his honest reflections on leadership missteps, this episode offers a rare and refreshing look into the heart, humor, and wisdom of a bishop shepherding his flock with humility.
Episode Timeline:
[00:00] – Introduction
[04:14] – Pre-Med, Family Roots, and Discerning the Priesthood
[14:07] – Friendly Rivalries and the State of the U.S. Church
[22:09] – Pastoral Planning and 18 Months of Humble Inquiry
[28:40] – Offering the Unvarnished Truth of the Gospel
[34:01] – Respecting Subsidiarity in Parish Renewal
[40:28] – Navigating Demographic Shifts and Rural Reality
[47:56] – Episcopal Leadership, Prayer, and Learning from Missteps
Resources Mentioned
Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
Our Trusted Partners
Faith and Family Life Catholic Ministries (FFLCM) helps Catholic parishes and dioceses transform fragmented faith formation into an integrated, family-centered pathway of lifelong discipleship. Through the Pathways Formation suite, practical resources, leader formation, and ongoing accompaniment, they equip leaders to engage families, build sustainable teams, and cultivate faith that is lived at church and at home.
⭐️ Enjoying the Show?
If The EquipCast is helping you navigate the realities of parish leadership, please take 60 seconds to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your review helps other tired ministry leaders find these tools and realize they don’t have to walk this path alone!
Connect & Take the Next Step:
Grab Your Free Tools: Get the playbook that actually changes lives at EverydayEvangelization.org.
Bring This to Your Parish: Discover strategic training and accompaniment at Anchor Consulting.
Read the Book: Order your copy of A Clear Path: How to Make Missionary Disciples in Your Parish.
The EquipCast is powered by Everyday Evangelization in conjunction with Anchor Consulting, delivering practical evangelization strategies and parish ministry tools to help you leave your ministry better than you found it.
Copyright © 2026 Anchor Consulting. All rights reserved.
55 min
September 22218: Partnering with the Holy Spirit
God is at work in the hearts of the people around us. His Spirit is everywhere and perfectly working long before we show up. In fact, our job is simply to ask, "Holy Spirit, what are you doing?" We get to ask, listen, and participate in what He is already doing in the lives of others. That is why I decided to sit down with Eric Chow, Director of Ministry and Outreach for the Archdiocese of Vancouver. He is a seasoned missionary with extremely practical advice for parish hospitality and personal mission. And today, he encourages us to recognize the “proximate periphery”, the mission field hidden in our daily routines, workplaces, and families.
Episode Timeline:
[00:00] – Introduction to Eric Chow
[01:32] – Eric's personal conversion
[04:50] – Lessons from Catholic Christian Outreach
[05:46] – Understanding the mission field in Vancouver
[11:29] – What parish hospitality could look like
[17:07] – The origins and mission of the Proclaim movement
[20:22] – Reaching the proximate periphery right in front of you
[27:09] – Prophetic listening and partnering with the Holy Spirit
[29:35] – Why outreach to the furthest away comes first
[32:51] – Balancing personal mission with the call to holiness
[36:31] – Living as a radical disciple while working professionally for the Church
[42:49] – Passing on a missional mindset to our children
[47:02] – A hopeful vision for the future of the Church
[49:16] – Simple steps to start praying for and reaching your mission field
Resources Mentioned
Proclaim
⭐️ Enjoying the Show?
If The EquipCast is helping you navigate the realities of parish leadership, please take 60 seconds to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your review helps other tired ministry leaders find these tools and realize they don’t have to walk this path alone!
Connect & Take the Next Step:
Grab Your Free Tools: Get the playbook that actually changes lives at EverydayEvangelization.org.
Bring This to Your Parish: Discover strategic training and accompaniment at Anchor Consulting.
Read the Book: Order your copy of A Clear Path: How to Make Missionary Disciples in Your Parish.
The EquipCast is powered by Everyday Evangelization in conjunction with Anchor Consulting, delivering practical evangelization strategies and parish ministry tools to help you leave your ministry better than you found it.
Copyright © 2026 Anchor Consulting. All rights reserved.
52 min
September 15217: Inside the USCCB | What's Comes After the Eucharistic Revival?
Seeing the people we love walk away from Jesus is one of the hardest parts of living the faith today. So I sit down with David Spesia, Executive Director for Evangelization and Catechesis at the USCCB, to talk about the massive shift happening across the country as the US bishops unite around one single priority: seeking and saving the lost. We dive into the quiet fruit of the Eucharistic Revival and talk about how to keep your eyes fixed squarely on Jesus, even when human flaws and institutional friction threaten to pull you off track.
Episode Timeline:
[00:00] – Introduction
[02:41] – Personal Encounters and Intellectual Conversion
[07:45] – Lessons from Teaching High School Religion
[16:12] – Navigating Diocesan Leadership and Building Collaboration
[22:00] – Behind the Scenes of the National Eucharistic Revival
[33:40] – Measuring Long-Term Fruits of Spiritual Renewal
[40:01] – The USCCB Mission Directive to Seek and Save the Lost
[44:03] – Evangelical Discernment and Evaluating Ministry Fruitfulness
[51:41] – Loving the Church as Christ's Body Amidst Human Brokenness
Resources Mentioned
Living as a Missionary Disciple (PDF)
Companion to the Handbook on the Catechetical Accompaniment Process
⭐️ Enjoying the Show?
If The EquipCast is helping you navigate the realities of parish leadership, please take 60 seconds to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your review helps other tired ministry leaders find these tools and realize they don’t have to walk this path alone!
Connect & Take the Next Step:
Grab Your Free Tools: Get the playbook that actually changes lives at EverydayEvangelization.org.
Bring This to Your Parish: Discover strategic training and accompaniment at Anchor Consulting.
Read the Book: Order your copy of A Clear Path: How to Make Missionary Disciples in Your Parish.
The EquipCast is powered by Everyday Evangelization in conjunction with Anchor Consulting, delivering practical evangelization strategies and parish ministry tools to help you leave your ministry better than you found it.
Copyright © 2026 Anchor Consulting. All rights reserved.
1 hr
September 08216: Are You Managing Programs or Making Disciples? | Solving the Parish Puzzle with Christina Semmens
Parish renewal can feel like trying to assemble a massive puzzle without having the picture on the box to reference. Bringing your parish back to life isn't about running another program. It's an act of loving accompaniment, and Jesus is already in the work with us. Christina Semmens joins me today to talk about how putting the right leadership pieces in place creates a simple, relational way to wake up our parish communities and make disciples who thrive.
Episode Timeline:
[00:00] – Introduction
[02:00] – Christina’s Journey from Military Leadership to Parish Renewal
[10:00] – What Discipleship Culture Actually Looks Like in a Parish
[15:00] – Moving Beyond Event-Based Evangelization
[19:00] – Customized CPR and Holistic Formation
[25:00] – Waking Up the Walking Dead in Our Pews
[28:00] – Best Practices vs. Quick-Fix Silver Bullets
[34:00] – Eliminating Communication Blind Spots & Building Two-Way Dialogue
[44:00] – A 4-Step Apprenticeship Model for Coaching Leaders
[52:00] – Practical Steps to Begin When You Feel Overwhelmed
Resources Mentioned
The Catholic Leadership Puzzle
ChristinaSemmens.com
⭐️ Enjoying the Show?
If The EquipCast is helping you navigate the realities of parish leadership, please take 60 seconds to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your review helps other tired ministry leaders find these tools and realize they don’t have to walk this path alone!
Connect & Take the Next Step:
Grab Your Free Tools: Get the playbook that actually changes lives at EverydayEvangelization.org.
Bring This to Your Parish: Discover strategic training and accompaniment at Anchor Consulting.
Read the Book: Order your copy of A Clear Path: How to Make Missionary Disciples in Your Parish.
The EquipCast is powered by Everyday Evangelization in conjunction with Anchor Consulting, delivering practical evangelization strategies and parish ministry tools to help you leave your ministry better than you found it.
Copyright © 2026 Anchor Consulting. All rights reserved.
1 hr
September 01Evangelization Hot Take | Choose Your Local Parish
Adam Stephenson, our guest from the episode "Knocking on Doors", joins me for a walk where he gives his hot take on evangelization: you should stick to the parish in your own backyard. He argues that parish shopping keeps us at arms length from the real work of evangelization, while staying local invites us to love the people God has placed right in front of us. And I agreed with him…for the most part. Tune in for a mini-sode on why you should (or shouldn’t) belong to the parish whose geographic boundaries you live in.
Episode Timeline:
[00:00] – Introduction
[00:32] – The Hot Take: Geographic Parish Boundaries
[00:56] – Why Proximity Matters for Loving Your Community
[02:29] – Modern Disorientation and the Loss of Neighborhood Faith
[04:29] – Valid Exceptions for Stepping Away from Your Local Parish
[06:49] – Accompanying "Dying" Parishes and the Mission Field
[09:21] – How to Supplement Your Spiritual Life Outside Parish Walls
⭐️ Enjoying the Show?
If The EquipCast is helping you navigate the realities of parish leadership, please take 60 seconds to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your review helps other tired ministry leaders find these tools and realize they don’t have to walk this path alone!
Connect & Take the Next Step:
Grab Your Free Tools: Get the playbook that actually changes lives at EverydayEvangelization.org.
Bring This to Your Parish: Discover strategic training and accompaniment at Anchor Consulting.
Read the Book: Order your copy of A Clear Path: How to Make Missionary Disciples in Your Parish.
The EquipCast is powered by Everyday Evangelization in conjunction with Anchor Consulting, delivering practical evangelization strategies and parish ministry tools to help you leave your ministry better than you found it.
Copyright © 2026 Anchor Consulting. All rights reserved.
12 min

About The EquipCast

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The EquipCast is your weekly playbook for practical evangelization and parish ministry tools. Hosted by Jim Jansen and powered by Everyday Evangelization, this show is built for diocesan directors,…