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.

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.

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.