FATHER O’DONOVAN
SEARCHING FOR A BIGGER IMPACT ALMOST 30 YEARS INTO HIS VOCATION

Problem
Even with 30 years of experience, Fr. Paddy still wasn’t seeing the transformed lives he had hoped to see. He wanted to make a big difference, but he didn’t know how. Fr. Paddy’s parish needed confidence and guidance to navigate their turnaround. They needed to build a team, wrap their head around evangelization, and begin raising up leaders. They were busy, but they were not fruitful and that was hard on the team. They didn’t know how to stand up to their priest, and he didn’t know how to take it.

Insight

It is not the age of a leader that determines their impact, but their desire for change and willingness to grow. Fr Paddy had this desire and willingness.

Solution

Fr. Paddy’s new leadership team needed to get to beyond symptoms and get straight to the heart of issues. They needed confidence in the face of criticism to move from a church that is doing well to a parish that is having an impact in their Diocese. TACTICAL EXECUTION Helped them understand their Clifton Strength Finders profiles. Worked with their APEST profiles to uncover their charisms. Modeled crucial conversations as we created a culture of accountability within the team. Helped implement Alpha. Journeyed with them through the transformation of their children’s catechetical program. Helped them launch connect groups. Led a parish mission. Helped them implement leadership summits. Facilitated a leadership training day with key leaders from their parish. Helped tighten up leadership team meetings.

Results

The leadership team grew in their confidence as leaders. They were able to get through the inevitable push-back that comes with change. They also successfully transformed the way they do children’s ministry. Their Alpha continues to grow as they make new disciples in numbers they had not seen previously. Fr. Paddy has been inspired and motivated to gather a group of young priests in his Diocese to encourage them and share what they've learned. They ran an open house in their Diocese on parish renewal.
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