Quality Isn’t Expensive, It’s Priceless

Gold is one of the most rare precious metals in the world, and therefore, will always hold intrinsic value. Because of its resistance to corrosion, tarnish, and rust, it’s a well-known symbol of purity, virtue, and eternity across history and used in various religions, including Catholicism. In Mass, we see it in the gold chalice, ciborium, paten, and tabernacle—all of which are instruments that parishes have invested in to protect and highlight the source and summit of our Faith and the salvation of souls; the body and blood of Jesus.

However, for a long time in many parishes, the gold standard ends at the altar. Investing in quality worship music, building maintenance, welcoming parish experiences, faith formation ministries, professional staff, and technology were sacrificed for cheaper, less reliable alternatives and fears of change. But, at what cost?

Parish leaders are struggling with the difficult work of bringing people back to the Mass. If our mission as the Church is to bring people to Jesus and to embrace the Sacramental life, then the salvation of the world is at stake.

Remembering the innovative nature of the Church

Today, we tend to push back on technology because we cling to the belief that our old methods will sustain us and the processes we’re used to will get us by.

When you look at the Church’s history, Cathedrals were once the center of society. Baptisms, weddings, coronations, funerals, and many historical events took place in cathedrals. These massive, technologically groundbreaking buildings of art and architecture, were pioneered by the Church for one reason: to invite people into the communal celebration of the Mass.

These large cathedrals were once considered brand new “technology.” It was expensive and took years and large, organized groups of people to fundraise and build. In fact, the very idea of these buildings required innovative new methods to produce these large, awe-inspiring, other-worldly structures. Their investment showed how the Church at the time was fully committed to the goal because they believed that their mission was too important not to.

That’s why Fr. Duy Le from the Diocese of Orange, Anthony Welch from Pushpay, and myself will be hosting a live webinar on September 28 to discuss the state and future of the Catholic Church. We believe it’s an important conversation to start having now with parish leaders across the country, and discuss how we can be pioneers in our own local parishes. Sign up today to join the conversation.

Quality is priceless

It’s no secret that we respond to quality. That’s how businesses thrive. Yet, if we’re honest, those words rarely describe our Church’s efforts. (By Church I include you and me.) If we observe people’s experience of our Church we’ll see that often people aren’t being moved by quality, rather they’re tolerating mediocrity. That mediocrity comes with a cost.

Mediocrity drives people away. We may not intend it, but if we settle for it, mediocrity will give people a reason not to engage the Church. Mediocrity speaks, sometimes subconsciously, to the lack of investment and perceived worth of the people we are tasked to engage.

Still, we’ve largely become accustomed to sacrificing quality for the sake of expense. That’s one of the problems: we see quality as an expense rather than an investment.

When we view anything as merely an expense, it usually reduces the goal to simply getting the job done and leads to a mediocre result that is “good enough.” However, when we see something as an investment, we face the cost with the mindset that it will pay off greatly down the line. This mindset frees us to operate according to a desired result rather than limiting what we do based upon saving a buck or two.

As Christians we are called to invest into life. Jesus showed us what this investing looks like, and he called it love. Love never holds back, never looks for the path of least resistance—or least expense. We see this on the cross, the totality of a quality and priceless love on display. We’re called to image that love. This love demands that we strive for quality in the face of expense—be it time, money, or other—because God, the Gospel, and His people are worth it.

4-step action formula to bring people back to Mass

Not all parishes have the same challenges or needs. But, all parishes share the unique, innovative history of the Church and the mission of bringing people to Jesus. The saints and people before us serve as inspirations in our work as parish leaders today.

With those resources, combined with these four steps, you can start to empower your staff to reflect on how you can invest in quality parish ministries, services, and tools that will draw people to your church.

1. Set a realistic, detailed, practical goal, such as increasing the numbers of attendees to Adoration Night or Sunday Mass.
2. After you establish your goal, outline what steps it might take to reach your goal. Ask yourself, what does it take to accomplish that goal in a practical way?
3. Determine who will be involved to help accomplish that goal
4. Define how you will measure success and track progress.

Sign up today to join us for a live webinar on September 28 as we take a deeper dive into how these four steps can be applied in different parish scenarios and how to shift mindsets from mediocre to quality parish ministry.

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