Join the community where
Catholic Parish Ministers
learn and grow… together.

Defeat burnout, learn skills,
and find community in a unique
membership community.

Join today

Most parish ministers burnout
in the first 4 years of ministry.

We teach you to
think like a director
so you grow healthy ministry
and never burnout again.

Feeling on the verge of burnout?

You feel like ministry and your personal life overlap constantly, with ministry taking priority most of the time. You’re not sure anymore if a healthy balance is even possible.

Jesus called you to be a lighter, not a match.

Not clear about what to focus on?

There’s too many things to do and not enough time. Everything is urgent. And it always feels like you don’t have enough time for the really important things.

Can’t get enough support?

Your pastor, coworkers, and parishioners aren’t giving enough support or don’t really understand your vision or what you even do. Recruiting volunteers you can count on seems impossible.

You don’t have to be alone in parish ministry.

Most parish ministers aren’t fully equipped for the other 35 ours of the week.

Most parish ministers:

✅ Are passionate about ministry but…

❌ Lack a clear vision for their role outside ministry.

❌ Lack supportive leadership.

❌ Feel stretched too thin.

❌ Struggle to recruit volunteers.

❌ Feel alone in ministry.

Defeat burnout

forever.

Join the community

THE
FORMATION

Too Specific: Some formation targets a specific evangelization model or moment but lacks a roadmap for parish ministers to manage their roles and multiple ministries effectively.

GAP.

Too Broad: Some resources offer training for the pastor and leadership team but lack training and tools required for the individual role of a parish minister. This is often unhelpful without a strong and fully bought-in pastor.

Too Theoretical: Some training educates on the Church's vision for evangelization and catechesis but lacks practical skills for parish ministers.

OUR SOLUTION

We’re an online membership community offering community, coaching, and tools to help Catholic parish ministers become more effective and avoid burnout.

We form parish ministers into
Directors of Parish Ministry.

We believe parish ministers need effective formation regardless of what model of ministry they’re using.

Join the community

OUR APPROACH

THE
ZEALOUS
FRAMEWORK

We developed The Zealous Parish Minister framework to assess, form, and equip parish ministers to become effective and fruitful Directors of Parish Ministry.

This framework is based on a decade of parish ministry experience and the Church’s vision for evangelization and missionary activity…

…while also borrowing best practices from various fields like business, marketing, psychology, and career development.

The Four Core
Competencies

The Five Stages of Parish Ministry Growth

How Zealous Parish Ministers Works

The Weekly Heartbeat is at the center of our community. Twice a month we host a live session where you’ll be able to learn, ask questions, and get feedback on anything you’re working on.
We’re smarter together. Ask questions, connect with others in similar situations, and brainstorm together. We’re passionate about closing the gap between you and other parish ministers around the world trying to be more effective.
Access the Resource Library where you’ll find downloadable templates, pdfs, book summaries, summary podcasts, google docs, and more.
Workshops. Sprints. Social hours. Community prayer. Office hours. Accountability check-ins. Member-led sessions.
There’s plenty of opportunities to get connected and never feel alone again.
With the Weekly Heartbeat, Office Hours, and special events, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to jump on a call and the coaching and support you need.

Join Now

We believe the Church doesn’t need more ministry models.

The Church needs more ministers we can model.

Join today

Surround yourself with people who inspire you.

There’s one thing we’ve found to be the highest predictor of long-term success in full-time Catholic parish ministry.

One thing that determines if someone drifts away from their call to parish ministry and burns out, or stays for the long term.

Do they have a strong vision of what a healthy, inspiring, and faithful parish minister looks like?

If you aren’t surrounded by people who think like Directors of Parish Ministry and not a solo-minister, well…

…you’ll rise to the level of your surroundings.

Join the community

Meet Zelly. Your AI parish ministry assistant.

After joing Zealous Parish Ministers, you’ll get access to our custom ChatGPT chatbot. Trained on foundational books we believe all parish ministers should read, Zelly can suggest resources, help you write, and is learning to do more every day.

Unlock Zelly today

FAQ’s

If you work at a parish and want to bring people closer to Jesus and are committed to building evangelizing parish ministry, then you’ve found your community.
Youth ministers.
Young Adult Ministers.
Adult Ministers.
Directors of Evangelization.
Directors of Children’s Catechesis.
OCIA Coordinators
Campus Ministers.
Coordinators of Catechesis.
…You get the idea.
We have Community Guidelines that help everyone get along. But everything within the community is designed so you can go at your own pace. Focus on what you need right now. Attend as much or as little as you can right now.
But the people who get the most out of the community commit to the Zealous Parish Minister Framework:
Growing along the 5 Stages of Parish Ministry Growth and developing the 4 Core Competencies to become a Director of Parish Ministry.
Currently, no. But there will be soon.
We’re intentionally keeping the community small so the quality stays high. We’re not interested in building a community of thousands of strangers.
As we grow we plan to increase the price and implement an application process so we can provide the best for the best.
Hi, Edmund here. 👋
We intentionally decided to adopt a for-profit-for-good model for Zealous. There’s no board of directors, no large organization funding us… nobody telling us not to drink a negroni after your high school kick-off.
This puppy is boot strapped.
I’m just a single Dad of five trying to empower Catholic Parish Ministers to believe in the parish and their jobs again.
The revenue goes towards us growing Zealous and offering more to the community. We have plans for in-person meet ups, a retreat, and one day opening up parish-missionary run cowork spaces.
The money also supports my ability to focus on this community full time and pay for flowers for my daughter and gluten free crackers for the boys.
We offer a quarterly and monthly community membership subscription. This is to decrease turnover and increase the commitment level, engagement, and quality of the community.
Founding Member Subscription*:
Quarterly — $99/month
Yearly — $84/month
Full Price Member Subscription:
Quarterly — $129/month
Yearly — $114/month
*Founding Members lock in this price for life as long as you remain a member in good standing and your subscription is active.
We have members that do either. If you’re not sure, we’d suggest talking it over with your pastor or business manager.
We help parish ministers who are ideal team players: hungry, humble, and smart. We are a community for parish ministers who want to be the best in the world at what they do because they believe in God’s plan to use parishes to evangelize the world and bring people to Jesus.
If that’s not you, this probably isn’t for you.
That’s a great question.
Absolutely. We are working on a course to help people discern the call to lay Catholic parish ministry. We’ve helped people discern becoming parish ministers, and leaving parish ministry.
Zealous is a great place to learn and connect with others and who knows, you might even find someone who would love to hire you.