Yes, we are happy to provide parish and diocesan leaders a 50% off discount code that can be used in our Shop to purchase samples of our physical resources. You will need to sign-in to access the code that can be found here. The samples are of the full resource. To help keep our costs low, please limit the order to one sample per resource. You can also review the content of our programs by visiting our Leader Learning Center here. If you do not have an account, you can sign-up for one for free here.

The Pathways Formation Suite is currently participating in the USCCB’s Catechetical Accompaniment Process to seek approval as a complete catechetical resources for parishes and schools. As each of FFLCM’s resources is reviewed, it will be added to the Subcommittee on the Catechism Conformity list. As we engage with the review, we have been permitted to continue to onboard new arch/dioceses and parishes in our process and support parishes using our resources. 

All of our boxes come with enough supplies for a family of 7 for the activities that involve everyone. There are certain activities that are directed toward the family member preparing to receive a sacrament in our immediate formation resources. If there are two or more siblings going through sacramental preparation in the same year, we recommend getting an extra child pack for each additional child so they can have their own supplies for those activities. They are available in our Shop for a nominal cost. 

Pathways is designed to move an entire family through a series of formation stages to bring them into a life of active faith. If a family has multiple children at different ages they may revisit stages of formation, but for those who have already experienced a stage in a certain age focus can be invited to help lead the experience at-church for other parents or children. The parents can also come for the closing prayer experience if they are not able to assist in leading a specific resource so that the child can have the proper experience at-church. We encourage the entire family to join for Family Meetings at-home as each person brings a special perspective and presence. While each family is different, we do not recommend they participate in more than 2 of our formation stages at a given time. The Visit will better help you assess the needs and abilities of a family and tailor a path that is best for them. If a family has children 1 year apart, like in kindergarten and 1st grade, we recommend that they journey together toward the sacraments as a family. Be sure to consult your Pastor.

The Content used for at-church experiences are delivered as PDFs. Certain printable materials, including Spanish Add-Ons are also available as PDFs. All of our other resources including at-home experiences are delivered in a physical format. We do not offer PDFs of at-home material.

At this time Seek for Parents, Root Box, Mend Box, and Nourish Box are available as a bilingual resource in English and Spanish. The boxes all come in English and you can purchase the Spanish Add-On PDF to print and distribute to the families that are in need of the materials in Spanish. Due to limited resources and support staff, we do not have plans to translate the rest of our resources at this time. We hope to be able to accommodate this need in the future when funding makes it possible.

We have designed a Ready, Set, Go process to help your team get started. You can find out more about the process here.

The best way to learn about our process is to first read Mission Field, a short booklet that provides the philosophical and ecclesial foundations that guide our ministries. We also have a number of short and long format videos available on our Leader Learning Center here and Recorded Webinar page here that can be helpful in giving someone an overview of Pathways.

Our resources follow the catechumenal model and are not designed to be plug and play in old classroom models. To most effectively use our resources, leaders need to be aware of and convinced of the ministry methods of Jesus, outlined in the catechumenal process. To learn more about this process you can watch a video about it here. To this end Pathways includes both at-home and at-church content designed to accompany families through a series of stages as they grow in a life of discipleship together.    

All of our resources have at-church Content that is designed to support and deepen the formation that is happening through the at-home experiences. Community is essential in the life of the Church and we desire for families to gather often to support one another. The premier weekly gathering is Sunday Mass. It is our prayer that as families fall in love with Jesus and their community that they would hunger to live in a weekly communion available to them at the Mass.

We realize each of our directors have different gifts; some are wonderful teachers, some are storytellers, others are better facilitating small groups, some are gifted in finding volunteers to present material. Use your strengths to lead the Sessions, and look for others who can take the pieces you are not as confident in. It takes a team! In our Leader Guides, we provide a detailed breakdown of how to build out your teams and what roles can be helpful. Pathways allows a parish to walk with a wide range of ages. The number of facilitators, catechists, companions, hospitality, and intercessors will depend on the age groups and the number of people you will accompany. We find it helpful to begin with a core group of strong volunteers and continue building your Accompaniment Team from there. Our Beside resources found here can be helpful in forming and growing your accompaniment team and are team will assist you with having the right pieces in place to be successful.

There is 1 path that families journey on called the catechumenal process, but within that process there are 3 stages. We call these different stages progressive formation, immediate formation, and ongoing formation. As you grow your use of the suite we recommend starting with progressive and immediate formation then adding on ongoing formation. Many family models have all families coming once a month at the same time. This is not how our resources have been designed. On average families will have 1-2 at-church Sessions and 1-2 at-home experiences a month. It is most helpful to schedule the different stages on different weeks of the month to allow families in multiple stages to be able to participate in the at-church Sessions as needed. This will also help with facility and team utilization. 

If you are utilizing Martha, you can request to have the Family Follow Through course for a specific resource added to your branch to track accountability of the at-home content. If you are not utilizing Martha, a printable PDF with Family Follow Through prompts can be found at the end of the Leader Guide for each resource, which can be found on the respective product page and downloaded for free.

Space is definitely a consideration when planning for Pathways. For at-church Sessions a separate room is needed for both the parents and the children (for progressive and immediate formation). We have seen creative ways parishes make this work which we are happy to share with you at greater length. Both of these spaces need to be equipped with technology and working sound systems, especially for larger groups. A majority of the parishes using Pathways host their at-church Sessions on Sundays. This helps to encourage the families to also attend Mass. Many parishes also host a week night option to give families a choice. We highly recommend that families are not able to switch between different days and times - it makes it almost impossible to create familiarity within the small groups.

All pre-orders will be guaranteed and ready to ship between July and November. Pre-orders are accepted mid-March to mid-May each year. Regular orders received will be processed as they are received. If the resource is in stock, we can usually ship them out to you within a week. If it is out of stock, our lead times average about 6-8 weeks. We will do our best to get you your order when you need it. Please be sure to include the date you need the resources in hand on your order. We ship all of our group orders with UPS ground from California. The average transit time is 1-5 business days. The cost of shipping will be added to your invoice.