FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions

Categories

Thinking of Running Rescue?

  • Makes the gospel repeatable and accessible: Created, Captured, Rescued, Response.
  • Calls out the enemy, the one and only enemy of the entire human race, the one Jesus calls “the ruler of this world.”
  • Proposes an image of Jesus that is more than just kind, but also utterly unconquerable.
  • Integrates and untangles the Sacraments in the context of the gospel.
  • Clarifies the mission of Jesus and of His disciples.
  • Is rooted in early Church preaching.

This pastoral question has no programmatic answer. To best answer this question, leaders are encouraged to prayerfully discern God’s plan. We filmed a series of videos to share with leaders how the Lord has taught us to do this.  Click here to watch the discernment video.

Preparing for Rescue

We recommend the first thing to do is watch the series.

  • If you’re running it in your home, prayerfully consider who the Lord is encouraging you to invite.
  • In a parish context, watch the series with a small group (e.g., staff, ministry leads).

If you discern to run The Rescue Project, all facilitators need to watch the training videos, familiarize themselves with the content of the Running Rescue Guide, and be comfortable with leading prayer ministry on the retreat.

  • It’s imperative to intercede daily for everyone involved in the The Rescue Project, most especially the guests and the small group facilitators.
  • Chapters 3 and 4 are very hard. They address the Bad News, and the uncomfortable reality that we have an Enemy. This is an essential part of the gospel, and is the reason why it’s Good News. These are the weeks where accompaniment is most important.

The Rescue Project is intended to be run weekly. We discourage any variance to this cadence, because it negatively impacts the accompaniment between sessions, inevitably loses momentum and increases the likelihood of people not completing the series.

Meals are an essential ingredient, for they are the quintessential icebreaker. The Rescue Project can be run over breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

No! The Rescue Project is for everyone. 

Facilitating a Small Groups

The ideal size for a small group is six to eight guests along with two facilitators. This configuration protects an effective small group dynamic by making sure the group isn’t too large nor too small.

Establishing early on how the small group will behave helps maintain healthy and respectful conversation. In the Running Rescue Guide, you will find helpful hints. Here are a few to consider:

  • Remind everyone that trust and confidentiality are key components.
  • Be kind, respectful and meet guests where they are. 
  • Avoid interruptions and sidebars.
  • Encourage everyone to stay on topic.
  • Avoid pressuring guests to speak.
  • All questions are welcome.
  • Begin and end on time.

 

In any small group experience, we will encounter a variety of situations. Some may come from different faith backgrounds or have no faith at all. Some may be struggling with significant trauma and wounds. Others may not fully engage in the experience.

It’s important to see everyone in the small group as God sees them and to always respond as He would. If necessary, encourage ongoing conversations outside the small group as needed, especially in Weeks 3 & 4. This is where accompaniment between the weeks can be a significant pastoral support.

The Retreat

Very. The retreat is the summit of The Rescue Project. This is the occasion to ask the Holy Spirit to convince us that everything we have heard is true.  If this doesn’t happen, then this has been just an intellectual exercise that neither overwhelmed us, moved us to surrender, or mobilized us for mission. 

Watch this invitation from Fr. John Riccardo join the retreat.

For those who miss the retreat, we offer a couple suggestions:

  • In a parish context, invite the person(s) to attend the next Rescue retreat.
  • In a home context, the small group leaders should consider individually accompanying those who miss the retreat through Chapters 7 & 8, and offer prayer ministry.

The small group leaders lead prayer ministry on the retreat.

Training and equipping resources are available both in the Running Rescue Guide, and in these videos: Equipping Video and Q&A Video.

Please do not bring in outside prayer ministers, as they have not been part of the guests’ journey over the preceding weeks.

Please note: We are simply praying with and for our guests, rather than praying over them. As brothers and sisters, we stand alongside one another before God and bring their needs before Him. For further clarity, you may reference the Prayer Ministry guide that is available in the Running Rescue Guide.

Rescue at Home

The Rescue Project is intended and designed to be run both in a parish and in a home context. For a variety of reasons, some may find it easier (especially those who are not Church-goers) to first encounter the gospel in a home setting where they have been invited by friends. 

We highly encourage parishes to regularly run The Rescue Project both on Church grounds and multiple homes. The Rescue Project is meant to have an ongoing presence in the life of a parish until everyone has heard the gospel and been mobilized for mission.

Please note: Rescued people rescue people. Increasingly, we must see our homes as the primary places for evangelization.

Both the Running Rescue Guide and our equipping videos for homes and small groups offer training to help you fruitfully Rescue in your home.

Rescue in Parishes

The Rescue Project is intended for use everywhere, including parishes. However, parishioners should only seek to implement a parish-wide effort under the leadership and direction of the pastor and his leadership team.

Regardless of that support, we encourage people to offer the experience in other contexts such as homes, workplaces, universities, schools, prisons, nursing homes and more.

  • We suggest that parish leadership and small group leaders watch the series before launching The Rescue Project.
  • If a parish decides to run The Rescue Project, we recommend  the small group leaders re-watch each video prior to each session in order to prayerfully prepare.

We have numerous resources available for complimentary download in our resources section.

Currently, we have preaching resources available here.

These include:

  • Advent Preaching Notes (Years A & B)
  • Patristics
  • Pastorl letter on preaching
  • … and more!

Nothing! By not charging you eliminate any barrier to someone’s ability to attend the 8-week series. The costs incurred are around the companion resources in book form and the meals. The parish leadership will want to prayerfully discern how to manage these costs. We would recommend any cost not be passed on to the guests. There are ways to navigate meals in a cost-effective manner. Something to consider once there is buy-in from the guests after the initial weeks is to make available a free-will offering basket at the sessions. This may help defray some expenses.

The Rescue Project is intended for 7th graders and older. Content can be adapted for younger guests, and we have sample resources available here. 

We recommend you send a video link to your guest and then make plans to connect with your guest to discuss the content.

For pastoral reasons, we would not recommend having the guests watch either Chapters 3 or 4 on their own.

Troubleshoot Tech

Just click on the registration link.

We updated our registration site which requires new credentials. Simply register on the new site here.

After you have registered, you can access all of our resources here!

Once you have registered, simply go to our downloadable resources.

  • This will take you to Vimeo videos.
  • Select the desired video and simply click “download.”
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