Chastity Project

Jason and Crystalina Evert have spoken to more than one million people on six continents about the virtue of chastity. After working for Catholic Answers in San Diego for more than a decade, the couple moved to Denver and began a new ministry focused solely on promoting purity: Chastity Project.

Although the two speak to 100,000 students per year, one of their dreams was to make chastity resources available to as many souls around the world as possible. Leaders (both young and old) from more than fifty countries have contacted Jason and Crystalina, asking for chastity resources to be donated to their communities. The two have authored dozens of chastity books, CDs, and DVDs, but didn’t have the funds to purchase the rights to the products and didn’t have the resources for global distribution. Upon moving to Colorado, Jason took the photo below of a few boxes of chastity books in a closet in his home, hoping that one day he would have an entire garage of them to send around the world. Scripture promises that God “is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine,” and we know that He always keeps His promises.

Not long after taking the photo, Jason received an invitation to present his ministry vision to the leaders of Stewardship: A Mission of Faith. He shared with them how he had created numerous resources, and hoped to purchase the rights to them, so that they could be given away or sold for as little as possible. However, he didn’t have the money, and didn’t own a warehouse. David Abel, the founder of Stewardship, simply said, “Come downstairs with me.” Jason followed, and watched as David opened the doors to one of his warehouses (below) that ships more than 200,000 products daily, and said, “I’m all in.” Thanks to the providence of God and the generosity of a pair of benefactors, Jason and Crystalina were able to purchase the rights to more than a dozen of their resources, and now are offering everything at up to 90% off.

Chastity Project believes that young people play a pivotal role in the new evangelization, and therefore invites them to launch chastity projects within their schools and churches to promote the good news of purity to their peers. As Pope Francis said, “Do you know what the best tool is for evangelizing the young? Another young person. This is the path to follow!” Those who minister to teens today have unlimited needs, but very limited budgets. Therefore, through low-cost resource distribution, media appearances, seminars, and social media, Chastity Project exists to promote the virtue of chastity so that individuals can see God, and be free to love (Matt. 5:8). The orange and green colors of the Chastity Project logo are from the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe, to whom the ministry is consecrated.

Visit Chastity Project.

Dynamic Catholic Book Program

It all started with a very simple idea: 32% of the people at Christmas Mass only come to Church once a year. It’s our best opportunity to re-engage them. For years we have been letting them come and go with no real effort to win them back. What if it was as simple as just giving them a great Catholic book on the way out of church? It is. Books change our lives. Sometimes all it takes to bring people back to Church is the right book. Learn more about the Book Program.

What is the Dynamic Catholic Parish Book Program?
A simple and affordable way to re-engage disengaged Catholics and re-energize your parish.



How does it work?
1. You order a bunch of books.
2. At Christmas, Easter, or Ash Wednesday, friendly volunteers pass out the books to people as they leave Church.
3. You encourage people to read the book with regular and inspiring announcements.
4. You hear people talking about how the book is changing their lives for months, and months, and months…

How much does it cost?
We believe in keeping things as simple as possible. Order 500 copies or more for $2 per copy (including shipping). Orders 6 to 499 copies are $3 per copy (including shipping). See the titles in the Parish Book Program.

Interesting Facts
1. The Dynamic Catholic Parish Book Program (DCPBP) is the most successful New Evangelization initiative in the United States today.
2. Parishes that participate in the program three years in a row experience a 9.1% increase in attendance and a 10.4% increase in collections on average.
3. So far the DCPBP has served more than 4,000 of the 15,000 parishes in the United States.
4. 99.7% of parishes that participate say they will do it again.
5. More than 5,000,000 books and CDs have been distributed through the program.
6. Since its inception, the DCPBP has brought more people back to the Catholic Church than any other program in America.
7. The first book offered through this program was Rediscover Catholicism. First published in 2001, this book was on the Catholic Book Publishers Association bestseller list for more than seven years in a row (or 364 weeks) before the Dynamic Catholic Parish Book Program began. Today it is the bestselling Catholic book in America ever!
8. Parishioners who read Catholic books on a regular basis contribute four times more financially to their parish (and are three times more likely to volunteer at the their parish) than parishioners who do not.
9. In 2007, only one percent of American Catholics read a Catholic book. The DCBP has increased the number to 9.3% in 2012. That is a 900% increase in just five short years.
10. Spiritual reading has been central to our spiritual development since before the invention of the printing press. The great spiritual directors of every age have encouraged those they direct to read great texts that would lead to spiritual growth.
11. If only one person comes back to Church because you pass out books… and that person is forty years old, lives to eighty, and puts just $10 in the collection each week, he/she will contribute $20,800 to your parish during the remainder of his/her life. You would have to buy 10,401 books for it to be a bad financial investment. If just two people come back you would have to buy 20,801 books for it to be a bad financial investment. If ten people come back to Church you would have to buy 104,001 books to lose money.
12. 32% of Catholics only come to church once a year – at Christmas! After Christmas, Ash Wednesday and Easter are our best opportunities to re-engage Catholics.
13. Order less than 500 books for $3 a copy. Order more than 500 books for $2 a copy. Shipping and handling is included in these prices. 14. The books we offer for as little as $2 usually retail for $17.95 each. These are books, not booklets or pamphlets.
15. 43% of parishes call within two weeks of distributing the books to order more.
16. The largest single parish order ever was 10,000 books by Holy Spirit in Fremont, California.
17. St. Mary of the Annunciation in Mundelein, Illinois has participated in the program eight times, which is the record at this time.
18. In 2012, the Archdiocese of Minneapolis ordered 200,000 copies of Rediscover Catholicism to distribute at Christmas Masses, making it the largest single order in the history of the program.

Sexual Authenticity

From Amazon.com:

Real glimpses into the hearts and lives of other people are rare…

Columnist and author Melinda Selmys gives readers an unusual opportunity to explore the topic of homosexuality and the Catholic Faith from a fresh, sincere perspective. Her intensely personal reflections help clarify the misconceptions that have hindered meaningful dialogue between Catholics and homosexuals. Transcending stereotypes and avoiding pat sentiments, she speaks directly to every Christian who has experienced same-sex attraction or knows someone who has.

In addition to her personal story of exchanging secular lesbianism for Catholicism and resolving her own inner conflicts, the author presents an enlightening analysis of history, social theory, and media influence on the subject of homosexuality. She refutes much of the clumsy theorizing and junk science common from both sides of the debate, effectively bridging many gaps between perceptions and reality. Selmys addresses the complexities surrounding sexual identity with pronounced compassion, adding a practical discussion of the Theology of the Body to complete the circle from a Catholic perspective.

Her ground-breaking book expertly walks the fine line between divisiveness and platitudes. A must read for everyone who has ever felt ambiguous about the Church's stance on homosexuality or those who have longed to see the fall of anti-gay iconoclasm that has compromised Christianity.

Purchase Sexual Authenticity for $10.19 from Amazon.com.

Saint John Paul the Great: His Five Great Loves

A French novelist once wrote, “Tell me what you love, and I will tell you who you are.” Although there are countless ways to study Saint John Paul the Great, the most direct route is by entering the man’s heart.

Discover the five greatest loves of Saint John Paul II, through remarkable unpublished stories about him from bishops, priests who organized his papal pilgrimages, his students in Poland, Swiss Guards, and others. Mining through a mountain of papal resources, Jason Evert has uncovered the gems and now presents the Church a treasure chest brimming with the jewels of the saint’s life. Rekindle your own faith by learning what (and who) captivated the heart of this great saint.

This brand new biography features never-before published stories of our beloved Pope John Paul II!

Buy the book from Lighthouse Catholic Media for only $9.99.

Forming Intentional Disciples

How can we transmit a living, personal Catholic faith to future generations? By coming to know Jesus Christ, and following him as his disciples. These are times of immense challenge and immense opportunity for the Catholic Church.

Consider these statistics for the United States.

• Only 30 percent of Americans who were raised Catholic are still practicing.
• Fully 10 percent of all adults in America are ex-Catholics.
• The number of marriages celebrated in the Church decreased dramatically, by nearly 60 percent, between 1972 and 2010.
• Only 60 percent of Catholics believe in a personal God.

If the Church is to reverse these trends, the evangelizers must first be evangelized-in other words, Catholics-in-the-pew must make a conscious choice to know and follow Jesus before they can draw others to him. This work of discipleship lies at the heart of Forming Intentional Disciples, a book designed to help Church leaders, parish staff and all Catholics transform parish life from within. Drawing upon her fifteen years of experience with the Catherine of Siena Institute, Sherry Weddell leads readers through steps that will help Catholics enter more deeply into a relationship with God and the river of apostolic creativity, charisms, and vocation that flow from that relationship for the sake of the Church and the world.

Learn about the five thresholds of postmodern conversion, how to open a conversation about faith and belief, how to ask thought-provoking questions and establish an atmosphere of trust, when to tell the Great Story of Jesus, how to help someone respond to God's call to intentional discipleship, and much more.

And be prepared for conversion because when life at the parish level changes, the life of the whole Church will change.

Buy this book on Amazon for only $11.99.