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Retreat Team Missionary Program
Become a missionary for the New Evangelization, bearing witness to the joy and adventure of a life lived in Jesus Christ.
Retreat Team Missionary Program
Become a missionary for the New Evangelization, bearing witness to the joy and adventure of a life lived in Jesus Christ.
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We Share Your Desire For More.
There is a great longing in the body of the Church, a yearning to carry forward the mission Christ entrusted to each of his disciples. Our missionary staff recognize this thirst and seek to guide the thousands of souls who enter our gates to fall ever more in love with Jesus Christ.
The Need
The Need
Jesus calls us: the harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few. Countless souls are waiting to be cared for and accompanied into a relationship with Christ. But as St. Francis Xavier lamented: “Many people hereabouts are not becoming Christians for one reason only: there is nobody to make them Christians.” There is a great need in the Church for ordinary souls committed to the extraordinary message of the Gospel, to go out and gather souls and bring them to an encounter with our God.
Our Response
Our Response
The missionary program at Prairie Star Ranch seeks to respond to this need for laborers in the Lord’s vineyard. Our missionaries plant abundantly and where possible reap as the Spirit moves. We seek to minister and witness to each soul that enters our gates. No matter why the Lord has brought specific individuals to our property, our missionaries strive to meet them where they are at and provide the utmost care for them so that Prairie Star may be a place of grace for all who enter, a place where encounter and conversion happens.
Your Invitation
Your Invitation
Is God calling you to more? Whether you’re right off a college campus or out in the workforce, the world needs missionaries and Christ’s great commission is for all the baptized. Is he asking you to labor in his vineyard, to labor for souls? Are you ready for the fullness that a life on mission offers? Your adventure begins here, are you ready for more?
We Share Your Desire For More.
There is a great longing in the body of the Church, a yearning to carry forward the mission Christ entrusted to each of his disciples. Our missionary staff recognize this thirst and seek to guide the thousands of souls who enter our gates to fall ever more in love with Jesus Christ.
The Need
The Need
Jesus calls us: the harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few. Countless souls are waiting to be cared for and accompanied into a relationship with Christ. But as St. Francis Xavier lamented: “Many people hereabouts are not becoming Christians for one reason only: there is nobody to make them Christians.” There is a great need in the Church for ordinary souls committed to the extraordinary message of the Gospel, to go out and gather souls and bring them to an encounter with our God.
Our Response
Our Response
The missionary program at Prairie Star Ranch seeks to respond to this need for laborers in the Lord’s vineyard. Our missionaries plant abundantly and where possible reap as the Spirit moves. We seek to minister and witness to each soul that enters our gates. No matter why the Lord has brought specific individuals to our property, our missionaries strive to meet them where they are at and provide the utmost care for them so that Prairie Star may be a place of grace for all who enter, a place where encounter and conversion happens.
Your Invitation
Your Invitation
Is God calling you to more? Whether you’re right off a college campus or out in the workforce, the world needs missionaries and Christ’s great commission is for all the baptized. Is he asking you to labor in his vineyard, to labor for souls? Are you ready for the fullness that a life on mission offers? Your adventure begins here, are you ready for more?
We Share Your Desire for More
There is a great longing in the body of the Church, a yearning to carry forward the mission Christ entrusted to each of his disciples. Our missionary staff recognize this thirst and seek to guide the thousands of souls who enter our gates to fall ever more in love with Jesus Christ.
Men and women from all walks of life, whether right off a college campus or out of the workforce, are choosing to respond to the world’s need for missionaries.
How We Serve
Our missionaries are looking to be a part of a life-changing adventure, transforming the world for the good, and bringing hope to youth and families. Guided by the Holy Spirit, we seek to grow as disciples of Jesus and make disciples for Jesus.
We serve as guides and trustworthy friends to the souls who pass through our gates and the people we serve. Through intentional retreat ministry, we invest in each person as we strive to model Christ with them.
As we journey with the youth and families who come to the Ranch, we also reach out to the parishes and communities which surround PSR. Together, our missionaries and the Church find ways to share the truth of our faith in dynamic and culturally-relevant ways.
Ready for an adventure?
The Church is calling for missionaries. She is looking for Christian disciples to go out and find ways to re-propose the Gospel message to our generation in a way that is relevant to everyday life.
For many that adventure has begun right in the nation’s heartland, sharing the love of Jesus Christ as a Retreat Team Missionary.
Reach Out
While the desire to serve the New Evangelization might be great, the uncertainty of going off on mission can be taxing. Our team is here to answer any questions you might have about our life, our joy, and our zeal for the Gospel.
Feel free to give us a call to talk one-on-one with one of our missionaries or our director. You can email us with your canon of questions, and our team will race to answer them all. You can also learn more about the program by checking out some of our FAQs below.
We Share Your Desire for More
There is a great longing in the body of the Church, a yearning to carry forward the mission Christ entrusted to each of his disciples. Our missionary staff recognize this thirst and seek to guide the thousands of souls who enter our gates to fall ever more in love with Jesus Christ.
Men and women from all walks of life, whether right off a college campus or out of the workforce, are choosing to respond to the world’s need for missionaries. As a member of the program, you will lead retreats, help out around camp and have the opportunity for great personal and spiritual growth. It is a wonderful chance to share your faith, build Christ’s Kingdom and serve others in a beautiful natural setting.
A Day in the Life
Our Work
As a missionary, you will be tasked with living a life that is fully alive, while witnessing to the joy and truth of the Gospel. You will build relationships both in our PSR community as well as with the retreatants and parishes you serve. You will create retreat experiences for youth that inspire them to conversion and a greater awareness of God’s love.
With a determination to live Christian hospitality to its fullest, our missionaries make every soul and family that come through our gates feel welcomed, honored, and refreshed for the length of their stay. You will not only accompany youth in relational ministry, facilitate high adventure activities for youth and family alike, but work to keep the Ranch’s mission alive, through the many daily tasks that help us to cast our net ever wider.
Our missionaries strive to make the Ranch a hospitable place of grace for all who enter here. As such, missionaries are tasked with helping maintain the facilities, outdoor beautification projects, cultivating the Ranch’s online presence, and a variety of other tasks. Our missionaries accompany retreat groups from their first phone call until the end of their retreat, and strive to provide all of our guest groups with the best retreat experience possible.
Our Community
Our missionaries live and work on the 291 beautiful acres of Prairie Star Ranch year-round. They live in an intentional community with each other. The Director’s family are also residents of the Ranch and all Ranch residents share life and mission together.
The finer points of communal life are discerned among the current missionary team, in order to be responsive to the Holy Spirit, fruitful, and life-giving for each member. But missionary life often includes sharing meals together, celebrating important feast days, and engaging in spontaneous group adventures.
Each missionary is given sufficient personal time to enjoy hobbies, volunteer opportunities, to pursue friendships outside of the community, and for personal and spiritual growth.
Communal life at the Ranch also often includes our other full-time and non-residential staff. Group formation sessions, holiday parties, and solemnity celebrations keep live-in staff and other full-time staff united in joy and fellowship.
Our Prayer
Every morning begins in prayer with the team, where we offer our day to the Lord. We begin all of our work-days with Morning Prayer from Liturgy of the Hours. Mass and confession are often available when visiting priests come to the Ranch to offer sacraments for retreat groups. Otherwise, missionaries often venture off property and attend the sacraments when they are offered nearby.
Our missionary team is offered chances for formation in Scripture, Church history, and other areas of theology and Church Tradition depending on interest and available resources.
Missionaries often engage in spontaneous prayer traditions depending on the liturgical season, and no matter how a missionary finds it most fruitful to pray, they have the accountability and the encouragement of their team to make prayer a priority. Missionaries are encouraged to maintain a robust life of prayer in accord with their individual spiritualities and charisms.
You Can Do This
We ask our missionaries to be open and zealous, pursuing at all times the salvation of souls. Our missionaries are adventurous and willing souls who are ready for a mission that totally engages them, their gifts and talents, passions, and ideas. Our missionaries are looking to make a difference in the lives of youth and families and make a gift of themselves to the Church and their immediate, intentional community here at the Ranch.
Our missionaries love the outdoors, love having fun, and love thinking of creative ways to spread the Gospel message in dynamic and culturally-relevant ways, responding to the needs of our times.
Guided by the Holy Spirit, we seek to grow as disciples of Jesus and make disciples for Jesus. God equips those He calls, so what’re you waiting for? You can do this!
Some of the Benefits
We are blessed to be able to offer our missionaries both payment as well as housing, not to mention the other benefits that come from living at Prairie Star Ranch. Below is a list of what a Retreat Team Member can expect to receive:
- Full-time hourly wage
- Full benefits options
- Individual bedroom
- All utilities and WIFI provided for
- A voice on the Archdiocesan Evangelization Team
- Training in: discipleship, challenge course facilitation, life-guarding, small group facilitation, ministry development
- Daily opportunities for spiritual growth and Catholic formation
- Living in an intentional Catholic community
- Off-site days for team building, team retreats, and just plain fun
- A job filled with joy, purpose, and growth!
You Can Do This.
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Reach Out
While the desire to serve the New Evangelization might be great, the uncertainty of going off on mission can be taxing. Our team is here to answer any questions you might have about our life, our joy, and our zeal for the Gospel.
Feel free to give us a call to talk one-on-one with one of our missionaries or our director. You can email us with your canon of questions, and our team will race to answer them all. You can also learn more about the program by checking out some of our FAQs below.
FAQs
What is the focus of Retreat Team Missionaries?
- As a missionary, you will be tasked with living a life that is fully alive, while witnessing to the joy and truth of the Gospel. You will be building relationships both in our PSR community as well as with the retreatants and parishes you serve.
- Living as a missionary at PSR is about living the New Evangelization in the daily tasks of retreat ministry. It is about connecting youth and families to Christ and his Church, through retreat facilitation, high adventure activities, and Christian hospitality; witnessing to a life lived in, with, and through Jesus Christ.
- Our missionaries strive to inspire and serve all who enter through the gates by their joy, generosity, and fun.
What are the job requirements?
- Fervor for sharing the Gospel in the details of everyday life
- Practicing Catholic in good standing with the Church
- A love and desire to draw closer to Jesus Christ
- An undergraduate degree
- Participation in high adventure activities
- Living in an intentional Catholic community
What are a retreat team member's main duties?
- Jesus is our model, therefore, our missionaries’ first task is to offer their very selves in service to youth and families. We ask our missionaries to be open and zealous, pursuing at all times the salvation of souls.
- Every morning begins in prayer with the team, where we offer our day to the Lord. After prayer the day can take a missionary along many different paths, so your availability and flexibility are crucial elements of success. There are duties for all temperaments at PSR and we work to place every missionary with tasks and responsibilities that bring them success and joy.
- A common thread throughout all their daily tasks is the fun that our team inspires. Here is a shortlist of responsibilities that our missionaries infuse with joy:
- Christian hospitality
- Guest services
- Retreat group coordination
- Outdoor education
- Horseback riding
- Garden care
- Chapel care
- Curriculum development
- Parish networking
- Ongoing faith formation
- Retreat facilitation
- Challenge course facilitation
- Office management
- Facility improvement projects
- Adventure hikes and tours
- Retreat planning
- Social media and marketing
- Website development
- Photography and video
- Post-retreat cleanup
What will my relationship be to Camp Tekakwitha?
Every summer Prairie Star Ranch serves as the home of Camp Tekakwitha, a high adventure Catholic summer camp for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. From late May until early August, thousands of campers and their families come through our gates and have a deep and personal encounter with Christ and His Church.
Retreat Team Members do not serve as a part of the Camp Tekakwitha staff; however, they work in close relationship with the Camp leadership and staff to ensure that Prairie Star Ranch is providing the highest level of service. During these two months, our missionaries prepare for the upcoming retreat season and work with Camp on projects and activities.
Some of our missionaries have also chosen to apply to become members of the Camp Tekakwitha staff. We encourage those who apply, knowing the excellent training and formation Camp’s leadership provides. Retreat Team Members who choose not to apply for Camp Tekakwitha will begin their mission year in mid-July, while those who work at Camp will begin their ten months in early August.
Common Questions
What is the focus of Retreat Team Missionaries?
- As a missionary, you will be tasked with living a life that is fully alive, while witnessing to the joy and truth of the Gospel. You will be building relationships both in our PSR community as well as with the retreatants and parishes you serve.
- Living as a missionary at PSR is about living the New Evangelization in the daily tasks of retreat ministry. It is about connecting youth and families to Christ and his Church through retreat facilitation, high adventure activities, and Christian hospitality; witnessing to a life lived in, with, and through Jesus Christ.
- Our missionaries strive to inspire and serve all who enter through the gates by their joy, generosity, and fun.
What are a retreat team member's main duties?
- Jesus is our model, therefore, our missionaries’ first task is to offer their very selves in service to youth and families. We ask our missionaries to be open and zealous, pursuing at all times the salvation of souls.
- Every morning begins in prayer with the team, where we offer our day to the Lord. After prayer the day can take a missionary along many different paths, so your availability and flexibility are crucial elements of success. There are duties for all temperaments at PSR and we work to place every missionary with tasks and responsibilities that bring them success and joy.
- A common thread throughout all their daily tasks is the fun that our team inspires. Here is a shortlist of responsibilities that our missionaries infuse with joy:
- Christian hospitality
- Guest services
- Retreat group coordination
- Outdoor education
- Horseback riding
- Garden care
- Chapel care
- Curriculum development
- Parish networking
- Ongoing faith formation
- Retreat facilitation
- Challenge course facilitation
- Office management
- Facility improvement projects
- Adventure hikes and tours
- Retreat planning
- Social media and marketing
- Website development
- Photography and video
- Post-retreat cleanup
What are the job requirements?
- Fervor for sharing the Gospel in the details of everyday life
- Practicing Catholic in good standing with the Church
- A love and desire to draw closer to Jesus Christ
- An undergraduate degree
- Participation in high adventure activities
- Living in an intentional Catholic community
What will my schedule be like?
While no day or week is quite like the next, and each season at the Ranch has its own rhythm, there are several uniting certainties in our schedule here at Prairie Star:
- As hourly employees, missionaries work between 37.5–40 hours a week and are compensated for any overtime.
- Some weeks missionaries work a standard 8:30–5 pm five-day work week, and some weeks missionaries work fewer and longer days with youth on retreat. Some weeks are a mix of ‘regular hour days’ and unique hours related to the scheduled retreat at hand.
- We strive, no matter the week, to give our missionaries a good work/life balance that enables them to have time for rest and personal prayer in order to give themselves as fully as possible to the mission during working hours.
- This position requires some evening and weekend work, or weekends spent ‘on call’ for the retreat group on property.
- Missionaries are eligible for vacation and sick time comparable to other Archdiocesan employees.
Where will I be living?
- Missionaries share a private and fully furnished house on the Ranch property, making the Ranch’s nearly 300 acres the coolest backyard ever.
- Missionaries share a residential, duplex-style home called the St. Peter's Gatehouse. Both sides of the Gatehouse are complete with their own kitchen, living room, bathroom(s), laundry room, and a private bedroom for each missionary.
- While all furniture and standard kitchen items are provided, missionaries are encouraged to bring their own bedding, decorations, small kitchen appliances, etc. that will make their space feel like home.
What is the length of my commitment?
- Retreat Team Missionaries serve as full-time Archdiocesan employees, which means that, unlike most missionary programs, our missionaries have the opportunity to stay on for as long as they feel called and are able to carry out the duties of the position.
- Missionaries typically start in mid-to-late July for two weeks of training.
- For the integrity of our ministry we ask that missionaries intend to stay on through May.
What is the size of the team?
- We strive to maintain a team of four missionaries living and working on property at all times, with one missionary acting as the Retreat Coordinator and the other three missionaries composing the rest of the Retreat Team.
What will my relationship be to Camp Tekakwitha?
- Every summer Prairie Star Ranch serves as the home of Camp Tekakwitha, a high adventure Catholic summer camp for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. From late May until early August, thousands of campers and their families come through our gates and have a deep and personal encounter with Christ and His Church.
- Retreat Team Members do not serve as a part of the Camp Tekakwitha staff; however, they work in close relationship with the Camp leadership and staff to ensure that Prairie Star Ranch is providing the highest level of service. During these two months, our missionaries prepare for the upcoming retreat season and work with Camp on projects and activities.
Common Questions
What is the focus of Retreat Team Missionaries?
- As a missionary, you will be tasked with living a life that is fully alive, while witnessing to the joy and truth of the Gospel. You will be building relationships both in our PSR community as well as with the retreatants and parishes you serve.
- Living as a missionary at PSR is about living the New Evangelization in the daily tasks of retreat ministry. It is about connecting youth and families to Christ and his Church, through retreat facilitation, high adventure activities, and Christian hospitality; witnessing to a life lived in, with, and through Jesus Christ.
- Our missionaries strive to inspire and serve all who enter through the gates by their joy, generosity, and fun.
What are a retreat team member's main duties?
- Jesus is our model, therefore, our missionaries’ first task is to offer their very selves in service to youth and families. We ask our missionaries to be open and zealous, pursuing at all times the salvation of souls.
- Every morning begins in prayer with the team, where we offer our day to the Lord. After prayer the day can take a missionary along many different paths, so your availability and flexibility are crucial elements of success. There are duties for all temperaments at PSR and we work to place every missionary with tasks and responsibilities that bring them success and joy.
- A common thread throughout all their daily tasks is the fun that our team inspires. Here is a shortlist of responsibilities that our missionaries infuse with joy:
- Christian hospitality
- Guest services
- Retreat group coordination
- Outdoor education
- Horseback riding
- Garden care
- Chapel care
- Curriculum development
- Parish networking
- Ongoing faith formation
- Retreat facilitation
- Challenge course facilitation
- Office management
- Facility improvement projects
- Adventure hikes and tours
- Retreat planning
- Social media and marketing
- Website development
- Photography and video
- Post-retreat cleanup
What are the job requirements?
- Fervor for sharing the Gospel in the details of everyday life
- Practicing Catholic in good standing with the Church
- A love and desire to draw closer to Jesus Christ
- An undergraduate degree
- Participation in high adventure activities
- Living in an intentional Catholic community
What will my schedule be like?
While no day or week is quite like the next, and each season at the Ranch has its own rhythm, there are several uniting certainties in our schedule here at Prairie Star:
- As hourly employees, missionaries work between 37.5–40 hours a week and are compensated for any overtime.
- Some weeks, missionaries work a standard 8:30–5 pm five-day work week, and some weeks missionaries work fewer and longer days with youth on retreat. Some weeks are a mix of ‘regular hour days’ and unique hours related to the scheduled retreat at hand.
- We strive, no matter the week, to give our missionaries a good work/life balance that enables them to have time for rest and personal prayer in order to give themselves as fully as possible to the mission during working hours.
- This position requires some evening and weekend work, or weekends spent ‘on call’ for the retreat group on property.
- Missionaries are eligible for vacation and sick time comparable to other Archdiocesan employees.
Where will I be living?
- Missionaries share a private and fully furnished house on the Ranch property, making the Ranch’s nearly 300 acres the coolest backyard ever.
- Missionaries share a residential, duplex-style home called the St. Peter’s Gatehouse. Both sides of the Gatehouse are complete with their own kitchen, living room, bathroom(s), laundry room, and a private bedroom for each missionary.
- While all furniture and standard kitchen items are provided, missionaries are encouraged to bring their own bedding, decorations, small kitchen appliances, etc. that will make their space feel like home.
What is the length of my commitment?
- Retreat Team Missionaries serve as full-time Archdiocesan employees, which means that, unlike most missionary programs, our missionaries have the opportunity to stay on for as long as they feel called and are able to carry out the duties of the position.
- Missionaries typically start in mid-to-late July for two weeks of training.
- For the integrity of our ministry we ask that missionaries intend to stay on through May.
What is the size of the team?
- We strive to maintain a team of four missionaries living and working on property at all times, with one missionary acting as the Retreat Coordinator and the other three missionaries composing the rest of the Retreat Team.
What will my relationship be to Camp Tekakwitha?
- Every summer Prairie Star Ranch serves as the home of Camp Tekakwitha, a high adventure Catholic summer camp for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. From late May until early August, thousands of campers and their families come through our gates and have a deep and personal encounter with Christ and His Church.
- Retreat Team Members do not serve as a part of the Camp Tekakwitha staff; however, they work in close relationship with the Camp leadership and staff to ensure that Prairie Star Ranch is providing the highest level of service. During these two months, our missionaries prepare for the upcoming retreat season and work with Camp on projects and activities.
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Prairie Star Ranch is a division of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas
Copyright © The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. All Rights Reserved.
Prairie Star Ranch is a division of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. Copyright © The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. All Rights Reserved.
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