Vocation Ministry

Our Story

Hi, I’m Rhonda Gruenewald, founder of Vocation Ministry. The call that started it all happened in the fall of 2011. Our parochial vicar Fr. Victor Perez called me to see if my husband and I could attend a meeting about priests and such- very vague. We felt we were called by name, so we said yes…

Why do we need Vocation Ministry?

When I began my work promoting vocations, I was stunned to discover that only 10 to 20 percent of parishes throughout the country do anything to promote vocations, and of that small percentage, their efforts tend to be minimal, uncoordinated, and therefore lack impact.

How is Vocation Ministry impacting vocations?

Our very first workshop in 2015 occurred in Grand Island, Nebraska, which is neither Grand nor an Island as it has more cows than people. You see, they were desperate as they had 1 seminarian in 2015. We returned in 2019 and found parishes had implemented the Vocation Ministry model, and now Grand Island has NINE seminarians! This is one of many examples…

The Books

Hundredfold: A Guide to Parish Vocation Ministry was designed to inspire parishes to get involved in vocation work, to help new ministries start strong by providing a clear guide to the nuts and bolts of the ministry and to reinvigorate longstanding committees with fresh ideas that attract new workers to his vineyard.

As Vocation Ministry grew, so did the demand for more resources. In April 2017, Sembrando Semillas, a Spanish translation of her book was published, providing additional materials specifically related to predominantly Spanish-speaking parishes.

Our newest book that was released in the summer of 2021, The Harvest: A Guide to Vocation Ministry in Education offers 75 pioneering ideas to create a vocation-friendly environment in schools and classrooms. Our hope is that vocations permeate all aspects of Catholic education.