James Shackelford joined the parish staff as the Director of Ongoing Formation and and Discipleship on March 28, 2022. In this role he is responsible for administering and surveying all aspects of parish formation, including sacramental preparation, children and youth formation, young adults, evangelization and discipleship, RCIA, school religion classes, adult ministry and family catechesis. James will also help build a formation team that includes our current formation staff and two FOCUS ministers who are due to be assigned to our parish sometime in the next year.
James has a heart for helping people encounter Jesus and seeing the church embrace its apostolic call of active discipleship. He has worked in various ministerial settings –Catholic and non-Catholic, and professional contexts, most recently with Encounter Ministries and Heart of the Father Ministries. He also travels with his wife, leading retreats and providing music for all age groups across the country.
Beyond ministry, James holds a B.A. from the University of Minnesota and is in the final stages of completing a Dual PhD in Early Christianity through the University of Pennsylvania. James loves to travel and has had the chance to survey early churches in Italy, Greece, and Turkey. He also is a proud veteran and spent six years in the Navy as a Chinese Linguist and Intelligence Analyst.