Before you begin, analyze the current state of marriage and Natural Family Planning use in your diocese. How strong is your current marriage preparation policy? Do your marriage preparation programs support it adequately? What Natural Family Planning classes you do currently require, if any? Do you have any Theology of the Body programs targeted to the teens in your diocese?
Form A Strategic Planning Committee
Prayer is an integral part of all strategic planning. Obtain prayer commitments from apostolates of prayer, contemplatives, etc. for the success of your plan and the Lord’s will in your diocese.
Create a board or advisory committee composed of priests, married laypersons, current marriage preparation leaders, and those already formed in Theology of the Body. Commission this group to write a strategic plan aiming to strengthen marriage preparation in your diocese.
Analyze the Current State of NFP in Your Diocese
In 2009, the Office of Natural Family Planning in the Diocese of Phoenix identified existing programs and created new ones to prepare for the goal of delivering a full complement of Natural Family Planning courses to all couples in the marriage preparation program in accordance with Bishop Olmsted’s Covenant of Love policy. Steps included:
- Survey: Conduct a survey of representative parishes to collect baseline data for periodic assessment of marriage preparation and NFP programs in the diocese. Here is our 2009 report of survey findings for Bishop Olmsted and the strategic planning committee. Download: 2009 Family Planning Survey for Married Catholic Women of Reproductive Age (PDF).
- Parish Representatives: Train couples to be NFP Parish Representatives and promote NFP at the parish level. Here is our “Parish Rep” training as a guide. This training should be held 1-2 times annually and is approximately a 4-hour, in-person session. Download: NFP Parish Rep Training (PPT).
- Instructors: Recruit, train, and continue to form NFP instructors.
- Introduction Materials: Enhance NFP Introduction materials to use modern multimedia and create a shorter companion presentation to be used informally by parish representatives in their parishes. See the videos we created, and review our 2-hour introductory training in English and Spanish (PPT).
- Class Offerings: Prepare for increased class sizes, add Spanish classes as needed, and provide instructor supervised on-line classes.
- Promotion: Consider the following for promotion:
- speaking engagements for parish representatives
- conferences
- direct mail like postcards or newsletters
- Catholic newspaper ads
- class schedules sent to parishes
- NFP tables at local events
- materials provided to pregnancy help centers
- materials provided to Catholic hospitals
- informational luncheons for new pastors and/or seminarians
- User Support: Provide NFP refreshers and workshops for special circumstances.
You can read all the program details here. Download: NFP Ready Now (PDF).