We accompany priests to more freedom as spiritual fathers. Through 1-on-1 coaching, we can partner to uncover your own leadership, while empowering your team to be on mission with you.
About Avila Coaching and Consulting
How the business started
As a FOCUS missionary and team director for seven years, I worked closely with missionaries, donors, priests, and students to build up God’s Kingdom on college campuses. My mission expanded beyond just one college campus and I discovered that my skills and expertise in evangelization, communication, and strategic thinking could be a blessing to priests.
Avila Coaching and Consulting was born when my parish priest called and asked for help. Since then, I have worked with parishes in the Diocese of Lincoln and Archdiocese of Omaha, leading strategic planning processes, equipping leadership teams, and coaching priests and parish leaders in leadership and evangelization.
Why St. Teresa of Avila?
As my personal patron and a fierce Church reformer, I knew her patronage would be essential to this important work. Just as she listened to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and led the Carmelites to authentically live their vocation, I desire to accompany priests to come alive in their priesthood.
St. Teresa, pray for us!
About Alex Rodriguez, Founder and Consultant
After studying education at Benedictine College in Atchison, KS, I became a FOCUS missionary, ultimately serving for seven years. During this time, my leadership skills were sharpened through leading teams and learning from other talented Church leaders; I discovered a personal gift for drawing out potential in others.
In my fifth year with FOCUS, the Lord revealed to me a spirit of self-reliance and overwork that so many in ministry fall into. Through His healing, I received a new mindset: instead of trying to prevent hardship, I can embrace the fact that I have a Savior. I began to more freely delegate and saw the beauty of letting others share in responsibility.
I left FOCUS to discern religious life, but did not ultimately enter. Instead, the Lord invited me to move back to my hometown, Hastings, NE, and wait. I look back on this period of waiting as a severe mercy from the Lord. Being stripped of all of my identity was a painful but fulfilling process, allowing me to more fully receive his love for me. Soon after, my parish priest reached out and Avila Coaching and Consulting began.
Being a FOCUS missionary allowed me to have experiences that help me relate to priests:
Moving to a new place and adjusting to a new culture without knowing how long you’ll be there
Making decisions without a boots-on-the-ground boss
Being tempted to make decisions just to please people because you don’t want to be disagreed with
Through these experiences, I desire to empathize and bring forward the right solutions for your unique parish or ministry.