by Matt Hess

God works quietly in human hearts, drawing all people to Himself. This pull of Christ in everyday people’s lives is apparent to those working in evangelization throughout our archdiocese. Lisa Fullenkamp is one of those lucky enough to witness this. As the Coordinator of Adult Sacramental Preparation at the Holy Face Family of Parishes in the Wapakoneta and Botkins area, for over 30 years she has been involved in forming disciples of Christ through RCIA. She also works with couples preparing for marriage and with families seeking baptism for their little ones. Through these ministries, Lisa has seen firsthand how Jesus works in the hearts of individuals and families, bringing them into the Church and into a relationship with God.

Fullenkamp says she “felt a calling within myself to be one with God” from an early age, even though her family were not regular church goers. She hopped on whatever church van or bus was rolling down her road in Sidney to get to a church on Sunday, exploring Pentecostal, Baptist and other churches over the years. With a newly minted driver’s license at age 16, Fullenkamp “drove to the big church downtown.”

That church, Holy Angels, drew her in, with its precisely timed bells and the Sisters of Charity who walked the town square in uniformed lines. She found there a worship centered on the Lord and serious prayer to Him that she did not experience anywhere else.

“When I went into the church, people weren’t talking,” said Fullenkamp. She was in awe of families kneeling and praying together, focused on the Lord. The Mass’s focus on Christ coming to us in the Eucharist spurred her to join the Catholic Church. “This is the Church, this is it!” she said.

After she married, Fullenkamp and her husband started their family in Botkins, and she began her ministry in faith formation at Immaculate Conception Church.

Today, she keeps God at the center of her identity and ministry. When it comes to being an effective evangelist in the community, she knows that, “God is first and foremost.” Fullenkamp’s mission is to bring the Lord into whatever she is doing. This past fall, a co-worker asked what was her favorite topic to teach in RCIA classes. After some thought, she responded, “My favorite subject is Jesus: He is in every subject we teach, He is [there] every week.” Using Scripture, the liturgy, prayer and reflection, she is able to connect the Catechism back to its Source, no matter the topic.

Fullenkamp also lives out Jesus’ mission in her attention to those around her. Anyone who has met her knows she has a warm, outgoing personality, which exudes Christ’s welcoming example. She immediately puts you at ease. Describing herself as “kind of the ‘welcome mat’ at the parish,” she is hospitality at events and even just weekdays in the parish office, present with a smile. By her kind words and thoughtful actions, each guest is greeted as Christ.

Moreover, her gifts are clearly put to good use welcoming new Church members and inviting people into a deeper communion with Christ. Meeting with candidates is one of Fullenkamp’s favorite parts of the RCIA process, which she views as a journey with them. She said that after greeting new students, “I give them a hug and tell them the Church has a place for you,” then they walk to her office and begin getting to know each other. “I look forward to the questions they have about the faith,” she said, and asks for their impressions of the Catholic Church and any worries about conversion to a new faith. “I listen a lot,” said Fullenkamp.

Sometimes they have to work through difficult topics, like Mary or the Trinity, which find their richest meaning in the Catholic tradition. For many coming into the Catholic faith, the emphasis on the Mother of God is difficult to accept. Fullenkamp starts with something familiar to the candidates, Scripture, to see that Mary’s dignity comes from her Son. When understanding comes, it is more than Fullenkamp’s careful methods, it is truly a grace of God. “Gradually they light up,” she said, and “I know that God is working through them.”

The Easter Vigil commences a new life in Christ and is often one of the most rewarding experiences for those in Adult Faith Formation. The candidates’ radiant faces reflect healing. “They are healed in their understanding of who they are to God,” Fullenkamp said.

In the Easter mystery we are made whole again, part of God’s family. “It doesn’t matter who you are, to God you are worth dying for.” Each year God calls a new class of Fullenkamp’s neophytes into the Church, just as He called her in 1978.

To Fullenkamp, it has been a blessing to welcome people into fuller lives with Christ. She is so thankful for the work she does when, years later, she encounters these families and individuals ministering alongside her at the parish. Seeing their faith in God lived out confirms that the pull of God in the silence of the heart can lead to extraordinary things.

This article appeared in the February 2024 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here