• Crossing the Goal is a weekly program for men that airs on Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) and radio.
• The show’s set and the format has a sports theme comparable to ESPN Sportscenter and NFL Today.
• The show has 4 segments:

• The content for the shows is based on (and faithful to) the teachings of the Catholic Church, along with the use of scriptures and portions of the Catechism as sources of reference.
• Some of the basic topics covered on these shows are:  Virtues, Our Father, Godly Man, etc.
• Each topic is broken down into 8-10 episodes that make up a series.

• Each Crossing the Goal series, (Virtues, Our Father, etc.,) is edited and placed on a DVD set.
• Each episode on the disc has approximately 25 minutes of content.

1. To gather men together in order to honor God in prayer and worship.
2. To invite the Holy Spirit to penetrate our hearts to change us interiorly.
3. To educate ourselves through the teachings of the Catholic Church utilizing the Scriptures and the Catechism.
4. To share with one another how God is working in each of our lives on a daily basis.
5. To recruit and encourage other men to join us in spiritual training and workouts.

Goal:  To increase the number of strong, vibrant, and active Catholic men in the pews.

• The DVD with questions was designed by the CTG team.
• The DVD format is the same as the TV show regarding the various segments. 

• Each segment has a section called Time Out which provides questions for the men to reflect on and hopefully share their answers with one another in a group setting. 
• The questions for each series can be downloaded for free from crossingthegoal.com
• Additional CTG DVD’s can be ordered through this website (www.crossingthegoal.com).

Note: Looking for questions for a particular topic? Visit our Workout Resources page to find all available questions associated with each series.

• Two or three key men in the Parish will make up the core leadership team.
• Choose two men to be the initial workout leaders.
• As you grow, encourage others to become more involved in leadership roles.

• Set an appointment with the Pastor so that you can get his approval and ask him to join in with you in the meetings as a participant.  Make sure the deacons are included.
• Make sure you understand the mission, purpose and goal for the Spiritual Fitness Workout (SFW) before meeting with the Pastor.
• Be prepared to explain to the Pastor the format of the workouts and the benefits to the Parish.

• Parish – choose a meeting room in the Parish center that gives you some privacy and the ability to expand.
• Make sure the area you choose is set up to handle a TV monitor.
• Homes are very nice but you will be limited to the size of the group and it is a huge commitment.

• Schedule: Workouts are held weekly (90 minutes).
Examples - Thursdays, 7:30-9:00 PM or
Saturdays, 7:00 – 8:30 AM or
Tuesdays after 6:30 AM Mass

Welcome and prayer 5 minutes

Praise and Worship (2-3 songs) 10 minutes

General Sharing (Accountability): Small groups of 5-7 men review previous week’s personal action plans. 10 minutes

Total 25 minutes

Watch CTG show by segment, with small group discussions of 5-7 men following each segment

Closing prayer

• Each person should bring a copy of the questions and a Bible.
• Leader is responsible for bringing the CTG DVD.
• Music sheets and CD player for worship and praise songs.
• TV monitor and DVD player—for teaching.

• All men are welcome.
• Announcement and sign up will occur at the CTG Conference.
• Make announcement from pulpit at Mass; Parish bulletin.
• Word of mouth seems to work the best and is the most personal and effective.

• The initial “starting team” should be no more than 10 members including group leader.  Build from that base. 
• Prepare for each meeting. (example: watch the episode and review the questions.)
• Make sure the room is properly set up.
• Double-check all of the equipment. Make sure the TV and DVD are properly connected.  Have a CD player on hand for the music.
• Have designated facilitators planned for each meeting who can lead the small group discussions.
• Find several guys who can take turns opening and closing meeting rooms.
• Refreshments – sometimes supplied by the Parish but more than likely an offering should be taken to purchase soft drinks, coffee, cookies, etc.
• EVERYONE makes sure room is put back in order.

• Try to follow up with a phone call to each new member that you bring to the meeting.  Make sure everything is O.K. and remind him of the next meeting.
• Be aware of men that are “no-shows” and let them know they are missed.
• Each man should invite and bring one new man per month, and then follow through by encouraging him to keep coming back with a personal invite by you.

• Use businesslike calling cards to promote the meetings.
• Create a “safe place.”  Everything said in the group stays in the group and is held in STRICT CONFIDENCE.
• Keep everything moving. If the discussion lags, move on to the next question. Keep an eye on the clock.
• Stay on the subject at hand: don’t get off-base.
• Don’t allow one person to dominate the sharing. You must kindly interrupt so that you can move on.
• You don’t need to comment on the men’s answers to the discussion questions.
• All members, and their sharing, are of equal value; no gurus.
• Discussion of public figures and issues should be discouraged – not a debating session.
• Discussion of church figures and issues should be discouraged.
• Personal counseling during the meetings should be avoided.
• Personal experiences can be shared but any major issues should be handled outside of the meeting.
• Sensitive and difficult disclosures and sharing can be followed by taking time out to pray. 
• Be sensitive to the movement of the Holy Spirit and flexible to follow that movement.
• Start and stop on time.

• “Starting team” no more than 10 members.
• Each team member should have his own DVD
• Questions can be downloaded from the Crossing the Goal site on the link marked ‘Workout Questions’.
• Make a hard copy of the questions.
• Each team member should view the episode for the week prior to attending the workout.
• The questions should be completed prior to the workout.
• Bring the questions to the workout, so that you can refer to your notes during the sharing portion of the workout.
• Make a concerted effort to accomplish your action for the week.

• Bring CTG questions and Bible to each and every workout.
• The Workout Leader starts the workout by showing Segment #1 of the CTG DVD to all the men as a group. (the Kick-off and Game Plan) 
• The large group then breaks into smaller groups of 5-7 men each—appoint one facilitator for each group. 
• Refer to the question sheet which can be helpful to encourage each man to share his answers with his group.  This portion of sharing lasts 15 minutes.
• The Workout Leader then shows segment #2 of the DVD (called the Red Zone) to all the men.
• The men break into small groups and, once again, refer to the question sheet section that applies to the Red Zone and continue answering and discussing these particular questions.  This portion of sharing lasts 25 minutes.
• The Workout Leader shows segment #3 of the DVD called the End Zone followed by a short time period (2 minutes) for the men to write down an action plan for the next week. 
• The action plan will be discussed at the beginning of the following week’s workout.  The reason for this sharing is for accountability purposes.  This portion of sharing lasts 10 minutes. 
• Homework—The DVD with the question sheet should be taken home so that everyone can review and reflect on the things that were covered during the prior workout. Each man should accomplish action item and prepare himself for the next meeting.

Step 1: Start your own group
In order to get the ball rolling in your area it would be good to organize Workout Groups in two or three parishes. These groups can be used as incubator groups to help perspective leaders visualize what a Workout Group is like.

Step 2: Train other leaders
Organize a workshop, preferably on a Saturday morning with coffee and donuts, so that you can present all the materials that are posted on the CTG website pertaining to:  1) how to organize CTG Workout Groups, 2) resources that are needed for the content in these groups, 3) the questions that help facilitate sharing, and 4) invite to existing group.

Step 3: Follow-up
You must follow-up with the various parish leaders to make sure that their groups are running smoothly and offer any assistance, if needed.  It would also be good to ‘pop in’ on one of their meetings.

Step 4: Networking
Form a CTG Workout Group fellowship (association) so that you can keep in touch with one another on a local level.  Eventually, by linking to the CTG website, everyone will be able to network on a worldwide basis.

Step 5: Conference workshop
Have a workshop—using a video of a CTG Workout Group in progress so the men can get a feel for what takes place in these meetings.  The purpose is to recruit new men to either start up a workout group in their parish or join an existing group.  Invite a couple of men to give a witness about what being in a workout group has meant to them personally.