One is a non-practicing public administrator; the other is a non-practicing biochemist. More importantly, they are practicing Catholics, married (to each other) with four children. Feeling called to do their share in evangelizing the digital continent, Deacon Joel and Lisa launched The Practicing Catholic in 2010 where they write about living an intentional, joyful Catholic life. The Schmidts try to provide the antidote to the perception that piety is boring or that the Church is filled with “sour-faced saints”. In their presentations, they provide witness to the adventure of living an integrated Catholic life 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Lisa is a lifelong Catholic with a heart for improving the quality of life for families. She worked in city management before “retiring” to come home and care for their children and has since steadily immersed herself in the work of the new evangelization through writing, speaking, and most recently founding The Well, a women’s ministry rooted in faith, friendship, and fun. Lisa is available to speak on family, motherhood, women's issues, and developing incarnational spiritual friendships in this digital age.
Deacon Joel is a Catholic convert and biochemist who was ordained to the permanent diaconate in 2014. Joel has developed a ministry dedicated to promoting healing from miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss. He is able to speak on family, fatherhood, men’s issues, bioethics, and deacon formation.
