Carson Weber is the Associate Director for New Media Evangelization for the Diocese of Sacramento. A “New Media Evangelization” department is not something found in most dioceses. But, in time, most every diocese will have one. Or at least I hope so.

But for now, Carson is really helping to set the mold for the type of work he’s doing in the Church. And from what I’ve seen, he’s doing a great job of it.

In addition to being a product of Texas A&M University, Franciscan University and the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, he also designs websites, hosts podcasts and does speaking engagements.

One of his particularly significant projects is The Understanding the Scriptures Podcast - “30 episodes, Genesis to Revelation, 100% Free” - from his website of Catholic content: CatholicBoard.com.

Another more recent project of Carson’s is a free, online presentation called “The Parish Website - An Essential Tool for Ministry.” It’s an outstanding resource for parishes.  I would encourage every parish to share this with their staff / leaders. And as a bonus, parish leaders should watch and go through the presentation together as a team. It’s less than 30 minutes, covers a whole lot of food for thought, is totally free and has a visual slide-show to go along with the audio. Please check it out here and share it with anyone you think might benefit from it.

Over and above all of that, what excites me most about what Carson is doing is the simple fact that he is working in this role directly for a diocese.

New media makes available to us a level of communication never seen before in the history of the planet. People are doing amazing things with it and changing the world. But the Church has an opportunity to do even greater things still. Just imagine what’s going to happen when we infuse the new media with the fullness of the Gospel message while also leveraging the powerful structure of the Church. That’s where we need to go. That’s why every diocese needs to be championing this cause. And that’s where people like Carson Weber are helping to lead us through their full-time roles in Diocesan leadership.

I commend the Diocese of Sacramento for understanding how much we need “New Media Evangelization.” And I thank Carson for the faithful leadership he continues to provide there.