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What if the challenge that feels too big for you is actually the very place where God wants to show you His strength?
In this special Rebuilt Conference replay, Tom Corcoran closes the 2025 Rebuilt Conference with a powerful message for pastors and parish leaders carrying real challenges back home: spiritual apathy, financial pressure, conflict, fear, overwhelm, self-doubt, and more.
Walking through Psalm 18, Tom invites leaders to reframe those challenges as battles that God can use to strengthen and prepare them. David faced enemies that were simply too mighty for him, and Tom reminds us that there is no shame in admitting the same. Parish renewal was never meant to happen through our strength alone. We need the grace of God, and often that grace comes through the wisdom, gifts, and support of the people He has placed around us.
At the heart of Tom’s message is one extraordinary line: “He delivered me because he delighted in me.” Before we are parish leaders, pastors, staff members, or volunteers, we are beloved sons and daughters. We do not serve God simply from obligation. We serve from the confidence that He delights in us, and we want the people inside and outside our churches to discover that same truth.
Tom also reminds us that God “trains my hands for war.” The battles themselves can become part of our training. We learn by stepping into them, persevering when an idea does not work the first time, inviting others into leadership, and trusting that God can turn the challenges that once had us on the run into opportunities for victory.
And great triumphs often begin with little ones. One conversation. One invitation. One email. One decision to act differently when you return to your parish.
Tom closes with a vision we hope every parish leader will hold onto: Nativity may be a miracle, but God does not have only one miracle in His pocket. He is a God of abundance. What might it look like for people to look at your parish and see unmistakable evidence that God is alive and at work?
It is a fitting message as we look ahead to the 2027 Rebuilt Conference: Go Forward, May 3–4 at Church of the Nativity. The next step may feel bigger than you. That may be exactly why God is inviting you to take it with Him.
Looking Ahead: Rebuilt Conference 2027The Rebuilt Conference returns to Church of the Nativity May 3–4, 2027, with the theme Go Forward, inspired by Exodus 14.
This is a conference for parishes, by parishes, created to give pastors and parish leaders practical tools, encouragement, and the opportunity to learn alongside others who understand the realities of parish ministry. Get on the insiders list for our best pricing: rebuiltparish.com/conference
Come early on Sunday, May 2, to experience Mass at Nativity, tour the building, and see ministries in action before the conference begins.
Free Book ResourcesExplore Jesus, the Rich Young Man, and the Meaning of Life with a free first chapter and practical resources designed to help your whole parish reflect, discuss, and grow together. rebuiltparish.com/richyoungman
Key Talking Points- Reframing parish problems as battles to be faced with God
- Why God is bigger than empty pews, financial pressure, fear, and overwhelm
- Admitting when an enemy is “too mighty for me”
- Depending on God’s grace instead of our own strength
- “He delivered me because he delighted in me”
- Serving from our identity as beloved sons and daughters
- How God trains parish leaders through the battles they face
- Why pastors need to invite the gifts of lay leaders into the work
- Turning large goals into small, immediate triumphs
- Moving from a scarcity mentality to belief in God’s abundance
- Praying that your parish becomes a visible work of God
00:05 — What If the Challenge Is Where God Shows His Strength?
03:00 — The Challenges Parish Leaders Carry
04:50 — “I Love You, O Lord, My Strength”
06:50 — God Is Bigger Than Your Problems
08:39 — Calling Out to God When You Feel Overwhelmed
11:02 — Looking for God’s Hand in Your Work
13:01 — When the Enemy Is Too Mighty for You
15:12 — God Wants to Bring You Into a Broad Place
16:46 — “He Delivered Me Because He Delighted in Me”
18:56 — Serving as Beloved Sons and Daughters
20:35 — Receiving God’s Strength
22:31 — “He Trains My Hands for War”
24:54 — The Church Needs the Gifts of Lay Leaders
26:43 — Turning the Battle Around
28:43 — Great Triumphs God Gives
30:33 — Great Triumphs Begin With Little Triumphs
31:58 — Is Your Parish a Miracle?
32:38 — God Has More Than One Miracle
34:44 — A Prayer for the Battles Ahead
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