The Family Room (The Quest)
Join co-hosts Mari Cleveland from St. Jude the Apostle and John Gordon and Craig Wesemeyer from St. Peter Chanel as they speak with authors, theologians, and local priests and lay leaders to provide your family encouragement, resources, and hope. Enjoy heartfelt stories and engaging conversations with Catholics who are excited to share their life experiences and acquired wisdom to help your family continue to live out your faith with joy.
Mar 26, 2025
Living God’s Plan for Your Family
Kathleen Conklin, educator, innovator, and mom
Kathleen Conklin always had an apostolic heart and felt called to mission when she was still a young mom. With a degree in Education, she searched for an organization where she could use her skills as an educator as well as find support for her young family. She started a preschool as well as a business, but felt something was missing. After hearing of a new initiative starting up in Texas, Kathleen and her husband made the huge leap of faith and moved their family from Michigan, first with Catholic Kids Net and eventually launching Kids for Jesus (K4J) which ran for 20 years and reached tens of thousands of families across North America.
Motivated by this success and a yearning to see Catholic families thrive, Kathleen and her team have developed First Fruits, whose vision is for communities of young families to live a dynamic Catholic life and support one another. First Fruits has been set up as a two-year program of faith building with small groups meeting six times yearly in order to learn the twelve Guiding Principles which will become the guideposts to help their families grow in virtue. We can no longer give our children a set of rules and expect them to obey and thrive. The internet has leveled the playing field and with First Fruits, each family uncovers the unique story God is writing for their family and discovers the joy of living God’s plan for their lives.
Kathleen Conklin grew up in a Catholic family with five sisters, meeting her non-Catholic husband, Don, at a red light. He was smitten enough to begin attending Mass with her every week and within six months they were married. Within 13 months they had their first child and are now parents of 7 children and 13 grandchildren, having just celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary! Their oldest child, Ronald, is a priest with the Legionaries of Christ.
Resources:
Kathleen Conklin always had an apostolic heart and felt called to mission when she was still a young mom. With a degree in Education, she searched for an organization where she could use her skills as an educator as well as find support for her young family. She started a preschool as well as a business, but felt something was missing. After hearing of a new initiative starting up in Texas, Kathleen and her husband made the huge leap of faith and moved their family from Michigan, first with Catholic Kids Net and eventually launching Kids for Jesus (K4J) which ran for 20 years and reached tens of thousands of families across North America.
Motivated by this success and a yearning to see Catholic families thrive, Kathleen and her team have developed First Fruits, whose vision is for communities of young families to live a dynamic Catholic life and support one another. First Fruits has been set up as a two-year program of faith building with small groups meeting six times yearly in order to learn the twelve Guiding Principles which will become the guideposts to help their families grow in virtue. We can no longer give our children a set of rules and expect them to obey and thrive. The internet has leveled the playing field and with First Fruits, each family uncovers the unique story God is writing for their family and discovers the joy of living God’s plan for their lives.
Kathleen Conklin grew up in a Catholic family with five sisters, meeting her non-Catholic husband, Don, at a red light. He was smitten enough to begin attending Mass with her every week and within six months they were married. Within 13 months they had their first child and are now parents of 7 children and 13 grandchildren, having just celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary! Their oldest child, Ronald, is a priest with the Legionaries of Christ.
Resources:
