Oklahoma’s Catholic Men’s Conference, In The Father’s Footsteps, has been blessed to achieve sell-out status nearly every year for the past decade. We’ve had an uninterrupted history of annual conferences dating back to 1996, including a hybrid in-person and online event at the height of the pandemic. Today, we’re excited to announce that the 2025 conference will be held at the Oklahoma City Convention Center, right in the heart of downtown. This site offers a significant capacity upgrade – and we look forward to the challenge of growing into the space. The great news for you and the men you’ve prayed will join you – your sons, brothers, fathers, friends, and neighbors – is that we WILL have room. Thank you for your generous and faithful support, which has brought us to this point.
The only thing bigger than our new home is the lineup we’ve assembled for 2025! We welcome back Sr. Mary Michael Fox, one of our most popular and talked-about speakers ever. Diminutive in stature but a giant when she commands the stage, Sister combines humor, frankness, and gentility as she encourages us to be courageous in our pursuit of truth, to be saints or die trying. A member of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia in Nashville, Tenn., Sr. Mary Michael remains our only female speaker, but, having grown up with several brothers, Sister understands the ways of men and the need for us to call upon the Holy Spirit for the courage to say the hard things.
Joining Sister are returning speaker Paul George and newcomers Ennie Hickman and Tim Carney.
- Paul George holds an undergraduate degree in Education and a Master’s in Theological studies. He has spoken to over 2 million people worldwide and is the celebrated author of Rethink Happiness and Holy Grit: Living the Life for Which God Created Us.
- Tim Carney is the senior columnist for the Washington Examiner and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, having trained under legendary columnist Robert Novak. Tim is the award-winning author of Family Unfriendly and Alienated America.
- Ennie Hickman is a missionary, speaker, author, and non-profit leader who has worked extensively with the outcast and forgotten. In 2019, Ennie and wife Cana founded Del Rey Collective, to empower and encourage individuals and families to live on mission in the ordinary and everyday life of home and neighborhood – following Christ’s command “to love your (actual) neighbor.”
Ready for more? In a few weeks, we’ll launch our wholly revised flagship website at catholicmen.net and an all-new conference registration system. Shiny, streamlined, and up-to-date, our goal is to serve you better through timely and relevant information while offering long-time and new attendees the opportunity to learn more about the speakers who have offered their testimony over the years.
We look forward to getting with you again soon when the new site launches and registration is officially open. For now, we ask that you:
- SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, March 8, 2025
- Pray for the speakers, the conference team, and the men called to join us
- Spread the word! Your personal invitation is key!
In closing, we give thanks for all of the blessings this conference has brought to our lives and those of countless men. We are humbled to serve you and strengthened by your prayers and encouragement. This year’s conference theme is Give Us This Day, drawn from John’s Gospel message, “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” Through Christ, everything is possible!
Peace,
Ray Haefele, Conference Chair
Joe Elbow, Conference Marketing Director