WELCOMING JOE NIEVES as Our Faith Formation Director: Helping Others to Grow in Fellowship and Encou

Joe Nieves has always been naturally curious, often spending time in nature to explore the woods with his brother or exploring the night sky. For this reason, working as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Air Force for the last 10 years has been a good fit for him. But Joe says this work wasn’t enough for his heart that’s focused on more. His career has revolved around asking questions, but he desires to ask different ones.

“At the end of the day, those questions were not big enough or fundamental enough for my curiosity,” Joe says. “There are such big questions having to do with why we’re here (faith provides an answer), where we’re going (hope provides an answer) and how best to live (love provides an answer). I think it’s a great adventure to wrestle with those questions and the greatest sadness to see so many people just going through the motions in their life, all the while wanting more. I’m excited to be in a vocation where I get to help others to grapple with these questions and to grow in faith, hope, and love.”

Joe joined St. Timothy as Faith Formation Director in August, settling down in our community after moving around with his wife, Erika, and three children. Erika and Joe met at a Bible study in campus ministry while attending Florida State University. Joe is transitioning his military career into the Reserves, where he’ll work with a search and rescue unit while serving here at St. Timothy.

“I’m excited that I get to continue to serve, but with this new position at St. Timothy, I’m better able to prioritize my faith and my family,” he says. “Erika and I wanted to ensure that our three kids — Josiah, Jacob, and Elizabeth — get to grow up without having frequent moves and that they’d be close to both their grandparents. I’m excited that they already love playing with the other kids they’ve met at St. Tim’s — in addition to loving the excellent donut options!”

For a long time, Joe has felt inspired by soldier saints the likes of St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Sebastian.

“I have a desire to walk in their footsteps,” he says.

In his role, Joe helps more than 700 students, parents, and teachers. He assists with faith formation for kindergarten through fifth-grade students, prepares families for Baptism, and organizes adult faith formation through family events, RCIA, and Confirmation.

“It involves selecting and evaluating curriculums, equipping and preparing volunteer teachers, and creating lessons and events for the children and their families,” Joe says. “Our team also creates newsletters for the families that are designed to help them to live out the Catholic faith in their daily family life. All these actions serve to help prepare children and adults to receive the sacraments. All in all, we try to help our parishioners to know what we believe as Catholics, how we worship as Catholics, how we live as Catholics, and finally how we pray as Catholics.” Joe hopes to provide people with an encounter with the Church as a welcoming, joyful place. Similar to the Gospel about the man who finds a pearl of great price, Joe says he desires to help people discover the faith as something valuable and important.

“Our faith in Christ has a power that can transform our ordinary lives, giving them greater meaning and direction,” he says. “I hope to do my part to help others find fellowship at the church and, above all, to help them encounter Christ — the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

Joe wants to share with the parish community that he is available as a resource for us, ready to serve.

“I loved doing active-duty military service because it was fundamentally about serving others,” he says. “I’ve enjoyed this position because I’m continuing to serve, but simply meeting different and even more important needs. Those who have worked with me know that I’m a goofball and that I always try to put people first above tasks and processes. I love sharing all that I am and have with my wife, Erika, acting like a child with my three children, running, traveling, stargazing, reading, and enjoying rum and brandy while hanging outside in my hammock. Through it all, a Bible is usually close at hand ever since reading it changed my life at 17 years of age.”

Joe Nieves joined our parish as Faith Formation Director in August, settling down to our community after moving around with his wife, Erika, and three children.

“I’m excited that I get to continue to serve, but with this new position at St. Timothy I’m better able to prioritize my faith and my family,” Joe says.