To quote the Grateful Dead, “What a long, strange trip it has been!”
Ten years ago, we were faced with a decision: Should we (then, Lighthouse Catholic Media) merge completely with the Augustine Institute? Or, do we merely give all of the outward-facing aspects of our apostolate to the AI and fan the embers into a (hopefully) smokin’ hot furnace that could help all sorts of apostolates spread the fire of the Holy Spirit?
Gripping our knuckles (Elliot’s are still rather white), we battened down the hatches and Duc et altum’ed. On November 19, 2015, with the unreasonable confidence of a ruddy youth (and a rather small amount of useful knowledge to back up that confidence), I exclaimed, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” We signed the paperwork that charted our course… Miles began furiously bailing as we left the pier in a dinghy cobbled together with Jacob’s incessant optimism and the remainder of Jesse Ray’s hair. The first couple of years were marked by many very serious challenges. We needed to transition from an in-house team to a service provider. We had to win clients, learn their needs, promote our offerings, establish fair and competitive pricing, send out bills, collect payments, rinse, and repeat... Our trust in our team’s talent was not good enough; we had to prove it to others. Comfortable and informal internal dialogue had to give way to professional communication that instilled confidence.
We soon recognized that we needed to grow significantly to be a viable fulfillment center. Given the long relationship with Ignatius Press, the goal was to take on all their warehousing and shipping needs (along with Magnificat). But to do so, we had to convince IP that we had the ability—both the skill and the physical space. So, we needed a new building… which we couldn’t afford… But, by the grace of God, IP agreed to pay for our current building and for us to reimburse them for its use.
As to convincing IP and Magnificat that we had the requisite skill to take on all this new work… well, they trusted that we would learn as we went along. It was a long and painful process, but through the incredible dedication of Jesse Ray, Greg Farrell, and many others—and through the bountiful mercy of God—we kept getting better.
We took possession of our current building (in its initial form) in December 2017, and we onboarded IP and Magnificat a few months later in the spring of 2018. Then came many more Fulfillment clients (notably Catholic Answers and Walking With Purpose). A mere two years later, we needed to expand the warehouse. This was completed in the summer of 2021. In March 2022, we upgraded operations to include state-of-the-art automation.
Our Tech team has weathered constant inconstancy. We have evolved from a builder of custom eCommerce sites, to a consultant for organizations’ systems, to the builder of apps (most notably Annunciate). Getting our start working solely for the Augustine Institute, we expanded to serving many clients across the breadth of Catholic apostolates. As tech needs have changed drastically, we have gone from a large team to a medium team to a larger team to a smaller team to… who knows what is next (Jacob will spend no time in purgatory).
Miles and Elliot have navigated us through the change of having three very separate offerings (“Stones”)—Marketing, Design, and Technology—to acting as a fully integrated Agency. They brought on Project Managers at a time when we (especially me) were concerned that our clients would refuse to pay for this service… One of the genius moves by them! Guided by Jason, the team has experienced the joys of implementing two separate time capture systems and incorporating them into our billing system. We have served massive movements and tiny teams. We have prayed for all… and cried alongside some. We have written off bills that clients felt that they could not afford. We have kept the faith. We will finish the race.
Customer service has been a rock in stormy seas under Colleen. Only once did we face the potential of capsizing when the Augustine Institute considered taking everything in-house. Colleen and her team quickly convinced them, however, that we were—by far—their best option. And now they serve a growing list of clients who know and cherish the unmatched value they bring.
What can you say about Accounting? Truly the glue that holds things together, and currently a seemingly calm, unworried bunch. But it was not always so. In the transition phase, Greg often worked more hours in a day than many work in a week. We pushed money back and forth between AI and us… and back and forth… and back and forth… until a couple of years later, we were convinced that all the revenue and bills were in the proper hands. Kevin and his team have brought us monthly financial records closure, accurate P/Ls, and timely audits—feats never accomplished previously.
We don’t talk about Bruno ... I mean Cedar House (formerly known as St. Joseph Communications). Yep, it was a not so well-kept secret that we actually had six stones. We were once a purveyor of fine religious odds and sods. It made one of our earliest employees, Steven Duran, flee to Florida, created a nervous tick in most of our accountants, and nearly sank us financially… Ok, that is a bit overstated. It was a great blessing in many ways and truly a labor of love. And, if nothing else, it gave Alex Opfer the playground he needed to share his sneaky humor and creative genius. But, in the end, we have learned to stick to that for which we are called and gifted.
As I reflect on the past decade, I am reminded of one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride. As the three heroes, Inigo, Fessik, and Westly (then fully paralyzed, having recently been “mostly dead” but having just ingested a “miracle pill”), head off to storm the castle. Miracle Max’s wife asks him, “Do you think it will work?” He replies, “It would take a miracle.”
Ten years ago, the same could have been said for the likelihood of success for 5 Stones. And yet, the rest, as they say, is history.
President
