Religion teachers and catechists can feel overwhelmed by feelings of failure-failure for not teaching enough, not reaching enough kids, not making a big enough impact-and they rarely get to see the fruits of their labor. To the educators struggling with feelings of failure, hear this: just plant seeds.

Saint Paul once shared a message that will give hope to religious educators: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth" (1 Corinthians 3:6). Find comfort and peace in these words. Just plant seeds like Saint Paul and let God cultivate the growth. Find freedom in God's grace by focusing only on the effort and not the outcome. Let go and let God grow the faith in our children's hearts.

In this book the founder of TheReligionTeacher.com, Jared Dees, shares practical ideas for making a long-term impact on students by planting SEEDS: Stories, Emotion, Encounters, Discipline, and Sayings. These are the seeds teachers and catechists plant in the hearts and minds of their students to bear fruit years later. Just plant seeds and let God give the growth.