As a missionary, you will be tasked with living a life that is fully alive, while witnessing to the joy and truth of the Gospel. You will be building relationships both in our PSR community as well as with the retreatants and parishes you serve.

Living as a missionary at PSR is about living the New Evangelization in the daily tasks of retreat ministry. It is about connecting youth and families to Christ and his Church, through retreat facilitation, high adventure activities, and Christian hospitality; witnessing to a life lived in, with, and through Jesus Christ.

Our missionaries strive to inspire and serve all who enter through the gates by their joy, generosity, and fun.

Jesus is our model, therefore, our missionaries’ first task is to offer their very selves in service to youth and families. We ask our missionaries to be open and zealous, pursuing at all times the salvation of souls.

Every morning begins in prayer with the team, where we offer our day to the Lord. After prayer the day can take a missionary along many different paths, so your availability and flexibility are crucial elements of success. There are duties for all temperaments at PSR and we work to place every missionary with tasks and responsibilities that bring them success and joy.

A common thread throughout all their daily tasks is the fun that our team inspires. Here is a shortlist of responsibilities that our missionaries infuse with joy:
Christian hospitality

• Guest services

• Retreat group coordination

• Outdoor education

• Horseback riding

• Garden care

• Chapel care

• Curriculum development

• Parish networking

• Ongoing faith formation

• Retreat facilitation

• Challenge course facilitation

• Office management

• Facility improvement projects

• Adventure hikes and tours

• Retreat planning

• Social media and marketing

• Website development

• Photography and video

• Post-retreat cleanup

• Fervor for sharing the Gospel in the details of everyday life

• Practicing Catholic in good standing with the Church

• A love and desire to draw closer to Jesus Christ

• An undergraduate degree

• Participation in high adventure activities

• Living in an intentional Catholic community

While no day or week is quite like the next, and each season at the Ranch has its own rhythm, there are several uniting certainties in our schedule here at Prairie Star:

• As hourly employees, missionaries work between 37.5–40 hours a week and are compensated for any overtime.

• Some weeks, missionaries work a standard 8:30–5 pm five-day work week, and some weeks missionaries work fewer and longer days with youth on retreat. Some weeks are a mix of ‘regular hour days’ and unique hours related to the scheduled retreat at hand. 

• We strive, no matter the week, to give our missionaries a good work/life balance that enables them to have time for rest and personal prayer in order to give themselves as fully as possible to the mission during working hours.

• This position requires some evening and weekend work, or weekends spent ‘on call’ for the retreat group on property.

• Missionaries are eligible for vacation and sick time comparable to other Archdiocesan employees.

• Missionaries share a private and fully furnished house on the Ranch property, making the Ranch’s nearly 300 acres the coolest backyard ever.

• Missionaries share a residential, duplex-style home called the St. Peter’s Gatehouse. Both sides of the Gatehouse are complete with their own kitchen, living room, bathroom(s), laundry room, and a private bedroom for each missionary.

• While all furniture and standard kitchen items are provided, missionaries are encouraged to bring their own bedding, decorations, small kitchen appliances, etc. that will make their space feel like home.

• Retreat Team Missionaries serve as full-time Archdiocesan employees, which means that, unlike most missionary programs, our missionaries have the opportunity to stay on for as long as they feel called and are able to carry out the duties of the position. 

• Missionaries typically start in mid-to-late July for two weeks of training.

• For the integrity of our ministry we ask that missionaries intend to stay on through May.

• We strive to maintain a team of four missionaries living and working on property at all times, with one missionary acting as the Retreat Coordinator and the other three missionaries composing the rest of the Retreat Team.

• Every summer Prairie Star Ranch serves as the home of Camp Tekakwitha, a high adventure Catholic summer camp for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. From late May until early August, thousands of campers and their families come through our gates and have a deep and personal encounter with Christ and His Church.

• Retreat Team Members do not serve as a part of the Camp Tekakwitha staff; however, they work in close relationship with the Camp leadership and staff to ensure that Prairie Star Ranch is providing the highest level of service. During these two months, our missionaries prepare for the upcoming retreat season and work with Camp on projects and activities.