Our Beginnings

Branches Catholic Ministries (BCM), a non-profit organization, began the first branch of its mission in November 2010 with the opening of Branches Catholic Books & Gifts, located in the Niagara Peninsula. Simply stated, BCM is a passionately Catholic lay apostolate largely organized by volunteers whose purpose it is to evangelize the beauty and truth of the Catholic faith in ways that respond to the call for the New Evangelization. Any profits made by BCM are directed towards our evangelization efforts and/or designated Registered Charities as disclosed below.

In helping to “bring Catholic faith to modern culture,” we are continually seeking ways to engage and reach out to those who are interested in learning more, those who have grown lukewarm, and those who have fallen away from the Catholic Church.

Our Bookstore

When designing our bookstore, BCM has created an atmosphere that is warm, inviting and contemporary…a “destination place” where not only great resources can be found but also where faith is learned and shared. With an adjoining coffeehouse, Branches Catholic Books and Gifts has become a unique “hub” for our diocese.

The coffeehouse known as Grounds of Hope is another branch of BCM. Also operated as a not-for-profit, this is the arm of the organization that ‘puts our Catholic faith into action’ by donating profits to two local charities who provide relief to poverty stricken under-developed countries around the world (for more details, please follow the links to Wells of Hope International Development Inc. and Niagara Warehouse of Hope).

Our Evolution

As Branches Catholic Ministries has continued to evolve and grow, we have learned that the ways in which we need to reach out to our community need to be relevant and fresh. For this reason, the number of branches or ministries under our organization has also been expanding. Branches Media Productions (BMP) is being developed to assist parishes with website development and social media as we have come to learn that many churches struggle and lag behind in using these tools to evangelize.

Raising Little Saints is another ministry under BCM which offers a great selection of age-appropriate titles and teaching resources that will form children and youth in their beautiful Catholic faith and is devoted to getting these resources into our schools and churches through its’ unique sponsorship program. Our Prayer ministry will soon be underway with a Prayer Wall inviting those who need prayer to leave their requests (with anonymity) on the wall in order that our prayer teams can collectively and individually pray for them.

Our Mission

Our mission can only be accomplished through Our Lord Jesus Christ and our faithful response to His Great Commission…”go and make disciples of all nations”.  Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches” (John 15:5).  We ask for your prayers that our branches may bear much good fruit as we seek to discern God’s divine will and faithfully follow Him.