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Forming Missionary Disciples

“Transmitting the faith means to create in every place and time the conditions which lead to this encounter between the person and Jesus Christ. The goal of all evangelization is to create the possibility for this encounter, which is, at one and the same time, intimate, personal, public and communal.”
-2012 Instrumentum Laboris 20

Video: What Should Parish Evangelization Look Like?

Slides from this presentation

Whenever a person has a life-changing encounter with Jesus, we know that it is Jesus himself who has initiated this event. The task of the missionary disciple is not to make this encounter happen. We can trust Jesus to take care of that. Instead, our job is to “create conditions” that dispose a person to this encounter.

To create the conditions that are favorable someone to meeting the Lord, we must understand what each person needs in order to open their heart to God. In general, people need love, trust, time, encouragement and respect for their freedom. In addition, each individual is at a different stage in their spiritual journey and will respond differently depending on where they are spiritually. For example, a person who is just beginning to ask the question of God’s existence may need something different from us than the person who has met Christ and is already beginning to follow him.

Guide: Starting Evangelization Ministry in Your Parish

Guide: What’s the Difference? Converting Our Mindset from Maintenance to Mission

Guide: Maintaining the Mission Mindset at Your Parish Meetings

The Path of Discipleship

It is important for all missionary disciples to know the general “shape” of the path of discipleship in order to better understand each person, where they are “at” spiritually, and what they need in order to be disposed to the grace of God. Here are some great metaphors that great Catholic people are using to talk about the path of becoming an intentional disciple of Jesus Christ:

Parish-Based Evangelization Ministries

Below are some of the Church’s most effective ministries for making missionary disciples in a parish. To find a parish in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia running one of these ministries, send us an email at phillyevang@archphila.org.

Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO)
CCO works with parishes to help them launch spiritual multiplication in the parish through small groups and one-on-one accompaniment. The CCO process centers on the CCO Faith Study Series, which has been designed to proclaim the Gospel, equip the faithful and commission them to become missionary disciples. Parishes can work with CCO on a formal coaching contract or use the Faith Study Series without coaching. Learn about CCO in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Catholic Missionary Disciples
This organization partners with a parish to coach them through the implementation of a strategic plan to launch a sustain a missionary discipleship movement. A partnership involves small group coaching for parish staff and leaders as well as one-on-on mentoring for individual leaders. 

ChristLife
This three-part evangelization process leads people to encounter Jesus (Discovering Christ), follow him (Following Christ), and learn to share him with others (Sharing Christ). It is designed to lead people through the stages of discipleship through DVD-based teaching, a meal, and building strong community bonds. Learn more about ChristLife in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Communio
Communio is a nonprofit that consults with parishes to use 21st century data tools and best practices to reach out by offering relationship health ministry to strengthen marriages and families in their community. It is especially designed to help parishes reach inactive Catholics and the religiously unaffiliated, along with their own active parishioners.  

Evangelical Catholic
Evangelical Catholic’s ReachMore assists parishes in forming intentional disciples by training leaders and equipping them for apostolic mission in the world and in the Church. Leaders are trained in the foundational habits of personal prayer, sacramental life, connection to community and the skills for mission to others.  A ReachMore contract offers parishes personalized coaching throughout the process of implementation. Learn more about EC in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

  • 10:10 Challenge: Also offered by Evangelical Catholic, the 10:10 Challenge is a discipleship formation process suitable for individuals or a small group of up to 4 people. The group meets for 10 weeks in order to instill habits like personal prayer, immersion in God’s work, the sacramental life and other foundational habits for a Jesus-centered life. 

FOCUS Parish
FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) has been one of the most fruitful disciple-maker ministries on college campuses in the world. FOCUS Parish is a new initiative which takes FOCUS’ model of spiritual multiplication from the campus to the parish. See the links below to find free resources for forming and training missionary disciples in your community.

Discipleship Quads – Franciscan University of Steubenville
A Discipleship Quad is a group of four people who journey together as disciples through weekly gatherings of fellowship, ongoing conversion, and learning. This 12-month path of accompaniment fosters growth through prayer, accountability, and authentic relationships. This method of discipleship can be launched in almost any setting, within a parish or as a personal ministry. The website provides online training for coordinators and small group materials at no cost.

Metanoia, from The Ministry of the Wild Goose
This 10-part series featuring Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, President of Franciscan University and founder of The Ministry of the Wild Goose, leads us on a journey with Christ into conversion. Each of the episodes explores areas of our life where conversion is so often necessary. Metanoia will examine topics such as who is Jesus, what must we do to inherit eternal life, and many other significant matters of faith. With preaching from Fr. Dave as well as personal testimonies from men and women, young and old, religious and lay, their stories will inspire you to seek to encounter Jesus and the new life he is constantly inviting us to.

Practical Kerygma
Practical Kerygma is a Catholic apostolate located in the Diocese of Lansing. Their mission is  “to authentically proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to holistically form ministers who will foster a healthier church.” They offer parish missions, retreats and formation series aimed a conversation through the proclamation of the kerygma, the core message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  

The Rescue Project
This is a 9-part series presented by Fr. John Riccardo of the Acts XXIX apostolate, which communicates the core message of the Gospel (the kerygma). The videos and guides for facilitators and participants are available for free on the website. The series is also available in Spanish (dubbed).  

The Search – on Formed.org
The Search is a 7-part Augustine Institute Original Series with the goal of lighting that first fire in those who don’t yet know the faith or reigniting the fire in those who need a primer on the foundational questions: Who am I? What am I searching for? What’s our shared story? Who is Jesus? Why do we need a Church? Is there a God? This series is an excellent tool that will help you lead others into a personal encounter with Jesus Christ and to invite them to make a decision for Him.  

Training Programs for Parishes and Teams

These programs are designed to form and equip active Catholics in the fundamentals of missionary discipleship.  You can also use the ministries above to form and train your leaders. 

Catherine of Siena Institute
The Catherine of Siena Institute, co-founded by Sherry Weddell, is dedicated to equipping parishes for the evangelization and formation of lay Catholics for the sake of their mission to the world. They offer numerous resources for formation and training in evangelization, including: Ananias Training on intentional accompaniment, Called and Gifted for spiritual gifts discernment, book studies on Forming Intentional Disciples and more. Visit siena.org/what-we-offer for details. 

Evangelical Catholic
Evangelical Catholic’s ReachMore assists parishes in forming intentional disciples by training leaders and equipping them for apostolic mission in the world and in the Church. Leaders are trained in the foundational habits of personal prayer, sacramental life, connection to community and the skills for mission to others.  A ReachMore contract offers parishes personalized coaching throughout the process of implementation.

  • 10:10 Challenge: Also offered by Evangelical Catholic, the 10:10 Challenge is a discipleship formation process suitable for individuals or a small group of up to 4 people. The group meets for 10 weeks in order to instill habits like personal prayer, immersion in God’s work, the sacramental life and other foundational habits for a Jesus-centered life. 

FOCUS Training Resources
The Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) has made many of their training materials and evangelizing Bible studies available for free online.  

Ignite: Introduction to the New Evangelization Presentations 
This presentation offers an introduction to the principles of evangelization for ministry leaders who serve in parishes. Its goal is to help infuse the mission of evangelization into every ministry of the parish.  Staff of the Office for the New Evangelization can offer this workshop in English or Spanish. 

Institute for Ministry Formation, St. Vincent’s Seminary, Latrobe, PA
The Institute for Ministry Formation (IMF) is an extension of Saint Vincent Seminary’s commitment to the formation and education of priests, laity, and religious. The Christian life is about service, and service is ministry! Using new technology and traditional methods for learning and gathering, the IMF gathers this community, grows and supports their faith, and helps guide their response to God’s call by forming their hearts and minds. 

Metanoia Institute, from Faith and Family Life Catholic Ministries
The new Directory for Catechesis is calling us to reform our model of faith formation, moving away from the classroom model and moving toward the catechumenal model.  Mysterion is designed to lead small cohorts of parish leaders through a personal experience of the catechumenal process, equipping them with an experience-based understanding of how to offer their faith formation ministries in a new way.  With a mix of in-person and virtual experiences, we hope for this to be accessible to many teams who would like to discover a new way forward. 

Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate
Community of contemplative-missionary sisters whose primary apostolate is outreach to inactive Catholics, especially through door-to-door visitation.   The Archdiocese of Philadelphia rejoices to have a convent of Parish Visitor sisters in Clifton Heights, PA.  The PVMI door-to-door manual and some audio CDs are available for purchase. For more information, visit their website. 

Relit: The Heart of Evangelization
Dynamic training program consisting of 18 DVD-based sessions that forms and equips your core faithful theologically, spiritually, and practically so that they can be active evangelists in their own parish and beyond.

ReviveParishes Ministry Training
Revive Parishes provides online ministry training for parish leaders taught by the best and most experienced Catholic ministry practitioners in the country.  There is no cost to use the Revive platform.  Recommended courses: Missionary Discipleship with Julianne Stanz, Everyday Apostles with Ryan O’Hara and Parish Renewal with Tim Glemkowski. For more information and to sign up for courses, visit reviveparishes.com.

Schools of Missionary Discipleship
This is a 10-session in person training course offered by the Office for the New Evangelization. The purpose of these schools is two-fold: to be formed more deeply in your friendship with Jesus Christ (discipleship) and to be equipped with the skills for helping others come to encounter Jesus’ great love for them (mission). For course topics and current schedule, visit phillyevang.org/schools.

St. Paul School of Evangelization 
The St. Paul School of Evangelization is the educational arm of St. Paul Street Evangelization dedicated to training, equipping, and mobilizing Catholic disciples for the urgent work of evangelization. Training is available in person or online. 

How to Lead a Transformative Small Group
A powerful part of all fruitful evangelization is to offer people an experience of a small group. In a small group, friendships are formed, faith is strengthened, and new insights emerge. Whether you are running small groups for ChristLife, Evangelical Catholic, CCO, a FOCUS Bible Study or an adult faith formation program, the small group discussion is a pivotal part of helping a person moving into a deeper encounter with Jesus. Since small groups are so important for spiritual growth, it’s important that we run them well and create a life-giving experience for participants. Here are some great resources that offer tips on how to effectively facilitate a small group experience: 

One-Time Evangelizing Events

Below are listed one-time events for parishes designed to inspire the faith of practicing Catholics as well as reach out to inactive Catholics and the religiously unaffiliated. Most of these organizations offer a plan for post-event follow-up with attendees to help them keep the fire burning and grow in their discipleship.  

Addressing Spiritual Roadblocks

Unbound Ministry
All of us carry within our hearts “stuff” from the past that, as we follow Christ, will begin to surface. The Lord wants our whole heart and so he will ask us at times to face the things in our hearts that prevent us from belonging fully to him. To ensure that these moments in the spiritual journey become stepping stones instead of roadblocks, it is important for all disciples to know how to make a response to the grace of conversion that Christ is offering us.

The primary fuel of interior transformation is found in the sacraments, spiritual direction, and a regular prayer life. In addition, prayer ministries such as the Unbound Deliverance Ministry can be a very effective help in breaking through our interior roadblocks into deeper freedom in Christ. The Five Keys of the Unbound model of deliverance help a person to make deliberate acts of faith, repentance, forgiveness and renunciation around the area where they are stuck in order to allow the power of the Gospel to break into their areas of darkness and lead them ever forward into the Father’s love. Without this key piece, would-be disciples of the Lord risk getting stuck along the journey. To learn more about Unbound, click here.