Living as Missionary Disciples

The immediate inspiration for this resource is found in Pope Francis’s repeated calls to move our church, parish, and ministry strategies from a mindset of maintenance to mission . In the words of the Holy Father: I hope that all communities will devote the necessary effort to advancing along the path of a pastoral and missionary conversion which cannot leave things as they presently are. “Mere adminis tration” can no longer be enough. Throughout the world, let us be “permanently in a state of mission.” 2 This missionary vision cannot be accomplished without shared effort by the whole church community. As Pope Francis told us during his apostolic journey to the United States in 2015, “[O]ur challenge today is . . . to foster a sense of collaboration and shared responsibility in planning for the future of our parishes and institutions.” 3 Shared discernment and planning, rooted in prayer, marks the beginning of a fruitful effort at evangeliza tion. It also requires time, energy, knowledge, skills, careful planning, and implementation—all with the Lord’s grace, of course! The focus must be outward directed, not on the parish as it is, but on how the parish or faith community can better and more fruitfully lead, minister, and engage people in the call to witness and discipleship. In his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium , Pope Francis speaks of the need to move beyond an internal or self-directed focus: Even if many are now involved in lay ministries, this involvement is not reflected in a greater penetration of Christian values in the social, political and economic sectors. It often remains tied to tasks within the Church, without a real commitment to applying the Gospel to the transformation of society. The formation of the laity and the evangelization of professional and intellectual life represent a signifi cant pastoral challenge. 4 One way to ensure that our parishes are true communities of evange lization, focused on preparing Christians for discipleship, is for the whole parish to undertake a process of discernment to evaluate current pastoral ministry and outreach programs. What Pope Francis says about dioceses can also be applied to parishes; namely, that “to make this missionary impulse ever more focused, generous and fruitful, I encourage each particu-

2