Synod of Bishops Undersecretary Nathalie Becquart said, “Synodality begins with coffee.” Indeed, a conversation over coffee can be a humble way to listen to people’s experiences with the Church. And this is especially true for the disaffiliated, as they rarely attend church events and are unlikely to participate in a
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“Success is nothing more than a few disciplines practiced every day”, said Jim Rohn, an entrepreneur and personal development coach. In the context of our parishes, a question arises: What pastoral disciplines should we practice to make disciples? 1 – Prayer A strong spiritual foundation is necessary for parishes to
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Missional here, missional there — the word seems to be everywhere these days. But where should it actually be used? Well, in at least two places: missional disciples and missional parishes. The Church is missional by nature, which is why parishes should work to assume their identity and become more
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The western world has a large number of Christians who do not openly share their faith with others. This act is perceived by many as proselytizing, making them unwilling to evangelize. Yet the mission of the Church is to proclaim the Gospel. Christ himself was sent by the Father “to
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The following discussion and self-assessment questions come from the book, Signs of Life: Catholic, Mainline, and Conservative Protestant Congregations in Canada. (Authored by Bill McAlpine, Joel Thiessen, Keith Walker, and Arch Chee Keen Wong) How central is evangelization in your congregation? Do you teach and preach on this topic? How
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A missional Church is necessarily a praying Church. Why is this? It is because the Holy Spirit is the main agent of our salvation. Prayer prepares the hearts of people to believe in Christ when they hear or read the word of God. Their conversion is the result of God’s
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Did you know that there exists a method for praying at all times? It is called the Jesus Prayer and involves invoking the Name of Jesus as frequently as possible with the following formula, “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” This formula is based
Continue readingAccording to The Pillar Survey on Religious Attitudes and Practices, there are factors that can help predict whether children raised Catholic continue practicing the faith as adults. These factors are the following: Attending Catholic school Going to Mass weekly with the family Saying grace Living with parents who are married
Continue readingTommy Barnett was the senior pastor of Phoenix First Assembly of God in Arizona. His church was referred to as “The Church with a Heart” because of its more than 260 outreach ministries. Over the years and through its missionary efforts, it has experienced remarkable growth. Barnett says the growth
Continue readingJust the other night, I had the pleasure of once again sitting down to one of life’s greatest pleasures, that, of course, being the reading of theology. And through the various musings put forward by the author, some of which were dry of course, one obvious and exciting truth in
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