Recommended Texts For Evangelization and Parish Revitalization
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ARTICLE – A shared faith is a growing faithby Pierre-Alain Giffard on May 27, 2022 in Recommended Texts
The word of God tells us that as workers and friends of God, we should help people taste the goodness of the Lord through our life (Psalm 34:8), and be prepared to give an answer, with gentleness and respect, to everyone who asks us to give the reason for the
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ARTICLE – In The Shoes Of The Unchurchedby Pierre-Alain Giffard on April 6, 2022 in Recommended Texts
One important feature of missional parishes is that they put themselves in the shoes of those who do not go to church. They endeavour to create a deep and meaningful connection between the Church and the people God wants to reach. Now in order for ourselves to better understand the
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ARTICLE – Parish Evangelizing Cellsby Pierre-Alain Giffard on March 27, 2022 in Recommended Texts
One of the most effective ways of evangelizing and growing in intimacy with our Lord Jesus Christ is by being part of a small group of people who fellowship with one another, pray together, reflect on Scripture and evangelize on a regular basis. This is the principle underlying the growth
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Coffee, Conversation, and Synodalityby Pierre-Alain Giffard on February 24, 2022 in Recommended Texts
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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ARTICLE – Six Unique Features of Missional Parishesby Pierre-Alain Giffard on February 4, 2022 in Recommended Texts
“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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ARTICLE – Steps Towards Becoming A Missional Parishby Pierre-Alain Giffard on January 22, 2022 in Recommended Texts
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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ARTICLE – What Is Evangelization, And How Should It Be Carried Out?
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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ARTICLE – Discussion And Self-Assessment Questions For Parish Evangelizationby Pierre-Alain Giffard on December 16, 2021 in Recommended Texts
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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ARTICLE – A Missional Church Is A Church That Praysby Pierre-Alain Giffard on December 13, 2021 in Recommended Texts
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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ARTICLE – The Jesus Prayer: A Method To Pray At All Times
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
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