Recommended Texts For Evangelization and Parish Revitalization
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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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What can help children raised Catholic continue practicing the faith as adults?by Pierre-Alain Giffard on November 12, 2021 in Recommended Texts
According 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
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ARTICLE – An Example of a Missionary Parish: Phoenix First Assembly of Godby Pierre-Alain Giffard on November 4, 2021 in Recommended Texts
Tommy 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
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Symbols Help Us To Remember…And To Evangelize, by Patrick Sullivanby Pierre-Alain Giffard on October 23, 2021 in Recommended Texts
Just 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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