Missionary parishes exists for the purpose of evangelization and have 4 main characteristics:
A focus on love and service: By loving and serving their communities and surroundings with the hands of Christ, parishioners manifest the merciful heart of God and make their parish a light to the world and a welcoming place worthy of the Gospel.
A clear awareness of their mission: Parishioners of missionary parishes realize their mission entails not only becoming holy and serving those in need, but, just as importantly, evangelizing and participating in the development of their parish.
A reliance on the Holy Spirit: “Without me,” says Jesus, “you can do nothing”. Missionary parishes give great importance to prayer, faith and spiritual growth.
A process for making disciples: One of the most overlooked, yet crucial aspects of missionary parishes is the process they establish to make disciples of Jesus Christ from unchurched people. This process is the golden thread that links the various parish ministries together to lead the evangelized to the sacraments of Christian initiation, to spiritual maturity and to mission.
In this sense, four terms summarize well the characteristics of missionary parishes: love, purpose, power, and process. Their vision is to become evangelizing communities that proclaim Jesus Christ as God and Savior and encourage men and women to become His disciples and responsible members of his Church. They constatntly strive to connect with those who do not follow Christ, to love them, to serve them, to welcome them into the Church and to lead them to become missionary disciples.
Pierre-Alain Giffard
Other articles:
- What is a Missionary Parish?
- 19 Pastoral Orientations for Parish Renewal and Growth
- The Missionary Renewal of Catechesis
- Characteristics of Missionary Parishes
- Powerful healing prayer attributed to St. Padre Pio
- We are called to share our faith with others
- Should we Seek to Grow the Church?
- Find a Need and Fill It – Revealing God’s Heart in the Community
- 15 Habits to Evangelize on a Daily Basis
- The Church’s Mission
- Three Barriers to Building An Invitational Culture In Your Parish
- The Relational Evangelizer
- Doing Church at Home
- The Blind Girl
- A Group of Frogs
- The Elephant Rope
- A Shared Faith is a Growing Faith
- In The Shoes Of The Unchurched
- Parish Evangelizing Cells
- Six Unique Features of Missional Parishes
- Steps Towards Becoming A Missional Parish
- What Is Evangelization, And How Should It Be Carried Out?
- Discussion And Self-Assessment Questions For Parish Evangelization
- A Missional Church Is A Church That Prays
- The Jesus Prayer: A Method To Pray At All Times
- What can help children raised Catholic continue practicing the faith as adults?
- An Example of a Missionary Parish: Phoenix First Assembly of God
- Satan’s Tactics
- Learning to Be a Missionary
- When we cry out to God, he answers
- Presence and Proclamation
- Saving those who are lost
- Saint-Nazaire Parish: The story of a missionary transformation
- Small Groups and Evangelization
- Evangelizing By Inviting People To Receive Jesus As Lord And Saviour
- You Will Receive Power…
- Have You Heard About the Law of Three Hearings and Seven Touches?
- Three Habits of a Fruitful Christian Life
