This pandemic has become a dramatic moment in history, especially for the Church. We aren’t sure what parishes and our communities will look like in the future, but there is great hope right now. Weaved underneath all this is an opportunity to be more on mission than ever before. Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium paragraph 28 said this about our parishes:

“The parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility, it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness and missionary creativity of the pastor and the community. While certainly not the only institution which evangelizes, if the parish proves capable of self-renewal and constant adaptivity, it continues to be the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters”.

Further in the paragraph, he goes on to say:

“In all its activities the parish encourages and trains its members to be evangelizers. It is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a centre of constant missionary outreach.”

For Proclaim, we see this impulse as a missionary opportunity. And through our Holy Father’s words, we can lead the mission through:

  1. Missionary creativity
  2. Self-renewal
  3. Constant adaptivity

Our times and circumstances need it.

With these missionary directives in mind, here are seven ways missionary disciples can lead parishes during this time:

1. Come alongside your pastors to lead in the mission. 

Our pastors have been wonderful examples of missionary creativity and constant adaptivity through things like livestreams and drive through confessions. But as the body of Christ, we play a role in supporting their efforts especially with this pandemic creating new needs. We are missionary disciples with passions and gifts. You may not know how to plan an event or lead a ministry but are an expert in social media, graphic design, or remote working. What gifts can you offer to the parish and mission?

2. Missionary outreach through little steps of connection.

I recently received an email from an old friend reaching out to catch up. It was such a pleasant surprise and something I had thought of doing but never got around to. I’ve heard many stories of people reconnecting during this time and the impact it’s making. Small groups and ministry events are thriving and even growing by going digital. While digital ministry may lack the connection that comes with being in-person, it is a stepping stone towards connection, meaningful relationships, and invitations to faith. Our communities will not just survive but thrive by reaching out to others.

3. Empower young adults to take on leadership.

Young adults know how to live in the online world—they were living it before this virus shut everything down. Here in the Archdiocese of Vancouver, our young people were the first responders to mission, growing an active online Virtual Parish (you can also watch my interview with them here).

Let us empower them and look to them for their unique experience. To some extent, they are now the most experienced members of our communities. They have a zeal and excitement to share Jesus with others, and the knowledge to navigate these new waters. Consider inviting them into greater leadership in your community, or if you are a young leader, be bold in what you can offer the Church right now.

4. Focus more on developing relationships over teaching.

While teaching content online is great, one-way communication doesn’t allow for relationships to grow. Right now, it feels imperative for disciples to have community and have others to come alongside them in their faith journey. There are also many ministries offering excellent teaching content which means we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Utilize great content from places like Formed, Ascension Press, Word on Fire, and local teachings from Fr Nick Meisl and bring that into your personal accompaniment of others.

5. Help your parish go all-in with digital.

Independent of the coronavirus pandemic, this is a good idea. Digital platforms aren’t going anywhere, and provide many benefits to parish organization, communication, and operation. If you have skills in this area, offer help to your parish with digital bulletins, email, live streaming, moving donations online, or getting information to their parishioners.

There are also lots of resources from the Archdiocese of Vancouver you can check out here.  

6. Measure engagement, not Livestream views.

Measuring Livestream views is the digital equivalent of measuring the number of people attending an event. It doesn't tell us enough about the impact. It’s good to remind yourself that we’re in the business of engaging people’s hearts and souls. Look at how people are engaging online conversations and the depth of those conversations. This is where accompaniment and discipleship happens.

7. Simplify ministry to find the highest impact for our efforts.

We’ve all had to reevaluate where we put our resources and how we run our ministries as we move online. But by being forced to simplify these things, we actually create an opportunity for creativity, intentionality, and a refreshed look at our efforts. 

It might cause some of us to ask, why are we doing this ministry? What efforts accomplish our parish mission statement? What activities are we capable of providing that have the most meaningful impact? Let this time help you reevaluate our efforts and lean into where we can make the biggest difference in people’s lives.

Does this all feel overwhelming? It can be. Proclaim is here to help. We are a movement of missionary disciples with the desire to make Jesus known and loved by all. While our buildings have closed and programs put on hold the #churchneverstops and we want to help you stay on mission.

Join our community and let us know how we can help.

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