The Four Ways Forward: Becoming an Apostolic Parish in a Post-Christian World

Radical hospitality and proclamation.
Spiritual multiplication.
Mission (re)focus.
Divine signs and wonders.

These are the four models practiced by fruitful, joyful, evangelizing parishes.

These are the four ways to move forward toward evangelizing our post-Christian culture. In The Four Ways Forward: Becoming an Apostolic Parish in a Post-Christian World, Susan Windley-Daoust, director of missionary discipleship for the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, explains each of these four approaches and concrete ways that parishes can implement them to transform their local church…and the world.

Read the Preface (PDF)

Description

An increasingly post-Christian world is forcing parishes to re-envision how they “make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). Pastors and lay leadership must pivot to building mission-first parishes, equipped to proclaim the Gospel to those who have not heard it — while the number of practicing Catholics falls with increasing speed.

Parish leaders are hungry for programs and resources to help address these challenges. Yet no single model or program can suit every parish, and leaders are bogged down with options, many of which offer no clear goals or methods. In The Four Ways Forward, Susan Windley-Daoust, theologian and diocesan director of missionary discipleship, provides a road map to pastors and parish staff to make sense of it all.

To become an apostolic parish, there are four effective models to choose from, each built on a distinct, necessary insight and method in the art of conversion:

  1. Radical hospitality and proclamation
  2. The practice of spiritual multiplication
  3. Organizational mission (re)focus
  4. Highlighting divine signs and wonders in our midst

Every fruitful, joyful, evangelizing parish should embrace the insights and methods of at least three of the four models. This book not only describes each model, giving examples of how it is being used in parishes today, but offers a practical blueprint toward crafting a response to the post-Christian world, including notes on spiritual roadblocks that can get in the way.

Read the Preface (PDF)

Details

Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor
Format: Paperback. ebook
Pages: 208 (paperback)
Release date: October, 2022

 

About Susan Windley-Daoust

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