What Are We Doing?
Forming Leaders to Make Missionary Disciples
The goal of Come Follow Me is to mobilize the whole church in our outreach mission to the world. Just like Jesus, we are forming disciples to become “fishers of men.” How? We start with ourselves, then we form other leaders to bring this to their families, ministries, churches, and everyday life. We know we are successful when our own lives are transformed and we bring the love and joy of the Gospel outside the church, especially to those in need. There are four pillars that are in our toolbox: forming collaborative leaders, experiencing transformative prayer, making missionary disciples, and bringing the love and joy of the Gospel outside the church! We invite you to explore our website and toolbox, and hear our stories about how we are helping leaders, ministries, and churches.
What is a Missionary Disciple?
As we witness a decline in church attendance, family members who have lost their faith or have become indifferent, and a growing hopelessness in society, Pope Francis calls us to return to our mission. He says, “I dream of a ‘missionary option,’ that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything,” (“The Joy of the Gospel,” #27). For way too long our mission has been carried out only by clergy, church staff, and a small number of church leaders and volunteers. This call that he describes as “missionary discipleship” is meant for the whole church. It is not complicated; a “disciple” is a follower of Jesus, and a “missionary” carries out his mission to bring the faith to others. Every member of the church is called, and Pope Francis has called us to catch the vision and bring it to the church—one person at a time, one ministry at a time, and one church at a time.
Church
Revitalization
Movement
“Each particular Church, as a portion of the Catholic Church under the leadership of its bishop, is likewise called to missionary conversion,” (The Joy of the Gospel, #30).
The church revitalization movement has begun to engage NH and NE churches through many new efforts: Amazing Parish, Divine Renovation, Rebuilt, Forming Intentional Disciples, The Better Pastor, The Ideal Team Player, Alpha, and so many others. The US Bishops have given us a guide for “Living as Missionary Disciples” to provide practical directions, including forming church evangelization teams and defining the practical elements of evangelization: encounter with Christ, accompaniment on the journey, church community, and send! Come Follow Me is available to help any church establish a plan to make missionary disciples.