Walk With One… and more!
Our core purpose statement for St. John the Evangelist is “To fulfill the Great Commission and form a community of missionary disciples in Jackson, Michigan”. This is our parish CULTURE, our environment and ecosystem. It’s who we are as a parish.
We have been immersed in the basic training of discipleship and evangelization ever since Fr. Chas first came to St. John in 2014. Did you attend at least one of the Diocesan Assemblies where Bishop Boyea gathered us for prayer and teaching? Have you heard a homily or two about Evangelization and Intentional Discipleship? Did you host or attend the Fireside Chats? How many of you have been tapped to be Parish Neighborhood Representatives? Who has read a book or two given to us by Fr. Chas… like THE FOUR SIGNS OF A DYNAMIC CATHOLIC or THEOLOGY OF THE BODY FOR BEGINNERS? We had the great honor to host Joseph and Crystal Gruber for a number of years–they shaped so much of what we are doing… Do you remember Win / Build / Send? Have you participated with Alpha, or the Rescue Project, or The Three Conversations? SEEK conferences, Knights of Columbus COR meetings, Fr. Mike’s Podcasts and Catechism in a Year, GAMMA GROUP, or HOPE AND HEALING, or CATHOLICISM 201? These have all been intentionally and prayerfully offered.
We are seeing this mindset becoming the norm: attending Mass, learning more, praying deeply, reaching out, and being contagiously Catholic. Now is the right time to engage more and more. And that does not mean more and more commitments or additions to your schedule! Simply look around at the people you know who NEED JESUS or maybe have never met him or want to know him more fully. And invite them. Walk with one person. Invite them to Mass or adoration or a group of the parish you are already attending. Or, simply walk with them and let the Spirit lead you into conversations and ways to let them know that the Lord loves them and is longing for them.
At our first Disciple Night we asked attendees to take to prayer: WHO is God calling you to walk with? HOW is he calling you to walk with them? And what are YOU doing to stay connected and spiritually fed?
These Discipleship Nights will continue monthly and are meant to be a mini retreat to have a time to spend together with those of you looking to be disciples on a mission to bring in others. They are holy nights with unique and varied prayer, solid teaching, fun fellowship, and piled high with inspiration. This will be a series of evenings where we stir up the flame of the Spirit under an open heaven, encourage and cheerlead from Scripture, place the hot charcoals together, and define our role in the Great Commission. It will include a little teaching to stretch our paradigm, a lot of praying to enlarge our hearts, and clear marching orders for Disciples!!
As another way to accompany and stretch those of you who are sensing the call to “walk with one” (or several), Todd will be offering a “crash course” for small group leaders. This is for anyone who wants to learn how to lead a small group (of 3-4 people or more!) or even for those who have a small group and want to dive in deeper or “refresh” as their leader. So, what is a small group? As the name suggests, it is a “small group of people” who meet regularly (weekly or a few times a month…or even monthly) to walk with each other, sharing a Bible Study, a particular book, a video series, prayer time, etc. Small Groups are disciples walking together, growing closer to the Lord together!
What does a small group leader do? Basically, a leader walks with those who have been placed on his/her heart, invites them into a small group, sets meeting times, and discerns the “content” or topic of the small group (often in conjunction with the group’s interests/desired areas of growth). A small group can meet for “a season” or can stay together through multiple topics.
Sensing that the Lord may be calling you to more? We invite you to “Come and See”…small group leader classes begin Nov. 7th and our next Disciple Night is Nov. 13th. Come to one or both! We hope to see you there!
Shayne Slough – Director of Parish Life
Todd Gale – Discipleship Coordinator & Spiritual Director