Structuring for the Lord's Mission

By SUSAN WINDLEY-DAOUST

This article is the fourth in a series of four on how emerging models of evangelization in our secular age help us find our way forward in creating evangelizing parishes, especially in concert with the Eucharistic Revival. The four models (radical hospitality plus first proclamation, small group spiritual multiplication, honoring signs and wonders, and organizational mission re-focus) are explained more in my book The Four Ways Forward: Becoming an Apostolic Parish in a Post-Christian World (OSV Press, Nov 2022). Thanks for reading!

I’m going to be honest - my grandfather was an engineer. My father was an engineer. My brother is an engineer. My other brother is an IT professional who engineers an extensive university website. I thought for years, because I’m not a numbers person, that this gene missed me entirely.

As I moved into adulthood I slowly figured out I was very wrong. As a specialist in a subdiscipline called systematic theology (the study of Catholic doctrines and how they connect and support the broader faith “system”), engineering is not irrelevant at all. Structure and relationships and method processes are key. And in terms of a parish communicating its mission and message, engineering–or structural re-focus–is also relevant to how the mission is lived, and the message heard.

Since we live in a culture that is less Christian by self-definition than at any time in American history, we need to seriously look at how our structures support the message that “God loves you and has a remarkable plan for your life–turn to God and trust his promises!” It is a deep temptation to say that we just need to do everything better, or recover the way we did it back in the day. Both of these may be good impulses. But I would argue that, given that our mission field (our surrounding culture) has changed dramatically, we need to look at our current parish structures and evaluate whether they help the good news be heard and lived in our current town.

What’s a Parish Structure?

What do I mean by parish structures? I’m not referring to structures that are mandated by canon law (councils, trustees), but I want to focus on the structures that are more of an American custom: at minimum, I refer to the division of labor under the leadership of the pastor, and whether directors, coordinators, and support apostolates are actively making disciples, or supporting the Church in a way that others can make disciples. I’ll give you an obvious example. We almost always have a person appointed to faith formation, and sacramental prep, sometimes youth ministry, and often a ministry of care. Sometimes there is a coordinator or support apostolate for the social mission. In and of themselves, these are all good. Does your parish have a director or coordinator of evangelization? Or even a committee? If you have lost people (and I’ve seen the numbers, only one parish in the diocese has grown in the past few years), why not? Adding attention to evangelization as a key reality of the mission and how it is lived is a minimal re-organization move.

But adding a division of ministry (if that is what is needed) isn’t the only thing to assess. Here, we can get a clue from Jesus’ own parables, where he often refers to this proper structuring by tending a plant. You need good soil. You need God to provide the sunlight and rain. You need to prune in order to redirect energy and nutrition to the primary branches. You need deep roots. Then, before our very eyes, the plant will bear fruit. This is a critical assessment image to use as we think about parish organizational re-focus: is the parish bearing the fruit that it is called to bear? Or is the parish in a more stagnant stage of growth than the Lord hopes for us?

I won’t deny that this is challenging work, and involves hard decisions. But once decisions are made, growing for evangelization becomes so much easier. And there are apostolates that will help–The Amazing Parish is one used by some parishes in our diocese, and Divine Renovation offers good tools as well. The Office of Missionary Discipleship offers some assessment tools as well (it’s a particular interest of mine). This is work that is often easier with an outside point of view.

Structuring for Revival?

What connection does this have to the Eucharistic Revival? Well, this Eucharistic Revival is, essentially, a Jesus Christ revival. It is a “return and recognize the Lord” revival. The Lord himself said “I am the vine, you are the branches.” If we restructure with the question, "How is the Lord our source here?" and "Is this branch of the Lord’s mission bearing fruit?" - that would be deeply helpful. If the Lord is not the center of the parish, it simply becomes a friendly non-profit organization. The Church is called to be different, and ordained by God himself. Let’s give the initiative to God by allowing him to prune, weed, and support our structures back into a more perfect mission fulfillment, leading people to Christ and healing a broken world.

Susan Windley-Daoust is the Director of Missionary Discipleship for the Diocese of Winona-Rochester.