Preface
I
n his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis calls all Christians to embrace the call to become missionary disciples: The Church which “goes forth” is a community of missionary disciples who take the first step, who are involved and supportive, who bear fruit and rejoice. An evangelizing community knows that the Lord has taken the initiative, he has loved us first (cf. 1 Jn 4:19), and therefore we can move forward, boldly take the initiative, go out to others, seek those who have fallen away, stand at the crossroads and welcome the outcast.1
Likewise, George Weigel speaks about the need to form communities of missionary disciples as our best strategy for the Church today. To evangelize the postmodern world of the twenty-first century, Weigel believes, we need to be grounded in the Gospel truth, “a truth that forms a mission-centered community of disciples with a clear sense of identity and purpose.”2 The result will be “a culture-forming counterculture for the sake of the world, its healing, and its conversion.”3 We offer this book in the hope of making a contribution to the wide-ranging efforts being made today to equip the Church to become a joyful band, a community, of missionary disciples. 11
