Disciple Maker Index Results: Another Great Tool for Our Parish

When it comes to evangelization and spreading the Gospel, Fr. John O’Neill says he wants as many tools in his toolbelt as possible. That’s why he is so excited to receive St. John Before the Latin Gate’s results from the Disciple Maker Index survey, which was administered to parishioners in the spring just before the COVID-19 outbreak.

“This is an initiative that was launched by the diocese to be done at every parish,” Fr. John says. “The survey was done through the Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI), an organization that for over 25 years has been helping parishes and Catholic organizations improve their ability to serve the people of God. The Disciple Makers Index survey is meant to identify the overall effectiveness of the parish so that the leaders of the Church can know where the people of their parish are.”

The 75-question survey is designed to provide bishops, pastors and parish leaders with an accurate picture of where their parish currently is and to help them create an intentional vision for moving forward. Though still in the early stages of reviewing data, Fr. John says he has already seen both areas of encouragement and future improvement.

“As a parish, we’re basically right at or above the national average percentages, which is comforting on one level,” Fr. John says. “So now the question is, how do we take the information from the index and use it to enhance the experience of living the Catholic faith for our people?”

Fr. John says the next step is taking this information and creating a generalized report that can be shared with the faith community. He’ll also be working with the parish’s Envisioning Team to create a comprehensive strategic plan from that data.

“The Envisioning Team is the body within our parish that helps me in looking and planning forward strategically,” Fr. John says. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve never really had a strategic plan at St. John’s. We’ve just kind of taken it year by year. But that is something that I feel we really need moving forward. I want our Catholic community to thrive. That means that current and future parishioners are fed, are growing spiritually, are supporting one another through gifts of time, talent and treasure, and are going out into the community and sharing the Good News of Christ with others.”

Though still early in the planning process, Fr. John is hopeful for the future. He feels the Disciple Maker Index coupled with our Stewardship Renewal are great resources in increasing active discipleship at our parish. This, in turn, will help reinvigorate the community around us, bringing others into the light of Christ.

“There are so many positives looking at the information both on the diocesan and parish level,” Fr. John says. “This is just another great tool to assist us in fulfilling our mission as the Church.”