Forming Intentional Disciples Study Guide to the Revised and Expanded Edition

Forming Intentional Disciples Study Guide to the Revised and Expanded Edition
Author: Ximena DeBroeck
Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor
Total Pages: 30
Release: 2023-02-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1639660569

How can we transmit a living, personal Catholic faith to future generations? By coming to know Jesus Christ, and following him as his disciples. As we emerge from a pandemic into a post-Christian world, these are times of immense challenge and enormous opportunity for the Catholic Church in the United States. Ten years after it was first published, Forming Intentional Disciples by Sherry Weddell is still helping scores of Church leaders, parish staff, and all Catholics transform parish life from within. Her book leads you through the steps that will help Catholics enter more deeply into a relationship with God and the river of apostolic creativity, charisms, and vocation that flow from that relationship for the sake of the Church and the world. This companion study guide will help you transform your parish or small faith community. Created by people who have experienced the transformative impact of discipleship firsthand, this study guide to the revised and expanded edition of Forming Intentional Disciples provides tools and resources to initiate conversations, share the story of faith, and begin walking the path of discipleship together.

Forming Intentional Disciples

Forming Intentional Disciples
Author: Sherry A. Weddell
Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor
Total Pages: 179
Release: 2015-11-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1612789439

How can we transmit a living, personal Catholic faith to future generations? By coming to know Jesus Christ, and following him as his disciples. These are times of immense challenge and immense opportunity for the Catholic Church. Consider these statistics for the United States. Only 30 percent of Americans who were raised Catholic are still practicing. Fully 10 percent of all adults in America are ex-Catholics. The number of marriages celebrated in the Church decreased dramatically, by nearly 60 percent, between 1972 and 2010. Only 60 percent of Catholics believe in a personal God. If the Church is to reverse these trends, the evangelizers must first be evangelized-in other words, Catholics-in-the-pew must make a conscious choice to know and follow Jesus before they can draw others to him. This work of discipleship lies at the heart of Forming Intentional Disciples, a book designed to help Church leaders, parish staff and all Catholics transform parish life from within. Drawing upon her fifteen years of experience with the Catherine of Siena Institute, Sherry Weddell leads readers through steps that will help Catholics enter more deeply into a relationship with God and the river of apostolic creativity, charisms, and vocation that flow from that relationship for the sake of the Church and the world. Learn about the five thresholds of postmodern conversion, how to open a conversation about faith and belief, how to ask thought-provoking questions and establish an atmosphere of trust, when to tell the Great Story of Jesus, how to help someone respond to God's call to intentional discipleship, and much more. And be prepared for conversion because when life at the parish level changes, the life of the whole Church will change.

Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples

Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples
Author: Sherry A. Weddell, Editor
Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor
Total Pages: 106
Release: 2015-01-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1612783791

"It is not the same thing to have known Jesus as not to have known him, not the same thing to walk with him as to walk blindly, not the same thing to hear his word as not to know it.... We know that with Jesus life becomes richer."-Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel In her first book, Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus, Sherry Weddell, cofounder of the Catherine of Siena Institute, captured the attention of Catholics across the globe as she uncovered the life-changing power that accompanies the conscious decision to follow Jesus as his disciple. Now, in the groundbreaking Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples, she has gathered together experienced leaders and collaborators whose exceptional field-tested wisdom and enthusiasm for transforming Catholic parishes into centers of discipleship and apostolic outreach is both inspiring and practical. The authors consider: The role of intercessory prayer in parish transformation How "fireside chats" can help a pastor connect with his parishioners and call them to personal discipleship and mission The co-responsibility of lay people andpastors in the work of making disciples The revolutionary impact of a discipleship approach to youth ministry How one parish successfully fostered a culture of intentional discipleship, and much more As Sherry asks in her own chapter, "Are we willing to answer the call and pay the price necessary to become a new generation of saints through which God can do extraordinary things in our time?"

Fruitful Discipleship

Fruitful Discipleship
Author: Sherry A. Weddell
Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2017-06-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1612789749

As faith-filled Catholics, we are called to go out and spread the good news of the Gospel, build up the Church, and fuel its mission. We are supernaturally empowered by God to do this through the charisms we receive at Baptism. Learn about each charism, what they are, and how discipleship unleashes these powerful gifts to produce fruit that lasts.

Young Catholic America

Young Catholic America
Author: Christian Smith
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2014-02-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199341087

Best Review at the Catholic Press Association Convention Studies of young American Catholics over the last three decades suggest a growing crisis in the Catholic Church: compared to their elders, young Catholics are looking to the Church less as they form their identities, and fewer of them can even explain what it means to be Catholic and why that matters. Young Catholic America, the latest book based on the groundbreaking National Study of Youth and Religion, explores a crucial stage in the life of Catholics. Drawing on in-depth surveys and interviews of Catholics and ex-Catholics ages 18 to 23--a demographic commonly known as early "emerging adulthood"--leading sociologist Christian Smith and his colleagues offer a wealth of insight into the wide variety of religious practices and beliefs among young Catholics today, the early influences and life-altering events that lead them to embrace the Church or abandon it, and how being Catholic affects them as they become full-fledged adults. Beyond its rich collection of statistical data, the book includes vivid case studies of individuals spanning a full decade, as well as insight into the twentieth-century events that helped to shape the Church and its members in America. An innovative contribution to what we know about religion in the United States and the evolving Catholic Church, Young Catholic America is the definitive source for anyone seeking to understand what it means to be young and Catholic in America today.

United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

United States Catholic Catechism for Adults
Author: Catholic Church. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Publisher: USCCB Publishing
Total Pages: 668
Release: 2006
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781574554502

Includes bibliographical references (pages 540-542) and indexes.

The Heart of Faith

The Heart of Faith
Author: Nick Wagner
Publisher: Twenty-Third Publications
Total Pages: 116
Release: 2010
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781585958177

Catechumens and candidates will quickly learn that Jesus Christ will be their focus throughout their journey through the catechumenate. They will learn what they need to do to become Catholic too, of course, as they discern, pray, worship, break open the Word, and try to live their daily lives as followers of Christ. Nick Wagner guides catechumens and candidates through the entire process of preparing for baptism, the Rite of Election, the Scrutinies, keeping Lent, celebrating the Triduum, baptism (or acceptance) at the Easter Vigil, and life after baptism. This is a warm and wonderful companion for parish catechumens and candidates, one they will value and treasure long after they become Catholics.

Making Missionary Disciples

Making Missionary Disciples
Author: Curtis Martin
Publisher: eBookIt.com
Total Pages: 51
Release: 2019-01-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1456632795

"I dream of a 'missionary option'... a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything..." Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium Do you have the same dream as Pope Francis? Would you like to see your parish, apostolate, or family flourishing in Christ like never before? In Making Missionary Disciples, Curtis Martin, founder of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), explores how to build a vibrant culture of faithfulness and fruitfulness. He doesn't just remind us how every disciple is called on mission to share the love and truth of Jesus Christ. He gives us practical ways to do this in our ordinary daily lives. • Know the three crucial habits of effective evangelization. • Grow in Divine Intimacy following the four essential practices to which the early disciples devoted themselves. • Learn the importance of becoming not only a disciple, but a missionary disciple. • Understand the three-phased "Method Modeled by the Master"--the approach to evangelization modeled for us by Jesus in the Gospels and rooted in Catholic magisterial teaching. Experience the transformation for which we all long--through Making Missionary Disciples.

How to Read Your Way to Heaven

How to Read Your Way to Heaven
Author: Vicki Burbach
Publisher: Sophia Institute Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2017-01-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1622823605

Many of us commit to some form of spiritual reading, but we find that our book choices are sporadic and often based on a whim rather than following a purposeful plan. Designed for individual or group settings, How to Read Your Way to Heaven will guide your quest to delve deeper into a relationship with Christ by meditating on the written word while organizing your reading around the four pillars of the Catholic Faith — the Creed, the sacraments, morality, and prayer. How to Read Your Way to Heaven is not merely another book to read. It is designed to be an invaluable tool for guiding and organizing your reading to help you on your journey to become a saint. And best of all, this fully integrated do-it-yourself spiritual reading program that can be easily followed by the busiest of Catholics with the tightest of schedules. By following this plan, you’ll meditate daily on Sacred Scripture and read the entirety of the Catechism over the course of the program. You’ll be introduced to a treasure-trove of the greatest Catholic books ever written, and you’ll learn prayerful reading methods such as lectio divina as well as time-tested advice on where and when to read. Here you’ll also find a list of the favorite books by leading Catholics of our day, including Bishop James Conley, Fr. Mike Schmitz, Fr. C.J. McCloskey, Jennifer Fulwiler, Peter Kreeft, Patrick Coffin, Karl Keating, Lisa Hendey, Fr. Timothy Gallagher, Mike Aquilina, and so many more. Spiritual reading arms us for battle. We are called to be saints, and yet daily we are bombarded by a culture that drives our minds and hearts away from the supernatural life. Because what we choose to read makes a significant difference in our spiritual growth and understanding, we present this structured reading guide to help you read with a purpose.

Discipleship Essentials

Discipleship Essentials
Author: Greg Ogden
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2019-01-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830873945

We grow in Christ as we seek him together. Jesus' own pattern of disciple-making was to be intimately involved with others. This expanded 25-session workbook by Greg Ogden, perfect for small groups or individuals, helps us influence others as Jesus did—by investing in a few. Working through it will deepen your knowledge of essential Christian teaching and strengthen your faith.