Three years ago, Mother of God parish embarked on a journey in partnership with the Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI). It was all part of a diocesan-wide initiative called “With One Heart,” designed to boost parishioners’ spiritual growth and discipleship using a more intentional approach.

For the first year, an Envisioning Team developed priorities and goals for the parish. Then, an Implementation Team was appointed to achieve those objectives over the next two years.

On Monday, Feb. 2, the Implementation Team met as a group one last time to report on their progress. Here is a sampling of their accomplishments:

Sustainability

• Compiled a parish operations manual, outlining scope of duties and processes for every staff position and ministry and uploaded it to a shared drive accessible to leadership. This serves as a resource should staff or ministry leaders be unable to carry out their roles. It also preserves institutional knowledge and ensures continuity for the next generation.
• Launched a parish app that can be downloaded for free onto any mobile device. Within the app is a new giving platform that replaces Faithstreet and saves money with lower transaction fees on donations. The app is a product of Subsplash, the company that hosts our website and livestreaming service. It supports broader communication capabilities within and beyond the parish community.
• Increased our social media presence via Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. In the last month alone, our Facebook views have totaled 72,000, with 2,500 followers.

Faith Formation

• Hosted vacation bible school last August—a first for our parish. It was well received, and other parishes expressed an interest in participating in any future efforts.
• Held several family activities, such as making Advent wreaths, Jesse Trees and Resurrection eggs. There were big turnouts and positive energy in the room.
• Registered the largest OCIA class in recent history for 2026.
  
  

Engagement

• Held a ministry fair after both Sunday Masses to build awareness of opportunities to get involved with the parish. There was a tremendous response.
• Created a condensed version of a multi-day Parish Missionary Disciples training and shared it with approximately 30 people from Mother of God and other parishes. This new program drew interest from the diocese, and members of the Engagement team are now presenting it to a broader audience beyond our parish’s boundaries.
• Supported the formation of small groups (the Prayer Team, viewers of The Chosen) and recruited volunteers to chair parish social activities.

As we wrap up the With One Heart initiative, we will be conducting the Disciple Maker’s Index from Feb. 18 through March 23. This is the same survey we conducted as a parish three years ago. The results will let us know if we have met our goals. This is why it is very important that you fill it out—preferably online, but paper copies will be available.

It takes a lot of inspiration and effort to make a parish vibrant and keep it that way. There has been much crossover and collaboration among the priority teams, which highlights how everyone’s individual contribution supports our mission and vision. The work must continue, even without CLI’s involvement, which ends in May. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will guide all of us in ensuring Mother of God’s future is a bright one.