Parishes are dying. Parishes don’t know how to live the Great Commission in a secular culture. The number of practicing Catholics in the past 15 years has dropped by 25-30%, and in many places by half. And now–providentially?–there is a “year of mission” in the Eucharistic Revival.

But under such stress, how do we engage that year life of mission? How do we evangelize those who have left, those who are still coming, and the quickly growing number of people who have never heard of Christ? How do we change our parish values and practices to embrace evangelization within life-long discipleship, deliberately and immediately?

God has called us to this moment, and shown us the way. In her award winning book, The Four Ways Forward, Susan offers a “3 + 1” solution that follows God’s leading and Church teaching within the past 50 years. Adopt three of the four emergent models of evangelization in your parish, and you will inherently adopt a vision and practical mission that equips the baptized to share the story of God with peace and confidence. If you do this–and it is relatively simple, if not “easy”–you will crack both the maintenance subculture and the broader secular influence. More positively, you will foster a community of joyful disciples that recognizes that Jesus Christ is Lord, the one who sends us to his lost with astounding news–and the people will go and share it.

*The talk could come with Susan’s award-winning book for each participant, The Four Ways Forward: Becoming an Apostolic Parish in a Post-Christian World, or books available at a discount.

Knowing the Next Move: Engaging the Year of Mission (for priests, parish staffs, dioceses; keynote or workshop)