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Mission Ignite

Light your parish’s fire for evangelization with
Mission Ignite.

Want to create a thriving, apostolic parish culture rooted in prayer, data, and the Holy Spirit’s guidance?

Mission Ignite is a 10-month process designed to foster mission-forward parish transformation.

The Problem

Many parishes experience the excitement of a mission or evangelization program, only to see the enthusiasm fade within days.

Our Solution

Mission Ignite offers something different—a 10-month, parish-wide renewal that builds lasting transformation by:

  • Focusing your community on a shared vision
  • Inviting the Holy Spirit through prayer-centered discernment
  • Immersing everyone in evangelization practices
  • Equipping you with data-driven insights and ongoing support
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What Makes Mission Ignite Distinctive?

  • Parish culture change requires focus, immersion, and intention. When an entire parish community is praying, discussing, and building a better future together, excitement and expectation naturally follow.
  • God desires to evangelize His people even more than we do—and Mission Ignite creates the time, space, and structure to invite the Holy Spirit to guide our best efforts.
  • We don’t “sell” a program: we guide you through discovering your mission gifts and field, and the principles to ignite the mission toward God’s vision.

The result? You’ll see the thriving, apostolic parish emerge that reflects the Lord’s vision for your unique community.

The 10 Month Mission Ignite Journey

In Four Prayer-Immersed Phases

Phase 1:

Foundation (Months 1–2)

  • Initial consultation with pastor & team invitation, formation
  • Foundational team retreat on parish-based evangelization

Phase 2:

Assessment (Months 3–5)

  • What is your mission field? Guided research and discovery
  • How strong is the parish’s discipleship? Discipleship-level assessment
  • The difference between assessment and discernment: bring data to prayer

Phase 3:

Discernment (Months 6–8)

  • Guided exploration of the four parish evangelization models
  • Guided discernment and decision-making processes

Phase 4:

Implementation (Months 9–10)

  • Closing implementation retreat
  • Built-out three-year reach plan
  • Built-in assessment plan

Staying on track

Ongoing support

In the Mission Ignite process, the parish does the discernment and exploration, because we believe in the pastor and his team’s leadership–and that the Lord speaks into that leadership. But the structural process is guided, facilitated, and written up by Dr. Susan Windley-Daoust, the executive director of The Mark 5:19 Project. She is available for education, advice, and even retreat work. Most importantly, she remains available throughout the entire 10 months—via phone and email—at no additional cost.

We also have apostolate prayer partners who pray for our Mission Ignite parishes regularly. We’re serious about prayer!

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Endorsements

  • “I have already seen seeds of new life…”

    When we began the 10 month Mission Ignite process I was unsure what to expect. …It has been a great experience.  Susan was easy to work with and her skills in organization and passion for evangelization were an excellent fit for us. 

    Beginning with a discipleship team we assessed the mission field – both within the parish through a survey and in the surrounding area via discussions with community leaders. We learned a lot.  Susan synthesized this, helped us understand the four models of evangelization and what the best first steps for our parish could be. She took the role of facilitator which helped our team develop buy-in since the end result came from them. As we complete our formal meetings with Susan we have a three-year plan for moving forward.

    The team and I are excited to start our work and see how the Spirit will work in our community of faith. I have already seen seeds of new life in my preaching and in the way our parish leaders and staff are approaching assessing programs and plans for the future. I highly recommend Susan Windley-Daoust and The Mark 5:19 Project.
    Fr. John Sauer
    Pax Christi Catholic Church, Rochester MN

  • “The outcome went beyond what we had hoped…!”

    “Susan Windley-Daoust facilitated our parish discipleship leadership team with the goal of helping our parish to be more alive, welcoming, and active with evangelization of our parishioners through a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. The outcome went beyond what we had hoped for during this year of discernment and personal growth! …The frequent statement that I hear from our parishioners is “a person would hardly recognize our parish from where we were three years ago. So much more is happening! People are enthusiastic about their faith and parish.”

    This has been made possible by how Susan Windley-Daoust: (1) assisted the pastor in recruiting eleven parishioners through the discernment process to form the discipleship leadership team that met twice per month, (2) led a weekend working retreat for us at the beginning of this process, (3) met monthly on-site with the team, (4) had a “check-in” conference call monthly with the pastor, (5) led additional one-day retreats half way through and at the end of the year, and (6) helped us to “get going” and (7) evaluate where we had been and are now.

    I strongly recommend Susan Windley-Daoust to pastors, staffs, and parishes having a mission to revive and renew your church community.”
    Fr. John Evans
    Pastor, Church of the Crucifixion; La Crescent, MN


  • “Mission Ignite…helped us step out in faith”

    We began Mission Ignite with prayer, wisdom, a process, and the kerygma….

    Susan from The Mark 5:19 Project gathered with the parish discipleship team that I had assembled, prayed with us, and shared with us the wisdom she has gained through years of working with parishes and studying models of evangelization. Then she led us through a process of discerning our local mission field and where the Holy Spirit is at work in our parish to bring renewal, and all of this took place in the power of the kerygma, which she shared with the group. 

    We all need allies in evangelization: those to accompany us in the process of discernment, and those battled tested souls that will persevere with us in hope to let us know that evangelization can be done, and that it is all worth it. Susan is one of those allies and battled tested souls, and Mission Ignite is a great opportunity to galvanize a parish’s commitment to evangelization. 

    …Mission Ignite has helped us to pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit and step out in faith in what the Holy Spirit is revealing to us. I highly recommend Susan Windley-Daoust and the Mission Ignite experience for parishes. 
    Fr. Jeff Dobbs
    Pastor, St. John Vianney Church, Fairmont MN

Ready to Begin?

Bring the Mission Ignite consultation process to your parish and start this transformative journey to light the fire.

Contact Susan Windley-Daoust, Ph.D., to learn more:
✉️ su***@************ct.org
📞 507-858-5098
🌐 www.mark519project.org

Questions?

Sessions typically begin in January or September, but we may be able to adjust to your schedule.

Before starting The Mark 5:19 Project, Susan Windley-Daoust, Ph.D., was Director of Missionary Discipleship the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. Prior to that, she taught theology at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and the University of St. Thomas. She is the author of a number of books, including Four Ways Forward: Becoming an Apostolic Parish in a Post-Christian World. You can learn more about her at the About Susan page.

Yes. We offer conferences and workshops, parish missions and retreats, short-term consulting, and Mission Masterminds. In addition, she is developing a workbook for the Mission Ignite process called The Mission Ignite Toolkit, available beginning in 2026.

 Mark 5:19 is the first evangelization commission that Jesus gave in the gospel of Mark, to the healed Gerasene Demoniac–who wanted to follow Jesus and stay with him. Jesus said no…instead, “Go back to your own people and tell them what the Lord in his mercy has done for you.” This nameless man immediately goes to the Decapolis and tells all these people (pagans, by the way)—shocked to see him in his right mind—that “there was this man, Jesus of Nazareth, he came and healed me through the power of God!”

Mark 5:19 is the first commission meant for all of us, not necessarily because we have been demonized as this man was, but because we have all received the Lord’s mercy in concrete ways, and we are called to share that truth with our own people (pagans or not). It is the parish commission to witness to the mercy of Jesus Christ and tell them, come and see. This is the root of parish evangelization, especially in a broken, wounded world.

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Designed to help your entire parish pray, plan, and prosper in mission—Mission Ignite sparks real, lasting evangelization. Mission Ignite makes the difference.

PSST! Interested in the Mission Ignite Toolkit resource? Click here!

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