NGP: Growth in Knowledge of our Catholic Faith

As we mark the three-year anniversary of the Next Generation Parish initiative, we give thanks to God for the many graces already at work in our parish. One of our initiatives was to advance the growth in knowledge of the Catholic faith in the parishioners of Saints Martha & Mary Parish. Our completed goals are listed below:

• Offered many new offerings, including: The Search, The Search: Faith Formation Version, Good News Bible Study, 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory, Life Groups, REBOOT with Chris Stefanik, No Greater Love, Unlocking the Mysteries of the Bible, Genesis Bible Study, Lent Event with Sarah Swafford, A Biblical Walk Through the Mass, Jesus and the Jewish Roots, Evangelization Bootcamp and way-truth-life. These events drew nearly 3,000 people of all ages and covered nearly 30,000 participant hours!
• Attendance at events increased, and progress was made with getting people who don’t attend events outside of Mass to come. Beyond Sunday with Kevin Colbert and Larry Richards brought in more men than previous events. The Lent Event with Sarah Swafford, a popular female Catholic speaker, drew more young adults, and Unlocking the Mysteries of the Bible was offered in response to the survey results asking to learn more about the Bible, the #2 topic of interest.
• The team issued a survey to learn more about what, how and when parishioners wanted to learn. About 400 parishioners of all ages took the survey.
• A new “column” was introduced in the bulletin called “Take It From Me,” which outlined personal recommendations for knowledge and prayer resources.
• A childcare program was introduced during some events so parents of school‑aged children could attend.
• Communications outreach on all efforts were consistent with nearly 50 articles in the bulletin throughout the year, and a staffed table at the Fish Fry also was successful at raising awareness and distributing knowledge and prayer resources.