Missionary Discipleship Leads to a Richer, Fuller Faith Life
Missionary discipleship is an interpersonal approach to evangelization. As stated in previous posts, it requires a commitment to engaging others on a personal level and deepening that relationship to allow faith sharing to take place. In other words, missionary discipleship doesn’t begin with what we can do for God, but what God wants to do, through us, for others.
In addition, faith is not fully lived, fully realized until we are fully engaged in sharing it. This doesn’t mean that we become preachers or “bible thumpers” on some street corner, it just means that our experience of faith is deeper and richer than simply receiving it. We are called to share it; and in sharing faith, we receive it all the more! Many Catholics often do not (or never) experience the gift of sharing their faith with others. Either they do not know they ought to—and that the benefit of doing so is a greater personal commitment to Christ and a more vibrant experience of faith as faith-in-action—or they do not feel comfortable sharing faith because they do not feel prepared.
Jesus calls everyone to share his word and mission with our community. Let us accept that mission and defend it at every opportunity that comes our way. Download the Missionary Prayer Prayer Card and share it in your community.
Missionary Discipleship Begins with a Desire to Go Out
Three Groups of Missionary Disciples
Catechists
As missionary disciples, catechists are called to engage students through sound teaching and their personal witness of faith. The two go hand-in-hand. In practice, catechists might teach about the Trinity (Three Persons, One God), and then go on to explain how knowing the Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit has made a difference in their lives. Furthermore, the catechist would strive to help students relate to each Person of the Trinity and, in their own language, describe why each is meaningful to them. Part of teaching the faith is our ability to share it on a personal level. The missionary disciple (or missionary catechist in this case) is more than willing to do so.
Discover ideas and resources that will help students and families become enthusiastic messengers of the Gospel both in class and at home.
Parents
Parents, too, are called to go out, to be missionaries. While this might sound strange, at first, think about all the opportunities moms and dads have to catechize their children. Catechesis doesn’t just take place in the home, as the new Directory for Catechesis points out, catechesis can take place anywhere, anytime. We are spending a lot of time online these days. Our own social networks are the perfect venue for missionary discipleship. Consider sharing a religious picture or work of art, or a scripture quote with your friends, and see where the conversation goes. Bottom line: catechesis is appropriate wherever and whenever there are two or more gathered in faith, whether in person or online. The new Directory refers to this as “casual catechesis.” But parents don’t always feel comfortable taking advantage of the teaching moments daily life offers; and more often than not—myself included—we don’t even notice these moments when they occur. They need support from their catechists, pastors, deacons, and community.
Students
Three Daily Practices That Will Help You Become a Missionary Disciple
Becoming a missionary disciple is easy. The hard part is the commitment. To be a missionary disciple, one needs to do the following three things every day:
1.) Offer Your Day to God
As soon as you wake up, ask God, in prayer, to show you what he wants for you this day. God’s will for us takes us on many an adventure within the context of our “ordinary” lives. When we begin our day with what God wants for us, we can’t go wrong! Even when difficulties and disappointments occur (and they will), knowing that we offered our day to God gives us the peace of mind that God’s got us no matter what.
2.) Ask God for a Desire to Disciple
Ask God for the desire to look for opportunities to grow in and share the faith with others today. Desire to disciple is a grace; therefore, we must ask for it. And we ask for it each day, just like we ask for our “daily bread.” In addition, growing in faith can be as easy as praying more consistently, dusting off your Bible and getting into the Gospels, enrolling in an adult faith formation class, or volunteering for a service opportunity.
3.) Stay Close to the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist
Stay close to the
sacraments. They are the primary means of receiving God’s grace. While we can always pray and ask God to be with us (and he will be there), the sacraments are the privileged ways in which Jesus has chosen to come to us. For the missionary disciple, the two most important sacraments are Reconciliation and Eucharist. The former forgives our sins and the latter feeds our souls.
In Summary
Missionary discipleship is a call to engage others in meaningful ways that lead to deeper conversion to Christ. It also meets the important need in our church of fostering Christian fellowship and community. Though we are online much of the time these days, we can still be missionary disciples by getting involved in faith-based discussion boards, learning opportunities, and using our own social networks to share the Good News with others.
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