Disciple Maker Index

The Disciple Maker Index survey was prompted and promoted by the Diocese of Pittsburgh. The survey was available for completion beginning with Ash Wednesday on February 22, 2023 and ending on Friday, March 31, 2023.  A total of 498 surveys were submitted by members of Christ the King Parish.
The Catholic Leadership Institute, which implemented the DMI survey, tabulated the results and released them to the parish in July. The Envisioning Team is now working with the pastor to create a Pastoral Plan for Christ the King Parish for the next 3-5 years. 

An essential step before beginning a pastoral plan is to establish a parish Envisioning Team consisting of five to seven members. This team will assist Father with analyzing the results of the Disciple Maker Index Survey and in the creation of a pastoral plan. A pastoral plan lays the path for how best the parish is going to achieve its mission and lead parishioners in furthering our call to Jesus and our ability to lead others to Jesus.
The Church teaches that the purpose of the parish is to proclaim the Gospel, celebrate the Sacraments, and promote works of charity all directed towards the salvation of souls. The process of pastoral planning will allow us to bring this purpose to life as we strive to live out the mission entrusted to the Church by Christ: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all of creation”. (Mark 16:15).

Those who will serve as part of Christ the King's Envisioning Team are: Ginny Ambrose (Parish Staff and Music Minister), Keith Fenton (parishioner-at-large), Ed Flynn (parishioner-at-large and weekend Mass Lector), Ben Kostenbader (parishioner-at-large and member of Social Committee), Fred O’Brien (Finance Council), Joanne Saunders (Pastoral Council), Susan Stuart (parishioner-at-large) and Debbie VanDemark (Administrative Assistant).

Bishop Zubik is requiring that every parish in the diocese create a pastoral plan that will help us grow our mission and ministry over the next three to five years. All pastoral plans are due by February 14, 2024, but may be submitted as soon as this fall due to staggered pastoral planning schedules and the efforts and diligence of the Envisioning Team.
As the work of pastoral planning continues, one of the key elements of our work will be developing three pastoral priorities. The priorities are specific to what the parish sees as needs of the community utilizing the results of the Disciple Maker Index Survey.
These pastoral priorities will move the vision forward for the next three to five years. The priorities are to be focused on accomplishing the vision for the future set by the Envisioning Team while taking into account the three priorities that Bishop Zubik has identified for the diocese as the priority focus areas:

• Evangelization
• Missionary Discipleship
• Shifting the focus of the parishes from Maintenance to Mission
   

The Disciple Maker Index Survey closed on March 31, 2023, and over the summer, our parish leaders have been meeting to review the results. A one-page parish summary report was published in the bulletin during August that provided information such as:
· How many parishioners completed the survey and the overall response rate
· Key parish strengths and opportunities for growth
· Summary of key responses
These results will enable parish Envisioning Teams, our pastoral planning leadership body, to begin the work of pastoral planning.

In addition, a Diocesan summary report was released the weekend of August 26/27 that shows a snapshot of the DMI Survey results for the entire Diocese of Pittsburgh.
 
These summaries can be accessed below.

Consultation with the Envisioning Team resulted in the following vision statement:

Vision is more than mere physical sight. While eyes open one to the wonder of words, the grandeur of beauty, and the face of the other—it is perhaps within the mind and heart where vision is most alive. Vision stirs imagination; vision sees with renewed energy; vision sets itself to the future with profound hope. The author's written wisdom in the 29th chapter of the Book of Wisdom states it well: “Where there is no vision, the people will perish.”

Christ the King Parish, a faith community that seeks to rediscover, reconnect and recommit to all that is good and holy, will pursue a vision whereby we learn those words, understand their meaning, and make them real in our journey to God. To that end our vision will include three priorities/goals intended to help grow Christ the King Parish. The vision will focus on (1) an outreach to those who regularly pray with us at Mass; (2) an invitation and a welcome to those who are searching; and (3) an active engagement by everyone in the corporal works of mercy as taught by Jesus in the Gospel.


Our vision must dare to ignite Christ the King Parish with the fire of the Holy Spirit. It must embolden the lay faithful and clergy to think, listen and speak fearlessly. And the vision must forge a future Church that is faithful to her roots while at the same time opening its doors, in the words of Pope Francis, “to everyone, everyone, everyone!”