In the spring of 2020, the Diocese of Madison launched the Go Make Disciples initiative in all parishes.

The goal that year was to create a plan and opportunity for every parish to go from maintenance to mission by first focusing on a small group of believers — their Go Make Disciples teams.

That team would then go out to the parish to form others and eventually, they would take the message of the Gospel to the world.

Looking back

On May 31, 2020, Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison wrote a Pentecost letter to all the faithful in the diocese encouraging all of us in the urgency of this call to mission. He stated:

“If you think about it, if those first disciples had not followed God’s plan and gone out, if they had simply rejoiced in knowing they were loved and saved, and left it there, neither you nor I would know Christ . . . If we are truly to be disciples then, we have no option but to do the same. Being a mediator, a missionary to others, is fundamental to our being disciples.”

As we know, 2020 was a year of unexpected challenges.

Pastors and staff could not have imagined the struggle of getting through a global pandemic and a shutdowns of parishes for months.

That time of “quiet” at the parish, however, allowed them to begin imagining how Go Make Disciples might take root in the parish and be realized in their communities.

Embracing the process

Over the past five years, many parish communities have embraced the process of implementing Go Make Disciples.

The diocese has offered support to parishes through formation, mentorship, support for parish directors of evangelization, and equipping days such as Go Make Disciples Live.

In 2023, the Into the Deep process was put into place to allow us to live out the mission of Christ more effectively and zealously in the diocese through a renewal of our institutions, resources, and methods. In a letter to the faithful Bishop Hying stated:

“By recalibrating our structures, unifying our resources, joining our priests and lay leaders together in new ways, we will increase the spiritual fruitfulness of our mission, the pastoral availability of our priests, the animating energy of our parishes and the practical efficiency of our institutions . . . We will not be working in relative isolation, but as a communion of disciples sent on the mission of Jesus Christ.”

There is no doubt that the process brought about change and struggles as parishes sought to merge and understand their new reality.

The faithful faced new leadership, a new geographic footprint, a new merged staff, and a larger diverse community.

In many pastorates, Go Make Disciples efforts had to pause or be placed behind the immediate priorities of the restructuring process.

We must remember that Go Make Disciples is not a diocesan program intended to last for only three years and then come to an end.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” (Mt. 28:18-20) is a mandate given to us by Christ through our Baptism. It is our mission and purpose as followers of Jesus Christ.

A unique time

This unique time in our parishes and pastorates is an ideal opportunity to rethink and reinvigorate our efforts to live out our baptismal call and make disciples.

Even amid much change in the Diocese of Madison, we see amazing evangelizing efforts.

Many pastorates are reimagining OCIA (the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) to bring new people into full communion with the Church.

This past Easter we welcomed a record number of new adult Catholics into the Church in the diocese.

A great number of parishes/pastorates have hired a coordinator of evangelization to assist in incorporating mission into all areas of parish life.

Most have included family faith events into their formation programs allowing for parents to receive the Gospel themselves and work with pastors to teach the faith to their children.

Some pastors/parochial administrators have taken the opportunity to form a new evangelization team, incorporating people from the communities in a pastorate to share resources and serve the whole pastorate in the mission.

Numerous new evangelization events are happening, involving the whole pastorates in youth events, Advent and Lenten events, and men’s and women’s retreats.

This past winter, Bishop Hying met with the pastors and encouraged them to continue and to reinvigorate their mission now that the Into the Deep process is underway.

He reminded them about the importance of a Go Make Disciples team, to have a staff or lay leader direct the work of evangelization in the parish, the importance of forming small groups, and to continue to encourage the faithful and equip them with the tools needed to have the competence and confidence to share the Gospel with the world.

In keeping with the vision for living out our mission, the Diocese of Madison is offering the newly formed Mazzuchelli Institute for Mission and Leadership.

This is an opportunity for lay leaders or individuals to gain formation and training to be missionary disciples in our diocese and the world today.