Take The Survey! The Disciple Maker Index
What does Jesus Christ want St. Monica to look like in 5 years?
How spiritually “healthy” is the parish of St. Monica?
Practically every pastor would normally ask such questions about his parish. A number of years ago, two organizations and a number of Catholics got together to see if something concrete could be developed to provide an answer. The Disciple Maker Index was developed by consulting company Catholic Leadership Institute along with Measuring Success who provides expertise and support to churches, foundations and non-profits in the collection and analysis of strategic information. These two companies worked together with 100 bishops, priests, diocesan officials, parish leaders and authors/thought leaders throughout the United States to develop the DMI.
Over the past three years, the Disciple Maker Index has been utilized by more than 15 Dioceses and over 50,000 parishioners. This year, the Dioceses of Bridgeport, Fort Wayne-South Bend, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Portland, Miami, St. Petersburg, Tulsa, Omaha, Wichita - and Philadelphia will be taking the survey.
Between February 6 and March 20, St. Monica will participate in a survey called the “Disciple Maker Index.” Developed by consulting company Catholic Leadership Institute and Measuring Success (an expert in parish, foundation and non-profit statistical analysis and advice), the “Index” measures the “spiritual health” of a parish and, this year, will be rolled out in the dioceses of Bridgeport, Fort Wayne – South Bend, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Portland, Miami, St. Petersburg, Tulsa, Omaha, and Wichita.
Saint Monica was selected as one of only about a dozen parishes in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to be chosen for the survey this year!
The DMI provides each individual parishioner the opportunity to reflect on their own spiritual growth and thus provide me and parish leadership invaluable insights regarding:
- Parish strengths and opportunities
- Setting priorities and allocating resources
- Moving parishioners forward on their journey of faith
- Energize the spiritual growth of St. Monica
It takes only 10-15 minutes to complete. A link to the on-line survey will be sent to you via email. It will be made available on-line, although paper versions will be available to people who do not have internet access.
Please note that your responses will be kept confidential and that neither the parish nor Catholic Leadership Institute will have access to individual survey responses.
A listing of Frequently Asked Questions concerning the DMI can be found here.
From you - the parishioners - I am asking for three things:
Take the survey! Every individual 18 years and older/ Don’t fill it out as a couple or family. We need individual input.- Ask one parishioner if they have taken the survey. I want as many parishioners as possible asking others about it so we get a good response number.
- Ask another parishioner who has been away from the church, doesn’t trust the church, has been discouraged about the parish … to please take the survey. 3,200 people do not worship with us regularly. This will help me determine the issues, address their concerns and grow the vibrancy of the parish.
Click on the picture below for a quick video from Fr. John Riccardo and Fr. Steve Mateja - two priests from Our Lady Of Good Counsel in Plymouth, Michigan. OLGC utilized the Disciple Maker Index in their parish and the priests provide some additional ideas and encouragement for us.
Thank you for your help on this and God bless!
Father Charles Zlock, Pastor
