Equipping the local church to Stand for life
The Four Dimensions of a Missionary Disciple for Life
Formation, Education, Service, and Outreach are key pillars in helping Missionary Disciples for Life grow spiritually, gain essential life knowledge, serve others with compassion, and reach out to those in need.
Spiritual Formation
Cultural Life-Issue Education
Service
Missionary Outreach
Spiritual Formation
The ultimate goal of Spiritual Formation is a deeper personal relationship with Jesus Christ and His bride the Church.
To help grow this relationship and encourage authentic Catholic living, the Chapter’s Spiritual Director can recommend a particular spiritual exercise or commitment such as: daily Rosary and time with scripture, regular daily mass attendance, weekly holy hours, consecration to Mary or St. Joseph, etc.
To come to know and better understand the Gospel of Life and the Church’s teachings on life issues, members will study important Church documents such as Evangelium Vitae, Humane Vitae, the Catechism, and other Papal Letters.
Formation will consist of both home study and presentations and discussions during the monthly MD4Lchapter meetings.
Cultural Life-Issue Education
The truth about many culturally relevant life issues is being blocked and distorted by the media, yet the media is where many Catholics currently receive their knowledge on many important topics.
Parish Chapters are encouraged to host a minimum of six educational opportunities a year where members and parishioners will be invited to listen to presentations on culturally relevant life issues by well formed, Catholic experts in the field (Physicians, Counselors, Bioethicists, Lawyers, etc.) Each member, thus equipped, is then empowered to enter the world sharing the truth in a way that is compassionate, caring and knowledgeable.
Parish Chapters will choose life topics most relevant to the needs of their community.
A list of qualified presenters will be provided through the Archdiocesan Leadership Committee. Parish chapters are welcome to submit names for consideration to be added to the presenters list.
Potential List of Topics
- Contraception
- Pregnancy & Pregnancy Complications
- Infertility
- Infant loss
- In Vitro Fertilization
- NaPro Technology
- Surrogacy
- Adoption
- Abortion
- Methods and Risks of each
- Abortion Pill Reversal treatments
- Study of Short-term & Long-term Risks (Spiritual, Emotional & Physical complications and risks)
- The “Hard Cases” – Rape, Incest, Life of the Mother
- Kansas Polity – Pro-Life Protections Status
- Foster Care
- Trauma Informed Care
- Gender Ideology
- Addiction
- Pregnancy Support
- What is a Pregnancy Resource Center?
- What is a Maternity Home?
- Single Parenting and Solo Parenting
- Pornography
- Human Trafficking
- Mental Health
- Life Crises
- Poverty & Homelessness
- Loneliness & Despair
- End of Life Care and Preparation
- Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide
- Suicide
- Contraception
- Pregnancy & Pregnancy Complications
- Infertility
- In Vitro Fertilization
- NaPro Technology
- Surrogacy
- Adoption
- Abortion
- Methods and Risks of each
- Abortion Pill Reversal treatments
- Study of Short-term & Long-term Risks (Spiritual, Emotional & Physical complications and risks)
- The “Hard Cases” – Rape, Incest, Life of the Mother
- Kansas Polity – Pro-Life Protections Status
- Foster Care
- Trauma Informed Care
- Gender Ideology
- Addiction
- Pregnancy Support
- What is a Pregnancy Resource Center?
- What is a Maternity Home?
- Pornography
- Prison Ministry
- Human Trafficking
- Poverty & Homelessness
- End of Life Care and Preparation
- Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide
Service
Missionary Disciples are called to be an active community of prayer and action, reflecting the love of Jesus through concrete acts of love and mercy for our neighbors.
Missionary Disciples for Life go on mission, spreading the Gospel of Life, not to distant locations, but by serving those who may not know Jesus or who are in need, living within our parish boundary.
In order to do this, Missionary Disciples for Life, must know and understand their parish and surrounding community (within their boundaries – not only Catholics) so that they can determine the most common and serious life “pain points” of their community, and then create plans to serve those “pain points” withing the MD4Life ministry/ies or better promote an existing ministry/ies that addresses that issue.
Missionary Disciples for Life parish chapters will complete the “Communal Discernment Process for Assessing Parish Community Pain Point & Ministry Efforts,” and discern the 1-2 life-affirming parish-based ministries to focus on and enhance.
MD4L can also collaborate with other organizations and ministries serving in the parish as well as community organizations to build networks of care.
Missionary Outreach
Going into the community carrying the Gospel of Life message, we become proactive and missionary. Outreach is a form of invitation. When done authentically and consistently, outreach can move hearts to Jesus.
MD4L Outreach Team will help invite parishioners and community members to both educational presentations and promote ministry services and events to parishioners and all members within the parish boundary using various means such as:
- Personal Invitation
- Social Media
- Invitation mailings
- Neighborhood door-knocking with invitations
Sample format for Door Knocking Outreach
- Greet – Introduce yourself and your local parish
- Share about the new or existing ministry event that your parish is offering and whom it would help.
- Ask if they know of anyone (themselves, family, friends, etc) who is experiencing the ___________ “pain-point”.
- Invite them or the person they know to an upcoming parish chapter mercy program using a physical invitation or outreach tool such as:
- Embrace Grace love boxes
- Respite nights for special needs or foster families
- Elderly/Lonely bingo or dinners
- Pray – Before leaving a house, ask how you can pray for them either with them or take their prayer requests and bring back to Chapter meetings
Possibly leave postcards pre-printed and postaged for the church that can be mailed back after the visit. Include a place to share email signup for monthly newsletter.
Additional Tools
1. Communal “Pain-Point” Discernment Process (resource coming soon)
2. Sent Evangelization (www.sentevangelization.org) “provides Catholic (leaders) with the method and tools to reach all the souls living within their parish boundaries (Christus Dominus no. 30.1). And does so by equipping parishioners with a neighborhood evangelization method, based on baptismal identity and focused on charity.
Standing Up for Life and Helping Others Do the Same
Pastors & Parishes
Missionary Disciples for Life is looking for parishes that will say “yes” to actively living in witness to the Gospel of Life and to forming a local chapter. See below for an explanation of roles:
Archdiocese
- Leads and Operates the Apostolate Program
- Provides Spiritual Formation and Educational Resources
- Provides communication and infrastructure for program administration
- Collects and Shares best practices
- Facilitates start-up of new parish chapters
- Supports annual reporting and success measurement
- Engages clergy in parishes for buy-in
Parishes
- Form and manage chapters
- Conduct monthly meetings, track activities, outreach, results
- Promote the chapter and recruit members
- Ultimate responsibility for spiritual formation
- Determine ministry focus areas, priorities and programs based on community needs
- Organize outreach approach and efforts
- Communicate to Archdiocese and Parish on results
What is a MD4L Chapter?
- Spiritual Director – Parish Pastor or Deacon
- Chapter Leader – Parish Deacon or Passionate Lay Leader appointed by the Pastor
- Education Coordinator
- Ministry Project Coordinator
- Outreach & Communications Coordinator
- Membership Coordinator
- Administration Support
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Prayer Coordinator – Prays for the Outreach Team when they are out on Mission and prays for the prayer requests the Outreach team brings back
- General Member – Commits to 1 year Membership at a minimum. Each member must join one of the following “teams”
- Prayer Support
- Event Planning, Execution Team (for both Education events and Ministry services & events)
- Outreach Team (Community Promotion & Door Knockers)
Become a Member today
12615 Parallel Parkway
Kansas City, Kansas 66109
(913) 721-1570
md4l@archkck.org