BUILDING A CHURCH of Missionary Disciples BY PREACHING the Gospel of

Jesus Christ & REACHING the Poor.

Our New Parish Mission

BUILDING A CHURCHIn the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, our Parish patron, who heard God say “rebuild my Church,” we are called to continually build the Body of Christ, the Catholic Church. We, as members of the Church, are disciples of Jesus Christ who are transformed by Him and then sent out into the world to reach the poor and preach the good news. The Church is the family of God.

OF Missionary Disciples A missionary disciple is a someone who has personally encountered Jesus Christ, been transformed, and joined the Church, the family of God. A disciple loves God and neighbor deeply, and lives a life in imitation and constant conversation with Jesus Christ. The missionary disciple is one who has been changed by Jesus, and then sent to share the Good News with the world. Jesus said, “Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19). This is the mission of the Church and the disciple: to evangelize. “Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize.” (Evangelii Nuntiandi #14).

BY PREACHING the Gospel of Jesus Christ Missionary Disciples preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in deed and in word. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16), for “There is no true evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God are not proclaimed.” (Evangelii Nuntiandi #22). A Missionary Disciple preaches the Gospel when “the message of salvation of the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ, is proclaimed with great spiritual power to the point of bringing about repentance of sin, conversion of hearts and a decision of faith.” (Synod on the New Evangelization). A Missionary Disciple is not shy or ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Instead they are bold through the power of the Holy Spirit and filled with the joy of the Gospel. They cannot keep the Gospel a secret.

AND REACHING the PoorHere at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, we are taking up this radical call of Jesus to welcome the poor and the brokenhearted into the family of God. One manifestation of answering this call is through our St. Francis Outreach, where we assist families with food, clothing, and other needs. But Saint Mother Teresa said “The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty – it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There’s a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God.” He calls us to reach out to the marginalized, the forgotten, the broken, and to bring healing and help. Missionary disciples are sent to bring the Gospel of Jesus to those who are spiritually poor, as well as materially poor.