“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11
While the Disciple Maker Index and leadership formation in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux have equipped the priests and lay leaders with knowledge and skills to lead with confidence, they were beginning to wonder how long until the parish planning would begin. Well, it finally has! The reaction of the teams has been overwhelming—WOW! What incredibly committed Catholic leaders are serving in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. Our Leadership Consultants have been impressed with their care and concern for taking on the task of planning for their parishes and their strong desire to accomplish great things for not only their parish, but also for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux and ultimately for our Lord.
Many parish team members shared that while the steps until planning have felt like a long process, beginning the work on SMART goals and detailed action plans for the parish has re-energized them. Leveraging information from the Disciples Maker Index and the pastors combining that with their knowledge of building teams and setting priorities, these parish planning teams are motivated and enthusiastic to be working towards building up their faith community.
These planning teams are committed to helping their parishes make effective changes, set strong goals, and create opportunities for their people to personally encounter Jesus. One parish is particularly focused on outreach to Millennial couples. They are considering ways of how to engage Millennials in a way that meets them on their own terms. The teams are working on a lot of new ideas that could help them reach these goals and will soon finalize action plans and SMART goals to be shared with their parish.
Another parish took action on one of their goals: improving music ministry. In this case, they had the leadership courage to ask an individual to step down from his role in music at the parish. The feedback on this person had been held back from him, but at a detriment to the overall impression of the parish’s music ministry. In order to move forward on their goal of improving the music ministry, this difficult conversation was a necessity. The team demonstrated how with a clear goal in mind; you can effectively make and execute difficult decisions and actions which might be otherwise put off with no plan in place.
The parishes teams will continue with their SMART goals and action plans through January. Catholic Leadership Institute Leadership Consultants are currently leading the early stages of the planning, as the teams move towards finalizing their SMART goals and plans, the Diocese will begin to facilitate the sessions in helping to link each plan to Bishop Fabre’s Strategic Vision for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.
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