In the Spring of 2023, Monsignor Lawrence assembled an ‘Envisioning Team’ to review and reflect on data and observations regarding the current and future state of our parish and the Catholic church at large. The team was extremely pleased to see a strong, growing faith-based community here at St. John’s and data indicating parishioner interest and commitment to remaining active in the faith. The team also noticed a high number of respondents signaling the need for help to take their faith to the next level, to become true disciples of Christ; people who could comfortably share the story of Jesus as well as their own personal ‘testimony’ as a means to bring others into the faith.

The data, the insights, a lot of discussion and a lot of prayer lead the Envisioning team to create a new Pastoral Plan for our parish along with a new, bolder Purpose Statement.

The parish Purpose Statement, provided below, should be considered the ‘next generation’ of our parish mission statement. Rooted in the determination of our patron Saint John the Baptist, the Purpose Statement is designed to make us more aware of the significance of our presence in this community and accountable for connecting people to Jesus. Given this Purpose Statement, the team defined/declared two significant strategic priorities for our parish: Discipleship and Community Building.

Parish Purpose Statement:

St. John the Baptist, is a bold voice ringing out in the wilderness,

Proclaiming ‘Behold the Lamb of God’

Pointing the way to Christ for the faithful and the seekers,

Challenging all to live joyfully as disciples of Christ.

Parish Priority #1: Discipleship

Definition: To invite each member of our faith community to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ, to be gradually transformed into committed disciples, and to be empowered to joyfully and boldly give witness to how Jesus Christ lives in their hearts, in order to ignite within our community a fire for Christ.

Parish Priority #2: Community Building

 Definition: Ensuring people experience Christ through us in how we welcome, interact, and integrate individuals into our parish and in how we exist in our neighborhood(s).

To find out more, contact us.

4/23/24/ LKC