Listening Before Leading: Parish Leaders Equipped for Mission and Evangelization
- André Escaleira, Jr.
- 5 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Pastors, parish staff and ministry leaders gathered for the Archdiocese of Denver’s annual Parish Leaders Convocation to pray, discern and strengthen parish life by listening to God’s plan for each community.
More than 100 parish leaders from across the archdiocese gathered in Denver on Tuesday for a daylong convocation designed to equip pastors, staff and ministry leaders to pray, discern and act together in their parishes.
Praying and Discerning Together
The training was rooted in a biblical truth: God has the plan for our parishes, schools, ministries and communities — and he wants his people to seek it together. As Archbishop Emeritus Samuel J. Aquila and Archbishop James Golka have repeatedly said, our task is to listen to God and act on what he says.
“This theme of being very discerning is crucial because we could come from years of experience where we could just keep on doing the same old thing, even if it’s clearly not working,” said Kristina Hummel of St. John Paul II Parish in Thornton. “It’s important to be very intentional with praying, discerning and asking the Lord what he wants for our parish, instead of just doing what we want.”
Coming from a unique parish — newly established and currently building their church — Hummel said she was encouraged by the convocation and excited to bring this prayerful discernment home with her.
“We're a brand-new parish. So we are starting from the ground up, and we need as much help as we can,” she explained. “But we're in a unique situation because we get to prayerfully discern where the Lord is calling our parish. Instead of inheriting a parish that had a vision beforehand, we get to prayerfully start our parish off with a very clear vision of what the Lord wants.”
As St. John Paul II builds physically and evangelically, Hummel said she couldn’t wait to see how God would use the diverse talents, gifts, skills and people in the community to bring about his Kingdom in Thornton.
“I’m looking forward to being able to pull in all of our different experiences and surrendering that to the Lord, saying, ‘Here’s our gifts and our talents that you have given us. Tell us what to do!’” she concluded.
Unity in Mission
The third annual Parish Leader’s Convocation came at an exciting time for the Catholic Church, as growing numbers of people explore what faith has to offer. Just last year, the Archdiocese of Denver saw a 30% rise in attendance at the Rite of Election, the Lenten liturgy that marks a major step for catechumens preparing to enter the Church at Easter. Later Archdiocesan data showed a 56% increase in the number of catechumens entering the Church.
“God is sending people to the Church right now in a way that's really kind of miraculous and Holy Spirit-led, and that through our simple acts of receiving people and walking with people, we can be his hands and his feet, bringing lots of lost sheep back into the Church this year,” said Andrew McGown, archdiocesan executive director of evangelization and mission.
With so many parish leaders from across the archdiocese coming together in mission — some driving several hours to participate — the convocation offered a glimpse into the hope-filled unity that God is bringing about in Northern Colorado.
“One important aspect of our team’s mission at the Archdiocese is to help be an agent of unity and collaboration,” McGown explained. “So these events are particularly important: first, to cast an impactful and inspiring vision that provides universal direction for our parishes and ministries, and second, to provide an opportunity for collaboration and networking for our parish leaders, which they don't normally get on their own.”
In short, Archbishop Golka said to parish leaders in his homily at Mass, the Archdiocese delights to host the convocation each year because “we care about you. My team is commissioned with caring for our priests, parishes and schools, primarily. There’s much more to do, but that’s important to us.”
Seeking the Lost, the Last, the Littlest
Drawing on the day’s providential Gospel reading of the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Archbishop Golka exhorted parish leaders to join in Jesus’ rescue mission in their own communities.
“Which one among you, having a hundred sheep, if you lost one, wouldn't go looking for the lost one and bring it back?” Archbishop Golka asked, quoting Luke 15. With a touch of humor, he noted that no one other than the Good Shepherd actually would, because “then the other 99 would be in trouble.
“But Jesus is telling us something about his Father, who for sure seeks the lost, the last and the littlest,” he continued. “He’ll look for them anywhere.”
Pointing to the biblical significance of 100 as a number of completeness, the archbishop emphasized God’s desire to make each of his children whole.
“In the Bible, 100 is a number that means completeness. If you’re only at 99, something is incomplete. Something is broken. Something is wounded. Something in you is lost,” he explained. “And God our Father is utterly committed to us that when something is lacking in us, God is stirred by that. He wants to bring it to completion. He’s stirred to help us be who he made us to become.”
That action, Archbishop Golka said, is often brought about through faithful witness and love for neighbor.
“Encounter means that Christ wants to work in and through you to care for his people. That’s ministry. It’s not just work; it’s not just a job,” he explained. “So I invite Christ to work through you to touch people whatever way he wants, because no matter how good you are, he’s a much better minister than you are. He’s much better at all that than we are.”
Through the devoted work of parish leaders cooperating with Jesus’ rescue mission, the archbishop said, God heals, restores and makes whole.
“Know that God wants to work through you to bring completeness to people’s lives, whatever’s lacking, whatever’s lost,” he said.
That mission begins close to home, McGown said, with lost sheep in each family, neighborhood and community.
“The Lord put each of us in a social circle where we have people who are lost and far from God. So we actually don't have to go far at all to find people. We already know them,” McGown explained. “I think the key is the decision to be more intentional in those relationships and to have the courage to go there, to initiate a spiritual conversation, and to follow the direction of the Holy Spirit to the lost sheep we already have in our sphere of influence.”
