“Stop seeing parishioners as just ‘helpers’ for parish tasks and, instead, see them as people being prepared for their unique role as emerging disciples and apostles.”
This simple but profound challenge was one of the strongest messages Geoff Gowdie, Assistant Director of Mission and Pastoral Life, and Jessan Tano, Sandhurst Youth Ministry Officer, brought home after attending the Archdiocese of Melbourne’s recent Proclaim26 Conference.
Across two keynote presentations, internationally renowned Catholic author and speaker on intentional discipleship, Sherry Weddell, invited clergy and lay leaders to rethink how they view parish life, not primarily as maintaining ministries, but as forming missionary disciples who know Christ and are equipped to share him with others.
Drawing on decades of experience helping parishes renew their mission, Sherry urged leaders to place evangelisation at the heart of everything they do. She challenged participants to recognise the often-untapped mission of lay Catholics by helping them discover the unique gifts God has entrusted to them. "This doesn't come naturally …," said Sherry. "It's a vocation that needs to be nurtured to bear real fruit."
For Jessan, the message affirmed much of what she has been striving to do through youth ministry while also stretching her thinking.
“Sherry’s talk affirmed much of what I have been trying to do in youth ministry, but it also challenged me to be more intentional,” said Jessan. “I have been inviting young people to participate but, more than that, I want to help them discover how God is calling them to serve and lead within the Church.”
Throughout the conference, Sherry returned to one central message: every baptised person has been uniquely prepared by God for a mission that only each unique person can fulfil. Rather than asking simply who can fill parish ministries, she challenged leaders to help people discover the vocation God has already placed within them.
She reminded participants that the Church’s greatest earthly treasure is not its buildings or institutions, but its people. Parish structures exist to support the growth of disciples who know Christ, follow him and become instruments of his healing in the world.
Sherry spoke candidly about the reality that many Catholics have received the gift of faith through Baptism, but have never experienced a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
This struck a chord with Jessan who felt particularly challenged by some of Sherry’s observations:
“One thing that genuinely surprised me was hearing Sherry say that many Catholics still do not have explicit personal attachment to Jesus Christ. Growing up, Jesus was never just someone I learned about through Church teachings. He was part of my life and of our family. Having that relationship from a young age, I had assumed that it was a common experience for most Catholics. Her insight made me realise that while many people know about Jesus, not everyone has truly encountered Him in a personal way. It reminded me that accompanying young people is not simply about teaching the faith or inviting them to Church activities. It is also about walking with them patiently and creating opportunities for them to experience Christ personally and discover a relationship with Him for themselves.”
Sherry explained that evangelisation, faith and conversion are essential if the Church's sacramental life is to bear its fullest fruit. She described discipleship as a gradual journey; from trust and curiosity to openness, seeking and ultimately becoming an intentional follower of Christ. Church leaders, she said, need to recognise where people are on that journey and accompany them patiently rather than assuming everyone is already a mature disciple.
Geoff reflected on Sherry’s discoveries:
“After interviewing hundreds of thousands of Catholics, Sherry and her team discovered that most (and this includes Mass-attending Catholics) are not disciples – they are somewhere in the ‘Trust’ to ‘Openness’ phases of the journey. The key to renewal in Catholic parishes is helping Catholics, and others seeking to explore faith, to make the intentional decision to follow Jesus in all aspects of their lives – to become a student (disciple ) of Jesus in life and for life; to make the ‘jump’. That’s why ‘missionary disciples’ is key to the understanding and fruitfulness of the Sandhurst Mission and Pastoral Goals.”
Another important focus of the conference was the discernment of charisms – the gifts of the Holy Spirit given for the service of others. Sherry explained that when people discover and use these gifts, they experience greater joy, fruitfulness and confidence in mission while becoming less susceptible to discouragement and burnout. “There’s someone out there waiting for what you have been given to give,” she said. “In God’s providence, you are the one he has prepared.”
Geoff said this message took on even greater depth than when he had heard Sherry speak previously.
“We have been prepared in advance; no-one can take our place in the Communion of Saints, for we are God’s handiwork specifically here for a specific purpose.”
The conference also explored how every Christian's actions have consequences that extend far beyond what they can see.
Reflecting on this theme, Geoff said:
"Sherry explored how we are interconnected with others across the world and across time, both past and future. What I do now has spiritual implications for someone else now, in the past or in the future, even if I am unaware of who they are. Both my loving actions and my selfish actions reverberate far beyond my immediate surroundings."
That understanding resonated strongly with Jessan, who summed up the message in a simple but memorable phrase: "My fruit belongs to you, Your fruit belongs to me."
The conference concluded by reminding participants that Christ is already at work in every place and every person they encounter. Mission is not about taking Jesus somewhere where he is absent but joining him in what he is already doing.
Geoff said one final insight from Sherry captured that vision beautifully.
"Take this to heart from Sherry Weddell: The glorified Jesus Christ is active everywhere and everywhen for everyone. It's impossible for any person or place to be God-forsaken. Anywhere you and I go, he is already there. We are joining him."
For Geoff and Jessan, Proclaim26 offered both encouragement and a renewed sense of purpose. The conference reinforced that parish renewal is about far more than recruiting volunteers or sustaining programs. It begins by helping people encounter Christ, discover the mission God has prepared for them and grow as intentional disciples who, in turn, invite others to do the same. “Does that not sound like our Strategic Mission and Pastoral Goals?” asked Geoff (Look at 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 3.1)
Proclaim26 (Proclaim 2026) was a two-day Archdiocesan conference held in late June at the Catholic Leadership Centre in East Melbourne. The event focused on equipping clergy and lay leaders with the tools for missionary discipleship and parish renewal.
Sherry Weddell is co-founder of the Catherine of Siena Institute in Colorado, USA, and author of the influential book Forming Intentional Disciples, which has helped shape parish renewal and evangelisation efforts throughout the Catholic Church.
