Parishes in the Diocese of Phoenix will be rolling out a survey to parishioners on Nov. 15 called The Disciple Maker Index (DMI), to gather data on which parish efforts, programs and activities are effective in helping individuals and families grow in their faith, and where there is need of improvement.
Catholic Leadership Institute, which provides bishops, priests, deacons, religious and lay persons across the U.S. and Canada in the Roman Catholic Church with pastoral leadership formation and consulting services, developed the survey in 2014. Since then, DMI has been used as a diagnostic tool in more than 4,600 parishes throughout North America.
“This is a powerful tool that helps pastors and parish leaders understand both the strengths and the challenges within their parish community. It allows us to discern how best to serve and guide our people in growing and living their Catholic faith,” said Vicar for Clergy Msgr. Peter Bui.
“Parishes are not built around pastors and priests — we come and go — but the parish community remains. This survey gives pastors a deeper insight into the needs of their parish family, and it gives the faithful a meaningful way to contribute to making their parish more vibrant and faith filled.”
The survey, which takes about 10-15 minutes, contains questions pertaining to connections within the local parish community, spiritual growth, participation frequency, demographics and parishioners’ satisfaction with their parish, pastor and parish activities, among others.
This in-depth survey “invites parishioners to reflect on where they are on their journey of discipleship and enables parish leadership to make data-driven decisions to help parishioners grow in their faith,” according to the Catholic Leadership Institute website.
During the second week of November, parishioners can expect to start receiving further information from their parish office directly through established means of communication, such as Flocknote and their bulletins.
In addition, a separate, complimentary survey called the Priest Leadership Inventory (PLI) will be taken by diocesan priests, who were introduced to Catholic Leadership Institute during their annual priest convocation in September.
“The PLI will be completed by each priest serving in the Diocese of Phoenix. The scope of this inventory gathers basic information, preferences and passions, strengths and styles and finally peer perspectives,” said Fr. Greg Schlarb, director for the ongoing formation of priests.
“It is meant to augment proactive support of a priest’s ongoing formation and growth to meet the needs of his parish, while prioritizing areas for individual ongoing formation and development. At the same time, it is a tool to assist the bishop and the Vicar for Clergy in effective planning and support for more effective discernment in future parish placements, including priestly care.”
“I strongly encourage everyone to take the time to complete the survey,” concluded Msgr. Bui. “Your pastor truly wants to hear from you!”
