Transforming parish leadership: Rallying together to build up the Kingdom

In the ever-evolving landscape of parish ministry during this apostolic age, priests increasingly seek to share the discernment of their mission with dedicated leadership teams. Father Shaun Galvin’s journey with the Institute for Apostolic Leadership and the newly established Ephesians 4 School at Immaculate Conception Parish in Lafayette exemplifies this collaborative approach, fostering a vibrant, mission-driven community. The two archdiocesan initiatives aim to rejuvenate parish ministries and equip leaders with a renewed sense of mission and purpose. It all started three years ago when the archdiocese brought the Acts 29 team to lead the annual priestly convocation. Father John Riccardo and his team, who work to unleash the power of the gospel and equip ordained and lay leaders through Acts 29’s initiatives, made a lasting impression on Father Galvin. “I saw something really attractive and really good with the team and Father John,” Father Galvin said, reminiscing on that pivotal convocation. “There was a holiness and healthiness in them that I wanted to be part of my life and ministry.” It was their openness and utter reliance on the Holy Spirit that Father Galvin found particularly impactful. “Part of it was how open they were to let the Holy Spirit lead, partly through their prayer practices and relationship with their team. It was how the Holy Spirit was able to speak through them and give them direction,” he shared. “I was a young pastor at the time, and they were showing me a new way to let him lead in a concrete way. I didn’t totally understand it, but I wanted to learn about it,” Father Galvin continued. At this convocation, the Acts 29 team spoke in depth about a “family on mission,” where responsibilities are shared within a tight-knit leadership team. The model provides a way for priests to share their sacerdotal ministry with equipped leaders on mission alongside them. In this system, priests don’t shoulder all the responsibilities alone. That model struck Father Galvin, shifting his perspective on his leadership of the parish community. “It was powerful to see a team around the pastor that supports and challenges the pastor, sharing responsibility and decision-making,” he said. Since then, Father Galvin has continued building up that supportive, challenging team around him. Participating in the Institute for Apostolic Leadership, Father Galvin has taken the “family on mission” at Immaculate Conception and sought to grow in prayer, discernment, leadership and ministry together. The archdiocesan institute, in partnership with the Missio Institute and sponsored by the Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal, equips leaders for mission, helping them put on an apostolic mindset, grow in healthy leadership and become proficient in prayer to discern God’s direction. Over the past year, the leadership team at Immaculate Conception engaged in quarterly off-site meetings, growing together and rejuvenating their understanding of the parish’s mission in this new apostolic age. “A big part of the work was to get clear on the mission,” Father Galvin explained. “We spent time in prayer, asking, ‘Lord, what is your mission for Immaculate Conception?’” Through communal discernment, the team arrived at a unified mission statement. Simply put, their mission is to be and to form disciples of Jesus. This clarity came through their communal prayer and reflection. It led to concrete projects and initiatives for the parish, like the Rescue Project, an eight-week preaching series designed to evangelize both committed Catholics and those newer to the faith. The series included dinner, preaching and discussion time. “I saw a deepening understanding of who Jesus is, and a lot of life come into parishioners. The program both invigorates and reinvigorates faith,” Father Galvin said of the evangelistic initiative. With his “family on mission” and inspired by his experience with the Institute for Apostolic Leadership, Father Galvin sought to extend the formation he received to the entire parish through the Ephesians 4 School. This initiative draws its name from Ephesians 4:11 and focuses on equipping parishioners for mission. The parish ministry is coming to life in collaboration with Dr. Scott Elmer, the archdiocese’s chief mission officer, who shares a similar vision for apostolic leadership formation. “We invited those already serving in the parish and those who feel called to serve to be part of the Ephesians 4 School,” Father Galvin said. The program follows a timeline with four-week sessions on various topics and aims to become a regular offering for parishioners to build them up in faith, mission and service. And the parishioners have been responding well. “A big part of what I’ve seen the Lord doing is helping us develop opportunities for the formation of our parishioners, wherever they’re at,” Father Galvin shared, emphasizing the importance of providing opportunities for parishioners at all stages of their faith journeys. “I have been very encouraged seeing how God has been at work through these formation opportunities and the way our parishioners have been responding. I can see for many the Lord opening new doors in their faith and the new life that it is bringing to our parishioners both on an individual level and as a community,” he concluded.