Becoming Intentional

On May 12-13, more than 160 priests, deacons, religious, parish leaders, and lay faithful from across the diocese gathered in Kearney for Becoming Intentional: A Discipleship Workshop with Sherry Weddell.

Hosted as part of the diocese’s ongoing pastoral vision of forming intentional disciples, the two-day workshop invited participants to reflect deeply on evangelization, parish renewal, and what it truly means to follow Jesus Christ in today’s world. 

The keynote speaker, Sherry Weddell, is co-founder and Executive Director of the Catherine of Siena Institute, an international ministry dedicated to equipping parishes for the work of forming intentional disciples. Through her leadership, writing, and training, Sherry has helped shape the discipleship renewal movement across the globe. She and her international team have worked directly with tens of thousands of Catholics in hundreds of parishes and dioceses across five continents, helping leaders foster authentic encounters with Christ. 

Sherry is also the author of the bestselling book Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus, a resource that has become foundational for dioceses and parishes seeking to renew the Church’s missionary identity. 

Throughout the workshop, participants explored themes of evangelization, personal relationship with Jesus, the thresholds of conversion, and the call for every Catholic to become a missionary disciple. The conversations were both practical and deeply spiritual, challenging attendees to reflect not only on parish programs but on the lived reality of discipleship. 

During her time in the diocese, Sherry and I sat down for an interview, as part of my role as Director of Mission Integration, to discuss some of the greatest opportunities and challenges facing the Church today.

When asked what she believes is the greatest challenge facing the Church when it comes to evangelization, Sherry immediately pointed to what she called “the silence” surrounding personal relationship with God. 

   “Consistently breaking the silence about relationship with God — the possibility of a personal relationship that anyone can have — and about following Jesus as His disciple,” she said. “We’ve heard many people tell us they were lifelong Catholics and didn’t even know that was an option. They thought that was a Protestant thing, not Catholic.” 

   She explained that many faithful Catholics have never heard discipleship spoken about in personal terms. As a result, they may participate actively in parish life while never realizing that Jesus is inviting them into a living relationship with Him. 

   “People need a chance to wrestle with it, grapple with it, pray their way through it,” she said. “And they need people who will walk with them while they do that, so they know they are not alone.” 

   That theme — accompaniment — surfaced repeatedly throughout the workshop. Evangelization is not simply about programs or strategies; it is about relationships, witness, and walking alongside others as they encounter Christ. 

Weddell has spent years helping Catholics understand the phrase “intentional disciple,” a term that has become central to conversations about parish renewal. 

   “What I mean is beginning the journey of seeking to answer Christ’s call,” she explained, “to follow Him as one who learns from Him, walks with Him, seeks to obey Him, and lives as His disciple both within the Church and out in the world.” 

   She emphasized that discipleship is not a one-time event, but a lifelong journey of growing deeper in relationship with Christ. 

   “For many years, when I talked about this, people looked at me like I had seven heads,” she said with a laugh. “People thought I was being Protestant. But this is what Catholics have always done. This is what the saints have always done. Our theology is all there.” 

   Today, however, she sees a major shift happening within parishes and dioceses. 

   “Finally, at the local parish level, we’re starting to talk about this freely,” she said. “People feel more confident raising the issue of discipleship, and that’s very exciting.” 

Many Catholics faithfully attend Mass and serve in parish ministries, yet still may not see themselves as missionary disciples. Weddell believes the first step in bridging that gap is simple: start talking about it.

   “I can’t tell you how many people have said, ‘I didn’t even know relationship with God was possible because nobody talked about it,’” she shared. 

   She stressed the importance of ordinary Catholics sharing their own stories of faith. 

   “People need to hear stories from other ordinary people like themselves who are exploring relationship with God and trying to live it,” she said. “Most of us aren’t going to attempt something we’ve never heard anyone else talk about.” 

   Once again, she returned to the importance of breaking the silence. 

   “Breaking the silence is always the first step,” she said. 

What does a parish truly alive in evangelization look like? 

   For Weddell, the answer begins with the way people talk. 

   “I would listen to their conversations and how they talk about God,” she explained. “Do they speak about God in a personal way, or is it mostly logistics, politics, or insider gossip?” 

   In vibrant parishes, she said, conversations naturally reflect a living relationship with Jesus Christ. 

   “They’ll be telling stories about how God is moving in people’s lives,” she said. “They’ll use personal language when talking about Jesus. You can tell this is someone they actually love and care about.” 

   She also described how spiritual gifts — or charisms — begin to emerge when people deepen their relationship with Christ. 

   “People begin to feel called to undertake something new for God’s purposes,” she explained. “And they can actually put that experience into words.” 

Another sign of a healthy parish is that people begin showing up — often unexpectedly. 

   “When a parish is alive, word gets out into the community,” she said. “People who are seeking somehow hear there is something good happening there, and they just start showing up. We need to expect them and be ready for them.” 

One of the most discussed themes from Forming Intentional Disciples is Weddell’s explanation of the “thresholds of conversion,” which describes stages people often move through on their journey toward discipleship. 

   “The thresholds are really just language to describe stages on a longer journey,” she explained. 

   She noted that today’s culture is very different from previous generations, and Catholics can no longer assume faith is automatically passed on. 

   “We cannot presume faith anymore,” she said. “A lot of people were not raised in it, and the world around them often does not share it either.” 

   Understanding where someone is on their journey allows parish leaders to meet people with compassion and wisdom. 

   “We want to be able to listen to their story and understand where they really are,” she explained. “Not guess. We want to come alongside them, affirm what they have experienced, and say, ‘There is more — and it’s really good.’” 

   That message of hope resonated strongly throughout the workshop. 

   Participants left encouraged not only to strengthen programs and ministries, but to cultivate cultures of encounter within their parishes — places where people can experience authentic relationship with Jesus Christ and be accompanied on the journey of discipleship. 

   As the diocese continues its mission of forming intentional disciples, the workshop served as both a challenge and an invitation: to move beyond maintaining the faith and toward actively sharing it. 

   The call to evangelization is not reserved for a select few. It is the mission of the entire Church. †