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Disciple Maker Survey (DMI)

The Disciple Maker Index (DMI) is a tool provided by Catholic Leadership Institute that provides a rich assessment

of where parishioners are in their faith lives and their experience of parish life, all to help parish leaders in the planning process.

Early 2023, our parish participated in the DMI survey. A total of 906 surveys were completed (48% of our average Sunday Mass going parishioners).

Below are our findings as well as next steps for our parish family.

WHO PARTICIPATED

OF 906 SURVEYS...

SEX

64% women

36% men

MARITAL STATUS

9% single

80% married

3% divorced

7% widowed

SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN

33% have school aged children

67% do not have school aged children

EDUCATION CHOICE

41% send all their kids to Catholic schools

40% send all their kids to public schools

6% homeschool their kids

13% choose separately for each child

MEMBERSHIP DURATION

40% 20+ years

25% 11-20 years

15% 6-10 years

9% 3-5 years

6% 1-2 years

4% less than 1 year

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES OF OUR PARISHIONERS

Which of the following best describes where you are on your Catholic journey?

How often did you participate in or attend a Bible study or prayer group, in person or online over the past year:

How often did you participate in individual prayer time with God over the past year:

How often did you participate in or attend Mass over the past year?

How often did you participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation over the past year?

How often did you participate in a parish social event in the last year:

How often did you participate in Eucharistic adoration (time before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament) in the last year:

STRENGTHS OF OUR PARISH FAMILY

BELIEF

Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ

Scripture is the Word of God

Church is critical in my relationship with God

FREQUENCY

Mass attendance

Individual prayer time

Prayed with someone

PARISH SUPPORT

St. Max exhibits care to members of our community through charitable work and donations:

St. Max provides me with opportunities to serve those in need:

St. Max provides support to me or my family in times of need:

St. Max makes information about the parish easy for me to find:

St. Max helps me grow spiritually by providing retreats, workshops and other resources to help me figure out my life’s purpose:

St. Max offers vibrant and engaging Sunday Masses:

St. Max helps me grow spiritually by preparing me/my family for the sacraments:

St. Max helps me grow spiritually by forming me as a disciple of Jesus Christ:

I have adequate support from my parish to help my children grow as disciples of Jesus Christ:

KEY DRIVERS FOR RECOMMENDING OUR PARISH

Recommend Pastor:

St. Max is a welcoming community:

Homilies connect me to everyday life:

St. Max offers vibrant and engaging Sunday liturgies:

Invited someone to Mass:

Invited someone to a parish activity:

OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH

Feel confident in Church teachings so I can answer others’ questions:

My parish helps me grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ:

How often did you invite someone to consider a vocation to religious life in the past year:

How often did you invite a man to consider a vocation to the priesthood in the past year:

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

In the last year, how many different parish-based ministries or parish-based organizations have you participated in?

Top 4 choices that you find are most influential in keeping connected in parish life:

If you could select 5, which of the following expectations of a pastor for your community would be most important:

Select the two most important things you would want to take away from a homily at your parish:

All parishes have opportunities for growth. If you could only select 3 of the following things that the parish needs more of, which would they be:

What is your most preferred method of bringing others closer to Christ?

To what degree do you think your parish needs to change in order to best fulfill its mission in the next 5 years.

Rank the community values that would best describe the culture of your parish community:

WHAT'S NEXT?

STEP 1

Partnership with Catholic Leadership Institute

STEP 2

Visioning & Implementation

STEP 3

Evaluation