2026 Program

With a generous 5-year grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc., the National Community of Catechetical Leaders (NCCL) and the Loyola Institute for Ministry have designed the Pathways toward a Thriving Parish project to help parishes create their own paths toward a thriving, vital community of faith that is living its mission in today’s world. The Project will work with your parish to:

• Equip a parish leadership team with the knowledge, skills, and practices for creating pathways toward thriving for your parish community.
• Form leaders in the processes of listening to the needs, hopes, and hungers of the community; discerning how the Holy Spirit is calling the parish to respond and grow; and acting by creating pathways for thriving designed for your parish community.
• Discover and empower the gifts and abilities parish community – individuals and teams – for ministry and service in the parish and in the world.

2026 Parish Commitment Form

If you want to participate in the 2026 Pathways Project, please indicate your commitment by completing the parish profile. It provides us with an understanding of your parish and how to best match your parish with one of our Pathways Facilitators in Part 3 of the Project.

Complete the Parish Profile at: surveymonkey.com/r/PathwaysProfile26

Part 1. Foundational Program: Becoming a Thriving Parish in Today's World

All parish leaders should become familiar with the vision and practice of the Pathways Project.

The videos from the February-March webinar series are now online at:
thrivingparishes.org/2026-course

Sessions 1 through 4 of the online course provide the foundational knowledge necessary for participating in the Project. All Core Team members in your parish should view these four videos:

Session 1. A Theological Vision to Guide Today’s Parish – Dr. Jodi Hunt and Dr. Tracey Lamont

Session 2. Skills for Leading a Thriving Parish – Jim Merhaut and Edwin Ferrara

Session 3. Creating a Flourishing & Thriving Parish – John Roberto

Session 4. Embracing a Synodal Posture – Sr. Nathalie Becquart, xmcj

Part 2. Developing Leadership for the Pathways Project
(March-April 2026)

Leadership Roles

To guide the processes of listening and discerning to the parish community, and designing and implementing pathways for growth, parishes will need a Coordinator, Core Team, and, eventually, an Implementation Team.

The  Coordinator/Convener will 1) guide the parish Core Team and Planning Team in the development and implementation tasks from the workshops; 2) schedule meetings; 3) create agendas; 4) lead planning meetings; and 5) communicate with the parish staff, parish council, parish leaders, and the community as plans develop and are implemented.

The Core Team works with the Coordinator in the design and implementation of pathways toward becoming a more vital and thriving parish community, and in the evaluation of the effectiveness of the initiatives that were created and implemented.    

Ideally, the Core Team should be a minimum of 5 people and can be as large as 10-12, depending on the size of the parish. The parish team should represent the diversity of ages and cultures in the parish community. Here are suggestions for parish team members:

• The Pastor (as much as he can participate)
• Pathways Coordinator
• Parish staff
• Parish/Pastoral Council members
• Leaders in the variety of ministries (formal and informal) in the parish, such as liturgy, evangelization, catechesis, pastoral care, service, and more.

The Implementation Team is comprised of a variety of volunteer leaders who are invited to lead specific programs, activities, or initiatives to implement the pathways. These leaders represent a variety of skills and interests; and can be involved in direct ministry or support ministry for pathways and projects.

Core Team Leadership Formation Retreat

Saturday April 18, 2026, 11 am - 2pm ET

The Pathways Project is conducting a team-building retreat experience for all participating parishes on Saturday April 18, 2026, 11 am – 2 pm ET. The retreat will be conducted on Zoom.

Gather your team together in one location so everyone can participate in the guided activities led by our Pathways Team on Zoom. Connect a computer to a projector (and screen) or to a large screen monitor to watch the video together. Connect to Zoom using the link below.

Team Formation Retreat - Use Link on April 18th: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88130500616

Part 3. A Guided Process for Developing Parish Pathways
(May – November 2026)

To guide the Parish Core Team through the process of developing parish pathways, a Pathways Facilitator will lead six 90-minute online workshops from May through November 2026. Parishes will be organized into small cohorts of 3-4 parishes. Dates for the online workshops will be scheduled in consultation with the parishes in the cohort. Each team member will receive a copy of the Pathways Planning Guidebook (downloaded from the Thriving Parishes website.)

Workshop Topics

Workshop #1. Explore Parish Life Today

Workshop #2. Analyze The Parish Context

Workshop #3. Discern Pathways toward Thriving

Workshop #4. Design Pathways toward Thriving

Workshop #5. Develop a Plan to Implement the Pathways

Workshop #6. Discern the Gifts of the Parish Community and Engage the Community in Action