November 01, 2016
Living passionately for the Lord
Dear friends,
In 1995 before ChristLife began, as we were praying and seeking the Lord’s guidance on the new ministry He was calling us to, Jim McFadden, a founding member of the Board of Directors, felt inspired in prayer to turn to Galations 2:20. Jim sensed God calling us to be a ministry that led people to a complete surrender of their lives to Jesus Christ, so that like St. Paul their life passion would become living for the Lord. The name "ChristLife" emerged from this passage and the conviction that God was calling us to be absolutely clear who we represented and what we were called to be.
This scripture continues to be central to ChristLife’s calling and vision. Our aim is to lead people to encounter Jesus Christ personally and to become passionate, devoted disciples who desire to live completely for Him. In the deepest sense of the words we want people to become "missionary disciples."
I am writing to share with you how we are currently accomplishing this mission, what the fruit of our work is, and invite you to begin or continue partnering with us in the mission of evangelization. We accomplish our mission of making missionary disciples in four major ways:
In a particular way we are seeing the Holy Spirit work in a powerful way with ChristLife Young Adults. From what began as a Discovering Christ course for young adults seven years ago has grown into a vibrant Christ-centered community that has touched the lives of hundreds of young adults in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. One young man expressed the impact upon his life in this way:
"ChristLife Young Adults really fed my desire for knowledge and a relationship with God. I came when I was in RCIA and I grew from being in community to someone who wanted to help evangelize."
Our aim is to continue evangelizing and raising up missionary disciples among the young adult generation. Will you partner with us to support our local missionary work among young adults?
We estimate that over 70,000 people in 700 parishes have had the opportunity to encounter Jesus personally through the first course of the series, Discovering Christ. Fr. Donahue, the pastor of St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Virginia, shared the impact of ChristLife in his parish:
"It has provided a joyful and stimulating environment for both parishioners and non-parishioners to come to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and with each other in the context of the parish community."
Our vision is to expand our training opportunities so more and more lives will be changed and parishes transformed by the Gospel. Will you partner with us to train leaders and send them out as missionary disciples into their parishes?
We are already receiving feedback on the quality of the resources. One of the leaders of Discovering Christ at St. Louis Parish in MD shared with us:
“The new Discovering Christ talks are exceptionally well done. They are clear, concise, and relevant. The gospel message shines through! ChristLife really hit the mark on this series.”
Our goal is to continue producing high quality resources that effectively “equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:12). Will you partner with us to produce additional resources for the work of evangelization?
Dianne Davis, our NY Regional Director, has been a leader in incarnating this vision in the Archdiocese of New York. She is regularly working with parish teams throughout the Archdiocese to build a network of support and prayer for parishes engaged in the ChristLife series. This Fall she hosted a reunion for anyone who had participated in the ChristLife process in the Archdiocese. Nearly 150 people came from 20 parishes. One woman shared after the reunion:
"I really appreciate all you do to help lay people better learn to grow in Christ. I hunger so much to fulfill His every Desire for my life. Attending ChristLife events enables me to better learn His Will for me."
Our vision is to foster a network of Catholics who are passionate about Jesus Christ. Will you partner with us so together we can accomplish the mission the Lord has given us?
If you are not already a monthly donor would you consider becoming one? Your monthly contributions help sustain our mission of evangelization.
Evangelization takes hard work and persistence. St. Paul writes to Timothy, "proclaim the word, be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient" (2 Timothy 4:2). Please pray for our missionary band here at ChristLife and the entire network of ChristLife leaders around the country and overseas to remain faithful to the work he has given us.
We are grateful for your support. Without the partnership of brothers and sisters like you we would not be able to fulfill the mission the Lord Jesus has given us.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus,
Dave Nodar
Director
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
Galatians 2:20