Mission: Possible ~ The New Face of Church Leadership…Yours! Is an Archdiocesan initiative designed first to raise awareness, among the people of God, of the need for professional church ministers, and then to identify, invite, form, educate and sustain candidates for servant leadership within the church, especially within the six counties of the Archdiocese of Detroit.

This comprehensive campaign is the collaborative effort of a committee comprised of Archdiocesan leadership and parish, school and agency ministers.

The approach is strategically fashioned to engage parish, vicariate and ministerial leadership in the important work of inviting persons of all ages, both genders, every culture/race of various backgrounds with notable gifts and talents to carefully consider the call to full or part time professional church ministry. Ministerial mentoring is integral to the process of discernment. The committee in collaboration with the Office for Pastoral Ministries links qualified ministers with the candidates to serve them in the process of discernment.

The Archdiocesan committee is approaching this initiative in phases – focusing on several communities in each phase, meeting with their leadership and then inviting them into this process. The hope is that this important work of invitation and discernment will become integral to the ongoing service of those in parish/vicariate leadership.

The committee is working closely with deans of colleges, seminaries, and universities as well as directors of places of formation to strengthen and to expand educational and formational opportunities. The places of higher learning are institutions located in the Archdiocese and also include 15 other Catholic universities in several Eastern, Midwestern, and Southern states, as we look to expand our partnerships.

The Mission: Possible effort is also linked directly to the Certification Review Boards of the Archdiocese that grant certification in several areas of ministry based upon National Standards and Competencies. Among the key contributors/participants in this multi-faceted initiative are college and university campus ministers. Their major contributions include developing marketing approaches, helping to produce a state of the art video, the fashioning of a young adult discernment weekend retreat and leading some of the parish visitations/presentations.

Grant money from Stewards for Tomorrow is available to candidates/applicants to support them in their ongoing education and formation for ministry.