All Saints is on a journey to become a Next Generation Parish!
First off, you might (understandably) wonder “ok, what does that mean?” or “I like the parish as it is, what’s changing?”.
Simply put, it is all of us (parishioners, clergy, staff, and parish ministries), unified by a clearly developed vision and well-defined pastoral priorities, to better enable hope and Christ’s abundant love to flourish within our parish, our local Dunwoody community, and the world beyond.
The goal of this process is a parish-wide commitment to fostering spiritual maturity, shared leadership, a vibrant Sunday experience, and the embracing of a missionary mindset.
How it Began
In the Spring of 2025, All Saints parishioners were invited to participate in the Disciple Maker Index (DMI) survey, provided to us by the Archdiocese of Atlanta in partnership with the Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI).
We had 451 respondents. A tremendous response rate of 38% (8-10% is typical according to CLI)!
Thank you to all who participated in the survey! The results are invaluable for understanding our parish’s greatest opportunities and strengths, and they will be used to develop a path forward and setting clear benchmarks as we grow stronger together in faith and friendship.
With this success conducting the DMI, we were then asked to take the next step in this journey as one of the Next Generation Parishes (“NextGen”) for the Archdiocese of Atlanta.
Successful Next Gen parishes raise up disciples and model a vibrant faith that thrives within the church walls and pours outward by sharing and witnessing Christ to our local Dunwoody community and beyond.
Diving Deeper into Our Journey
The DMI survey results were shared with participating parishes late last summer. With in-person facilitation from a CLI representative, Fr. Michael and the parish staff then met for a total of 12 sessions to review the results — alongside parish interviews, as well as sacramental and demographic information — coming together to pray and discern where the Holy Spirit is calling our parish and how we can accomplish getting there.
This process helped us to identify our mission, vision, values, as well as develop 3 pastoral priorities for coming years.
Next Steps
Now we begin the next step together. This summer, we will be sharing the fruits of our discovery work with you — including our parish Mission, Vision, Values, and Priorities.
After that, we enter Phase 3: Accompaniment, as we begin putting our plan into action through August 2027.
Stay tuned, and please continue to pray fervently for this intention and for the spiritual growth and protection of our parish.