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The PED Diagram was created by the Parish Support Team within the Center for the New Evangelization. Specifically, Christen Aquino drew the first draft of the flower. Nicholas Hardesty perfected it, adding and arranging new petals, arrows, and labels for each part. Then, after review and feedback by members of the CNE and other colleagues in ministry and evangelization, Heroic took our final drawing and made it beautiful.

First, we did a lot of reading and research. Then, for inspiration and to differentiate ourselves, we looked at diagrams and illustrations that various apostolates and dioceses had already created to illustrate the processes of evangelization, discipleship, or both. The logo of the CNE is a rose window, so we made a flower the foundation of our Diagram. From there, it was just a matter of deciding on the correct petals and arrows, the appropriate length for each arrow, and the best way to label each part. The Diagram went through many iterations (see the series of images at the left of the page) before it arrived at its final form.

The “Beacons of Light” process in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati was the initial catalyst for the Diagram. One of the six Guiding Principles of the Beacons process is Evangelization, and we knew that if we were going to help parishes to fulfill this principle, we needed to be able to help them better understand the principles and processes at stake in the task of proclaiming the Gospel and creating disciples.

We believe that once a ministry leader knows what the journey from Pre-Trust to Missionary Disciple looks like and how to facilitate progression along that journey, then he or she can minister to people with intentionality and effectiveness, instead of just throwing everything against the wall and seeing what sticks. The PED Diagram provides this crucial knowledge and awareness.

Definitely! The pre-conversion thresholds were inspired by Sherry Weddell and her book Forming Intentional Disciples. Sherry is a Catholic author and speaker whose apostolate The St. Catherine of Siena Institute has had a transformative impact on dioceses, parishes, ministries, and individual Catholics all over the country and the world. The post-conversion thresholds were inspired by FOCUS (in their Discipleship Roadmap) and The Evangelical Catholic (in their Discipleship Baseball Diamond). FOCUS and The Evangelical Catholic are well-known Catholic apostolates that help Catholic parishes and college campus ministries become fully alive in their evangelical mission. The arrows were inspired by the teaching of the Church in her various documents on evangelization and catechesis, especially the General Directory for Catechesis (1997), the newer Directory for Catechesis (2020), and Evangelii Gaudium (2013). In the Info Packet, you’ll see that the explanations for each part often include many references to the documents of the Church.

The Process of Evangelization is the process, marked by various stages, through which the Church facilitates progression for individuals along the journey from Pre-Trust to Missionary Discipleship.

Stages, within this context, are the periods of gradual progression that mark the Process of Evangelization. The stages of the Process of Evangelization are Pre-Evangelization, First Proclamation, Initiatory Catechesis, Perfective Catechesis, Missionary Initiation, and Kerygmatic Catechesis.

The Process of Discipleship is the journey of faith and spiritual growth that leads to Missionary Discipleship. It is often also called “the discipleship path” or the “process of conversion.”

Missionary Discipleship is the threshold that the disciple (a follower of Jesus who learns from Jesus and strives to be like Jesus) enters into when he begins to live as one sent by Jesus to proclaim Jesus and His Gospel and make disciples.

Thresholds are stages of conversion along the path of discipleship, the path that leads from Pre-Trust to Missionary Discipleship.

A Decision Point represents a moment in the path of discipleship where a radical decision to further commit oneself to Jesus leads to an identity change and a new way of living. The Decision Points on the discipleship path are First Conversion and Commissioning.

The Group Study is for a Pastor and his staff of ministry leaders, or for a ministry leader and his or her team of ministry volunteers, to learn more about the PED Diagram. The hope is that the Study will also have a positive impact on each participant’s own journey of discipleship.

The next step is to contact the CNE! We can work with you and your team of ministry leaders to ensure that your parish activities, ministries, and services are informed by the Diagram. This often leads to the creation of “Discipleship Pathways.”

A Discipleship Pathway is an arrangement of parish activities, ministries, and services into a streamlined discipleship path or faith journey for those we meet and minister to. A Discipleship Pathway helps to ensure that everything the parish does is working to make disciples and send them on mission. FOCUS’s Win-Build-Send model for ministry is one example of a Discipleship Pathway. To learn more, see our Documents and Links page

Yes! You are free to use both the Diagram and the Info Packet, as long as you clearly indicate that they come from the Center for the New Evangelization in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

You can direct people to the site using the short URL: missionaryparish.com