"And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved." ACTS 2:47
The Missioning Process
The Missioning Process is relatively simple.
When a parish is interested in beginning to host its own ACTS retreats, the parish priest or designee contacts the RGV ACTS Chapter. A Chapter representative will then meet with the priest to review the responsibilities and costs involved with hosting ACTS retreats. The priest then will sign a formal agreement to begin the missioning process.
The Chapter will work with the parish priest to schedule retreats on dates convenient for the parish; that is to say, retreat dates will not conflict with other parish events such as baptisms, first communions, or confirmations.
The missioning process includes six retreats and may take two years or more to complete.
For the first two retreats (1 Men's, 1 Women's), the Chapter will elect experienced directors from other parishes. The directors will select a team from among various parishes and from the hosting parish if there are eligible members. Team members from other parishes will be experienced and expected to serve as mentors for host parish members. The makeup of this team will be about 2/3 experienced and 1/3 novice members. Chapter members will be assigned to mentor/assist directors.
The Chapter will also elect directors from other parishes for the second two retreats. Here, too, the team will be comprised of experienced members from other parishes and novice members from the host parish. Again, experienced members are expected to serve as mentors for host parish members. The makeup of this team will be about 1/2 experienced from outside parishes, 1/4 experienced from the host parish, and 1/4 novice from the host parish. Chapter members will be assigned to mentor/assist directors.
For the third round of retreats, the Chapter will elect directors from the host parish based on recommendations from the parish priest. It is recommended that the makeup of this team include 1/4 experienced members from outside parishes and 3/4 members from the host parish. Chapter members will be assigned to mentor/assist directors.
After six retreats have been completed, the Chapter will install an ACTS Core to take responsibility of hosting future retreats for the parish.
The RGV ACTS Chapter is responsible for training, supporting, and providing guidance to parish Cores and directors for ACTS retreats held in the Brownsville Diocese.