The Disciple Maker Index (DMI) is a tool offered by Catholic Leadership Institute that provides a rich assessment of where parishioners are in their faith lives and their experience of parish life, all to help parish leaders in the planning process.
Below are just some of the archdiocese level findings from the 2023-2024 DMI surveys taken by over 72% of our Families of Parishes. We have both some strengths to continue building upon and some opportunities to review and address. The Center for Parish Vitality encourages the leaders of those Families who participated to review their data and find out what their strengths and opportunities are.
Who Participated
0
parishioners
0
deaneries
0
families
(72%)
0
parishes
(73%)
92%
over the age of 35
65%
women
94%
white
76%
married
75%
have been members of the parish for more than 10 years
56%
with school age children send their kids to Catholic schools
Archdiocese Strengths
??%
national average
0%
strongly believe the Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ
??%
national average
0%
strongly believe that Scripture is the Word of God
??%
national average
0%
attend Mass weekly
Archdiocese Opportunities
??%
national average
0%
strongly believe my parish equips me to confidently answer questions about my faith
??%
national average
0%
never invite a man to consider a vocation to the priesthood
??%
national average
0%
strongly agree that my parish forms me as a disciple of Christ
Key Indicators of Parish Vibrancy
Main drivers for recommending a parish
Parish
Recommendation
Main drivers that help me grow as a Catholic
Parish helps
me grow
Recommendations
Efforts to build small-groups and discipleship focus will help with the change process and the data shows they effectively increase a participant’s choice to strongly recommend their parish by
82%
Incorporate data into planning for programming and resources.
Use data to explore or challenge narratives among parish and diocesan leaders.
Assess attention needed to align resources to certain parishes or ministries.
We plan to offer an opportunity for Families to do a second round of the DMI survey in 2026.