Knowing that the Eucharist, the real presence of Jesus Christ, is at the heart of our Catholic identity, and that we are called to live and celebrate in community, our parish vision/mission is to welcome and invite all individuals to Christ. Guided by a commitment to those who are poor in body and spirit, we can achieve this vision/mission by:
- Provide opportunities for parishioners, parish ministry leaders and parish staff to become familiar and comfortable with missionary discipleship and evangelization (a probable resource is Evangelical Catholic). Provide opportunities for each parishioner to carry out corporal and/or spiritual works of mercy each day, with a focus on being missionary disciples. Ultimately, achieve a goal of an average weekend Mass attendance of 12,000+.
- With an expanded reach as a result of evangelization and missionary discipleship, position the parish to form auxiliary locations within the existing boundaries (i.e.: St. Matthew West and/or St. Matthew East).
- Initiate and complete new construction at our main campus to support an increase in parishioner participation and the need to support preschool-age children, youth, young adult, and senior citizen programming with frequent opportunities for intergenerational encounters.
- Expand the current columbarium and prayer garden to accommodate the needs of parishioners for the next ten years. Integrate the design to complement the existing site.
- Upgrade existing facilities and technology as required to support changing parish needs and aging facilities.
- Provide opportunities for parish families to gather outside the Sunday Mass for faith community building.
- Transition the Waxhaw campus to become a standalone parish. Assure the facilities are in good operating condition; provide transition team with detailed information on the operation of the campus. Support all diocesan efforts to assure a seamless turnover and provide a fair and equitable transfer of assets.
Data collected and analyzed from a recent parishioner input survey and the Catholic Leadership Institute Disciple Maker Index survey, coupled with Bishop Martin’s Vision for the Diocese of Charlotte, were merged to generate a comprehensive six-year pastoral plan for St. Matthew Catholic Church (2026-2032). The combined 3,000 responses constitute just over 30% of the average weekend Mass attendance and yields results that are statistically significant. Opportunities for survey participation were communicated orally from both the pulpit and utilizing all communication platforms currently available to parishioners.
Although lofty, the aforementioned goals are attainable within the six-year period through the dedicated and unified efforts of parishioners, ministry leaders, clergy and staff.