St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church

Vision, Priorities & Goals

Our Sacred Purpose

Our parish exists to foster our love of Christ in the Eucharist and our desire to grow in faith, so as to worship God and encourage one another in order to build a community of faithful disciples striving for heaven.

Our Parish Vision

Reflecting the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus through reverent worship and joyful fellowship,
St. Maximilian Kolbe parishioners generously serve our neighbors
and engage in missionary discipleship.

Since our parish’s participation in the Disciple Maker Index Survey in winter of 2023, our parish began a partnership with Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI), and an envisioning team - made up of parishioners, staff and Fr. Jim was formed. Together the team spent 6 months praying, discerning, and discussing the wonderful things about our parish family and identifying a few desired areas of growth. The fruits of this team’s work are as follows: defining the purpose of our parish, creating our new vision statement and our top 3 priorities for the next couple of years. These words were carefully crafted to celebrate the goodness of God in our parish family and encourage us to grow as His disciples.

Beginning June 2024, an Implementation Team made up of parishioners, staff and Fr. Jim was formed and tasked to put into practice the areas of growth identified by the envisioning team. (The work of the Implementation Team will take place over the next 18 months.) Within each priority, 2 goals have been determined. While each goal has a stated end date, its purpose is only to keep our efforts on task. Success is determined in some situations using data, but more importantly, we undertake this new initiative to create a culture of discipleship within our parish family, which itself has no end.

Into the Future

“To foster the Catholic formation of parishioners of all ages so we may grow in the knowledge of our faith and in the confidence to share that faith.”

  • Increase to 40% the number of parents who strongly agree that they have adequate support from the parish to help their children grow as disciples of Jesus Christ by October 1, 2026.

  • 30% of parishioners strongly agree that the parish equips them to have conversations with family and friends by growing their confidence in the Church’s teachings by October 1, 2026.

“To cultivate a growing desire within our parish family for a deeper relationship with Christ and His Church through the Mass, personal and communal prayer.”

  • Increase Mass attendance by 5% by June 1, 2026.

  • Our parishioners will experience Christ in the Eucharist through continual adoration at St. Maximilian Kolbe by June 1, 2026.

“To grow as joyful disciples through increased participation in the communal life of the parish.”

  • Increase total participation in parish events by 30% by August 30, 2026. (non-liturgical)

  • Increase to 75% the number of parishioners who indicate they have served a member of the community quarterly or more frequently by September 5, 2026.

Parishioner Testimonials

  • The Beauty of Belief

    by Zack Hinger, Priority #1 Team Leader

    The reason this priority is important is twofold. First, our faith is under attack in the world today, and both us and our children are going to be in situations where we need intimate knowledge of our faith and be able to defend it. The parish hopes to help all parishioners articulate and defend the beauty of what we believe. We know it is essential to provide this at all ages, but especially starting as early as possible so the children of our parish can understand the world through the lens of faith.

    Secondly, when we love someone, we naturally want to know them better. Being a disciple at its core is an encounter and subsequent relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. As we journey through that relationship, it moves us to a longing to know Him and His Church more. As a parish, we naturally want to support that desire born of love and provide support in that pursuit of learning more of our beloved. As a result of our love of God, we also ought to naturally be drawn to bring others to Him as well so they can share in our joy. It is the call of every baptized person to help make disciples.

  • Embodying Christ

    by Colleen Denlinger, Priority #1 Team Leader

    My husband, Shawn, and I have 4 children, Isaac (17), Claire (15), Mary (13) and Lydia (7) and have been parishioners at St. Max for 18 years. My children have been active participants in a variety of events and programs at the parish, including Mighty Max, RFY, Heavenly Heroes Summer Camp, Dead Theologians Society and the Middle and High School Youth Groups. The involvement of our children in the parish has given them increased knowledge about their faith; deepened their love for God; and increased their respect for and pride in our Catholic beliefs. They are then able to defend their faith when questioned by others in school or in the community. Additionally, being involved in parish life has helped them grow in relationships with peers who share the same faith. Such friendships help my children live their faith everyday and thus truly embody being disciples of Jesus Christ.

  • Finding Nourishment

    by Gerri Walsh, Priority #2 Team Leader

    This is a goal that involves all of us – individually and collectively. This priority is so important to the life of our parish family because attending Mass and receiving the Eucharist regularly nourishes our souls. To know Him is to Love Him. The Eucharist is the center of the Catholic Church and the transformed bread and wine are truly the Body and Blood of Christ and not merely symbols.

    Another way to experience the Eucharist is through Adoration. You can spend a brief 15 minutes or stay as long as you need. For me, this was the time and space in silence to quiet the fears and/or questions that I might be personally dealing with. It allowed me to be present with Him and hear His voice.

    When Covid shut down our churches and we were not able to worship or receive the sacraments, there was a huge void in my life. I felt empty. I took going to Mass and receiving His Body and Blood for granted. I can humbly say that though my life is busy, and sometimes I feel like I just need a break, that is when I need Him the most. I encourage all of you to walk this journey with us – we have something very special here at St. Maximillian Kolbe Parish!

  • They'll Know by Our Love

    by Colleen Stratman, Priority #3 Team Leader

    "For where two or three are gathered, I am there." -Matthew 18:20

    Jesus was the ultimate servant leader, & I sometimes wonder who he would hang out with if he were here today which leads me to think about who the “least of these” really are. I have served dinner at the homeless shelter, Serve City, in Hamilton through St. Max a few times, & I truly sensed that Jesus was there with us. One particular time, a young man who only spoke Spanish quietly said gracias and began to weep as we filled his plate with food. I began to cry with him and continued to think about him for days. We are all in this journey of life together and are doing the best we can.

    While it’s easy to see that the homeless and sick need help, everyone has their own cross to bear - even those strangers sitting next to you at Mass - maybe someone just lost a parent, has an addict in their family, has a child with an illness. We can be Jesus to one another through a simple smile or kind word.

    It is so easy to get wrapped up in the business of our schedules that it can be difficult to find time to volunteer. The new St Max website makes it very easy to see the many ways you can serve our community, but we can also perform simple random act of kindness. Maybe make a friend dinner who is sick or just had a baby, pay for the person’s Starbucks in the drive-through line behind you, pray for each other, hold the door for someone. Let’s continue working together to strengthen our parish community by gathering together at our planned social events and intentionally serving one another. Growing up in the 80’s with the ‘Glory & Praise’ hymnal, I always loved the song, “They’ll Know We Are Christians by our Love.” Let’s go and make this a reality!