Walking with Jesus
Missionary Discipleship Institute for MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS
For more information, contact Jackie Hopper, our National Teacher Catechist Outreach Team Member and Mission Educator Promoter.
Contact JackieOVERVIEW
The Missionary Discipleship Institute (MDI) is a year-long 3-part faith and outreach experience which provides a framework for students to encounter God in their lives and the lives of their neighbors on the margins and gain awareness of injustices that they face; reflect on how the Church is responding in love and the disturbance this creates in our own sense of discipleship; and discern, develop, and carry out a response rooted in God's mission.
Development
This program was developed in partnership with Missions Office and Office for Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Seattle, the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, and the Poverty Education Center at Seattle University.
Basis of the MDI
The program includes three basic learning phases, divided into units. Each unit contains three to five lessons, with suggested extensions to teach to Catholic School national standards.
Learning Phases
Unit One - Encountering Jesus
Who is my neighbor? With whom does Jesus walk?
(ENCOUNTER/Advent)
During this foundational phase, students recognize the presence of God’s love in their lives, and that Jesus is active in their lives today. They research the life and actions of Jesus through Gospel stories, as well as the lives of people living on the margins today and how issues of injustice affect them, locally and globally. As a class, students discern a single topic to address as a community of missionary disciples. This unit includes an immersion experience.
Click Here to Preview the Unit One Curriculum
Unit Two - Meeting Others with Jesus
Who is showing love to my neighbor? How does Jesus show love?
(DISTURBANCE/Lent)
Students reflect on Jesus’ actions in the world. They also assess local and global case studies of various Catholic organizations and communities in loving relationships of missionary discipleship with people living on the margins with tools from Redemptoris Missio and other Church teachings. Students continue the research on the issue that the class chose in Phase One. They discern possible actions for their missionary service response.
Join the MDI Educator Community to Access the Curriculum
Unit Three - Responding with Jesus
How am I called to love my neighbor? How is Jesus inviting us to act?
(RESPONSE/Pentecost)
In this final phase, students invite a deeper relationship with Jesus through discernment into action to carry out their plans for the missionary discipleship response. Students reflect on the experience and share information with others in school and the larger community.
Join the MDI Educator Community to Access the CurriculumLesson Materials
Join the MDI Educator Community to access all our lesson materials and resources.
Click here to join the community!
MDI, Unit One - Reflection on the 5 Topics
Reflections on Issues Facing Our Neighbors on the Margins
MDI - Topic Summaries and Backgrounds
Topics include Care for Creation, Immigration and the Movement of Peoples, Education, Global Women’s Justice, and Economic Justice and Poverty.
Resources
Resources on Issues Facing People on the Margins
The MDI asks students to research five topic areas related to the life and health of people around the world, and select one to which they feel called to respond. Resources provided around these topic areas include:
Student Research Links on MDI Topics
Links to research sites where students can find information on each of the MDI topics—Care for Creation, Immigration, Education, Global Women’s Justice, and Economic Justice and Poverty
Case Studies on Church Responses
Case studies of how Maryknoll missioners, Catholic Relief Services, and others are responding to each topic area in love and faith
MDI Racial Justice Lesson Plans
Extension lesson plans with connections between racial justice and our faith traditions and stories.
Rubric for Missionary Discipleship
This rubric can be used by both students and teachers to assess missionary discipleship activity. It is also the basis for how students plan their response.
Reflections from Participants
Students share their thoughts on the meaningful impact MDI has had on their lives.
