Marching Orders
A Catholic Document Study on Taking Up Your Post in the Church Militant
“So what are we waiting for?”— Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium 120
What This Is
Marching Orders is a six-session small group study built on the Church’s own documents. In each session, your group reads a short passage from the Second Vatican Council, St. John Paul II, Pope Francis, or St. John Henry Newman, talks about what it means for real life, takes a few minutes reflecting with the Lord, and makes one concrete commitment to act on before the next session.
The first five sessions each take up one of five questions Many Parts encourages every Catholic to answer to live with peace and purpose. Along the way, participants discern their charisms, the gifts the Holy Spirit gives each person for the good of the Church. In the sixth session, everyone brings their answers together and writes their own marching orders: a clear, personal statement of the mission God is giving them right now.
The leader’s guide includes everything you need to run the whole study: a full script you can use word for word or as guidance, timing for every segment, discussion questions, preparation notes before each session, and leader notes after. You don’t need to be an expert in charisms to lead it.
The Six Sessions
| Session | The Question | The Line It Adds to Your Marching Orders |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Identity: Who I Am | The ground I stand on |
| 2 | Charisms: What I’ve Been Given | What I have been issued |
| 3 | Passion: Where I’m Sent | Where I am sent |
| 4 | Season: Where My Life Is at Right Now | My life right now |
| 5 | Scope: My Mission Field | My mission field |
| 6 | My Marching Orders | “I have my orders…” |
Sessions run 65 to 95 minutes and follow the same rhythm each time, so the group settles in quickly and the leader always knows what comes next. Groups can meet weekly or on whatever schedule works for them.
How Every Session Runs
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Roll Call
Report in on the last session’s marching order: what you did and what you noticed. Then open in prayer.
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Briefing
Read short passages from the session’s Church document together and talk through what they mean for your life.
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Personal Discernment
A few minutes alone with the Lord and the session’s worksheet.
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Marching Orders
Each participant names one concrete commitment to act on before the next session.
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Closing Prayer
Close together, carrying those commitments out the door.
What You Need to Run It
For the Leader
The Leader’s Guide
$22
The complete study in one book: preparation for every session, the readings, timed session plans, discussion questions, leader notes, a troubleshooting guide, and a reference to all 24 charisms. One copy leads the whole study.
The digital edition from our site includes the supplemental PDFs automatically: an outline-only version of the leader’s guide, a printable participant workbook, photocopy-ready worksheets, and more.
For Each Participant
The Workbook and the Charism Assessment
Each participant needs the participant workbook, which holds everything for all six sessions, and the Charism Assessment, taken between Sessions One and Two.
See every participant option, bulk bundles, and leader resources →
Who It’s For
Any group ready to move from good conversation to real decisions:
- Parish small groups
- Adult faith formation
- Ministry and parish staff teams discerning together
- Discipleship groups
- Groups that just finished a study and want a concrete next step
Working Through the Five Questions on Your Own?
Mission Clarity is the companion book: the same five questions as a personal guided workbook, ending in your own Mission Clarity Statement.
Explore Mission ClarityLooking for Our Longer Charism-Focused Group Study?
What You Carry is our eight-session document study centered on discovering and discussing your charisms together, a great fit for groups who want to go deep on the gifts themselves.
Explore What You Carry