Bryan serves as Animating Director for the group, a position that includes website development, networking, program facilitation and other tasks.
The goal, he said, is to form Catholics at the local parish level to better know and share their faith.
"Participants are brought to a profound awareness of their role as apostles to the world and are given the tools they need to respond to their calling and live out their vocations," Bryan said.
Most of the course material is provided online, and participants are guided in spiritual exercises which coincide with each lesson.
"In addition to the coursework, participants also meet regularly in small discipleship groups, where they discuss what they've learned, share how have integrated the material, and talk through the struggles they've encountered along the way," said Bryan, noting the project is currently being tested in the Diocese of Sacramento.
Although the project is still in initial development, Bryan said he is encouraged by how the program has already equipped parishioners with tools to be a witness of Christ at home, work, and in their communities.
Bryan is eager to expand the project, but he emphasized the importance of in-person collaboration to form disciples within a parish at a local level.
"We find it important to stick with the diocesan cohort approach, so that the formation lives in the diocese, revitalizes the local Church, and helps develop a network of disciples in a given geographic area, so that the Church is present and operative in ways in which it can be only through the laity."
Perry West is a staff writer for Catholic News Agency. He graduated from Franciscan University with his bachelor's in English. Prior to his job at CNA, he worked in construction staffing and coffee.