About Us
Fr. Jon Bielawski & Michele Thompson
Fr. Jon and Michele
Fr. Jon and Michele have founded the Genesis Mission whose aim is : To restore the world to Truth in Jesus Christ by preparing Disciples for Apostolic Mission in the Catholic Church.
Fr. Jon Bielawski
Ordained in 1990, Fr Jon is a Parish Priest of the Plymouth Diocese in the UK. Fr. Jon’s first experience of evangelising was with the Franciscan Friars of Renewal in London when they took to the streets handing out prayer cards and engaging people in conversation. “I found it exhilarating and it made me realise that the biggest hurdle to overcome in reaching out to others, is no greater than the sum of our own fears and pre-conceived ideas”. In 2015, Fr. Jon combined the role of Episcopal Vicar for Evangelisation and Catechesis with running a busy parish. Haunted by the phrase “the church exists to evangelise” Fr. Jon recognised there is a huge gap between knowing we should evangelise and how to go about it.
Fr. Jon’s mission in making disciples is to work on the God given potentiality of the person and to group them within a parish to be the core of dynamic outreach.
“We are all looking for full parish renewal and in the meantime there is a whole world that is spiritually dying because it has not heard or seen the relevance of the Gospel message. We need to address both of these issues simultaneously. Parish renewal is inextricably linked with the formation of missionary disciples who have learned to evangelise by evangelising.” -Fr. Jon
Michele Thompson
Michele, a cradle Catholic was brought up in Cornwall in the South West of the UK. She began her ministry with young people as a Parish Youth Leader, Catholic University Chaplain and a Counsellor at a Catholic High School. Michele caught the fire for evangelising during a local door to door mission as she saw how people responded and came alive when talking about Jesus.
“Those moments of encounter, stepping out in faith, changed my life. I expected ridicule and rejection to have doors slammed in my face. I expected to be at a loss to know what to say, but what happened was entirely different. I saw a new light in people, an almost instant visible change as they took hope from the Gospel. I knew from that moment that I had taken the baton and must look for a way to empower others to do the same”.
Genesis Method
A simple relational method rooted in the art of meaningful conversation.
Genesis Teams
Preparing Disciples for Apostolic Mission in the heart of our Catholic Parishes. Setting up parish teams to reach out to fellow parishioners, lapsed and the unchurched.
Genesis School
Residential Disciple Making In-depth holistic Formation. Identifying Personal opportunities for Mission. Answering the call to Holiness and Mission.
The Genesis Mission: Practical Evangelising
Listening, to deliver the Good News to those we encounter.
PRACTICAL EVANGELIsing