At the end of every mass, Father John Sheridan yells out, “Go and make disciples of all nations!”

He and his team at the Cranberry Catholic Collaborative are working with the faith communities in Rochester, Lakeville and Middleborough to equip Christians to do just that.

For many generations, said Sheridan, Catholics have relied too heavily on priests and nuns to do ministry, but everyone is called to serve.

“Each and every one of us has the responsibility to give a reason for your hope. Share that, whether at home, at work, at school, in the marketplace, wherever you go, so that people will understand,” he said.

The Cranberry Collaborative, headquartered in Middleborough, started in 2013 as one of 12 such groups established by the Archdiocese of Boston. In addition to the Saint Rose of Lima church in Rochester, the Cranberry group includes Sacred Heart in Middleborough and Saints Martha and Mary in Lakeville – all pastored by Sheridan who has help from a team of staff and volunteers.

The purpose of the collaborative, explained the priest, is to work together, not to merge into one congregation.

“The Catholic mindset has been that each parish, each community, does things its own way. We have three unique communities. They have their own unique characters, but there are things that we can share and things we can build with one another,” he said.

Amy Dow, the director of mission development and a Lakeville resident, began working with the collaborative four years ago.

“Getting them involved to build their own faith is what we want to do first,” she said. “We’re not looking to find volunteers just to have more volunteers.”

The group is focusing on Bible study groups and helping families develop their faith as much as they are getting into the community.

“As Catholics, many or most of us weren’t taught to share our faith, so there’s a whole new venture about learning how to share your story, learning how to talk about your faith,” said Dow. “It’s a completely new way of looking at my faith as a Catholic – learning to be a disciple, making sure I incorporate prayer into my life and then learning what my gifts and talents are.”

Getting to know people as they grow in their faith naturally leads to ministry, said Rochester resident Carol Galante-Dias. “You see their strengths and ask them to witness in a certain way with their strengths,” she said.

All of this effort is seeing results as the churches reach out to their communities, areas in the United States and internationally. Locally, the Vacation Bible School has been reinstated and will be held the week of July 17. The collaborative also has a vibrant medical ministry with five registered nurses who offer blood pressure clinics, health counseling, CPR training and home visits.

Farther afield, the three churches will send a team of high school students on a mission trip to the Adirondack Mountains this summer. And Sheridan will visit the collaborative’s sister parish in Mbale, Uganda in August.

So, there’s a lot going on with the collaborative, and that’s as it should be, says the team.

“People say the Christian faith is old and ancient. It is not old, it is not ancient, it is timeless,” said Sheridan.

Visit www.cranberrycatholic.org for more information and to get involved.