Evangelization is . . .

The first column of Everyday Evangelization last month outlined some foundational topics, specifically what is evangelization and why is it so important. Let’s build upon what we have already covered as we journey together inviting more people into a relationship with Jesus and subsequently growing our parish families.

There are a few “housekeeping” details to outline as it relates to evangelization:

• Evangelization is everyone’s responsibility — Lack of title, position, or level of catechetical training may play a role in how we view our ability to share the Joy of the Gospel, but it should not deter us from being an instrument of God’s love and sharing that love with others. Look at the original disciples, they were a group of regular men and women, but what made them special was that they answered the call to follow Jesus. As modern-day disciples, it is our responsibility to engage and personally invite everyone we encounter to come to know Jesus. Putting that in practical terms is an essential part of my parish meetings as I travel across our Diocese and something I will expand upon here in this column as well.

• Evangelization is personal and unique — Much in the same way as making new friends and building personal relationships; evangelization is an intimate encounter between two people. How one person “evangelizes” is very different than another. Regardless of your personality, there are many ways to evangelize — praying and reflecting, being a supportive and caring friend, or publicly sharing the Good News are just a few. Our individual God-given talents will comple­ment each other as we work to grow the kingdom of God.

• Evangelization is not cookie-cutter — No two parishes are identical. Parish leadership, parish culture, and parish resources all vary from one parish to the next across our 126 diocesan parishes. All parishes may experience similar challenges, but their approach will be different based upon their available resources. It is important to strategically design a plan that can be successfully implemented based on staff, volunteers and financial considerations.

• Evangelization is never ceasing — Evangelization is not programmatic and does not have a start date or an end date. As discussed in the last column, evangelization is the mission of our Church and envelopes all ministries at our parishes. Evangelization must remain at the forefront of all activities and be intertwined in everything we do at all times.

• Evangelization is about Jesus — The purpose of evangelization is to share our love and relationship with Jesus with others.  Without Jesus, evangelization is not necessary. So, the next topic to discuss is the conundrum of how much we know about Jesus vs. how well we know Jesus. It comes down to the old adage — you can’t give what you don’t have. It’s important to critically self-assess how well we know Jesus at this point in our lives and put steps in place to grow that relationship. This is another important topic that we will dive into deeper in the future.

Stay tuned — in the next column, we will cover the four pillars of evangelization that I created from various resources and experiences.
Please contact me with any questions about boosting evangelization efforts at your parish at [email protected] or by ­visiting https://www.rcda.org/evangelization.