As Catholics, we are called to
evangelize. It is our responsibility.
“Go,
therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded of you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Mt. 28:19-20
“Evangelizing
is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the church, her deepest
identity, She exists to evangelize.”
(On Evangelizing in the Modern World
by Pope Paul VI)
We are under the opinion that an increase in
parishioners and a deepening of the faith could be a
simultaneous process.
We are obligated to evangelize not only to
Christians but also to non-Christians as well. It's all about priorities and common sense.
If saving souls is our Lord's number one objective, shouldn't it
be ours? We are called to discipleship. Furthermore,
our Lord hiked all over His creation to spread the good news.
Are we not lesser than He?
As more and more people hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the numbers of the faithful
will begin to rise and an increase in the number of vocations to the Priesthood
and consecrated life will follow.
Here are some practical approaches to Evangelizing:
Proclaim the good news to family members, friends
and co-workers and invite them to your church.
Set up a welcoming committee in your church to welcome and
orientate new and potential parishioners as well as
cautioning them not to receive holy communion until they
have been baptized and properly prepared.
Start an evangelization committee.
Start an evangelization fund.
Each Parishioner, in
their own community, proclaim the good news to another individual
and invite them
to their church.
Send out invitations signed
by the Parish Priest with a gospel message attached.
Go door to door spreading
the Gospel and handing out brochures with your churches information.
Purchase a church sign for
the front of your Parish. Use it to invite Catholics new
to the area and inviting back Parishioners who have left and
all other members of the community. This sign could also
be used for future announcements etc. This is a very effective
way to evangelize especially if your church is on a busy street
and it is always working for you!
Ask your Parish Priest to
have regular public information sessions to address concerns
why individuals do not go to church or why they have stopped
going.
Have a contest to see which Parishioner can proclaim the
gospel of God to as many people as they can.
Purchase bibles and hand them out in your
community.
Have regular "meet and greet"
with the Parish Priest.
Send out flyers into the community promoting the faith with
details about the R.C.I.A. program. Also include
the benefits and advantages of following the faith - what's
in it for them! Have good arguments why they should go
to church every weekend instead of going to play hockey or
golf or sleeping in every Sunday morning.
Have neighbourhood evangelization gatherings in the church parking lot i.e..
picnic, cook out etc. This way people driving by will
see. Each Parishioner could invite someone.
Parishioners can walk up and
down the sidewalk in front of the church with welcoming signs
and/or costumes of their favourite Saint proclaiming the
good news.
Hand out business cards with
your churches information (location, phone numbers and mass
times) and an evangelistic message on it.
Ask the "welcome wagon" who
the new residents are and then have members of the church go out and introduce themselves
and preach the gospel to them.
In the churches envelopes
database, find out what Parishioners have stopped going.
Organize church sporting events
like a baseball game or lawn bowling and make it open to everyone.
Offer a car service for those
who need transportation getting to and from church.
Advertise on the church sign
that your church will have talks on basic religious concepts
or set up the Alpha course at your parish.
Find free ad space on T.V.
such as community listings to advertise your churches welcoming
messages, gospel messages and programs.
Have free concerts in the
church hall with inspirational music.
Advertise/evangelize through
radio, television, flyers, word of mouth, internet, newspapers,
signs, labels, merchandise, bumper stickers and so on.
Develop an evangelistic slogan for your church
and put it on buttons and pins for all Parishioners to wear.
Order t-shirts for all Parishioners
to wear with your churches evangelistic message on the front
and back.
Build a website for your church.
Plan a walk-about after mass - Parishioners
walking through the neighbourhood proclaiming the gospel and inviting all to church.
Have your church designate someone in the Parish to
evangelize full time. This person would give talks at
schools, jails, work places, social events etc. and would
receive a modest stipend.
Write an evangelistic jingle
for your church.
Have someone design an evangelistic logo for your church.
The range of talent and experience is broad in the church, so
many of the aforementioned ideas could be done in-house.
Once a year, honour new parishioners with a special gathering - a
way of telling them how much they are appreciated and how
they could help others in their community by proclaiming the
gospel and inviting them to church as well.
Set up a kiosk in a shopping mall and hand out information
packages or leaflets with gospel and welcoming messages on
them.
K.I.S. (Keep It Simple)
Remember, we need to keep the message simple, with all the information
out their, it could easily be overwhelming for someone new to
the church. John 3:16 is a perfect starting point.
If your church is having a
hard time coming up with and evangelization committee or it
is stalled for one reason or another, here's another method:
Have an evangelization "suggestion box" in the church.
The Parish Priest takes the best suggestions and once a week
at Saturday and Sunday Masses, asks Parishioners to follow through
on at least one suggestion before the following Saturday or
the Priest could assign evangelization tasks to individuals
that have to be completed within the week.
When someone asks,
“Why Christianity? Why
not one of the other two monotheistic religions or even
Buddhism?” Tell them: Jesus is the perfect
fulfillment of the Jewish law and the Jewish prophets.
Jesus is the direct descendant of Abraham's Isaac and
not Ishmael (progenitor of the muslims). Buddha died
still searching for the truth. Jesus is the way and
the truth and the life.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, La Salette, Lourdes, Fatima
and many other church approved apparitions and miracles were
revealed to us to increase our faith. We should include
them in our conversion conversations.
Let's greet new parishioners with warmth and
kindness. It is good that some parishioners
have been members of a particular church for many years or
if someone is involved in council or choir etc.
Keep in mind, however, there is no
seniority, we must all humble ourselves in the house of God
at all times.
"More and more, humble your pride; what awaits man is
worms." Sirach 7:17
Pray!
†
He commanded them:“Go
into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not
believe will be condemned.”
Mk 15:15-16
