For evangelization to be new in its methods, it means we need to ask ourselves: What have we done right, what is no longer working, and what can we do better? We need to assess, refine, and forge path ways to bring the Good News into "every strata of humanity" and into the lives of all those we meet.
In the past several generations the mode of evangelization relied on people believing that faith was a priority. People would show up to Mass on Sundays because they believed it is what God was asking them to do. Families would send their children to Catholic grade schools so that their education would be rooted and grounded in the Gospel. Sundays were days of rest and quality time spent with the family.
However, we know that in today’s society the fastest growing demographic is the “nones,” those that have no religious affiliation. Societal changes and scandal within the Church have led those that were baptized and raised Catholic to leave the practice of the faith behind them.
We can no longer rely on the “if we build it, they will come” mentality. Disciples, not programs or institutions, make disciples.
In fact, we have the data to show it is not.
In short, the era of our institutions being the most effective tool for evangelization has had its day. We need new methods!
Pope Paul VI puts the challenge of evangelization this way:
This question of "how to evangelize" is permanently relevant, because the methods of evangelizing vary according to the different circumstances of time, place and culture, and because they thereby present a certain challenge to our capacity for discovery and adaptation. EN 40
It is time for us to acknowledge that disciples make disciples and that the most effective evangelization takes place one-on-one. This is the key to making All Things New in the Archdiocese of St. Louis!
Some say that we are living in the “golden age” of resources for the Church. Although videos, apps and podcasts make for great tools that we all have access to at our fingertips, they don’t make disciples. Disciples make disciples.
Each one of us has someone in our lives that God is asking us to forge a new path towards. Whether it is the son or daughter who no longer attends mass, the co-worker you share a beer with, or the family on the soccer field you see every weekend, we are each called to go where God needs us to share His good news. I think it was St. Francis who told his monks something like this: “If you are rapt in ecstasy in contemplative prayer, and a hungry beggar knocks at the door, you must immediately (important word!) leave your ecstasy and open the door to him, because God has left your ecstasy and has entered that beggar, and you must do the same; you must go where God is.”
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Ask the Holy Spirit to help you tell your faith story to others. Sharing the Good News should not just be about what Jesus accomplished 2000 years ago for all of us, but about what He has accomplished for you today. Practice at home around the dinner table with each other. Jesus has chosen you to be his witness in the world today!
Create spaces in your life to have authentic and real conversations with others. Vulnerability and accountability are critical to growing in faith and holiness. We can spend years participating in Mass, parish events and social groups without ever being “real” with each other. Jesus lingered with people. Long meals were one of his mainstays. Whether it’s opening up your home to others, meeting at a neutral spot to sit around a fire and talk about faith, or doing some shared service together, we need to create space for authentic relationships in our lives where we can talk about the things that really matter.
Lastly, we must be willing not only to invite people to share our faith, but to accompany them in their own faith journey. Discipleship is personal; it’s a relationship, and like faith, it’s a journey, not a moment. The “new methods” of evangelization will be as numerous as the people in our parishes. The methods may be many, but the goal is the same; to save souls! We want to bring as many people to Jesus as we can!
