Practical Methods of Evangelism and Catholic Information

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.

We are under the opinion that an increase in parishioners and a deepening of the faith could be a simultaneous process.

You have the choice between closing churches and dwindling resources or evangelism and increased stewardship.

Let's fill churches, then build some more!

Here are some practical approaches to Evangelizing and building up the Body of Christ:

(Be open to the Holy Spirit. Proclaim the truth with love.)

• Pray. Unceasingly, pray for the conversion of others. Jesus to Sr. Faustina: “When you say this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on behalf of some sinner, I will give him the grace of conversion. This is the prayer: O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You.” (Diary, 186-187); Jesus to Sr. Faustina: “The prayer most pleasing to Me is prayer for the conversion of sinners. Know, my daughter, that this prayer is always heard and answered.” (#1397); “...pray for one another, that you may be saved.” James 5:16

• Pray for the Church.

• Proclaim the good news to family members, friends, co-workers, and invite them to your church.

• Set up a welcoming committee in your church to welcome, register and orientate new and potential parishioners (including non-Catholics).

• Start an evangelization committee.

• Start an evangelization fund.

• Each Parishioner, in their own community, proclaims the good news to another individual and invites 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. You may also use our "Come and See" evangelization letter. Try to reach every soul in the Parish community.

• 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 as 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 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.

• Advertise at the local rink or sports arena. That's where you'll find many families on a Sunday morning.

• Start an email mailing list that allows individuals to sign up or subscribe. Give the option to opt out and unsubscribe as well. It can be information and/or discussion type lists. Collect as many email addresses as you can. You can even purchase email mailing lists.

• Have neighbourhood evangelization gatherings in the church parking lot i.e. picnic, cook out etc. This way people driving by will see them. Each Parishioner could invite someone to the gathering.

• 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. This parish car could have a gospel quote on it and your churches' information.

• Advertise on the church sign that your church will have talks on basic religious concepts.

• Set up the Alpha course at your parish.

• Advertise on TV. You could also find free ad space on TV such as community listings or Christian networks to advertise your churches welcoming messages, gospel messages, events and programs.

• Purchase air time on Radio. You could also find free air space on the radio to promote upcoming events at your church.

• Have free concerts in the church hall with inspirational gospel music.

• Evangelize by way of flyers, word of mouth, internet, newspapers.

• Put your churches message on signs, labels, merchandise, bumper stickers, stationary, calendars and so on.

• Develop an evangelistic slogan for your church and put it on buttons, pins and t-shirts for all Parishioners to wear.

• Build a website for your church.

• Allow for online registration to receive parish information and on how to become a parishioner.

• Plan a walk-about after mass - Parishioners walking through the neighbourhood singing hymns, 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 starting an 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 Sunday Mass, asks Parishioners to follow through on at least one suggestion before the following Saturday.

• The Priest could also 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 Old Testament's Jewish law and prophecy. 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.

• Buy back churches that have been sold, and hold them in trust.

• Our Lady of Guadalupe, La Salette, Lourdes, Fatima and many other church approved miracles and apparitions were revealed to us to increase our faith. We should include them in our conversion conversations. These miracles were given to us for a reason; it's tragic to keep them to ourselves! But you don't have to go traipsing off to distant lands to see or learn about miracles; the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist is the true body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, who is really and substantially and sacramentally present under the appearances of bread and wine in every Catholic church in the world. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. If not, believe because of the things I do. John 14:11

• The lives of Saints are inspiring and worthy of mentioning in our evangelistic messages and conversations.