Evangelization: Jesus Commands us to Go

Compiled by Alan and Lori from a teaching by Father Anil Dev, of Northern India, January 2009

“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain…” John 15:16

“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.” Matthew 28:19

“He appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach.” Mark 3:14

The Lord Jesus tells us to go, but we don’t want to go. That is why the Lord keeps telling us to. We are occupied with “my, my, my, me, me, me.” The Catholic Church has especially lost sight of the Go dimension of this vocation of a Christian.

Evangelization is the breath of the church. The sign of a vibrant, healthy church is not the size of the choir, the amount of groups, the number of services. It is a vibrant church if they are zealous in “going.” When a church is not evangelical it is dormant or dying. If there’s no sharing of the faith, there’s no growing in the faith. A Christian is one who receives the good news and then shares it.

Evangelization has been done in the past in an institutionalized manner…with sisters and fathers. Today the church has stopped evangelization and is engaged humanitarian activities: social services, community activities, schools, colleges and hospitals.

New Evangelization

Every one of us is called to evangelization. In the New Evangelization, every evangelized person becomes an evangelizer. The question today is, can it be done with lay people? When a lay person carries the gospel, not many will suspect them. When a priest does, they’ll notice and stop them. This is the time for the lay people to become the donkeys and carry the Gospel.

Methods of Evangelization

Witnessing – wherever you are. St. Francis said “Preach the Gospel all the time and use words of need be.” Everyone of us is a representative of God wherever you are. In Thailand they have a Catholic organization called Jesus Youth. Their website http://jesusyouth.org says, “Jesus Youth is an initiative of young people themselves, who, filled with the Holy Spirit try to reach out to other young people.”
Pray –become a missionary through prayer. Just be an intercessor. Great ministries are powerfully supported by intercession. If you want to intercede for the work of evangelization in our diocese, then by all means pray. The diocese of Tyler has an evangelization chaplet. Use the evangelization chaplet if you need it to help you pray. Pray for people to be open to the Holy Spirit. Pray for people to be broken before the Lord and be healed of their fears and selfish ways. Pray for unity among the body of Christ in this diocese and our nation.
One-to-One evangelization. Not just baptism and catechizing, but spending time with someone and personally sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with them. Love them and pray with them and for them.
Mass Media – electronic and print. We have to use media. A lot of superstition is commercialized by media. The whole body is being aroused. We need to use these methods too. In our diocese we are beginning to use this website, Tyler Evangelization. We are learning ways to use video and sound recordings, pictures that tell a story. This is the Facebook generation. Even text messaging can be a ministry. If we are going to reach this generation for the Gospel, we have to speak their language by using the media.
Give money - Support other people who are out in the world doing full-time evangelization. By being their financial back bone you will also be like those who held up Moses' hands in the day of battle.

“For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” 1 Cor 9:16 If you do not share the Good News with others, you are committing the sin of omission. No one can stop you from preaching the good news. It is entrusted to the believer. Whenever God has encountered man, he has given them a job to share the Good News. I should be troubled if I do not preach the Gospel. Many people are in trouble because they do not. In last years attacks in India. None of the Christian places were attacked were places where evangelization was taking place.

We preach the Word of God – not stories. “And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way...” Deut. 6: 6-7 If you don't treasure the word of God, it will not come out of your mouth. Treasure the word of God. You need to eat the word of God. If you give the precious word, then you won't have to go to people. Read and repeat the word of God. People will come to you.

In our efforts to stimulate evangelization in the Diocese of Tyler, we are sharing and encouraging proven methods of evangelization. We will be putting evangelization events into action so that we can actually go and personally impact other people for the Gospel. Sharing the Good News of Jesus with another person is an exciting and enriching experience. Let us keep our faith growing and alive by stepping out to “go.”