Street Evangelization!
This past Summer, Fidei Defensor took our faith to the streets! Unlike what most people think of, the style of Evangelization we use is the St. Paul Street Evangelization style: No bullhorns, No yelling, No telling people their going to hell, No cornering people and asking them if they've accepted Jesus' Church as their personal Church or whatever...
This is a Non-Confrontational, Non-Approach, No Pressure street evangelization and it's taking the Catholic Faithful - and the people we talk to - by storm. St. Paul Street Evangelization started 2 or so years ago with two guys in Lancing MI. Today they have chapters in almost all 50 states and over a dozen countries.
How do you do it?
1) We set up a table somewhere where people are going to be: a farmer's market, a fair, a sporting event etc. On the table are the free flyers and C.D.s provided by St. Paul Street Evangelization. All the pamphlets and C.D.'s are reviewed and approved for faithful content - meaning to the best of the reviewer's ability, they are accurate Catholic teaching.
2) We place a sign in front of the table that has Jesus Christ lifting the Host at the Last Supper on one side and Our Lady of Guadalupe on the other. Both sides say: "Catholic Truth: Need Prayer? Have Questions? Free Materials. Find True Joy!"
3) We pray and wait for people to come up to us. That's it. We're the fishing lure in the water waiting for the fish to come by. Some groups wiggle the lure a bit by offering free Rosaries or Miraculous Metals.
What about all the questions? I don't know that much!
For the most part, what people really want is to know: 1) What was your life like before you had an encounter with Christ 2) What was that encounter like? (Slow, fast, all at once, or a series of small experiences etc) 3) How has your life changed since then?
People also want to know the Good News. What is the Good News? We can sum it up in a few steps: 1) God Loves You: God Created You, personally, out of Love, for the purpose of Loving Him. 2) Because of our Sin, we have walked away from God 3) God still Loves us even in our sins and made a way back to Him 4) He Came down (He sent His Son) to show us how to live, to die for our sins and rise to give us new life and new hope 5) We must respond: Repent, Believe and Be Baptized 6) Then we must continue to grow in Holiness, and doing Good Works 7) We receive our ability to become holier, continue in Good Works, and the ability to endure to the end through the Sacraments (especially the Eucharist and Confession) given through the Church He established.
THAT'S IT! The founders of St. Paul Street Evangelization both have Master's Degrees in Theology and had studied apologetics for a long time before starting street evangelization. They thought they needed all of that. However, both of them say, now, they're completely rusty on their apologetics and deep theology because all people want is to know their story and to hear the Good News.
What do I do when people come up to the table?
Typically, if not engaged in conversation, a person will be at your table for less than 30 seconds. The Holy Spirit put them there. Now it's up to us to meet them where their at and invite them further on.
When a person comes to the table the first thing we do is genuinely greet them. Next, we ask them a few questions. "Do you have any questions?" Usually people say, 'No' but it's a conversation starter: Do you have any children? What do you do for a living? Etc.
Eventually turn the conversation towards religion. We ask something like: "Do you go to church anywhere?" If the answer is 'yes', we usually ask where. Where ever they're going (a Protestant church, an LDS temple, a Synagogue or Masque) respond in a positive manner, because we can agree with all of those religions on many truths. We're responding positively to those truths they already have.
Continue to ask questions to find out where they are in their faith: do you go regularly? Etc.
If they haven't started to ask you about your faith, we can ask: "Have you ever considered becoming Catholic?" For most the answer will be 'no' but then we can say, "We'd like to invite you to explore and consider becoming Catholic."
Most people will start asking you about the Catholic Faith by then.
What if they do have questions I don't know?
First, "I don't know, but I'll find out for you." is a great answer (have a note book so you can get some contact info from them). Second, that's partially what all the pamphlets are about: you can read them yourself (even while you're waiting) and you can give them one on the topic they asked about. Then, research the topic a bit so you can give some sort of cursory answer next time.
What if they're already Catholic?
We've had numerous ex, lapsed, lax and faithful Catholics talk to us. With Catholics, after finding out their Catholic, we ask if they're receiving the Sacraments frequently. Whatever their response we encourage them to return and / or receive the Eucharist and go to Confession more - or if their doing this already, affirm their practices. If you do have a faithful Catholic, encourage them to join the St. Paul Street Evangelization group in their home area, because that is one thing we are commanded to do, by Christ, that almost no Catholic is doing.
What we don't do....
1) We don't get into arguments. We can present reasons why the Catholic teaching on something is true, but always with kindness and respect. If you find yourself getting angry, it is better to end the conversation or turn it over to your partner than start showing anger to the person you're evangelizing.
2) That brings up another point: We don't go out alone, unless we're really well formed. Even Christ set out the Apostles 2x2. If you're interested but scared, rest assured that for your first few times we'll have you partnered with one or two experienced evangelists.
3) We don't get into ANY Catholic vs Catholic discussions: We don't argue vernacular mass vs latin mass; which bishop messed up where; what priest is bringing in more "change" or which is more "orthodox" than another. CHANGE THE TOPIC!
4) We don't get into religion bashing: Atheist, Agnostic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Protestant or Catholic, we don't bash their religion. We can point out errors in theology, if the conversation goes that way, but always in a loving, respectful manner.
5) We don't EVER accept donations while evangelizing. If someone wants to give us a donation while we're evangelizing, direct them to the St. Paul Street Evangelization site.
That's Fine, but why do it at all?
It's about saving souls and obeying Christ's last command to us: Go make disciples; teach them everything I have commanded; preach the Gospel to all living things (Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15). This is the Fulfillment of what it means to be Christian! Sharing the Good News so that others may go to heaven as well!
We must grow in holiness. Many Christians don't try this at all. The ones who do often times increase their prayer time - AWESOME! Others perform acts of social justice - PHENOMINAL! But after all that, some begin to feel that their faith is plateaued. That this is it, I just do more and more of the above. Yes, in some respects this is true, but there is at least one more thing we MUST do - Verbally Evangelize!
When we share our faith, it comes back to us increased! This is the parable of the talents! Share what God has given you. Share it freely, often and with joy. DON"T BURY IT IN THE GROUND!
Christ makes it clear: this is not an option.
Final Though...
Steve Ray, Catholic Convert, world renown speaker and apologist, tells this story; I'll paraphrase it: At the end of your life, you go to your personal judgment. Maybe you wait in line for a while, hearing other names called. Finally, you hear your name called. You step up to the gate. Off to one side is a glorious set of stairs going up; off to the other a very dark, scary set of stairs going down. Your life is reviewed and it is announced that you get to go to heaven! Angels come down and begin to guide you to the stairs up. Just then, another name is announced. You recognize it as your friend, or neighbor, or coworker, or family member. You say to the angels, "Please wait one second, I want to hear this." Your friend shuffles forward. His / her life is reviewed and it is announced, "Away from me!" Devils come up and begin to guide your friend to the other stairs. Suddenly your friend sees you. He / She, turns towards you and yells, "You were a Christian? You were my friend / coworker / neighbor for all that time and you never told me about this? You could have told me and you didn't! Why didn't you tell me?" Your friend continues to yell "Why didn't you tell me?" as he is dragged to the other stairs...
This is about offering the possibility of SALVATION FOR ALL ETERNITY to those who may otherwise not have it. This is what all our prayers, practices, and everything is leading to: getting as many people to heaven as possible.
What are you doing with your "Talent"?
God Bless,
Fidei Defensor
That's Fine, but why do it at all?
It's about saving souls and obeying Christ's last command to us: Go make disciples; teach them everything I have commanded; preach the Gospel to all living things (Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15). This is the Fulfillment of what it means to be Christian! Sharing the Good News so that others may go to heaven as well!
We must grow in holiness. Many Christians don't try this at all. The ones who do often times increase their prayer time - AWESOME! Others perform acts of social justice - PHENOMINAL! But after all that, some begin to feel that their faith is plateaued. That this is it, I just do more and more of the above. Yes, in some respects this is true, but there is at least one more thing we MUST do - Verbally Evangelize!
When we share our faith, it comes back to us increased! This is the parable of the talents! Share what God has given you. Share it freely, often and with joy. DON"T BURY IT IN THE GROUND!
Christ makes it clear: this is not an option.
Final Though...
Steve Ray, Catholic Convert, world renown speaker and apologist, tells this story; I'll paraphrase it: At the end of your life, you go to your personal judgment. Maybe you wait in line for a while, hearing other names called. Finally, you hear your name called. You step up to the gate. Off to one side is a glorious set of stairs going up; off to the other a very dark, scary set of stairs going down. Your life is reviewed and it is announced that you get to go to heaven! Angels come down and begin to guide you to the stairs up. Just then, another name is announced. You recognize it as your friend, or neighbor, or coworker, or family member. You say to the angels, "Please wait one second, I want to hear this." Your friend shuffles forward. His / her life is reviewed and it is announced, "Away from me!" Devils come up and begin to guide your friend to the other stairs. Suddenly your friend sees you. He / She, turns towards you and yells, "You were a Christian? You were my friend / coworker / neighbor for all that time and you never told me about this? You could have told me and you didn't! Why didn't you tell me?" Your friend continues to yell "Why didn't you tell me?" as he is dragged to the other stairs...
This is about offering the possibility of SALVATION FOR ALL ETERNITY to those who may otherwise not have it. This is what all our prayers, practices, and everything is leading to: getting as many people to heaven as possible.
What are you doing with your "Talent"?
God Bless,
Fidei Defensor
