Actively evangelize or just set the example?

[AnnaTherese]

By active I don’t mean necessarily knocking on doors, although it could include that. It also includes seeking out opportunities to talk to people about the faith in everday life. Is this acceptable? And if so, what are the best ways to go about it? Examples?

 

[Roman_Catholic_1]

You read CA’s tract: 12 Painless Ways to Evangelize? If not here it is for you.

catholic.com/library/12_ways.asp

God bless

 

[Quaere_Verum]

Setting a good Catholic example is excellent and should never be discounted; however, evangelizing goes beyond that to understanding your faith and speaking up for the One True Church. I’m not very good at it but am trying.

 

[Malcolm_McLean]

By active I don’t mean necessarily knocking on doors, although it could include that. It also includes seeking out opportunities to talk to people about the faith in everday life. Is this acceptable? And if so, what are the best ways to go about it? Examples?

There is not normally any need to break social conventions to evangelise. If you want to stand up in the street corner and preach, then I won’t stop you, but the Church tends to frown on laypeople doing that.

There are lots of formal debates. Very easy if you are a student or schoolchild. Fewer and further between if you are in adult life.

Newspapers constantly run stories on religious or moral themes, and want letters. Don’t feel time is wasted your letter doesn’t get published - if the editor gets a hundred letters saying more or less the same thing about abortion he will print one or two of the best. If he only gets one or two, he might not print any.

Discussions often arise naturally at work, or in pubs. Be careful at work, because you are probably employed as a servant of the company, and the employer has certain rights to expect that the rest of his staff are not distracted from their duties by a contentious atmosphere.

Usenet. soc.culture.christian.roman-catholic is heaving with atheists and militant Protestants all wanting to talk about Catholicism. That’s where I got the material for my book.

My book was reviewed in the student newspaper. So approximately 30,000 people got to read a discussion about God’s existence which they otherwise wouldn’t have had.

 

[inJESUS]

i believe that living the faith and setting a good example is the first step. Early Christians lived in communities of love and sharing and these actions attracted non-Christians who converted. Evangelization with words cannot be fruiful all the time especially now when people are fed up with all kinda people knocking on their doors to speak about God. Live your faith and when people ask you about the reason of your hope and happiness, then share. Also there are charitable works where one can spread the faith.Sometimes some situations can be a good reason for evangelization . My 2 cents

 

[ALLFORHIM]

Hi,

I am by no way a street evangelizer. I know people from my church do mall evangelizing. That is not my personality. I guess I do it 1) by living it. I walk the walk so as to set a good christian example first to my family and then to friends, family and my community. Of course I sin and make mistakes but I will ask forgiveness and do better next time.

I suppose the most outward evangelizing I do would be at my gym. I will tell people what I have learned in bible study and how it relates to the world and my life. If someone directly asks me–I will tell them. I dont impose my beliefs on anyone but I do stand up for them when I encounter a nonbeliever. When someone tells me about a hardship they are going thru I tell them I will pray for them. I always try to work God into the conversation somehow. For example, last night while trick or treating(with my kids of course )a neighbor on the next street asked if she could come with us. Of course it was fine. Her 5 year old daughter was crying because they were not invited to walk with this particular group of people who are no longer their friends These people were outside at the time and I was talking to them because I know them. Anyway, we walked on and the neighbor was telling us the whole sorted story. At the end of the walk I said that the timing of us being near her, so they could walk with us was DIVINE INTERVENTION!! God put us there for her and her child.
I say that alot—DIVINE INTERVENTION–most all except that as an answer too.

I hope that helps:thumbsup:

 

[Steadfast]

“Preach Christ always - use words if necessary.” - attributed to St. Francis of Assisi

 

[Fidelis]

There is not normally any need to break social conventions to evangelise. If you want to stand up in the street corner and preach, then I won’t stop you, but **the Church tends to frown on laypeople doing that. **

Unless one is a crank or abysmally uninformed in the tenets of the Faith, “the Church” disapproves of no such thing.

There are terrific Church approved lay organizations like the college organization FOCUS, the Legion of Mary and the Catholic Evidence Guild who do this very thing.

“Preach Christ always - use words if necessary.” - attributed to St. Francis of Assisi

I love this quote, but I’m afraid it is too often used by Catholics as a crutch to get out of learning their Faith and taking the opportunity to share that Faith with others.

We need to be prepared to do both: live your Faith so that others will be attracted to itand then be able to explain and --if need be – defend it.

In your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. (1 Peter 3:15-16)