Do Catholics Generally Evangelize This Way?

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I’ve noticed lots of other Christian groups knocking on doors to hold Bible study sessions; preaching on street corners; passing out brochures & other resources; hold public meetings that explain the faith, etc. Would Catholics make more converts if we used these strategies?🤷
 
In parishes that have a Legion of Mary, they are sent out two by two for various reasons. The pastor gives them names of those members of the parish who are housebound, or temporarily housebound and would appreciate a visit.

Sometimes he sends Legion members to an assisted living residence and they are given names of Catholics and they drop in and chat with them, give them some prayer folders, holy water, and visit with them for a while.

In other instances the pastor sends them to apartment buildings where non-Catholics live, and the members knock on the door and ask if they would like a holy card with the picture of Jesus on it. Most of them were Baptist, but did accept the picture and holy water as well. If they had questions to ask we would have answered them.

As I was a member for about five months, until I could no longer attend meetings, I experienced all of the above. So, my point is that it can be done, and perhaps if someone would plan with several parishioners, with the help of the pastor, such things could work! And being invited to a meeting at the parish hall where questions could be asked is a great idea. Before RCIA began they used to have Inquiry classes at my parish.
 
In general, No to both questions.

Some are called to do this. Bless them. I’m not. I’m not going to hell because I choose not to participate in these activities. That’s one of the reasons why I choose to be Catholic. I would like to see the church have more converts, but it has to be a conviction of the heart, not based on a sales-pitch and pressure from strangers.

In my experience, “Catholic guilt” is nothing compared to “Baptist guilt”. 👍

I don’t have a problem w/Catholics explaining their faith in public forums or passing out brochures. I have a problem when the tactics become aggressive and more about “getting another notch in your spiritual belt” than caring about that person you are talking to about the faith.

Also, there have been a lot of other CAF threads on this topic. (FYI)
 
saint_wannabe said:
I’ve noticed lots of other Christian groups knocking on doors to hold Bible study sessions; preaching on street corners; passing out brochures & other resources; hold public meetings that explain the faith, etc. Would Catholics make more converts if we used these strategies?🤷
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Well, if that stuff works so well, I’d like to know why quite a few of these other Christians become atheist/agnostic or Catholic.
 
Frankly, I don’t think it works well with the majority of Americans. It is seen as pushy and provocative, and most Americans are not very fond of stuff like that. It is also very easy, I think, to slip into a holier-than-thou attitude while street preaching if you are trying to do it confidently.

In my undergrad, we had many occasions when Protestant preachers would come to campus and say stuff like “:Evolution is a lie” and tell everyone that non-Christians were going to hell.

The students basically mocked them. I don’t think that they converted many souls.
 
real Catholics do, cafeteria Catholics don’t, but rationalize that they don’t need to fulfill their Baptismal obligations by claiming something like, “I evangelize by how I live my life”, but there are plenty of atheists, pagans, witches, and such who lead moral lives but reject and do not publicly profess their belief in Christ!
 
saint_wannabe said:
I’ve noticed lots of other Christian groups knocking on doors to hold Bible study sessions; preaching on street corners; passing out brochures & other resources; hold public meetings that explain the faith, etc. Would Catholics make more converts if we used these strategies?🤷
Click to expand...
You’ve seen… you’ve seen… why not do? Who cares what Catholics do to evangelize. What are your skills? How can God use you? I know Catholics who do these things, but what do you do? Hopefully it’s a challenging question, but we need to think of ourselves more individually than what the majority do. God bless!
 
saint_wannabe said:
I’ve noticed lots of other Christian groups knocking on doors to hold Bible study sessions; preaching on street corners; passing out brochures & other resources; hold public meetings that explain the faith, etc. Would Catholics make more converts if we used these strategies?🤷
Click to expand...
ps. Look into this Catholic group:

St Paul Street Evangelization: streetevangelization.com/
 
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