Do local churches evangelize?

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Recently I have had some conversations with mormons and Jehova"s Witnesses at my door. Long after the conversation was over I got to thinking, “Why doesn’t the Catholic church have the same zeal as these groups?” These groups go out armed with partial truths and major doctrinal problems, yet they gain converts by the sole fact that they are “out there” doing it. Are there any Catholic parishes taking The Great Commission (Matthew 28: 19-20) seriously and banging on doors sharing the truth af Jesus and His Church?
 
I work with a JW and they are very committed to the door to door evangelization. I have also wondered why more Catholics do not do this. I am not sure it is something that I could do, but it seems to me if each parish set up a program to do it many would. I used to live in the St. Louis area, and one of the radio personalities (Zip Rzeppa) from the Catholic radio station (Covenant Network) was part of a parish that evangelized door to door.
 
This really a good question…we should all be out evangelizing in one way or another. By our example would be a good place to start! And,since we have this great opportunity of the Internet, thru our E-mails! I know I get tired of the “forwards”, but some of them have some very nice messages. I sort out those worthwhile and forward them to all my friends of all faiths. Also, passing along the E-letters from Karl Keating, Deal Huson, Catholicity, to name a few, can be great aids to evangelization.🙂

I think the Daughter’s of St. Paul go out door-to-door? (they used to). does anyone know?
 
Good Morning Church 🙂

About 15 years ago, in our Diocese in Southern California, we had a census. We were asked to go door to door to learn and record how many Catholics in the Parish. It was decided that they go out 2 by 2 and have little packets. If I remember right, they were divided up into groups. One for fallen away Catholics, one for unchurched folks… like that. These two had a little invitation to come to Mass.
My husband went with our Deacon. They had their own district, other pairs had their own. It took weeks to complete.
All of our folks said this was a life changing experience.
My husband told me he met Catholics who had not been to Mass in years. They asked questions, got answers, invitations and lots of hugs. Many of them sobbed like babies saying that they had no idea the Church even cared.
Non Catholics did much the same, not with the tears, but said they had been curious but no one had ever invited them to Mass before. They did ask questions and got much mis-understanding straightened out. During that time, Mass attendance ballooned. It was fantastic. We had a hospitality committee in the vestibule greeting new folks. That year, our RCIA and new Catholic group was huge and the Parish list grew and grew. Most of these folks stayed.

Just goes to show what can happen when we reach out.
Oh by the way, this was all done by men, only because there is some risk in going door to door.

smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/17/17_1_14.gif
 
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Rosary:
I work with a JW and they are very committed to the door to door evangelization. I have also wondered why more Catholics do not do this. I am not sure it is something that I could do, but it seems to me if each parish set up a program to do it many would. I used to live in the St. Louis area, and one of the radio personalities (Zip Rzeppa) from the Catholic radio station (Covenant Network) was part of a parish that evangelized door to door.
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I live in the St.Louis area, and Zip Rzeppa was a member of the Society of Our Mother of Peace. I also belong, and we do evangelization work in various parishes that are in need of more members.We work in pairs, and generally have the response that Robertaf described.We often get mistaken for JW’s, and a lot of Catholics (practicing or falllen away) are amazed to see a Catholic at their door. Everyone could do this in some way, if they would only invite a neighbor, coworker or friend to accompany them to church!
 
I don’t have first-hand knowledge of the Legion of Mary but it is my understanding they have been engaged in a parish-based, door-to-door, lay evangelization apostolate for many years. If your parish doesn’t have a Legion of Mary group, maybe starting one would be a good idea.
 
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map68:
Recently I have had some conversations with mormons and Jehova"s Witnesses at my door. Long after the conversation was over I got to thinking, “Why doesn’t the Catholic church have the same zeal as these groups?” These groups go out armed with partial truths and major doctrinal problems, yet they gain converts by the sole fact that they are “out there” doing it. Are there any Catholic parishes taking The Great Commission (Matthew 28: 19-20) seriously and banging on doors sharing the truth af Jesus and His Church?
Click to expand...
We evangelize differently.

"Evangelize always. When necessary, use words."
– St. Francis of Assisi

There are two hospitals in Colorado Springs. One is public, one is Catholic.

The most visible soup kitchen in downtown Colorado Springs (the only one I know of) is the Marian House (Catholic). However, Protestants often volunteer to help there too. 🙂

There are many more examples, but I think you get the picture.
 
Thank you to all who have responded. I have my first parish council meeting on Tuesday, and I hope to have the chance to bring the subject of local evangelization up. I’ll update on how it goes.

As my mind races about other ways to reach out and educate people about the Church… Imagine a booth at the county fairs and summer socials with lots of literature from Catholic Answers and other fine sources.

Any other ideas about spreading the Good News of Jesus and His Church.

map68
 
I once new someone who was active with Legion of Mary and yes, they do often have door-to-door ministries. Depending on how the parish wants to do things that could mean just for fallen-away Catholics or for the whole surrounding community.

And yeah, they get mistaken for JW’s a lot :rolleyes:
 
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itsjustdave1988:
We evangelize differently.

"Evangelize always. When necessary, use words."
– St. Francis of Assisi
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Unfortunately, too many people are using actions and not enough are using world. And some acts couter-act the words.

The Couples for Christ and Singles for Christ are two Catholic Family Ministries who’s primary mission is to evangelize.
 
there are all kinds of apostalates and organizations in the Catholic church that make evangelization a primary focus. an example is Presentation Ministries, Fr. Al Lauer’s group from Cincinnati. Our parish has a full time paid director of adult evangelization, that is how much priority we place on it. We are embarking on a 4 year campaign to personally visit every household in the parish boundary with a welcome and invitation. Teams are in training right now to begin phase 2 right after Christmas. Maybe your question should be “why doesn’t my parish evangelize, or what evangelization efforts are going in in my parish or diocese that I don’t know about?”
 
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puzzleannie:
there are all kinds of apostalates and organizations in the Catholic church that make evangelization a primary focus. an example is Presentation Ministries, Fr. Al Lauer’s group from Cincinnati. Our parish has a full time paid director of adult evangelization, that is how much priority we place on it. We are embarking on a 4 year campaign to personally visit every household in the parish boundary with a welcome and invitation. Teams are in training right now to begin phase 2 right after Christmas. Maybe your question should be “why doesn’t my parish evangelize, or what evangelization efforts are going in in my parish or diocese that I don’t know about?”
Click to expand...
PRAISE GOD. Keep up the great work.
 
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robertaf:
Good Morning Church 🙂

About 15 years ago, in our Diocese in Southern California, we had a census. We were asked to go door to door to learn and record how many Catholics in the Parish. It was decided that they go out 2 by 2 and have little packets. If I remember right, they were divided up into groups. One for fallen away Catholics, one for unchurched folks… like that. These two had a little invitation to come to Mass.
My husband went with our Deacon. They had their own district, other pairs had their own. It took weeks to complete.
All of our folks said this was a life changing experience.
My husband told me he met Catholics who had not been to Mass in years. They asked questions, got answers, invitations and lots of hugs. Many of them sobbed like babies saying that they had no idea the Church even cared.
Non Catholics did much the same, not with the tears, but said they had been curious but no one had ever invited them to Mass before. They did ask questions and got much mis-understanding straightened out. During that time, Mass attendance ballooned. It was fantastic. We had a hospitality committee in the vestibule greeting new folks. That year, our RCIA and new Catholic group was huge and the Parish list grew and grew. Most of these folks stayed.

Just goes to show what can happen when we reach out.
Oh by the way, this was all done by men, only because there is some risk in going door to door.

[smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/17/17_1_14.gif](http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001)
Click to expand...
I’d be curious as to how many non-catholics recruited in this way made it all the way through RCIA. Got any numbers? Number recruited, started RCIA, completed RCIA.

Peace be with you.
 
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