Evangelization for young people

[DMC12]

well, i have been thinking on how to evangelize young people, as you should know many see to be religios as something of old people and prunes, many who say they are Catholique still have sex outside marriage, condoms etc. so how would you evangelize others about this.

do you have any rules as when to speak and how? i mean at least i think they hold their sex relations very high, i mean being called a virgin is an insult, so i would not want them to turn their backs totally to the Church, not to mention that i have fear of them ridiculizing me.

on other stuff not related, do you think it is convinient to say something like God’s willing to militant atheist who might blaspheme because of that or we should say it no matter what they do.

aso any tips would be greatly welcomed.

 

[SnowAngels]

I am not sure how young you are talking about, but I know that evangelizing middle school or high school kids in extremely hard. Honestly, I think a decent amount of evangelizing could be done through example (parents, priests, and nuns). It can seem like you are fighting a loosing battle when teaching kids about religion. For example, I teach 5th grade CCD (religion class) with my Mom. No matter how hard I try, no matter what kind of lesson I give or how enthused I am, if the kids don’t take what I say and bring it into their own lives, then nothing is going to change. I think that is the hardest thing: the fact that the young people themselves have to be willing to act. For some very odd reason, it is uncool to be religious in high school. Like you side, people will think you are a prude. The only thing I can say on that is that you have to have a strong enough faith that you’ll be able to stand against the forces of secularism. Again, this is not something you can inject into people with a needle (though I wish it was that easy). They have to have open hearts to accept what you are saying. And the key to an open heart is prayer. So, if trying to evangelize young people, I’d say the two key elements are setting a good example, and professing the power of prayer. As my spiritual director told me, “Pray that their hearts are opened to prayer because if they start praying, they will be led to the right place.”

Hope this helps! God bless!

 

[kkollwitz]

I teach 6th graders, and to the extent that sex comes up I use my own marriage as an example.

 

[ynotzap]

You can indoctrinate. Speak about Jesus and His life. Many years ago they used to put big pictures of the life of Christ on stands in the front of the class depicting scenes taken from the bible. Exposing kids to sight and sound and thought, employing as many of the senses as you can to get the truths of Christianity is an excellent way to teach. As a matter of fact this is done in the secular media, kids are saturated with sense- and sensual stimuli. Use this method for good. It will take some imagination. Ask the Holy Spirit for some inspiration. Plant the seed of Christianity, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will water it. You can also challenge the childs mind by asking questions, make them interesting on a childs level. God bless you venture.

 

[Barricade]

As someone who is relatively young (early 20s) here’s the approach I would take:

Young people often get very exuberant and energetic about throwing themselves into something they love or feel inspired about. It should be no surprise when we step back and realize it’s usually young people who make rash decisions and end up way over their heads in things they get hooked on or obsessed with. We need to give that spontaneous, adventurous, and even militant impulse some proper direction.

I think of myself, my own life, and what appealed to me or what I wish I was told when I was a teenager, and one of the things at the top of the list is to emphasize the struggle we people of faith have with the world. Teaching young people to see the world for what it is and the destructive influence a godless society can have on people cannot be overstated. Even at times when I’ve felt spiritually dry or doubts come to mind, my faith becomes re-energized when I look at the world around me and realize that the course of the world cannot be the right path. Highlight the decadence of the culture and the world and show these young people another way, the way of Christ. In short, give them something to march behind!

In my own personal journey, my faith has only gained in importance when I put myself through the gauntlet so to speak. I examine my life, I try to figure out what I’m lacking, how I can improve, what I want to remove from my life and with a proper foundation in my Catholic faith pursuing these sorts of goals leads me to new feelings of freedom which to me hearken back to the words of Christ about His yoke being easy and His burden light.

Perhaps these are the sorts of things young people want to hear, having their faith act as that grounding and uniting force in their lives that gives them some sense of identity, and from that sense of identity with the sincere belief that it is rooted in the truth comes a genuine sense of empowerment that leads to the faith becoming a lively and energetic part of their lives. I know this has been the case with me and God willing it will continue to be.

 

[DMC12]

thanks for your answers, my main problem is that im not in charge of these young people, who are almost my age, (20’s) so there is the main problem, what would you say to them so they would get interested in following Christ, since i sometimes think that some of them would even think of leaving the religion if i just walked and told them, “this, that and that you do is a mortal sin and you could end up in Hell because it”. altough sometimes i want them to choose if they really want to follow Christ or not, but i really think that is not what God wants.

 

[ynotzap]

Many years ago I knew some youths that got together with a youth leader. Some kids were on drugs so the leader led them sort of like a “young pastor” He used the bible, and he talked about Christ. He got these kids to pray for each other. In the process these kids had some sort of Christ encounter. They even experienced some thing like an exorcism from one of the kids. It was really impressive. The leader actually put what he was reading into practice. He applied what he was reading to the actual problems, he was leading the kids to Christ, and the Holy Spirit backed him up. The leader became a Pastor of his church
The teenage challenge was started by David Wilkerson who was instrumental in leading a lot of kids to Christ, read the Sword and the Switch Blade. There is spiritual power in the Bible, after all it is the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and it can convert. God bless you in your endeavors

 

[adawgj]

As a young person.

Don’t water down the faith.

Keep tradition.

 

[ynotzap]

Not watering down the faith but acknowledging that God works with every one The truth is not only in the Catholic Faith but among our brothers and in the world about us. Truth is where you find it. We are ecumenical and agree where we can, and disagree where we must. If Jesus and the Bible is a common denominator we have much in common Some of these kids where never exposed to the teachings of the Church, but they were exposed to Christ and the Bible, so use discernment. They did this on their own and need further encouragement. Acknowledge what is good and true. Break the barriers that separate us.

 

[Linz202]

well, i have been thinking on how to evangelize young people, as you should know many see to be religios as something of old people and prunes, many who say they are Catholique still have sex outside marriage, condoms etc. so how would you evangelize others about this.

do you have any rules as when to speak and how? i mean at least i think they hold their sex relations very high, i mean being called a virgin is an insult, so i would not want them to turn their backs totally to the Church, not to mention that i have fear of them ridiculizing me.

on other stuff not related, do you think it is convinient to say something like God’s willing to militant atheist who might blaspheme because of that or we should say it no matter what they do.

aso any tips would be greatly welcomed.

Hi, I’m a Religious Education teacher and youth group leader in Australia. My advice would be to understand where the young people you want to evangelise are coming from, get them to talk about themselves and come to understanding of them. Once you have have established a relationship with them and have demonstrated that you are worthy of their trust, the deep conversations and their burning questions about God can begin. Demonstrate how Catholicism is beautiful, show them the beauty of the Church and how it is all centred on our desire to know God better and serve others daily.

God Bless

 

[ynotzap]

You would have to be a good soldier of Christ. It will take great courage, and a strong faith that Christ will protect you from harm. God loves these kids. You must love them also. You do not have to confront them directly. You can pose a question like: I heard that some say that if you do these things or we do these things because the devil causes us to do them, what do you think? They also said that Jesus, some call God came to save us from these things… what do you think. Also I heard that unclean spirits can cause this…get them to thinking. Also tell them some say bad things can happen to them. You will act as a prophet, and God will back you up, it will take courage. Mean time pray to the Father to protect the kids from evil, in the Name of Jesus. This is called stepping out in faith Always show a love for them not an unfriendly attitude, like they are evil, they are not, the acts are evil, and they are not aware of the seriousness of the acts. You might tell them that when people turn to Christ wonderful things can happen, better than sex. Pray to the Holy Spirit to inspire you. Receive Holy Communion often if you can, to be a good instrument to channel grace to others. Our faith is not a dull faith, but alive, powerful, and life-changing. Put Christ right there in the center of these kids, they need help and love. God bless you on your holy adventure!!