How important is evangelization?

[PelagiathePenit]

What is the best way to evangelize without imposing? People read when you have hidden intentions to evangelize. Some people find it haughty. No one wants to feel like a charity case. Should you simply respect other people’s different religious or lack thereof beliefs?

 

[Neofight]

The best way to evangelize without imposing, is by living our lives as Christ would want us to…Kinda like that old gospel song:

“And they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love, and they will know we are Christians by our love!”

Peace and all Good!

 

[kristinabina]

What a delight to find this question… my husband and I were JUST talking about this.

My brother in law is Southern Baptist (living with us) and he is incessantly trying to bring us to God even though I go to church 4 days a week (Catholic). But he for some reason doesn’t think God can talk to me, only him. So, my husband who was starting to come around to the Bible because of the gentle message that I share about the Catholics at my church is now to the point he doesn’t even want to hear about God anymore. So it worked against my husband. I think the gentle example is the best and let them ask you. Especially since you don’t know if they had trauma in their past or some strange abuse in the name of God - which wasn’t really God. I had trauma, my husband had trauma and it made us think that Jesus wasn’t who he really is. God had to bring us around but my husbands brother evangelizing is pushing my husband to dig in his heels. It’s a glorious example of how spreading the gospel might just get in his way. So I focus on sharing my love with people who can hear it and to let people see God’s work in my life and let them ask. I wear my cross, my angel bracelet and try to wear my heart on my sleeve and a glow in my eyes and let them figure out the rest or ask.

BUT if I were to evangelize to someone who I don’t know I’d probably want to take the time to listen to them first. What is THEIR idea about God and why? Do they feel like they’ve ever experienced a situation that made them feel that maybe God was there or are they aware of something outside of them no matter what they call it? Then I’d try to relate to them and just say what Jesus did for me. Honestly I wasn’t sure about Jesus at first but I was finally sure about God, then God showed me by wonderful example of why Jesus came and how. I was sold. So he had to take me by the hand and give me baby steps to get me away from false beliefs that were given to me as a child.

Sometimes the best person for someone else to listen to is a former atheist if they are atheist, a former Buddhist if they are Buddhist etc. because they can explain to them WHY they converted and what the differences and similarities are.

But I would try to find the similarities between the religions to bridge the gap. If we agreed commonly that unseen forces exist by any name ( a rose by any other name is just as sweet) whether for good or evil then I’d explain how God that we agree on came to Earth as Jesus because he saw mankind struggling against these forces and were being lead away from a relationship with him. We were lead away from his love and a connection which allows us to hurt others and ultimately hurt him. So Jesus asked on our behalf to forgive us of all our offenses known and unknown and defeated those forces for us.

I’d tell them how the evil unseen forces/spirits lead us to poison of the heart and mind subsequently losing his graces and our own humanity and we stopped being our true selves who God created us to be. I’d ask them to remember a time before they were hurt and how they thought a little kinder and warmer and share that’s what God will return them to. I’d be sure to tell them that accepting Jesus into your heart doesn’t take you away from the God we agree on (as long as it’s the Father of all creation) because they might not know what to do differently but that doing so strengthens the connection and you can have access to the life in the spirit and the healing and protection it affords.

Then I’d tell them what Jesus did for me as far as healing my wounded heart so that I could be free from harmful behavior patterns that were creating harm in my life and share the peace and grace I have now and am still striving for. I’d make sure to explain to them that I am still working towards grace and am not perfect and that God forgives me anyways. I’d explain that confession relieves the conscience and allows for God’s peace. If they agree that spirits or harmful forces exist I’d explain that with the free-er conscience the spirits and forces have no room to roost and they are replaced with a/the Holy Spirit. I’d explain the evil unseen forces or spirits are unholy and they are replacing with a Holy clean spirit. It isn’t letting go of who you are in the sense that you are being hurt, it’s letting go of the hurt because it ISN’T who you are. I’d explain that who we became based on our circumstances creates the unhappy life we have and that by letting go of the hurt and forgiving allows us to have a clean free life and that is what God wanted for us to begin with.

I’d make some of those points because I know the lies the enemy tells with regards to keeping people away from God. I know it doesn’t sound traditional Catholic but you won’t get a person converted with traditional language because it doesn’t make sense to them or what the enemy counters your words with.

Remember that St. Patrick used Celtic symbols to get people comfortable with Christ and to apply what their truth was towards God instead of false God’s.

The gap between believers and non-believers isn’t our war, it’s God’s sadness. He wants them so please put God’s love for the non-believers ahead of your assumption of what God wants. Serve God proudly, love God openly, but respect someone elses tragedy and don’t push them away. If you have to appeal to them in non-religious language you are not offending God. Speak the religious language to your family and peers who understand it.

Sometimes you might only get baby steps with someone and that’s ok. God took years of preparation to get me back. But I needed that delicate approach.

May God bless you all to know how to approach the situation should it arise.

 

[kristinabina]

I’d also mention that God’s grace gives them time to change and if they make mistakes just do so with God in your heart completely, be open to indications that you should change or make reparations and go to confession once discovered. It can be overwhelming when you first convert because some things are SO drastically different that it can be discouraging.

I’d tell them God respects sincerity and a genuine attempt at the right direction as long as they are honest with themselves and not just trying to get away with something.

 

[tangled]

I think evangelization is inordinately important. Most the people I know and work with are lost. (I am a convert). They have no idea how to make their lives work. They have no idea how to make their relationships work.

The women run through men, quickly, and vice versa. Women are raising their kids alone with no idea how it got this way, nor how to make it better. They have no rule book whatsoever. The kids are confused about what is right and wrong, because the parents are confused too.

Personally, I take the instruction at the end of mass, literally and seriously, “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.” I

It’s against my belief to tell anyone what I they should do, unless asked directly. But I wear Catholic jewelry, always. I state that I am Catholic. I talk about grace and the insane benefits of being Catholic. I’m happy. I’m satisfied. I smile a lot. It’s a pretty good commercial.

Slowly people warm to the idea. They get curious. They wonder if this Catholic thing might work for them. That’s when I tell them they might give it a try…

“You’ve got nothing to lose…it’s quite interesting…you may as well find out…it’s a free education…go learn something new…”

The Catholic faith is beautiful. It’s so attractive. If you can get a person near it, they’re often pulled in.

As stupid it this may sound (I work with people who typically have no religion at all), I tell a dog lover to take their dog to the Blessing of the Animals. I tell them that my dogs all have Saint Francis medals. The next thing you know, their dogs have them too.

This kind of thing softens the hostility many feel towards the Catholic church, for reasons they don’t even understand. They begin to wonder if they’ve been lied to about Catholics, or misled…which they have.

I know all this, because I was just like what I describe. And I’m here now, aren’t I?

I wish that a Catholic, any Catholic, would have shared their faith with me when I was younger. They never did. I pretty sure I’d have taken to it quickly. Most Catholics keep their faith to themselves.

I don’t know much about converting Protestants. But if you can bring one of these people who have no clue about religion; people who have never been told or talked to about God; people who are trying to raise their kids with no foundation whatsoever, how about that?

 

[Joe_5859]

BUT if I were to evangelize to someone who I don’t know I’d probably want to take the time to listen to them first. What is THEIR idea about God and why? Do they feel like they’ve ever experienced a situation that made them feel that maybe God was there or are they aware of something outside of them no matter what they call it? Then I’d try to relate to them and just say what Jesus did for me. Honestly I wasn’t sure about Jesus at first but I was finally sure about God, then God showed me by wonderful example of why Jesus came and how. I was sold. So he had to take me by the hand and give me baby steps to get me away from false beliefs that were given to me as a child.

I just have to say, Kristina, that I know a great number of Catholics who have spent years banging their heads against the wall trying this and that and going through all manner of training and education just to figure out this very simple thing that you have described: Listen to people. Share your story of faith. That’s evangelization in a nutshell.

 

[ANE_Bookstore]

It is important to propose not impose. It is our job as Catholics to tell nonbelievers and those of differing faiths the truth whether they accept it or not. Jesus said it is our job to announce and then it is on the person to accept.

It is vitally important to evangelize to the masses. Keep spreading the faith.

God Bless,
Serena

A New Evangelization
Catholic Bookstore
www.anewevangelization.com

 

[fide]

What is the best way to evangelize without imposing? People read when you have hidden intentions to evangelize. Some people find it haughty. No one wants to feel like a charity case. Should you simply respect other people’s different religious or lack thereof beliefs?

There are many good thoughts, suggestions and much true wisdom shared so far on this thread. I’d like to add one factor that I believe is crucially important in evangelization: authenticity.

We can’t share or give what we do not have, and so our own personal faith foundations - and growth in the faith - must be vital, living truths in our lives. We must mean what we say - it must be real to us. Transparent hypocrisy is poison in the apostolate - our words must be in sincerity, simplicity and truth.

 

[schaeffer]

BUT if I were to evangelize to someone who I don’t know I’d probably want to take the time to listen to them first. What is THEIR idea about God and why? Do they feel like they’ve ever experienced a situation that made them feel that maybe God was there or are they aware of something outside of them no matter what they call it? Then I’d try to relate to them and just say what Jesus did for me. Honestly I wasn’t sure about Jesus at first but I was finally sure about God, then God showed me by wonderful example of why Jesus came and how. I was sold. So he had to take me by the hand and give me baby steps to get me away from false beliefs that were given to me as a child.

Sometimes the best person for someone else to listen to is a former atheist if they are atheist, a former Buddhist if they are Buddhist etc. because they can explain to them WHY they converted and what the differences and similarities are.

But I would try to find the similarities between the religions to bridge the gap.

I think this is very very good advise.

Not all religions have a one to one correlation or a parallel version of a various aspect of faith or belief. That gap can make it very difficult to discuss things because concepts can be so vastly different and unfamiliar.

Finding out what a person believes as well as their experience of their faith is important, and giving them the respect to speak about their faith, just as you want the respect to speak of your own.

It is not unusual for people who have grown up in a society that is predominantly one faith to truly not understand or take seriously a religion that is vastly different from their own. That has stopped many discussions in their tracks.

 

[kristinabina]

I just wanted to add in response to keep spreading the faith… yes please do! HOWEVER, please be aware that as Jesus said this 2000 or so years ago, things were different - yet the same.

But now we have the enemy using Christians who haven’t fully realized Christ’s intentions being really bad PR representatives for Christ turning people away. Which is why it’s important to listen to THEM. What happened to them? Were they abused and had it justified because it was in the Bible? Then you better believe they are going to run the other way when they hear the word Christ or see a Christian coming to speak to them. Were they abused in particular IN the Catholic Church or by really strict Catholics? Then they might not be inclined to hear that OTHER Catholics aren’t like the Catholics who hurt them because the trauma was TOO real and painful. I know this because my parents (as children) and then my sister and I were among that group. My parents thought they were doing the right thing by turning us AWAY from Christ or the Church because they believed it was Christ who hurt them.

Evangelization is IMPORTANT but you’ve got another barrier that you’re working with now that didn’t exist before to the degree it does now. There were people trying to discredit Jesus back then but they didn’t ABUSE people in his name. That’s a different ball game. They also didn’t justify sinful behavior in Christ’s name OR maybe they did, I don’t know. But people who weren’t abused are also looking at the hypocrisy of Christians themselves. Then you have people with no authority to speak for God/Jesus speaking for others that doesn’t apply TO THAT INDIVIDUAL and claim that the Bible said otherwise without considering the context of the situation.

The hypocrisy of the Christians themselves can cause ALOT of trauma to their own children - leading them away from Christ instead of away from hypocrisy.

Well intentioned people in some churches also take children off by themselves and try to evangelize to them by focusing on the fear and hell-fire of God’s wrath thereby scaring them away instead of focusing on the love.

Plus the sorrow of what happened is very real, but the Bible also said we should focus on the joy since he HAD to be crucified so that the advocate could come to us and that we should not grieve but rejoice in the spirit that was coming as a woman giving birth is sorrowful for the pain but rejoices in the birth of the child. Having sorrowful pictures in a church and a cross with a dead body on it can be scary to children. If those same churches don’t have pictures of the joy Christ brought it can paint a picture that is hard to undo in some kids minds ESPECIALLY when they trauma sets in from abuse.

I know this might not be typical but it’s much more common then you’d expect which is why there is some hostility when people try to evangelize.

I’m not talking anyone OUT OF EVANGELIZING, just please proceed with respect to a possibly potential wounded person. It is obviously a lie or a misunderstanding that they believe Christ is someone to be scared of to the point that they want nothing to do with him, but bear in mind something else got to them first.

You need to understand the warfare going on to know how to proceed with people and not just rely on “it’s up to us to say it, and up to them to accept it or not” ( I paraphrase) that may have been the case BACK THEN. Now there’s another lie to conquer - the evil by the enemy of Christ done in a Jesus costume. It’s very real and the people are being pushed away when they shouldn’t be.

The people I’m describing have been hijacked or kidnapped from Christ. You wouldn’t be harsh with a child who was kidnapped and brainwashed so please consider the same thing when discussing Christ with a non-believer. They are your brothers and sisters too under one body of Christ.

God bless you all in your evangelizing endeavors and may the love of the spirit shine in your eyes as you discuss his grace with whomever he brings you. May your well intentions be all that is received and communicated. They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love - not OUR judgment, not our judgment.