How many times have you evangelized in the last year?

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I have been involved in a number of evangelism activities over the past 2-3 years, including Nightfever and St. Paul Street Evangelization. I would like to understand how frequently other Catholics are doing that work.

I’m not defining “evangelization,” since it can come in many forms. But I would say that “being nice” or holding doors open for strangers, with no verbal or written reference to God or the Church, wouldn’t qualify.
 
If we’re not counting reciting the Apostles’ Creed to RPR Junior (who started jumping with excitement the minute I said “Amen” :)), I’m going to have to go with zero. Not a nice thing to admit (:(), but the beauty of rock bottom is that there’s nowhere to go but up from there. 🙂
 
Almost daily through social media. I just hope that the Holy Spirit works through my efforts to bring people to the church. I don’t expect to ever see it happening first hand. I’ve thought of trying to get Saint Paul’s street evangelism going here. Even with my physical disabilities I could at least do it a couple of times per month. I just don’t even know where to begin. Their website seems to mostly be for ordering mateials. I was confirmed into the church just a little over a year ago.
 
fnr said:
I have been involved in a number of evangelism activities over the past 2-3 years, including Nightfever and St. Paul Street Evangelization. I would like to understand how frequently other Catholics are doing that work.

I’m not defining “evangelization,” since it can come in many forms. But I would say that “being nice” or holding doors open for strangers, with no verbal or written reference to God or the Church, wouldn’t qualify.
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If fraternally correcting Catholics that believed in heresy counts then multiple times a week.
 
pianistclare said:
Oh please. Your baby (RPR Jr.) has schooled SCORES of people! 😃
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Awww! :):)🙂 Thanks. Wait till he’s old enough to have his own account! 😉

(And now the stinger: would those scores of folks all backslide if I changed my avatar to my own ugly mug? :D)
 
newcalling said:
Almost daily through social media. I just hope that the Holy Spirit works through my efforts to bring people to the church. I don’t expect to ever see it happening first hand. I’ve thought of trying to get Saint Paul’s street evangelism going here. Even with my physical disabilities I could at least do it a couple of times per month. I just don’t even know where to begin. Their website seems to mostly be for ordering mateials. I was confirmed into the church just a little over a year ago.
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I just wanted to say that, although sometimes people can be over the top on social media, so it does depend on if it’s done tastefully, when I was not at all thinking of becoming Catholic, I was friends on Facebook with my midwife who is Catholic. She frequently posted Catholic stuff, and because of that, I figured she might be a good go-to person when I did start considering conversion. I remember when I was first thinking of going to the Mass, I messaged her and asked various questions, and she was very helpful. So social media can be effective, and you might see the fruits of that some day.
 
Hmm… If someone asks me about my faith I will answer. Other than that I do not evangelize. I do not really believe in evangelizing.
 
PelagiathePenit said:
Hmm… If someone asks me about my faith I will answer. Other than that I do not evangelize. I do not really believe in evangelizing.
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Perhaps you’re thinking of proselytizing rather that evangelizing. If you look them up in a dictionary they don’t differentiate between the two words, but they are different approaches. Proselytizing means pushing your religion on others in an effort to gain them for your sect. I associate it with people pushing their faith on others in the workplace, at family gatherings, on buses, etc. But evangelizing means being open to opportunities to share one’s faith with others with no pressure. If we are praying for such opportunities, and prepare ourselves for them, the Holy Spirit gives them to us at the appropriate time and place. At least, that’s been my experience. 🙂
 
A LOT, especially on youtube. I am never shy about my belief, and this is why I wear a Byzantine Cross and a Crucifix that I never remove. AND I LOVE to talk about the good book.
 
Della said:
Perhaps you’re thinking of proselytizing rather that evangelizing. If you look them up in a dictionary they don’t differentiate between the two words, but they are different approaches. Proselytizing means pushing your religion on others in an effort to gain them for your sect. I associate it with people pushing their faith on others in the workplace, at family gatherings, on buses, etc. But evangelizing means being open to opportunities to share one’s faith with others with no pressure. If we are praying for such opportunities, and prepare ourselves for them, the Holy Spirit gives them to us at the appropriate time and place. At least, that’s been my experience. 🙂
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I hate the idea of people trying to convert others to the truth. I have had many Protestant people try to convince theif faith is right not catholicism. I would rather not go down that path. I want Muslims to stay Muslim and Buddhists to stay Buddhist
 
PelagiathePenit said:
Hmm… If someone asks me about my faith I will answer. Other than that I do not evangelize. I do not really believe in evangelizing.
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When I listen to the Journey Home program on EWTN, nearly all (but not all) converts on that program made up their own minds to enter the Church.

I don’t recall the stories on that program of Jews who converted, but Marcus Grodi seems to have a lot of ministers who converted, on the program. I think that’s a good idea, because, for example, a Baptist minister who converts can speak to other Baptists about how they came “home” to the Catholic Church.

It isn’t that often that someone was persuaded to enter the Church by a spouse or a friend, as far as that TV program portrays things.
In my diocese, the Bishop has said that evangelization is up to the parishes, and my parish is doing nothing significant that I can tell.
When I listen to callers to Dr. David Anders on the Called to Communion program, they have very technical questions that he answers, just as happens on the other EWTN radio apologetics programs.

I’ve tried to evangelize my “evangelical” Protestant aunt, and she is dead set against the Catholic Church. She says we’re worshiping bread and wine, and we’re all going to hell.
She says she wouldn’t set foot inside of a Catholic Church.
Jesus said that no one can come to Him unless the Father calls them. That’s a pretty important thing to understand. There might be more conversions, for example, if the blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Muslims or Hindus or atheists, but she doesn’t seem to be evangelizing them, either. I wish she would appear to Barack Obama, but that hasn’t happened, to my knowledge.

I think that great evangelization work is being done by EWTN and my effort is to support these experts who are being broadcast around the world. If someone, like me, is a klutz and can’t convince anybody to buy an umbrella in a rain storm, then I have to recognize my limitations and support the* visible* or tangible efforts like EWTN. And, I think most of us should do that (and support this website, too).
 
Along with the efforts for the “new evangelization” which I really hear about only on EWTN, I have to say that my diocese has a drought of vocations to the priesthood. We’re dying. 2/3 of the people in Michigan and in my county are UNCHURCHED.

I don’t see priests replacing themselves, recruiting young men for the priesthood, or old men for that matter.

Our parish is in so much debt from building projects, that we can’t really “invest” in, let’s say, a city-wide evangelization effort. We have four and five parishes being condensed into one parish. We’re dying, literally and figuratively. And, our leadership is virtually absent. The people with power and “say so” in the parish are not leading.

Evangelization? I got kicked out of our parish Bible study group. NOBODY wants to associate with me. I get excited about talking about scripture, over and above reading the footnotes, and it goes over like a lead balloon.
 
sirach2v4 said:
When I listen to the Journey Home program on EWTN, nearly all (but not all) converts on that program made up their own minds to enter the Church.

I don’t recall the stories on that program of Jews who converted, but Marcus Grodi seems to have a lot of ministers who converted, on the program. I think that’s a good idea, because, for example, a Baptist minister who converts can speak to other Baptists about how they came “home” to the Catholic Church.

It isn’t that often that someone was persuaded to enter the Church by a spouse or a friend, as far as that TV program portrays things.
In my diocese, the Bishop has said that evangelization is up to the parishes, and my parish is doing nothing significant that I can tell.
When I listen to callers to Dr. David Anders on the Called to Communion program, they have very technical questions that he answers, just as happens on the other EWTN radio apologetics programs.

I’ve tried to evangelize my “evangelical” Protestant aunt, and she is dead set against the Catholic Church. She says we’re worshiping bread and wine, and we’re all going to hell.
She says she wouldn’t set foot inside of a Catholic Church.
Jesus said that no one can come to Him unless the Father calls them. That’s a pretty important thing to understand. There might be more conversions, for example, if the blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Muslims or Hindus or atheists, but she doesn’t seem to be evangelizing them, either. I wish she would appear to Barack Obama, but that hasn’t happened, to my knowledge.

I think that great evangelization work is being done by EWTN and my effort is to support these experts who are being broadcast around the world. If someone, like me, is a klutz and can’t convince anybody to buy an umbrella in a rain storm, then I have to recognize my limitations and support the* visible* or tangible efforts like EWTN. And, I think most of us should do that (and support this website, too).
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lol why Barack Obama?
 
I’ve dabbled in apologetics on social media/comment sections of websites if that counts

(I work from home so I don’t “see” many people face to face during the weekday)
 
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