How would you, as a Catholic, present the gospel message?

[Koineman]

One thing I have felt strongly drawn to in my many years as a Protestant is bringing the gospel message to the lost, particularly strangers. Of course, if I joined the Catholic Church, I would still want to do that outreach.

So what I’m curious about is the following hypothetical scenario. (Please note that I’m asking only Catholics this question.)

Imagine you encountered a complete stranger (in a coffee shop, on an airplane, on the street, etc.), and you felt the desire to share the good news about Christ and salvation with them. What would your message consist of? What would you say? What truths would you attempt to communicate?

 

[kkollwitz]

I enjoy meeting and having conversations with people I don’t know. Between having 5 kids and doing church architecture for a living, it doesn’t take long for someone to know I’m Catholic; often (I live in the Bible Belt) I’ll be evangelized or at the least asked questions about the Church. Either way I am happy to “give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.”

 

[Semper_Zelare]

You shouldn’t walk around with a “pre-packaged” message you want to share about the Gospel. At least for evangelism like this. I would say just strike up a spiritual conversation and just see where you’re led. Ask if they go to Church, if so then where do they go to Church? Then you can tell them where you go to Church… etc.

Like one comic put it… you don’t want to be the guy who taps someone on the shoulder and says, “I’d like to talk to you about Jesus”… that person would say, “Yeah… I’d like you to not”.

Every person is unique, and every situation is different. Just see where they’re at spiritually and go from there. The thing about being Catholic is that 99% of everyone (at least in the U.S.) already knows SOMETHING about the Catholic Church. So, they’ll have at least 1 opinion on the Catholic Church. In a way that, I don’t have a single opinion about the Zooastrians for instance.

 

[mdkirkbride]

Probably not what you’re looking for, but the discussion reminded me of this quote-

Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words - St. Francis of Assisi

 

[Koineman]

Probably not what you’re looking for, but the discussion reminded me of this quote-

Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words - St. Francis of Assisi

I knew someone was going to bring that up. It’s a pretty horrific statement, when you realize that revelation is absolutely necessary for anyone to come to a saving knowledge of God. No knowledge of God is possible apart from God condescending to us and revealing Himself to us in ways we can understand. The gospel is part of that revelation. So the communication of that gospel is not optional. The Catholic Church upholds this, too:

The Church has received this solemn mandate of Christ to proclaim the saving truth from the apostles and must carry it out to the very ends of the earth. Wherefore she makes the words of the Apostle her own: “Woe to me, if I do not preach the Gospel.” (Lumen Gentium, II.17)

Since the gospel message consists of truths that cannot be understood apart from the medium of human language, i.e., words, St. Francis’ proverb (if he even said it) is the equivalent of saying, “Give out your phone number; use digits if necessary.”

At any rate, I was after message, not methods. Perhaps I was unclear, so let me restate my question: If you were to communicate the gospel message to someone, what would you say, and what truths would you feel must be communicated?

 

[Koineman]

You shouldn’t walk around with a “pre-packaged” message you want to share about the Gospel. At least for evangelism like this. I would say just strike up a spiritual conversation and just see where you’re led. Ask if they go to Church, if so then where do they go to Church? Then you can tell them where you go to Church… etc.

There’s nothing wrong with using a friendly conversation as an in-road to having a spiritual conversation, but if you got to a point where you could share the message, what would you say? That’s what I’m after. I’m not asking for the how of evangelism but the what, i.e., the content of the message you would attempt to convey to someone.

 

[mdkirkbride]

I think you misunderstand it. The quote is about LIVING the gospel, not just talking about it. Being a living example will bring other to the gospel. So it’s more like ‘Walk the walk, don’t just talk the talk.’.

Mother Teresa, or Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, would be a prime example.

 

[adf417]

K-man,

I would almost be willing to bet that the basic message you have always presented is the same message you should continue to present, unless you have found something unorthodox with it. This is another reason we can say “we are all brothers in Christ”.

I believe what you are hitting on is an important element in our ecumenical evangelization that we old-school Catholics do not have but completely welcome. This is what a protestant buddy of mine and myself discuss on how this enthusiasm and boldness can be integrated into the Catholic mentality without losing the orthodoxy established by Christ. This is why you will hear it said that converts to Catholicism make better Catholics.

Peace Bro!!!

 

[JRKH]

If I were in the given situation and felt moved by the Spirit, to share the Gospel it is safe to assume that the Spirit will give one the words…
Particulars would most certainly depend on the specifics of the situation, but nothing “canned” so to speak.

That said…The main message that I would wish to share is “Love”.
Love in my demeanor, Love in my speech and Love in my actions.
Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John13:35)
If we have and share Christ’s Love, then others will be drawn to it and want to possess what we possess.
In a sense I think this is what St Francis meant.

So - about all I can say is that I would want to communicate God’s Love and God’s desire for us to be happy with Him in heaven.

Peace
James

 

[kkollwitz]

Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words - St. Francis of AssisI

I like: Preach the Gospel at all times; use words!

Too often the line attributed to Francis is used by Catholics to excuse their lack of faith knowledge.

 

[Koineman]

I think you misunderstand it. The quote is about LIVING the gospel, not just talking about it.

If that were the meaning of it, it would say, “Preach the gospel at all times, using both words and deeds.” But notice the wording is clear: “When necessary, use words.” The intent is clearly to say that words are optional. Otherwise it wouldn’t have the qualifying phrase, “when necessary.”

 

[JRKH]

Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words - St. Francis of AssisI

I like: Preach the Gospel at all times; use words!

Too often the line attributed to Francis is used by Catholics to excuse their lack of faith knowledge.

Not to “zero” in on this saying - tot he detriment of the thread in toto…But I think that If the first saying above can be wrong - so too can the second.

I agree that the first can be used by people as an excuse…However, the second can be used by people who “talk the talk” but don’t “walk the walk”…
Perhaps it can be agreed that we need to walk the walk first (and always) and then use words.

Peace
James

 

[Koineman]

Not to “zero” in on this saying - tot he detriment of the thread in toto…But I think that If the first saying above can be wrong - so too can the second.

I agree that the first can be used by people as an excuse…However, the second can be used by people who “talk the talk” but don’t “walk the walk”…
Perhaps it can be agreed that we need to walk the walk first (and always) and then use words.

Peace
James

Even better to say that we need to do both at the same time. Neither the apostles nor Christ waited to let others see their lives before preaching. For Christ and the apostles, there was no pre-evangelism period of letting people see how they lived.

 

[mdkirkbride]

Even better to say that we need to do both at the same time. Neither the apostles nor Christ waited to let others see their lives before preaching. For Christ and the apostles, there was no pre-evangelism period of letting people see how they lived.

I believe Jesus was about 30 before starting his Ministry which lead to the cross about 3 years later.

 

[kkollwitz]

“Imagine you encountered a complete stranger (in a coffee shop, on an airplane, on the street, etc.), and you felt the desire to share the good news about Christ and salvation with them.”

Not much time to show someone how well one lives the Gospel. Use words.

 

[Koineman]

I believe Jesus was about 30 before starting his Ministry which lead to the cross about 3 years later.

I see what you’re getting at, but during His public ministry, most of the time He was dealing with strangers, people He didn’t grow up with. After all, He was itinerant. Since most of the people He ministered to had not known what His life was like, there could not have been any pre-evangelism period when they saw how He lived.

 

[JRKH]

Even better to say that we need to do both at the same time. Neither the apostles nor Christ waited to let others see their lives before preaching. For Christ and the apostles, there was no pre-evangelism period of letting people see how they lived.

Good point…And I agree wholeheartedly.
Of course one should have a good foundation in the faith before they begin evangelizing. It doesn’t have to be perfect…but they should not be novices either. Jesus trained the Apostles before he sent them out. Paul went to “Arabia” for three years before he began his ministry. So there does seem to be something of a “time delay” between learning to live the faith of being immersed (baptizo) in the faith and actually going out and evangelizing.

I would say that a person coming to the faith should begin by living and learning - becoming immersed, not dipped, in the faith. Then begin to formally evangelize if that is where the vocation Spirit moves them. And thus - when one evangelizes - the Love of the Christian experience shines through and draws others to Christ…

Peace
James

 

[Koineman]

Good point…And I agree wholeheartedly.
Of course one should have a good foundation in the faith before they begin evangelizing. It doesn’t have to be perfect…but they should not be novices either.

I agree. I’ve said for a while now among Protestants I know who do evangelism, that the best training/preparation for evangelism is the study of theology. How can you present the gospel to people if you are unable to articulate its truths clearly and accurately?

 

[Bix]

K-man,

I would almost be willing to bet that the basic message you have always presented is the same message you should continue to present, unless you have found something unorthodox with it. This is another reason we can say “we are all brothers in Christ”.

I believe what you are hitting on is an important element in our ecumenical evangelization that we old-school Catholics do not have but completely welcome. This is what a protestant buddy of mine and myself discuss on how this enthusiasm and boldness can be integrated into the Catholic mentality without losing the orthodoxy established by Christ. This is why you will hear it said that converts to Catholicism make better Catholics.

Peace Bro!!!

 

[Koineman]

K-man,

I would almost be willing to bet that the basic message you have always presented is the same message you should continue to present, unless you have found something unorthodox with it. This is another reason we can say “we are all brothers in Christ”.

I believe what you are hitting on is an important element in our ecumenical evangelization that we old-school Catholics do not have but completely welcome. This is what a protestant buddy of mine and myself discuss on how this enthusiasm and boldness can be integrated into the Catholic mentality without losing the orthodoxy established by Christ. This is why you will hear it said that converts to Catholicism make better Catholics.

Peace Bro!!!

And peace to you! I like the way you think. One of the reasons I started this thread was because of my curiosity about how much my presentation of the gospel might change–not the method, but the message itself–were I to revert to the Catholic Church completely. Obviously references to imputation of righteousness would be eliminated, but I’d think most of it would stay the same, i.e., what God is like, what man is like (sin), who Jesus is, His death and resurrection, faith and repentance, counting the cost.