I feel like an evangelizing failure

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Adamski

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Long story short I left the catholic church because I was taught things by my parents, Sunday school teachers, and even priests that where not catholic teaching Well all of the people that taught me, even the priests have left the church.

Between 18-28 I never went to church
At 28 I read a josh McDowell book that challenged me to read the bible
I read the bible close to 20 times and joined an evangelical church.
At 33 I left the evangelical church because the constant threats of the rapture and end times made me feel uneasy and there where so many people saying thier “saved” but continuing in sin. A thing that pushe me out was I was in a bible study we where asked about the best christian examples we knew and I said my grandmother her sight was healed with prayer and she went to daily mass when she was alive. The pastors brother stood over me and yelled the catholic church is a cult. I know realize after talking to people everyone at this evangelical church was angry at me for having to much of catholic interpitations of scripture which I didn’t even know I had.

The next day I went to mass for the first time in 20 years. I had a number of meetings with an excellent priest who told me about catholic answers and where the local catholic book store was. I quickly learned that the catholic church has no contradictions with the bible or Jesus and I fully embraced the church

Ok that’s my back ground my frustration is I have literally help no one with my evangization.
I was so easy for me once I heard the gospel of Jesus I embraced it and Inge I heard the gospel that he had one church the catholic church I embraced it.

Most of my evangelical friends won’t talk to me any more.

My parents come up with rediculous reasons why they are catholic and they are “good” but openly support gay marriage and abortion My father really bothers me we went to a Larry Richards conference and he took away nothing. We where supposed to write a letter to our parents and children and he didn’t.

My employee left the catholic church for a oneness pentocostal church and no matter what line I show him in the bible he won’t listen

My wife (she’s Baptsit) only had our marriage blessed in the church to appease me she won’t stop using birth control or have my young children baptsized

I tried street evangelizing but I am really burned out going by my self

I feel like I am talking with such clarity and kindness but the only one who listens is my 4 year old daughter who wants to go to mass with me every week.

It has been 3 years back in the church and I am at my whits end evangelizing and ideas would be helpful.
 
You may feel like a failure but I am certain God is pleased with your efforts. In reading your post, I was impressed with your zeal. We are only accountable for our own actions, and it seems to me that you are doing your best. Maybe focus on the informal approach to evangelization and let the Holy Spirit take over from there. Most of all do not become discouraged!
 
First of all, your first concern should be whether you’re following God’s commands to evangelize. Which you are, apparently. So far so good.

Beyond that, what happens to the seeds you plant is God’s business. You can plant and weed and water, but some of those seeds will wash away or die out. Our Lord warned us about that.

However, you also don’t know if the seed you plant today might not take years and years to sprout and grow. Conversion stories often talk about something coming back to a person in the hour of need, something that some Catholic said ten years ago or twenty years ago or more.

Your sadness and love and care, and your prayers for your friends and family, may have much more influence than you’ll ever know.

You may also find it helpful to join a group, so you don’t feel so alone. I know Legion of Mary does door-to-door evangelization, and there are probably many other Catholic groups that do it. Even if your fellowship is online only, I think it would help.
 
Jesus told us that people didn’t listen to the prophets and therefore wouldnt listen to him, but thankfully that did not deter him from his mission.

Sometimes we never see the success stories of our evangelizing…but those we touched, and God have taken notice.

bless you and your important work you do as a disciple called by Christ! but, don’t look for certain reward in this world; instead humbly hope for greater rewards in heaven!
 
Mother Teresa said that we are called to be faithful and not successful.

Jesus, our Lord in the Flesh, lost most of His disciples after His most powerful preaching (John 6:66).

Do you expect to be more successful than Jesus?
 
Several saaints have commented that we must di what God asks us to do, but leave the results in his hands. Don’t let religion come between you and those who are close to you, just show your happiness in your Faith and pray for them; they know what you think and may be upset if they think you are bugging them (I’ve done that :o).

And how wonderful that your daughter wants to come with you to Mass 🙂 Maybe talk with your pastor about the baptism of your children.
 
There was a Catholic poster on Youtube who once challenged a comment I made. You see, I had swallowed the standard Reformation notions like the “church catholic”, the Deuterocanon as Apocryphal danger, Christianity versus “churchianity” and other such lies. I didn’t listen to them that day but years later I have converted. You never know the impact you might be making, and it’s not necessarily words that will sway them.
 
Adamski said:
Long story short I left the catholic church because I was taught things by my parents, Sunday school teachers, and even priests that where not catholic teaching Well all of the people that taught me, even the priests have left the church.

Between 18-28 I never went to church
At 28 I read a josh McDowell book that challenged me to read the bible
I read the bible close to 20 times and joined an evangelical church.
At 33 I left the evangelical church because the constant threats of the rapture and end times made me feel uneasy and there where so many people saying thier “saved” but continuing in sin. A thing that pushe me out was I was in a bible study we where asked about the best christian examples we knew and I said my grandmother her sight was healed with prayer and she went to daily mass when she was alive. The pastors brother stood over me and yelled the catholic church is a cult. I know realize after talking to people everyone at this evangelical church was angry at me for having to much of catholic interpitations of scripture which I didn’t even know I had.

The next day I went to mass for the first time in 20 years. I had a number of meetings with an excellent priest who told me about catholic answers and where the local catholic book store was. I quickly learned that the catholic church has no contradictions with the bible or Jesus and I fully embraced the church

Ok that’s my back ground my frustration is I have literally help no one with my evangization.
I was so easy for me once I heard the gospel of Jesus I embraced it and Inge I heard the gospel that he had one church the catholic church I embraced it.

Most of my evangelical friends won’t talk to me any more.

My parents come up with rediculous reasons why they are catholic and they are “good” but openly support gay marriage and abortion My father really bothers me we went to a Larry Richards conference and he took away nothing. We where supposed to write a letter to our parents and children and he didn’t.

My employee left the catholic church for a oneness pentocostal church and no matter what line I show him in the bible he won’t listen

My wife (she’s Baptsit) only had our marriage blessed in the church to appease me she won’t stop using birth control or have my young children baptsized

I tried street evangelizing but I am really burned out going by my self

I feel like I am talking with such clarity and kindness but the only one who listens is my 4 year old daughter who wants to go to mass with me every week.

It has been 3 years back in the church and I am at my whits end evangelizing and ideas would be helpful.
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First of all, thank you for posting. Your just evangelized me without even realizing it! Your story made me love Jesus and His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church even more!

Second, evangelizing our family, friends, co-workers and neighbors is about living the faith and being a witness to God’s love and mercy not attacking what they don’t know or the things they do know. You just can’t walk up to someone and say, “Your in the wrong church!” The JW’s do that and although they may gather a few people, the majority are not falling for their empty promises and filling their gathering places where the people are pouring out into the streets because the hall is so packed!

Start by praying for their conversions and let God do all the heavy lifting.

Read and then verbalize what you read either in Scripture, in the CCC (link below) or other great books that show that Jesus did establish one Church and the gates of hell have not prevailed nor will they - Jesus says what He means. With all the scandals in the past, any other church would have crumbled by now and proves that Jesus’ Church is sustained by His Holy Spirit and for the handful of laypeople or religious who fall short to live up to their vows, there are countless others who do live up to their vows.

usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catechism/catechism-of-the-catholic-church/epub/index.cfm

Book recommendation is “Search and Rescue: How to Bring Your Family and Friends Into or Back Into the Catholic Church” by Patrick Madrid. Also look at these video links:

ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/seriessearchprog.asp?seriesID=7046&T1=Patrick+Madrid

Mike Cumbie’s conversion story:
youtube.com/watch?v=jBEsrcF9SGg

olgcparish.net/education/true_magnificence.html

Welcome Home!
 
po18guy said:
Mother Teresa said that we are called to be faithful and not successful.

Jesus, our Lord in the Flesh, lost most of His disciples after His most powerful preaching (John 6:66).

Do you expect to be more successful than Jesus?
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How am I faithful if even know I have expressed that birth control goes against all Christian tradtion not just catholic and I still am intimate with my wife. How am I faithful of I have made it clear that my children need to be baptized and my wife wants to wait until the age of 13 for them to decide
 
Mintaka said:
First of all, your first concern should be whether you’re following God’s commands to evangelize. Which you are, apparently. So far so good.

You may also find it helpful to join a group, so you don’t feel so alone. I know Legion of Mary does door-to-door evangelization, and there are probably many other Catholic groups that do it. Even if your fellowship is online only, I think it would help.
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it’s hard for me to get involved in a church organization I live 30 miles and 3,000’ from my small parish and I go to a catholic men’s group that is 60 miles away every Friday September through march. I recently sent an email to all the men in my parish that are knights of Columbus to see if they want to do something; they aren’t active and I haven’t heard back in 2 weeks
 
Mintaka said:
First of all, your first concern should be whether you’re following God’s commands to evangelize. Which you are, apparently. So far so good.

Beyond that, what happens to the seeds you plant is God’s business. You can plant and weed and water, but some of those seeds will wash away or die out. Our Lord warned us about that.

However, you also don’t know if the seed you plant today might not take years and years to sprout and grow. Conversion stories often talk about something coming back to a person in the hour of need, something that some Catholic said ten years ago or twenty years ago or more.

Your sadness and love and care, and your prayers for your friends and family, may have much more influence than you’ll ever know.

You may also find it helpful to join a group, so you don’t feel so alone. I know Legion of Mary does door-to-door evangelization, and there are probably many other Catholic groups that do it. Even if your fellowship is online only, I think it would help.
Click to expand...
This!!

Keep up the faith! Keep praying! and show them through your love. Sometimes, people close to us are the hardest to evangelize because they get easily defensive. That may be happening to you. As such, answer their questions, try to set up some questions, and love them!

Keep up cordial discussions regarding your kids upbringing in the church. That is important, and even if your wife refuses (as my ex wife does), hopefully they will see Christ in the way you treat them and their mother and as they get older you can help them make their own decision for becoming Catholic.
 
I congratulate you and will pray for you. Stand firm in your faith. Here’s a link to a story about a man who thought his efforts were ineffective. God used his work for years without his knowledge. Keep the faith!
 
Sometimes, all you can do is ‘seed plant’, you know?

Just a smile, holding a door, or offering to pray with someone right there in Walmart (or wherever) can start things moving in that person’s life. You don’t always see the results of your efforts, this can keep you humble. 🙂

So don’t get too discouraged, it often takes years for people to come to Christ, and your small attempt might be the turning point that puts them on the road to Him.
 
Adamski said:
How am I faithful if even know I have expressed that birth control goes against all Christian tradtion not just catholic and I still am intimate with my wife. How am I faithful of I have made it clear that my children need to be baptized and my wife wants to wait until the age of 13 for them to decide
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You are faithful if you speak the truth. Birth control was not approved by her denomination until 1930. Why? Yet, you are not sinning even if she is. Baptism: Since entry into the Jewish covenant was done for Jesus by Joseph and Mary at the age of 8 days, ask your wife why they didn’t wait and let Jesus “decide” at 13. If she cannot say what happens to the unbaptized at death, then ask her how baptizing them now will make this worse. Tell her that, if she is consistent, she must then let the children decide if they want to go to the doctor or to school. Silly, right?

Have you talked to your Priest about this?
 
Adamski,

It would be a good idea to talk to your priest about what you have shared in your posts.

And, how wonderful that your four-year old daughter wants to go to Mass with you! Precious! Thanks be to the Lord.
 
Adamski said:
How am I faithful if even know I have expressed that birth control goes against all Christian tradtion not just catholic and I still am intimate with my wife. How am I faithful of I have made it clear that my children need to be baptized and my wife wants to wait until the age of 13 for them to decide
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It is not sinful for gou to engage in marital activity with your wife since you have tld her how you feel. Her actions rest between her and God, but the two of you must continue to keep your marriage strong, esp during this difficult time.

As to your children, talk to your priest about this. It may be that one or more can be baptized–I am thinking since your daughter is so open to the Faith, bit discuss this with your priest who will know the right questions to ask you.

And keep praying and making little sacrifices for their conversion.

A thought occurred to me, despite the differences, one thing you could do is to institute a family prayer time as well as a time to pray with your wife. Make this all times of togetherness.

Has anyone suggested Home Sweet Rome by Scott and Kimberly Hahn? The couple in that book went through a period of time when one was converting and the other one wasn’t. I think it will encourage you, and it is an easy read 🙂
 
My wife won’t read anything but it the last three years she has changed her view from anti catholic to feeling that the catholic church is just another denomination that you can find Jesus in.
Our marriage is the best it has ever been.
 
Adamski said:
My wife won’t read anything but it the last three years she has changed her view from anti catholic to feeling that the catholic church is just another denomination that you can find Jesus in.
Our marriage is the best it has ever been.
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That sounds like a big step! Keep praying!

May the Lord help all of us in our many challenges. 🙂
 
Adamski said:
My wife won’t read anything but it the last three years she has changed her view from anti catholic to feeling that the catholic church is just another denomination that you can find Jesus in.
Our marriage is the best it has ever been.
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That’s terrific 🙂 Keep on praying for her…
 
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