Never miss a chance to Evangelize!

[twopekinguys]

I shared this story on another thread, and some people thought I should post it here.

Has anyone ever had an experience like this?

I can’t help it, but I have to relay this story.

I am the Lay Director of RCIA for our parish, and was getting ready to head to church for the Easter Vigil on Saturday.

I had to get there extra early, to check on some last minute details, changes, instructions, all that sort of thing. We had 21 people coming into the church that night, so you can only imagine some of the confusion that could have happened.

So, here I am, fresh out of the shower, getting my suit ready, etc. etc., and here is a persistant knock at the door. I go to the door, and there is a gentleman from one of the local Baptist churches, Bible, and tracts in hand.

I take a deep breath, and pray “Jesus, is this really necessary right now?”. Well, the gentleman asked me:

Q: Do you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior,

A: I just kind of chuckle and said “Yep, sure do. Probably more than you know.”

Q: Do you have a church home?

A: Yep, sure do.

Q: Do they have Easter services?

A: Yes, 3 on Sunday, and I am getting ready for our Easter Vigil services right now.

Q: What Church?

A. St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.

Insert long pause here…lol

I asked him to give me a minute to tie my tie, and get my jacket, and I would be more than happy to talk to him some more. He agreed, and I was gone for just a minute (I can’t tie my tie without a mirror…lol). When I got back, the whole tone of his conversation changed.

Q: Catholics don’t worship Jesus do they?
A: More than you know. The Mass is all about worshipping Jesus.

Q: But you don’t read the Bible do you?
A: More than you know. I explained the basic order of the Mass.

The whole conversation turned into a chance to evangelize. Although, it wasn’t the type of evangelization he was thinking of when he knocked on the door.

I told him that if he wanted, he was more than welcome to come check out the church with me, look around, and if he liked, he could stay for the Vigil Mass. You could have knocked me over with a feather, when he said “sure”.

Long story short, he sat in the front pew with me, and some members of the team, we helped him through the missalette, etc.

After the Vigil was over (2hrs. 38 min), he told me how glad he was he accepted the invitiation, how moved he was at ALL of the liturgy, and how obvious it was that everyone there loved our Risen Lord.

I am not sure, but I am thinking we may have our first candidate for the next RCIA session!!

Does anyone have any stories of unexpected evangelization?

 

[estesbob]

Whenever anyone asks me if I have a personal realtionship with Jesus" I always reply “Yes, I eat his body and drink his blood several times a week”. Great conversation starter!

 

[Edwardjohn]

I shared this story on another thread, and some people thought I should post it here.

Has anyone ever had an experience like this?

Does anyone have any stories of unexpected evangelization?

Praise God!

 

[Edwardjohn]

Whenever anyone asks me if I have a personal realtionship with Jesus" I always reply “Yes, I eat his body and drink his blood several times a week”. Great conversation starter!

Excellent!

 

[quiet52]

OP, Thank You for sharing this story with us! And thank you for building up Christ’s Church in the ways that you do. Happy Easter.

 

[musicality]

Thanks for that story! That was great!

As a college student, I live in a different sort of environment. To make a long story short, people notice that I don’t follow the “norm” at my university. I have friends from just about every background imaginable, and with many of them, they’ll bring up how I may act differently than most of the guys they know. The conversation eventually leads to my faith, and I always take it as an opportunity to discuss as much as they’re willing to discuss.

Hopefully, I’ve planted a few seeds (atheists, fundamentalists, lapsed Catholics, etc.). I don’t necessarily expect to see immediate results, but every once in a while I’ll see one of those people at Mass.

I think it really comes down to being comfortable talking about your faith.

 

[twopekinguys]

Thanks for that story! That was great!

As a college student, I live in a different sort of environment. To make a long story short, people notice that I don’t follow the “norm” at my university. I have friends from just about every background imaginable, and with many of them, they’ll bring up how I may act differently than most of the guys they know. The conversation eventually leads to my faith, and I always take it as an opportunity to discuss as much as they’re willing to discuss.

Hopefully, I’ve planted a few seeds (atheists, fundamentalists, lapsed Catholics, etc.). I don’t necessarily expect to see immediate results, but every once in a while I’ll see one of those people at Mass.

I think it really comes down to being comfortable talking about your faith.

Great points!!

At one time, it really wasn’t “cool” to be male, and to be proud of your faith. I think the times are changing, and you are a great example of that.

 

[baltobetsy]

As a college student, I live in a different sort of environment. To make a long story short, people notice that I don’t follow the “norm” at my university. I have friends from just about every background imaginable, and with many of them, they’ll bring up how I may act differently than most of the guys they know. The conversation eventually leads to my faith, and I always take it as an opportunity to discuss as much as they’re willing to discuss.

This is so good. First, you lead by example and get people interested in how you live, and, when they ask, you’re ready to speak about your faith. Many people think that they need to beat people about the head with their faith at every opportunity, and then they wonder why they are not successful.

Betsy