HOW CAN LAY PEOPLE EVANGELISE?

Fr Pat Collins

One of the greatest acts of service we can render to people who are looking for meaning in life is to share the good news message about having an intimate personal relationship with Jesus.  Modern Church documents stress the fact that to be a Catholic is to be an evangeliser. As St Paul VI said, “The task of evangelising all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church . . .  She exists in order to evangelise.” St. John Paul added, "No believer in Christ . . . can avoid this supreme duty." For lay people, this evangelisation is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world by the witness of a good life. But lay people must also be on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers or to Christians who no longer practice their faith. Here are three ways in which it can be done. 

Firstly, as Pope St Paul VI explained, ‘Side by side with the collective proclamation of the gospel, the other form of evangelisation, the person-to-person one, remains valid and important.’ One can do this by sharing one’s own faith story when it seems appropriate. Ideally, it should be brief and structured as follows:

1. What were you like before you developed a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?

2. How did you come to relate to Jesus in a more intimate way and to experience the free gift of his saving mercy and love?

3. How did your newfound relationship with Jesus have a transforming effect on you?

Whereas many of our contemporaries are resistant to being talked down to, they do respect our personal experience, especially when it is shared in a sincere and humble way.  

Secondly, those who want to engage in person-to-person evangelisation can also look out for what Pope St Paul VI referred to as “steppingstones to faith.” For example, believers may have opportunities to raise meaning of life issues. For instance,

·       A colleague at work talks about a relative who died recently. His fellow employee could take the opportunity to ask, “what exactly do you think happens after death?” That question could initiate a really good conversation about faith issues. 

·       If a man asked, “what you do at the weekend?” his friend could reply, “I played a round of golf after attending the 10 AM Mass in my local parish.”

·       When a nursing exam ends, one student might say to another, “I didn’t sleep well last night due to worry. Today I was so tired I found it hard to concentrate so I don’t think I did well. How did you cope?” “Last night,” the other student responds, “I prayed for God’s help and handed my worries over to him. Then I got a good night’s sleep. I think I did OK.”

Thirdly, sad to say, parents increasingly find that their adult children no longer go to Church. Grandparents can help to evangelise their grand children by bringing them to Mass, teaching them simple prayers and talking to them about such things as bible stories and the lives of the saints.

Fourthly, lay people who feel a bit intimidated by the first two suggestions might find it easier to join with other parishioners in order to organise an Alpha Course or a Life in the Spirit Seminar. These two courses not only aim to introduce people who attend them to the essential truths of the Christian faith, they also enable them to come into a more intimate, Spirit filled relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. 

St Paul VI made the following striking observation, “the person who has been evangelised goes on to evangelise others. Here lies the test of truth, the touchstone of evangelisation: it is unthinkable that a person should accept the Word and give himself to the kingdom without becoming a person who bears witness to it and proclaims it in his turn.” Who have you tried to evangelise during the last month? In what ways do you intend to bear witness to who Jesus is and what he means to you in terms not only of your practical actions but also by talking to others about the Lord?