When it Comes to Evangelizing, Delivery is Important

evangelizing

Many, if not most of us, have seen the stereo-typical street preacher on a big city corner telling everyone who goes by that they are, “Going to Hell.”  Even if such an accusation is true, this approach to evangelizing is rarely effective.

Twitter and other social media platforms are modern-day street corners.  Many social media users are addicted to the outrage and indignation that fester within its false facade of honest dialog.

Just as the street corner cleric bellowing that passersby are destined for Gehenna, social media convince few, if any, to change their perspective.  Direct condemnations freeze the soil one is attempting to sow.

When evangelizing to others, delivery is important.

A Simple Analogy

Let’s begin with an analogy.  If you come across a dog with a thorn in its paw, how do you help the dog?  If you try to grab the dog’s paw and pull out the thorn, most likely you will get bit.

A more effective and less painful approach is to first calm the dog, maybe give it treats, and build some trust through compassion.  Relax the dog so that it willingly lies on its side.  Removing the thorn is much easier since the dog is now calm and relaxed.  Moreover, the chances of a long-term bond are much higher once the thorn is removed.

Humans are actually not much different in this respect, especially when it comes to recognizing that sin has impaled someone’s soul.

Talk to Individuals

Evangelization by computer or mass preaching is normally can be an effective means of reaching out to people.  Several of my past articles, however, have offered one-on-one invitations as a means of reaching out and spreading the faith.  Christ is our model for this.

Although Christ may have taught crowds, he reached out to individuals one-on-one.  Jesus called Levi by name to follow him [Luke 5:27-32].  And When finding a man in a tree struggling to see over the crowd, Jesus said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house” [Luke 19:1-10].  Christ spoke to people as individuals.

Before evangelizing to anyone or sharing any hard truths, I would offer that one should start by learning the person’s name.

Seek First to Understand

Knowing someone’s name, however, is just a first step.  Trust must be nurtured.

Evangelizing Catholicism includes having to share many hard truths.  For instance, how does one share the faith with someone who was taught that abortion is birth control?  How does one talk to a teenager immersed in secular culture that premarital sex is a sin?  How does one sway a practicing homosexual that such behavior is sinful?

One must begin by listening.

A Catholic Priest who has ministered to homosexual men once shared his approach with me.  He told me that he often starts by meeting the person over a cup of coffee, and simply saying, “Tell me your story.”  He just listens and does not even attempt to evangelize during his first meeting.

This approach is arduous because one must show restraint.  However, listening to a person’s story is an essential step in understanding his or her point of view and building trust.  One meeting, however, does not build trust in itself.

Build Trust and Ask Good Questions

Building trust takes many interactions.  Individuals must share knowledge and experiences with each other.  Building this foundation takes time.

Knowing when to introduce difficult, harder discussion topics does not follow any predictable formula.  When broaching such a topic, delivery is again important.

Asking questions can initiate discussions with a serene tone.  A simple question, such as, “Do you believe Christ rose from the dead?” can initiate a theological dialog because the person being questioned must engage the discussion.  This is very different then being told.  Even if the response is a simple yes, no, or maybe, any response can fuel more discussion.

The same question-based approach can be used with hard topics that may challenge someone’s behavior.  However, the way questions are formulated can either build or erode trust.  Take the following three questions as an example.

“Do you believe artificial birth control is a sin?”
“Do you believe abortifacients like the birth control pill are a sin?”
“Have you ever considered that since the pill does not stop ovulation 100% of the time, the pill is
really a form of chemical abortion?”

Depending on the situation, each of these questions may be useful.  However, if someone is clinging to artificial birth control, the last question is the least threatening and presents a hard truth that many frankly do not know.

Practice

Although all are called to evangelize the one true Faith, being effective can be challenging.  For some, this may be very natural.  For others, like myself, evangelizing may take a lot of practice.

When reaching out to someone, the goal is to teach the Faith.  However, in practice, each interaction also forces us to learn about Christ, our Faith, and how to be effective when evangelizing.  The delivery of the message is important.

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3 thoughts on “When it Comes to Evangelizing, Delivery is Important”

  1. Pingback: Is Your Mission Sitting in Your Pew? - Catholic Stand

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