In order to evangelize someone, you usually need to engage them in conversation. But many people are pessimistic about the potential for positive conversations about religion. But in our experience with St Paul Evangelization, we’ve found that many people do want to talk about matters of faith. Many of our evangelists are surprised to find people excited to share their questions about God. Our evangelists also tell us that it’s rare that they’re met with hostility. A simple conversation is often the seed of a new journey of discipleship. But we have to spread the seed if we want to bear the fruit.
So, how do we get started? What do we do when we encounter a new neighbor on a walk or find ourselves sitting next to a stranger on an airplane? What do we do when we’re out on a street evangelization team? This is where conversation starters can be very useful. The first step is to build trust and earn the right to be heard. If you’re just meeting the person, one of the best approaches is to start with natural questions like, ‘How are you today?’. I love to exchange names with a person as soon as I can, so we don’t feel like strangers to each other. You can also ask about things like, their work, their family, what town they live in, what they like to do for fun.
And then listen to what they have to say. It’s all about engaging and what is called ‘active listening’, so we can minister to the person in front of us, plant a seed of faith, and ultimately help them come to repentance, and belief in the Gospel. Techniques for public or direct evangelization ought to lead naturally to long term acquaintances and friendships where we can engage in more relational evangelization. Though we are truly motivated by the desire to bring people to Christ, we don’t evangelize separately from our desire to love people right now, right where they are. We truly care about the people we evangelize. We’re not looking to put notches on our belts or count the number of conversions, we want to build common ground because all people are created and loved by God.
The truth is, this kind of evangelization is more effective. We had one street evangelist who discovered through conversation with a college student that they shared a favorite philosopher. They got excited about the conversation, and shared some of their favorite ideas and quotes. That student ended up coming back to where the evangelization teams set up each week to learn more about the Catholic faith. Another evangelist encountered a somewhat hostile gentleman who claimed that Catholics didn’t study the Bible enough. The evangelist could’ve argued with him, but instead he chose to admit that many Catholics don’t study the Bible enough. And by the end of the conversation, they warmly embraced, put their arms around each other and began encouraging other people, who were walking by, to read their Bibles more. Instead of returning hostility for hostility, the evangelist made a new friend, and perhaps, in time, a new Catholic.
Aside from ‘getting to know you’ type questions, another type of conversation starter that can be useful is offering someone a faith-based gift like a rosary, or a miraculous medal. This is especially useful when you know the person well, or when you’re doing direct evangelization, and it’s instantly clear to people that you intend to talk about religion. You may start the conversation off with something like, ‘Do you need prayer for anything?’, ‘Would you like a rosary?’, ‘Can I interest you in a free miraculous medal?’. When approaching people with medals or rosaries, I like to say, ‘This medal is for you’, or ‘This rosary is for you’. That statement communicates God’s personal love for that individual. They’re not just another face in the crowd who happens to be passing by. They’re personally and uniquely loved by God, and we want to do our best to communicate that love right away.
Sometimes it also helps to start the conversation by acknowledging the awkwardness of the encounter. You might begin by saying, ‘Excuse me, this might sound a little weird, but I want to give you this miraculous medal. That kind of authenticity helps people to see that we don’t take ourselves to seriously while evangelizing, that we are imperfect people who have found salvation in Christ through the Catholic Church. Even if we stumble to start the conversation, people are attracted to authentic love. So, as long as our conversation begins with the right disposition in our hearts, we’re on the right path to draw others to the heart of Jesus.