Some Background
At Saint Paul Evangelization Institute, we have a four-part approach to conversational evangelization: Listen, Befriend, Proclaim, and Invite. We spend the first part of the conversation asking questions and listening to the person, getting to know who they are and where they are coming from, especially concerning matters of religion. Then, we share a bit about ourselves, establishing common ground and making a friendly connection. Next, we find an opening to proclaim the gospel or the truth of the Catholic faith, often through sharing a personal testimony or praying with the person. Finally, we invite them to take a step towards Christ through prayer, and perhaps also by attending Church or a bible study with us.
One of the tricky parts about conversational evangelization is knowing how to make the transition from listening and befriending, to proclaiming. You’ve been having a great conversation—learning about a person and building common ground with her—and now you’re wondering how to shift gears and start to share religious truth with her. It can be a delicate transition: perhaps the truths you share will be difficult to hear and cause resistance. You’re basically trying to move from a place of agreement and peace to potential disagreement and maybe even conflict—so it takes a certain degree of boldness. For some of us, that can be scary.
The Dream Cruise
That’s where “One Good Reason” comes in. The idea for it came some years ago when a group from St. Paul Street Evangelization was evangelizing at the “Woodward Dream Cruise” event in Detroit. This event draws around a million and a half people each year. They come from near and far to watch classic cars, muscle cars, and goofy cars driving up and down Woodward Avenue.[1] On this particular Saturday of the Cruise, Steve Dawson was evangelizing attendees by giving them “one good reason” why he chooses to be Catholic. It was a new-found way of making the transition from listening and befriending, to proclaiming and inviting; and it worked so well for him that he gathered his fellow evangelists around, shared the method, and encouraged them to use it.
He said, “after you’ve established common ground with people, ask them if they’ve ever considered becoming Catholic. See what they say. Then ask them if you can give them ‘one good reason’ why you choose to be Catholic: ‘Can I give you one good reason why I choose to be Catholic?’ If they say ‘yes,’ and are Protestants or open to Christianity—which most of them are—tell them, ‘It’s because the Catholic Church is the Church that Jesus Himself established.’ Then, as you continue the conversation, be ready to back up that assertion.”
Steve continued by sharing with them a short series of scriptural and historical arguments supporting the claims that Jesus Christ founded the Catholic Church and entrusted her with divine authority until the end of time. And the group of SPSE evangelists at the Dream Cruise used that “One Good Reason” method, when appropriate, for the rest of the night, and it led to many fruitful and encouraging conversations.
The Rest of the Story
That night, the evangelists focused on giving Protestants “one good reason” why they choose to be Catholic. Since then, we’ve tweaked the method for talking to atheists, to non-Christians who believe in God, to Catholics who aren’t practicing their faith, and to others, coming up with different reasons for each group.
In that vein, One Good Reason has essentially become a conversational tool for “evangelical apologetics.” In other words, One Good Reason helps us to make the transition to the part of the conversation where we proclaim and defend elements of the Catholic faith in order to bring people closer to God, Christ, and the Church.
[1] The Cruise started in 1995 as “a small fundraiser to raise money for a soccer field in Ferndale, Michigan” (<http://www.woodwarddreamcruise.com/about/cruise-history/>).