The St. Paul Evangelization Institute
Evangelization Quick Start Guide
Did you know that a 2-minute conversation with someone you have never met can change their life forever? God provides each of us opportunities every day to walk alongside people just as Jesus did on the road to Emmaus. Pope Blessed Paul VI said that “the task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church. Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize.” (Evangelization in the Modern World, 14) This quick start guide will give you some tips to giving away the medals, rosaries, and holy cards in your evangelization starter pack. Keep in mind that our motto is to “Listen, befriend, proclaim, invite, and pray”.
Step 1: Preparation
- Start your day with Mass if possible. It is hard to introduce others to Jesus if you aren’t in a good relationship with Him yourself. Pray that God would set up divine appointments for you to share the Good News with others. Pay attention if any names, words, people, or images come to mind. God sometimes will give us insights into those He wants us to evangelize. (1 Cor 12:8)
- Get a rosary pouch for you to store your extra medals and rosaries in. Use these as conversation starters and tangible reminders that God loves the person you are evangelizing.
- Be joyful, smile and use humor when you evangelize. Pray for God to relieve any anxiety you may feel.
Step 2: Ice Breakers / Interview
- Break the ice. “Hi there! My name is Adam. I’m out running errands I just felt inspired to give you this miraculous medal. I give a lot of them away. Do you have one? No. Here you go. Do you need a miracle in your life? Do you go to church?”
- Use this moment to distinguish if the need here is for pre-evangelization or evangelization. You may have the opportunity to plant a seed and build trust. Or you may have the opportunity to pluck fruit for the harvest. Listen & befriend. Be light hearted & be confident. (Matthew 11:30)
- The goal of each encounter is for the person to know that they are loved, that someone cares about them, and that Jesus has even more for them. A decision to repent of their sins and to follow Jesus is the most important decision they can make in their life. “Your great task in evangelization is therefore to propose a personal relationship with Christ as key to complete fulfillment.” – Pope Benedict XVI
- Video lesson on ice breakers
Step 3: Proclamation / Build Faith
- Build the person’s faith that Jesus wants to do something for them.
- Use the sacramental as a moment of grace to share the Gospel. What miracle does the person need in their life?
- “Thank you for sharing. If you have 30 more seconds I would love to say a quick prayer for you.”
- Tell the story of the miraculous medal. Instead of terms like “Blessed Virgin” say “Jesus’ mom, Mary”. You speak Catholicese. Don’t assume people are familiar with Catholic terms, or what they mean. People may know about Jesus, the Church, or Mary, but what they do know might be wrong.
- Tell a story to build faith. “You know, sometimes when we pray with people they experience God’s peace in their life.”
- More on conversational evangelization
- Video lesson on proclamation
Step 4: Prayer Ministry
- Pray in simple ways. Give people the impression that you are going to pray for them, they don’t have to say anything. They should just receive from God. Limit prayers to 20-30 seconds. Leave room for the Holy Spirit.
- More on prayer ministry
- Video lesson on prayer ministry
Prayer examples
- Prayer of Surrender: “God, I believe that you created me out of love. I have sinned against you. I repent of all of my sins. Please forgive me. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for me, to save me from hell. I choose this day to place Jesus at the center of my heart. I surrender to Him as Lord over my whole life. Amen.”
- Prayer of Intercession: “Jesus, I ask you to be with Julie during this difficult period of her life. Help her find a job so she can provide for her children, give her freedom from anxiety and peace of mind. Provide her with friends who love her and will keep her company through the storms in life.”
- Prayers for Healing: “Come Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus I ask for Mark’s knees to be healed so he can continue working on the construction site. Please heal him, Lord.”
- Prayer for Forgiveness: “In the name of Jesus I forgive ______ for ___________.”
- Prayer for Repentance: “I repent of the sin of _________. I renounce and reject it. I am sorry for offending you, God, please forgive me.”
- Video lesson on prayer ministry
Step 5: Post-Prayer Announcement & Invitation
- Prayer is an encounter with Jesus. The experience of being prayed for provides actual graces for conversion. After prayer ask a person how they are feeling. Announce that Jesus is with them and desires a relationship with them. You might ask “Do you go to church?” or give “one good reason why you believe in Jesus”. (See our training in these areas)
- It’s okay if they don’t believe yet, if they didn’t experience anything in prayer, and if they have more questions. Tell them that you want to follow up and have the chance to sit down and talk about life. If they are ready to give their life to Jesus, do that. Follow where the Holy Spirit leads you in a conversation.
- Ask if you can follow up with them and get their contact information.
- Video lesson on the invitation
Other Ideas
How to give your testimony
- The path to discipleship is analogous to marriage.
- My life before Jesus.
- How Jesus Broke In.
- My life now that I know Jesus.
- Video lesson on giving your testimony
Sharing the Gospel
- Good News: Jesus loves you and has a plan for your life. (John 3:16)
- Bad News: Sin separates us from God and leads to hell. (Romans 3:23; 6:23)
- Good News: Jesus died, rose again, appeared to the 12 and more than 500 witnesses. We are saved by faith in Jesus. (Romans 5:8) He is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)
- Invitation: We must receive Christ in faith for our salvation. Christ established the Catholic Church as the means of receiving God’s grace and life in our soul. (Ephesians 2:8; Revelation 3:20). The Gospel demands a response. We must put our faith in Jesus to get to Heaven.
- Video lesson on sharing the gospel
One Good Reason
- Can I give you one good reason why…
- I go to Mass / go to Confession / read the Bible. (Would I love my spouse if I didn’t spend time with them?)
- I am a Catholic Christian… (the keys of the kingdom; infallible; founded by Christ)
- I believe in Jesus… (the Gospel itself)
- I believe in God… (Pocket watch on a beach or DNA — language of the body — examples)
- Video course on One Good Reason
Learn more at www.stpaulevangelization.com. Our mission is to train, equip, and mobilize ordinary Catholics to do the extraordinary work of evangelization. Hundreds of resources, online courses, live workshops, small group materials, downloadable tracts, hospitality training, healing prayer training, evangelization training, and more. We have over 300 chapters, building a bridge of trust from the public square to the local parish.