The idea for One Good Reason came some years ago when our street evangelization apostolate was evangelizing at the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit. It’s an event that draws around a quarter of a million people each year. They come from near and far to watch classic cars, muscle cars, goofy cars, cruising up and down Woodward Avenue. On this particular Saturday, Steve Dawson was evangelizing people by giving them “one good reason” why he chooses to be Catholic. It worked so well for him, that he gathered his fellow evangelists around and encouraged them to do likewise.
Before I continue the story, let me give you some background. At Saint Paul Evangelization Institute, we have a four-point 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 them — and now you’re wondering how to shift gears and start to share truths that, up until now, they haven’t known or embraced. Perhaps the truth you have to share will be difficult for them. Maybe they’ll be resistant to it. It’s essentially trying to move from a place of agreement and peace to potential disagreement and maybe even conflict. It takes a certain degree of boldness. And for some of us, that can be scary.
Now, back to our story. When Steve had gathered a bunch of evangelists together at the Dream Cruise, He shared with them his new-found way of making the transition from listening and befriending, to proclaiming and inviting.
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 then 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 authority until the end of time.
So, our group of evangelists at the Dream Cruise used that “One Good Reason” method, when appropriate, for the rest of the night, and it led to lots of fruitful conversations.
That night, the evangelists focused on giving Protestants “one good reason” why they choose to be Catholic. Since then we’ve expanded the method for talking to atheists, to non-Christians who believe in God, to Catholics who aren’t practicing their faith, and others. In that vein, it’s become essentially a conversational tool for “evangelical apologetics” — making arguments in defense of the Catholic faith, with respect for the person before you, for the purpose of bringing that person closer to God, Christ, and the Church.
That’s how our One Good Reason method started and developed!
Back to you, Mark!