The words evangelist and evangelizing scare me.
When I hear those words, I hear extraordinary and isolated.
I hear that I have to be the head that stands above the crowd and that I have to succeed. I fear having to be a person that I’m not which is faking a type of holiness I am not.
It’s hard to remember what the word evangelist actually means... That it’s not just a priest standing at the lectern or the missionary who is preaching on the street corner. We hear stories in scripture or the lives of the saints that feel larger than life—for sure larger than my life (when’s the last time people were healed by your shadow passing over them?).
But being an evangelist or missionary is much simpler than that. It’s as simple as loving Jesus and wanting to share Him with others. It’s an ordinary life lived with intentionality. In fact, the people in my life who have spoken most deeply into my faith journey have not seemed extraordinary but instead, they’ve been relatable and that’s who we have to be for others.
There’s a second truth to this—a way of life that rings true for me. To live well intentionally, you need community—people who you can be truly vulnerable with and can handle the messiness that comes with an intentional life. People who will challenge you when you want to give up or back out or when hard times threaten to sideline the sharing of Jesus.
A core group could be your spouse, a men’s group, women’s group, or even a few couples that are committed to your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Of course, finding faith community is easier said than done. What if there is no one around you? What if you really don’t know who to surround yourself with?
No matter what, the first step is investing in others. Pursue others to form community. Meet your neighbours or be intentional about connecting with people after Mass. Ask God to give you those people and have eyes to see the people you need.
The heart of all this is stripping it back, reminding ourselves that evangelization is about intentionality. Intentionality with our faith community, with those who haven’t met Jesus, and with God. That’s how we create space for God to move.
And this is the last, and most important thing I’ve learned about evangelization. God is with you. The Holy Spirit is the principal agent of evangelization. That means it’s not your job to convert people. You don’t have to manipulate and force someone to encounter Jesus—He’ll do that. We are simply making room for people to see the love, grace, and beauty that He has for us.
