For most of my life, I didn’t want to evangelize. I knew it was a good thing to do, but I was terrified of judgment and rejection. Once I gained more confidence, I wanted to try sharing my faith more intentionally, but I thought that the only way to evangelize was by being a teacher or a public speaker, and I didn’t have the courage to speak in front of a crowd. If you relate to any part of this, that is completely understandable. Yet, the Catechism states that “To teach in order to lead others to faith is the task of every preacher and of each believer” (CCC 904, italics added). So how are people without much experience in evangelization supposed to get started?

How you begin to share your faith will depend on who you are and where you’re at in life. Are you in school, or working full time? Do you live alone, or with your family? The answers to these questions can help to determine what kind of evangelization you can reasonably handle, and the people God may be calling you to reach out to. It doesn’t matter if some of the people you are called to evangelize are already Catholic; part of leading others toward God includes strengthening the faith of those already in the Church as well. Another important thing to reflect on is your own relationship with Jesus, because it is hard to share Jesus with others if you don’t yet know Him well yourself. Do you think you have had solid faith formation and instruction, or do you still need to be evangelized yourself? The answer may be both, and that’s ok; learning about the faith is a lifelong process, but you should have a good grasp on topics of the faith before you start teaching other people. It is also good to begin discerning your particular gifts and talents as well, for God does not give people gifts that they cannot use to glorify Him. Some people are good at speaking to crowds, and make great public evangelists, but one can also evangelize through writing, artwork, music, healthy friendships, one-on-one conversations, service projects, social media, and more. St John Bosco even used juggling and tightrope walking to preach to the people in his town! 

Before beginning to evangelize, it is also important to make sure that you are sufficiently prepared, both mentally and spiritually. No matter where you are in terms of faith formation, it is always possible to go deeper, especially if you discern that your faith formation in the past has not been solid. In fact, you should never stop learning more about the faith! This learning is not meant to be passive either; St Peter tells us to “always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). This means that not only should we continue learning our faith, but that we should learn it in a way that enables us to explain it to anyone who questions us about it. Reading the Bible and the Catechism is a good place to begin, especially with Fr. Mike Schmitz’s podcasts. Other books and podcasts, including Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, Catholic Answers Focus, and the Counsel of Trent podcast are very helpful as well. In addition to educating yourself, continue to prepare yourself spiritually. Pray and receive the sacraments often, as they are the source of the grace you will need in order to share the faith. Continue to pursue virtue and to root out any bad habits, lest you look like a hypocrite for not living what you believe (we all struggle with sin, but don’t condone your vices). Even a little preparation will go far in building your confidence and helping you to evangelize more effectively.

It’s hard to say exactly when someone is “ready” to evangelize. The steps above aren’t linear; knowing and preparing yourself are lifelong processes that go hand-in-hand with evangelization. You don’t have to know everything, or have complete confidence in yourself; rather, make a personal discernment on what topics you are able to talk about and in what situations. At a certain point, however, once you have made this discernment, digest the butterflies in your stomach, step out of your comfort zone, and go share the faith you have received, whatever that may look like in your present situation: inviting a friend or classmate to a Bible study, talking to your family about attending Mass more often, posting about your faith on social media, or many other ways. If you are nervous to initiate conversation, placing Catholic art in your office or wearing Catholic apparel/jewelry can be a great conversation starter. Becoming more comfortable with bringing up religion in casual conversation can be a great way to build your confidence as well; I’ve had several conversations this year with random classmates where faith was brought up, and they turned out to be very fruitful. No matter what you do, don’t be afraid of a negative response. We are just the messengers; it is the Holy Spirit who converts hearts, and He works on a different time scale than we do. Our efforts may only be one step in the process of conversion, and we may never see the final result on Earth, yet many souls rely on our willingness to step out of our comfort zone and share what we believe.

Evangelism is vitally important. Whether or not we share the good news that we have received has eternal consequences for the people around us, and for us as well. Jesus tells us that “whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:33). It can be hard to overcome the fear of judgment and rejection, especially at first, but trust that God will give you the courage and the words that you need (Luke 12:12), and He will use even the smallest actions to bring souls to Heaven.

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