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Evangelization Toolkit

Design Process 

​1.  Introduction: Parish Evangelization
​2. Assess and Plan: Parish Evangelization Efforts
3. Review: Parish Evangelization Approaches & Resources
4. Plan: Ideas for Developing an Evangelization Plan


1. Introduction: Parish Evangelization 

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Evangelii Gaudium - The Joy of the Gospel 
Pope Francis
  • Document: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html
  • Book: cart.dynamiccatholic.com/Free-The-Joy-of-the-Gospel-p/1jotg-sc.htm
  • Summary: www.news.va/en/news/synthesis-of-the-apostolic-exhortation-the-joy-of
synthesis_of_the_apostolic_exhortation_“the_joy_of_the_gospel”.pdf
File Size: 124 kb
File Type: pdf
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7 Principles for Parish Evangelization from Evangelii Gaudium
Diocese of Green Bay
7_principles_for_parish_evangelization__evangelii_gaudium_.pdf
File Size: 579 kb
File Type: pdf
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Living as Missionary Disciples: A Resource for Evangelization    
USCCB 2017
​www.catholicapostolatecenter.org/living-as-missionary-disciples.html
Go and Make Disciples
USCCB
go_and_make_disciples__usccb_.pdf
File Size: 275 kb
File Type: pdf
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The Evangelizing Parish Today
Rev. Frank DeSiano
the_evangelizing_parish_today.pdf
File Size: 157 kb
File Type: pdf
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The Parish as a School of Discipleship
Donna Ciangio, OP
parish_as_a_school_of_discipleship.pdf
File Size: 126 kb
File Type: pdf
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"Intentional Disciples: Bearing Spiritual Fruit that Sustains"
Bobby Vidal
(
Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples, edited by Sherry Weddell, OSV, 2015)
Characteristics of a Mission-Driven Parish
Bobby Vidal

The parish is diverse in its makeup but united in how it understands its communal identity. The parish has different evangelizing experiences that connect and relate to one another, creating a clear and simple path for individuals to become intentional disciples. This path is visible and the community understands that it has priority -all other experiences of the parish flow from this path or flow to it. The parish regularly talks about its communal identity as one that makes disciples. Pastoral practice in a mission-driven parish focuses energy, time, and resources on:
  1. Helping all people to encounter Jesus Christ and experience conversion through parish events and activities and also in life and events outside the parish.
  2. Forming individuals in discerning their individual charisms and their God-given vocation.
  3. Helping individuals to commit their entire life to Jesus and then to live out that commitment daily.
  4. Sustaining a culture of discipleship, thereby nurturing and sustaining the work of conversion in individuals.
  5. Transmitting the faith through pre-evangelization, the initial proclamation of the Gospel (kerygma), and catechesis in a systematic way within all of the parish events/activities.
  6. Answering the outward call of the parish to the secular world by providing formation for individuals to take on parish ministries and equipping individuals  to transform the secular world.
  7. Communicating events and information with language that parish "insiders" and "outsiders"would understand and be welcomed and challenged by.

2. Assess: Parish Evangelization Efforts

Resource #1. Evangelization Parish Assessment Questions 
Bobby Vidal
​("Intentional Disciples: Bearing Spiritual Fruit that Sustains" in 
Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples, edited by Sherry Weddell, OSV, 2015)
  1. How can we create the opportunities for individuals to encounter Jesus Christ and experience conversion through this event or activity? 
  2. How can we form individuals to discern their charisms or vocation? 
  3. How can we assist individuals to commit their entire life to Jesus?
  4. How can we create a path to discipleship that is owned, supported, and sustained by the whole community?
  5. How can we transmit the faith through pre-evangelization, the proclamation of the kerygma, and catechesis in a systematic way?
  6. How do we form others in the task of transforming the secular world with the light of the Gospel? 
  7. How do we communicate an event or experience we are planning in a way that parish outsiders and insiders will understand and will feel welcomed and challenged by at the same time?

Go Make Disciples Assessment Tool
​Diocese of St. Petersburg
parish_evangelization_assessment_tool.pdf
File Size: 22 kb
File Type: pdf
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go_and_make_disciples__usccb_.pdf
File Size: 275 kb
File Type: pdf
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3. Review: Parish Evangelization Approaches & Resources

Be My Witness
Renew International
  • bemywitness.org/en​
Be My Witness gets the conversation started in the parish about the single most important topic facing our Church today - evangelization. It gives parish leaders the process and tools to build an ever-widening circle of conversion and commitment in two integrated phases: Phase 1 equips parish staff, leaders, and pastoral councils to lead mission-focused change; Phase 2 engages and forms parishioners as missionary disciples, ready to become partners in the New Evangelization. The results are the pastoral plans and motivation needed to transform the parish into a “center of constant missionary outreach.”
Catherine of Siena Institute
  • ​siena.org
Making Disciples is a workshop that trains parish leaders to fostering the awakening of personal faith in Christ and intentional discipleship. Among the things that Making Disciples will help leaders learn are: how intentional discipleship differs from and fosters Catholic identity and is the source of the spiritual life and foundation of effective pastoral ministry; how to introduce post-modern people to Jesus and the Church; how to facilitate spiritual growth in the baptized and non-baptized; ways of sharing your own personal witness and the "Great Story" of Jesus in gentle, intriguing, and non-threatening ways; how parish based evangelization processes and other existing parish programs can help create a parish culture of discipleship; and how to integrate these evangelizing skills and concepts into the full spectrum of parish life and ministry. Making Disciples is three-level process, MD 101, MD 201, and MD 301. For a downloadable brochure that describes all three, go here.
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Forming Intentional Disciples
Sherry Weddell. OSV, 2012. 

This work of discipleship lies at the heart of Forming Intentional Disciples, a book designed to help Church leaders, parish staff and all Catholics transform parish life from within. Drawing upon her fifteen years of experience with the Catherine of Siena Institute, Sherry Weddell leads readers through steps that will help Catholics enter more deeply into a relationship with God and the river of apostolic creativity, charisms, and vocation that flow from that relationship for the sake of the Church and the world. Learn about the five thresholds of postmodern conversion, how to open a conversation about faith and belief, how to ask thought-provoking questions and establish an atmosphere of trust, when to tell the Great Story of Jesus, how to help someone respond to God's call to intentional discipleship, and much more
ChristLife: Catholic Ministry for Evangelization
  • ​christlife.org
ChristLife equips Catholics for the essential work of evangelization so others might personally encounter Jesus Christ and be transformed into His missionary disciples. Evangelization is a purposeful effort to introduce people to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and His transforming love. The ChristLife series is a three-step evangelization process that is changing lives and transforming parishes. The series consists of three essential elements: discover, follow, and share. Discovering Christ creates this open door for people who are searching for the meaning of their lives where we can share the Good News and the personal love of Jesus Christ. Following Christ provides the tools to help Catholics grow in discipleship, including daily personal prayer, hearing God in Scripture, the power of the sacraments, forgiving one another, spiritual warfare, etc. Sharing Christ equips Catholics with the practical skills to proclaim the Gospel, draw others into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and invite them to become his disciples as members of the Church.
Christ Renews His Parish
  • ​dynamiccatholic.com/crhp/
Christ Renews His ParishTM (CRHP) is a personal and parish spiritual renewal process. As Catholics, we are called to witness to one another the amazing things God has done for us. The CRHP process allows us to do just that—take a break from our busy lives, share our faith with others, and get to know God through his works. Participants attend a 2-day, 1-overnight renewal weekend at their parish to focus on where they are in their spiritual journeys. Music, faith sharing, Mass, and individual and group activities help them reflect on their current relationship with God and inspire them to be open to the way God is working in their lives. (Men and women attend separate weekends.) After attending a renewal weekend, participants are invited to serve on the next men’s/women’s CRHP team at their parish. They will go through a time of team fellowship and formation as the team prays, works, and prepares to lead the next retreat. After sharing in the CRHP weekend, participants are encouraged to seek other ministries in their parish to serve and help make the parish a more vibrant faith community.
Paulist Evangelization Ministries
  • http://pemdc.vpsgdev.net/programs
The mission of Paulist Evangelization Ministries is to develop effective methods for inviting people to believe in Jesus Christ as Catholics or to become active again in the Catholic faith, and for equipping Catholics with the tools to further this invitation. Among their programs are: 
  • The Journey enables parishioners and their friends to refresh and renew their intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
  • Awakening Faith helps Catholics who are inactive, alienated, or disconnected in some way to explore Catholic faith issues in a conversational setting.
  • Seeking Christ gives parishes a way to welcome seekers and inquirers all year round through small group faith sharing.
  • Living the Eucharist is a parish-based renewal experience to foster spiritual growth and discipleship through full, conscious, and active participation in the Eucharist.
  • Catholics Reaching Out: Inviting Inactive Catholics to Return to the Church serves as a resource for Catholic parishioners to become more committed to inviting.
  • Neighbors Reaching Neighbors was designed to give parishes the tools they need to effectively reach out to unchurched in their parish community.
relit: The Heart of Evangelization
  • http://relittraining.com
relit: The Heart of Evangelization forms and equips your core faithful theologically, spiritually, and practically so that they can be active evangelists in their own parish and beyond.
relit is a dynamic training program consisting of 18 DVD-based sessions, with insightful discussion questions and more found in the facilitator and participant guides - All of which can be offered as a weekend retreat! However, with a completely flexible implementation plan, you get to choose to offer the training over a weekend, 6-9 weeks, or 18 weeks. Plus, you only need just one small group of committed staff and parishioners to start - from three to thirty parishioners.
St. Paul Street Evangelization
  • ​streetevangelization.com
​St. Paul Street Evangelization (SPSE) is a grassroots, non-profit organization, dedicated to responding to the mandate of Jesus to preach the Gospel to all nations by taking the Catholic Faith to the streets. As an on-the-street Catholic evangelization organization, St. Paul Street Evangelization provides an avenue for people to share the Person of Jesus Christ and the truth and beauty of the Catholic Faith with a hungry culture.

4. Plan: Develop a Parish Evangelization Plan

Planning Resources

Steps for Starting an Evangelization Ministry
Diocese of Buffalo​
steps_for_starting_evangelization_in_a_parish.pdf
File Size: 58 kb
File Type: pdf
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The Parish Guide to the New Evangelization
Robert Hater. OSV, 2013. 
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The Parish Guide to the New Evangelization is a practical, step-by-step guide to the new evangelization that takes the New Evangelization from concept and theory to practical application, and shows pastoral leaders and ministers exactly how to implement it parish-wide. It includes chapters on: how to overcome challenges to the new evangelization; how to motivate parishioners to evangelize; how to coordinate efforts at the parish level; how to effectively reach inactive Catholics; how to use the web and other media to promote your evangelization efforts; and how to jump start parish evangelization. 

Setting Hearts on Fire: A Pilot Project on Evangelization
Thomas Sweetser (America Magazine, October 7, 2013)
setting_hearts_on_fire.pdf
File Size: 178 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Ideas for Creating an Evangelization Plan

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Part V: Key Components of Outreach Programs in Disciples Called to Witness
​
USCCB
disciples-called-to-witness-5-30-12.pdf
File Size: 303 kb
File Type: pdf
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​USCCB Ideas
  • http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/toolkit/​ ​
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To Heal, Proclaim, and Teach
Jared Dees. Ave Maria Press, 2016. 
Using strategies and stories from his book To Heal, Proclaim, and Teach, Jared Dees offers ten highly practical and easy-to-implement approaches to evangelizing ministry that have the potential to transform your parish. These approaches are based on the work of thriving ministers and ministries seeing growth in the number of people who are passionate about the Catholic faith. You will be able to immediately implement all of the strategies presented in this webinar. They are simple, effective ways to start transforming yourself and your ministry today.
Evangelization Essentials: Ten Simple Strategies for More Effective Ministry
​Jared Dees
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Building Bridges to the Heart of Discipleship.
Leisa Anslinger and Stephanie Moore. Catholic Life and Faith, 2015. 

Building Bridges to the Heart of Discipleship is rooted in Catholic theological and pastoral tradition and is built upon the foundation of research and the best practices of parishes throughout North America. This book begins by setting the context of why parish life matters. We consider who we are as servant leaders, then consider what people seek in a faith community. From there, we look at how we might build bridges, beginning with three initial bridges people and parishes can build, leading one another to the heart of discipleship. The three Bridges are: 1) Welcome, 2) Friendship, and 3) Sharing. 

​Bringing Christ to Others
Leisa Anslinger
bringing_christ_to_others.pdf
File Size: 110 kb
File Type: pdf
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Sharing the Faith that You Love 
John and Therese Boucher. Word Among Us Press, 2014.

You might be wondering, "How could I communicate God's loving presence or share my faith, if I am not always sure of what I believe? How could I bring anyone back to God or to the church? I am not an expert or an evangelist and I don't want to knock on doors!" Fear not! We will help you see the details of your everyday life in the light of a lived faith. We will help you move from accidental kindnesses and invisible beliefs towards intentional acts of faith that enable others to experience Jesus in new ways.This book encourages Christians to have a deeper awareness of the spiritual needs of those you meet in your everyday life. It also goes one step further by affirming the gifts you are given by God so that you can respond to the spiritual hungers of family, friends and co-workers. Finally, we offer practical skills for sharing your faith through four simple steps: prayer, caring, sharing and inviting.
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