Dave “The Angelic Doctor” VanVickle (he’s really uncomfortable with that one) and I break down ten things you need to know to go out into the world right now and start evangelizing your family, friends, coworkers, and the random people you meet on the street.
We’ve made all the evangelization mistakes through our years of talking to people about Jesus and the Church so that you don’t have to.
“Real evangelization takes place within a trusting relationship. That means listening to the story they want to tell so that you actually understand where they’re coming from. Only then can you truly offer a response to the yearning of their soul.”
SHOWNOTES
Universal Principles for Evangelization
- Make sure you can answer the question of “What is the gospel?”
- The gospel is the good news that Jesus died for us so we could be reunited with God, and it is the evangelist’s mission to share this news.
- Focus on growing in a trusting relationship through listening instead of speaking:
- Practice active listening.
- Work on balancing the notion between the science and the art of evangelization.
- Evangelization tools should only be used in limited and specific situations:
- Act with prudence and intentionality.
- Conversion is rarely a straightforward process
- Make sure to spend time in prayer discerning your approach and involvement in someone’s conversion.
- Know how God is working in your life:
- It’s very hard to see how God is working in someone else’s life if you don’t know how he’s working in your life.
- Know that we are working for conversion, which includes creating a new life:
- We are in the business of miracles, and we can’t create them by ourselves; rely on the Holy Spirit.
- Be careful about what you think conversion looks like:
- Avoid putting people in boxes and assuming you know their heart.
- Realize that in evangelization, the primary thing we can do to accompany the preaching of the gospel is to live it in healing:
- We have to bring profound healing in people’s lives in the ways we can, through the guidance and power of Jesus Christ.
- Read The Soul of the Apostolate and Forming Intentional Disciples.
Five Practical Takeaways
- Read Mark’s account of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
- Go back to your conversion story and review everything, asking God to reveal new parts of your story.
- Intercede for the healing of someone you know.
- Go to the internet and search for conversion stories, studying the way the Holy Spirit moves in people’s lives.
- Google the JPII Healing Center and research what healing looks like.
Resources
- 5 Thresholds of Conversion
- Email us at: eksb@ascensionpress.com
- The Journey Home with Marcus Grodi
- The JPII Healing Center
Meet Your Hosts
Michael “Gomer” Gormley
Michael has been leading evangelization and ministry efforts for the past ten years, both as a full-time parish staff member and as a speaker and consultant for parishes, dioceses, and Catholic campus ministries.
He is also the founder and creative director of LayEvangelist.com, and the producer and cohost of a Catholic young adult podcast Catching Foxes, which discusses the collision of Faith and Culture.
He is married to his college sweetheart, Shannon. Together they have about 1,000 children and get about 3 hours of sleep a night, which is alright by him.
David “Dave” VanVickle
Dave VanVickle fell in love with the Lord at the age of fourteen. Since then, he has dedicated his life to bringing others into a radical relationship with Christ.
He is a speaker and retreat leader. His programs focuses on proclaiming the universal call to holiness, authentic Catholic spirituality, spiritual warfare and deliverance. Additionally, Dave has over ten years of experience assisting Priests with their ministries of exorcism and deliverance.
Dave resides in Pittsburgh with his wife Amber and their five children: Sam, Max, Judah, Josie and Louisa.
