Happy New Year of Faith
In the latest edition o America, Jim Gorman and Palmist Father Bob Rivers write about How To Evangelize. The article is worth a read, less then tin minutes. It should get you thinking about ministry off-church property, sharing Good News beyond your doors. If the evangelization is as much (or more) about inviting others to relationship with Jesus and (then) Church as well… they have stuff to consider here.
Our strategy for the new evangelization suggests several entry points for missionary activity. These entries are where people likely gather today—mostly outside congregations—searching for meaning and community, or joining together to build a better world.
They identify these venues of place and relationship as potential entry points
| Social/Peer Networks |
Work |
Service in the Public Square |
| Family |
Search for Transcendence |
Life Passages |
Congregations have yet to figure out how to meet and engage people where they are. Rarely are they present at the points of intervention listed above. The challenge is to be there—creatively! Only then can we gather people into communities of faith. Only then will we see a truly new evangelization.
There are gaps as to how we make the connection between the “entry point” and actually entry or (re)entry into our doors, but it’s a short article. HOWEVER, if we are serious about this, it changess the job description of every professional minister in the church as well as the expectations upon believers and belongers.
D. Scott Miller
D. Scott Miller is the dean of Catholic Youth Ministry bloggers which is a polite way of either saying that he is just plain old or has been blogging for a long time (since 2004.)
Scott recently married the lovely Anne and together they have five adult young people and also grandparent three delightful kids (so, maybe he is just plain old!) Scott presently serves at Saint John the Evangelist in Columbia, MD as the director of youth and young adult ministry.
He has previously served on the parish, regional, diocesan, and national levels as well as having taught within a catholic high school. He is one of the founders of RebuildMyChurch and has returned to posting regularly (keeping regular is important to old guys) at ProjectYM.
D. Scott Miller
D. Scott Miller is the dean of Catholic Youth Ministry bloggers which is a polite way of either saying that he is just plain old or has been blogging for a long time (since 2004.)
Scott recently married the lovely Anne and together they have five adult young people and also grandparent three delightful kids (so, maybe he is just plain old!) Scott presently serves at Saint John the Evangelist in Columbia, MD as the director of youth and young adult ministry.
He has previously served on the parish, regional, diocesan, and national levels as well as having taught within a catholic high school. He is one of the founders of RebuildMyChurch and has returned to posting regularly (keeping regular is important to old guys) at ProjectYM.
Happy New Year of Faith
