Pokémon GO: A Parish Primer

Pokevangelization by Dio of Green Bay

In my book, A Church on the Move: 52 Ways to Get Mission and Mercy in Motion, I propose that parishes need to continually help people find connections between the Catholic faith and daily living, including hobbies or activities that people engage in: “This approach can be a wonderful form of pre-evangelization, a way of inviting people to begin getting a flavor of the Catholic way of life without being overwhelmed by anything that smacks of being ‘churchy’ too early on.” With that in mind, I’m glad to learn that there are some parishes and even dioceses that are trying to make the most of the current Pokémon GO craze to engage young people in exactly that kind of pre-evangelization.

I won’t take up space here explaining what Pokémon GO is, because this link to the Diocese of Green Bay provides that along with some suggestions for how parishes might engage young adults who venture onto their parish campus when it is identified as a PokéStop. Thanks to my friend Julianne Stanz and her Department of New Evangelization in the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, for providing this handy primer for engaging in Pokévangelization!

About Joe Paprocki 2758 Articles
Joe Paprocki, DMin, is National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press, where, in addition to his traveling/speaking responsibilities, he works on the development team for faith formation curriculum resources including Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts and God’s Gift: Reconciliation and Eucharist. Joe has more than 35 years of experience in ministry and has presented keynotes, presentations, and workshops in more than 100 dioceses in North America. Joe is a frequent presenter at national conferences including the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the Mid-Atlantic Congress, and the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. He is the author of numerous books, including the best seller The Catechist’s Toolbox, A Church on the Move, Under the Influence of Jesus, and Called to Be Catholic—a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Joe is also the series editor for the Effective Catechetical Leader and blogs about his experiences in faith formation at www.catechistsjourney.com.

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