evangelization Archives - Page 3 of 8

catechist and young person work on a craft project

Creating a Climate of Encounter in Faith Formation

Today, more than ever, we are keenly aware of the term climate because of the issue of climate change. Climate refers to the prevailing weather conditions in a region over a long period of time. In a climate-controlled environment, we can control those conditions (heat, humidity, barometric pressure, etc.) to suit our purposes, such as growing plants and flowers in a greenhouse. A faith formation environment must be “climate-controlled,” not so much in terms of temperature—although we definitely […]

Start with Jesus in Your Parish

Joe Paprocki

Serving parishes in her diocese as the Director of New Evangelization, Julianne Stanz has recognized a practical and motivational way to restructure a parish’s mission: start with Jesus. To help you do that, Julianne’s book Start with Jesus is about people, process, and culture, rather than an emphasis on quick fixes or unsustainable efforts. Embrace discipleship in your parish by reading the book and using the additional resources that accompany it: implementation tools for parish […]

Finding God: Our Response to God's Gifts 2021 edition covers

Reclaiming the Fire: Six Keys to Making Our Faith Formation More Evangelizing

Joe Paprocki

Today, more than ever, faith formation needs to be more evangelizing—not only informing, but also transforming hearts and minds. In her book, Start with Jesus, author, speaker, and evangelist Julianne Stanz states that “too often our approach to our faith lacks the fire or energy that it deserves,” and she issues a call for us to “reclaim the fire.” With that in mind, I have identified six keys to reclaiming this fire so that our […]

A Template for an Evangelizing Catechetical Session - text over image of teacher with two children

A More Evangelizing Catechesis: What It Means and How to Achieve It

Joe Paprocki

We catechists are constantly bombarded with words and phrases (e.g. divine pedagogy, missionary discipleship, evangelizing catechesis) that are intended to inspire our ministry but often leave us scratching our heads with regards to what they mean in practical terms and how we are to translate these concepts into actual strategies in our faith formation settings. One such phrase, as mentioned above, is evangelizing catechesis. Personally, I am convinced that we desperately need a more evangelizing […]

Recruiting Catechists Who Evangelize (Video)

Julianne Stanz

Finding catechists who are evangelizers and see themselves as such is the key to a faith formation process that forms disciples. The below video highlights five aspects of the process using the word GIFTS. Read the complete article that inspired this video: Recruiting and Retaining Catechists Who Evangelize with GIFTS. Take a moment and ask yourself: does every activity in my parish point more deeply to Jesus? Julianne Stanz wants to help you and your […]

Storytelling (Video)

Joe Paprocki

Jesus’ preferred method of engaging others and teaching about the Kingdom was through storytelling. How can we get in touch with our stories of faith? Watch this video introduction to the topic. Read the post that inspired this video: Sharing Stories of Faith. Sharing the Wisdom of Time is a collection of stories about elders from around the world. From over 30 countries, elders share their wisdom carved from lifetimes of experience.

woman speaking - © Loyola Press. All Rights Reserved.

The Power of Witness and Appropriate Self-Disclosure in Faith Formation

Jared Anderson

St. Paul VI once wrote, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” (Evangelii Nuntiandi) As someone who recently transitioned from youth minister to third-grade teacher at a Catholic school, I’ve been seeking a balance between my identities of witness and teacher in order to bring my students closer to Jesus. I have been on too many retreats where “witness […]

Fostering a Healthy Conversation Around Faith and Science

Julianne Stanz

That young people are leaving the Catholic faith doesn’t seem to be “news” anymore as surveys continue to record diminishing attendance among the younger generations. What is news, however, is the age at which young people decide to leave the Catholic faith and the role that science plays in their decision to leave. According to surveys conducted by CARA (Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate), the typical age for a young person to leave […]

Incorporate visuals into your classroom as a means of evangelization. - quote next to painting of St. Francis of Assisi

Using Visuals to Evangelize in the Classroom

Julianne Stanz

The expression “a picture speaks a thousand words” is particularly apt for the culture in which we live. Image-intensive social media platforms promote sharing through memes, stories, and snippets of information that go viral. For young people, images are not a distraction from the central message but constitute the message itself. Authenticity and thoughtful imaging of the Christian message are particularly important for us as a Church. For those who are in a pre-evangelization stage […]

What Is a Mass Mob and How Does It Work?

Joe Paprocki

In today’s world of social media, we often have to learn new vocabulary for various phenomena that occur by way of the digital world. One such phrase is “flash mob,” which refers to a large public gathering organized via social media, at which people “instantly” arrive to perform some unusual or random act and then quickly disperse. Here’s an example of a flash mob performing part of Handel’s Messiah at a mall in Amsterdam. Before […]