The message of the Christian Gospel is the salvation of Jesus Christ. Jesus rose from the dead, conquering sin and death so that those who believe in Him can live with Him forever in Heaven. This is good news that is meant to be shared.
The act of telling people about the good news of the Gospel is called evangelization. Evangelization comes from the Greek word evangelion, which means “good news”.
Anyone who delivered good news in the ancient world could be called an evangelist. Evangelists in the Old Testament proclaimed the good news of a promised Messiah who would be sent by God to save the chosen people of Israel.
The New Testament shows how Jesus preached the good news and fulfilled the promise of Salvation by his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. This is recorded in the Gospels of the evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, He commissioned his disciples to go and make even more disciples by proclaiming the good news of his victory over sin and death to everyone on Earth for the salvation of souls.
Evangelization begins by developing a personal relationship with Jesus through prayer and reading Sacred Scripture. Getting to know Jesus and truly understanding what He did for us leads to joy and hope in the Resurrection and Eternal Life.
Evangelization is the primary mission of the Church and the duty of all baptized Catholics. Today, faithful Catholics continue to share the message of the Gospel and talk about the love, forgiveness, and mercy of God.
Rooted in the belief that Jesus matters:
Proclaiming the good news of Jesus’ victory:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
Matthew 28: 18-20
Our Church depends on everyday Christians sharing their faith:
Those who are evangelized will evangelize:
Speaking to others about why faith matters:
Share the Good News with the people you love:
Lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization, “that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life.” For lay people, “this evangelization . . . acquires a specific property and peculiar efficacy because it is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world.”: This witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 905
Evangelism is sharing a relationship:
Sharing the truth about who Christ is:
For the Church, evangelizing means bringing the Good News into all the strata of humanity, and through its influence transforming humanity from within and making it new: “Now I am making the whole of creation new.” But there is no new humanity if there are not first of all new persons renewed by Baptism and by lives lived according to the Gospel. The purpose of evangelization is therefore precisely this interior change, and if it had to be expressed in one sentence the best way of stating it would be to say that the Church evangelizes when she seeks to convert, solely through the divine power of the message she proclaims, both the personal and collective consciences of people, the activities in which they engage, and the lives and concrete milieu which are theirs.
Pope Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 8 December 1975
Different situations require different strategies for evangelization:
Avoid the two extremes of evangelization:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
The Church with a special place in God’s plan of salvation:
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