Our ‘moment’ to evangelize

Many Christians celebrate the missionary journeys and testimonies of the saints while assuming that call was only for them. The rest of us? Well, we must simply be “normal” Christians.

St. John Paul II once remarked: “Missionary activity … is in fact the normal outcome of Christian living” (“Redemptorist Missio,” 27).

This is the Church’s consistent teaching: Everyone is called to be a missionary.

In his exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium: The Joy of the Gospel,” Pope Francis goes further in teaching that all the baptized “have become missionary disciples,” and we are not to envision “a plan of evangelization to be carried out by professionals while the rest of the faithful would simply be passive recipients” (“Evangelii Gaudium,” 120).

Far from being relegated to a particular “type” of Christian — the gifted, knowledgeable or professionals — all the baptized share in the call.

In baptism, God sent us just as He has been sending people throughout salvation history: From Old Testament patriarchs and prophets, to Christ commissioning the apostles, to the martyrs, monks, scholars and modern-day saints that follow in their footsteps, we pick up a torch handed on by missionaries throughout the ages and are entrusted to carry it on in this “moment.”

You are a missionary, and this is your moment.

While the call to be missionary is universal, evangelization must be carried out in a way that is appropriate for the time period and culture in which we live. While the message of the Gospel never changes, the methods we use to communicate it must adapt. It doesn’t look the same in today’s America as it did in 1,000 B.C. Israel or in Middle-Ages Europe. Understanding our moment is key.

Classically, Western culture had Christian roots. Its societal structures and worldview were permeated by belief in God’s creation and continued action in the world, the presence of evil, Christ’s redemption and Christian moral principles.

Now, we are in a time of transition. This Christian worldview is increasingly coming into conflict with cultural sensibilities, rather than informing them. We can no longer assume that Church activities will evangelize by merely existing and maintaining the status quo. Our moment requires fervor for living out a joyful witness in the midst of animosity and a readiness to share our experience of Christ and journey with those who are seeking.

This moment extends beyond generalizations into the specific people, places and events that make up our daily lives. With the Holy Spirit, every day brings opportunities to evangelize.

In this moment, some fruitful questions to consider are:

• How am I being missionary to the people and places I see weekly?

• Is there anyone God is specifically inviting me to witness to?

• What fears or hesitations do I have?

Together, we are a community of baptized missionaries, called at a particular moment in history to joyfully witness to Christ in our daily lives.

Stephen Estes is the director of faith formation and discipleship for the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

This is the first in a four-part series examining the moment, message, model and methods of evangelization. The four topics are in conjunction with the Missionaries of Joy curriculum, a partnership of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and the Augustine Institute to form lay parishioners as missionary disciples.