When looking at Evangelisation, there are three stories from the New Testament which provide valuable insights.

Three stories of Evangelisation from the Gospels:

• Mary Visits Elizabeth. (Lk 1: 39 – 56)
• Jesus’ First Disciples (Jn 1: 19 – 50)
• Jesus talks with a Samaritan Woman (Jn 4: 1 – 42)

Evangelisation is, first and foremost, the spreading of the Good News of Jesus Christ, and it is a step of our Christian walk that naturally follows on from a meaningful encounter with Him. The three scenes mentioned above, plus many more throughout the New Testament all have a few things in common.

Firstly, Jesus is there.
Jesus is the messiah: the one the prophets have spoken about - the chosen people have heard so much about him.

But there’s more to Him than that…

Pope Paul VI said that for the Church to evangelise, it means bringing the Good News into, and transforming, every level of humanity, and making the whole of humanity new in the process .

This starts with the need for individuals to be converted and renewed by lives lived according to the Gospel, but the Church should not stop there. As the hearts of individuals are changed by Jesus’ love, they will more and more shine the Light of Christ to those around them in their lifestyles and workspaces.

Ourselves
Looking at it this way, we are reminded that we all fall short of perfection in some way, and we see that we all need to be converted more and more to Christ. In fact, when we talk about evangelisation, we must begin by evangelising ourselves. Prompted by the Holy Spirit within us, we must seek to deepen our faith, continuously turn away from sin in repentance, and seek to draw ever closer to God. We should constantly strive to be better, answering the call to “be holy, as God is holy” and seek to be converted more and more into His likeness through His grace.

Those in our Church
Our Church and parish communities are comprised of people who are journeying in faith. As we journey together, we as Christians must be open to both evangelising and being evangelised by those in our faith community. This means building up the community – not in a way that is bossy, preachy, critical or judgemental of fellow members of the Body of Christ but in a way that shows others Christ’s love for them.

Just before His ascension, in the Great Commission , Jesus commands the Apostles, “Go… make disciples of all nations” and we His Church are commanded to do the same. However, this commandment isn’t given in isolation. While Christ has invited us to bring the Good News to the whole world, we cannot achieve anything if we are only working from our own strength. We must remember that the command is only possible because it is followed by the assurance, “behold, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The following are some reasons as to why we should evangelise

Because Jesus Christ commanded us, the Church, to do so.
The Church’s Mission is to be missionary. In what is called “the Great Commission” Jesus said to his disciples:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”