One of the hardest changes for a Catholic parish in America is to move from maintenance to mission and sometimes even maintenance can be a challenge! However, whatever challenges it may present, a parish is not meant to stay idle and only serve the needs of those in the pews. As Canon Law states,
Can. 528 §1 [A pastor] is to make every effort, even with the collaboration of the Christian faithful, so that the message of the gospel comes also to those who have ceased the practice of their religion or do not profess the true faith.
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But how does a pastor reach those who do not even go to Church, or those who only come occasionally?
Before we get into the details of how a parish can reach out to the lost in an effective way, let me first tell you a little bit of my own story coming back to the faith.
Growing up Catholic and in a deeply Catholic community, I simply thought of my faith as something cultural. Everyone was Catholic, went to Mass on Sundays, prayed before meals and that was it. Being Catholic was like my ancestry; it was a part of who I was, but really didn’t affect my day-to-day life.
By the time I reached high school, the practice of my faith was minimal and my friends certainly didn’t influence me otherwise. However, I had a “St. Paul-get-knocked-off-your-horse” kind of moment, which led me to seek out the deepest answers of life.
My CCD instruction was rather poor up until this point and I really didn’t know much about the Faith. Also, I was a rather shy kid and did not feel comfortable going up to the pastor and asking him all of my questions. So I did what everybody does when they want an answer, I “Googled-it.”
I stumbled upon many different websites, one of which was “Phatmass.com.” It appealed to me as a teenager, but also had solid content that was easily accessible. I began finding answers to the questions I was having and set out on a road into a full and active participation in the Church.
Providentially, as I started a new school year energized to learn more about my Faith, my new CCD teacher brought in area youth speakers to each class and I discovered a local youth group at a neighboring parish. I started to attend this youth group and the rest is history.
The reason why I share all of this is that I was one of the “lost sheep.” I was wandering around, looking for answers and it took a combination of online evangelization and local parish efforts to get me back into the practice of the Faith.
Inspired by my own experience of conversion, I set out for the next 10+ years to evangelize on the Internet and to find ways to bring the Faith to others in an effective and attractive manner. I saw this as my mission in life and I haven’t stopped since.
Throughout the years, I have noticed that while the Catholic Church has increased her presence on the Internet, not everyone is being reached. A major part of the problem is the absence of most parishes in online evangelization. The reason why this is so important is that not everyone is actively searching for answers. Not all lost sheep will seek out answers on Catholic Answers or read and trust the content on the National Catholic Register.
However, many lost sheep will click on links shared on Facebook, especially if they come from a local source like the parish down the block. In my experience, people are more likely to visit something local and familiar that has a personal connection (like a friend who is a parishioner) than something distant and unfamiliar. I know that if my parish had a website when I was searching for answers, it would have been the first place I visited.
At the same time, most parishes can’t be blamed for not reaching out on the Internet. The majority of parishes are understaffed, inexperienced with online evangelization or simply have no time.
Here’s the good news. I have developed a proven and effective strategy that takes all of the guess-work out of online evangelization. Many parishes don’t know where to start and may even experiment with different things, but ultimately fail. This is why I have created a parish strategy that tells you what to do and how to do it.
Over the next week, I will reveal this proven strategy and teach parishes how to move from maintenance to mission. It will fulfill not only the previous Canon that I mentioned, but also this next Canon (quoted below) that creates an obligation for pastors to use social communication to reach out to their flock:
Can. 822 §1 In exercising their office the pastors of the Church, availing themselves of a right which belongs to the Church, are to make an ample use of the means of social communication.
Has anyone else had a conversion experience brought about by online evangelization? Share your story in the comments below.
Also, if you think your pastor would benefit, be sure to send them links to this short series.