In the Gospel of John, the apostle, Philip, invites Nathanael to “come and see” Jesus and witness His proclamation of God’s kingdom. In doing so, Philip invites Nathanael to encounter our Lord in a way that provokes a desire in Nathanael to follow Jesus as “the one about whom Moses wrote” (John 1:43-46).
Catholic schools foster the conviction that learning is a lifelong process. Similarly, being a follower of Jesus is a lifelong process of encounter and learning. We are invited to experience Christ in ourselves and others, learn from the Gospels and emulate joy as Christians. When Catholic schools do this, our communities invite students and their families to “come and see” who Jesus is and follow Him as disciples in our world today.
The work of evangelization has always been the primary mission of the Church. As ecclesial entities, Catholic schools play
a direct role in this mission. Our approach to evangelization and catechesis doesn’t happen through proselytizing, but rather “by attraction.” The question for Catholic schools is how to “be attractive” as places to explore Catholicism and experience genuine encounter with Jesus Christ. Pope Francis reminds us that even though the landscape of evangelization is different today, it doesn’t need to be more difficult. We have opportunities to be creative with our approaches to evangelization as we lay the foundation for further catechesis.
Strategies for Fostering an Environment of EvangelizationIt has been said that two things are needed to foster an environment of evangelization and catechesis: something to believe in and something to belong to. In a world that is in desperate need of peace, our schools must be signs of unity through our shared Catholic beliefs and invitation to belong to a community. The earliest disciples of Jesus always pointed the way to Jesus and invited others to “come and see” who he is. Despite the time gap, it seems that the apostles of the early Church embraced strategies for evangelization that continue to hold significance for us today: Cultivate community. Serve everyone. Witness joyfully.
Cultivate Relationships
Christians often find their truest identity in the context of shared community. In fact, Archbishop Michael Miller names a “spirit of community” as one of the five essential “marks” of Catholic school identity.
Catholic schools serve families from a multitude of backgrounds and varying levels of faith. Regardless of how excellent a school may be in forming students, parents remain the first teachers of their children. Evangelizing among parents should invite families to build community and engage in faith experiences that are simple, safe and fun:
Identify mission-driven parents. Parents can be strong partners in evangelizing by initiating family outings, prayer and potlucks. A shared meal and good company invite belonging and lay the foundation for further formation.
Reduce the “red tape”. Engaging new ideas to evangelize and build community doesn’t have to be hard. Encourage parents’ ideas to share their faith and empower them to succeed.
Develop community among young parents. Young parents are often interested in what their child is learning and may seek to nurture their faith with others as their child grows.
Love Your Neighbor
If we’re succeeding in our evangelizing mission, our schools are places where the social justice teachings of the Church are implemented. Beyond what is taught in the classroom, Catholic schools accompany students as they discover how they are called to use their gifts and talents to serve God and others:
Introduce students to local Church ministries through service learning trips and engaging guest speakers. This helps students put their faith into action as well as encounter Christ through ministry with others.
Reflect on service experiences. Creating opportunities for students to pray, discuss and connect their service to the gospel invites them to more deeply encounter Jesus and discern God’s call for their lives through faithbased service learning.
Elevate Imagination
As teachers, we must speak to the imagination of our students. Long gone are the days of rote memorization for religious formation. Today’s learners of all ages desire to engage their senses, emotions and creativity as part of their educational experience. We can learn from the evangelizing witness of the first apostles who taught through passionate storytelling, table fellowship, radical hospitality and a counter-cultural imagination of a world that embraced what Jesus called the “kingdom of God”:
Tell your faith story. When we normalize faith sharing, students are encouraged to share and celebrate their own faith as well.
Model joy for the practices of our faith. Catholicism is steeped with rich, tangible symbols and sensory experiences. Invite students to interact with signs and symbols from diverse cultures expressing the universality of the Church.
Employ differentiated strategies to support teachers with their ongoing formation, deepen their personal spirituality and affirm them as evangelizers in their ministry.
Saint Paul reminded the early Church at Corinth that, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Cor. 3:6). Just as the first apostles evangelized through words and actions relevant to their own time and culture, Catholic schools invite students and adults to “come and see” Jesus through approaches to evangelization and catechesis that invite encounter with Christ. In doing this, we contribute to the work of the Church by sending graduates into the world to be instruments of God’s mission as God calls them to be.
Melissa Link, M.Div.is director of Catholic Mission and Culture for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago.mlink@archchicago.org
