How to Share the Gospel (and How Not To)

recently I was talking with this young man he's like I just want to share the gospel but I don't know how to do it I seems like I fail every single time I said well here are some things to take a look at [Music] hi my name's father Mike Schmitz and this is essential reasons as an example hmm who's talking with one of his buddies about his buddies drinking he's like you can't live this life like this right you can't like follow Christ and be drinking in this particular way and he's like in my friend just like totally got offended by this and you know I said I was judging him and all these kind of things and we're still friends but like it was it caused some tension and he's like how do i how do I desire to to follow the Lord I desired to evangelize am I so bad at it first of all the fact that you're willing to to share exactly you're willing to have a difficult conversation with someone is a good sign it means that not only do you have you know charity you have love but you also have the courage to be able to speak right so it's not just I care you also have courage that's really good so that's positive sign on the other on the other hand what you had done in this conversation with your buddy was not Evangelos ation like evangelization is he's introducing people to the person of Jesus it makes all different forms right can be introducing to the people people too to Christ himself to his church to the sacraments to like the act they have news of grace that God has given us like all those things what you were doing is you're you're not evangelizing you are correcting which is not a bad thing but that's not Evangelos ation did you have to just keep that in mind you were offering your friend a correction but you thought it was like I can't even share the gospel with anybody thou shalt not drink is not the gospel or shall not get drunk is not the gospel that is a correction that you're offering to your buddy now again not bad one of the spiritual works of mercy is instructing the ignorant and so you know calling for repentance that that idea turning away from sin okay great but not evangelization I can only offer correction if I have a particular relationship with someone this is another video I know me a bunch of years ago but when it comes to offering correction I think we typically do that when we have a particular relationship like my relationship with you is such that no it's kind of my role is to offer correction so as the pastor or a priest - congregation probably but not as a priest necessarily to the person who certainly coffee at the coffee place like kind of a things as a huge - Christian man or Christian woman yeah - I'm your friends maybe you do op that correction and maybe they do get offended our relationships a lot of times dictate the degree to which we can offer correction they dictate our responsibility in that safe in that sense a parent to the kids got it okay but when it comes to evangelization when it comes to actually sharing the gospel so many people find it difficult that makes sense because I think we have in our minds the idea when I share the gospel I lay out I have to lay out my presentation the truths I have to lay out the proofs I have I have to offer the answers but so often evangelization does not begin with the answers so often evangelization begins with questions and that's that's that's the big distinction I think like okay gosh this person is open to the gospel I open to hear my Jesus here I go you know as opposed to if this person is open if this person wants to know more why don't I ask them the questions why don't I take the opportunity of any given like normal conversation and just like genuinely not like questions to put them into a corner not questions so they get him to say something and I can say you know what here's here's what the truth is but genuine questions as far as if the situation arises things like all these people you know dying because often in our culture right in our country and our lives and our families there's people who are dying with these people dying like what do you think like what do you think I'm a Christian you know that my Christian but what do you think happens in that but asking in a way that like I really actually care about what you think not just what do you think cuz I'm gonna tell you what I think and might what I think is so much smarter than what you think the people can tell right they can tell if we're just asking because we're trying to set them up verses for me I find it I mean truly for me I think one of the most compelling places to start when it comes to evangelization or comes to sharing the gospel is beginning with the idea the question the reality of meaning because if this if there's no God then there's this whole world is an accident and so nothing we do actually means anything and so I really love beginning with that from that that that place of just you know what do you think that means and it could be everything from like a move in that movie what would like what do you think the directors trying to say and the conversation can can fold maybe jumps right to talking about God and like the universe means something does God exists but maybe it just simply begins the conversation or begins the idea that we're gonna think about from now on think about meaning if there's an a writer of that movie script and there's a director of that movie then there's got to be a purpose to it there's got to be a reason why they made it and maybe ultimately that's gonna get back to our script like the story of our lives the story of this universe if it's gonna mean anything there's got to be an author there's got to be a director in some way you know again we might not get to that in this conversation but we're doing is we're creating a culture of pretty create a relationship in which is okay to ask big questions and that's the last thing and it's okay not to know the answers one of the things to hold so many of us back from sharing the gospel direct I don't know all the answers like I don't necessarily know what to do what if they turn it around and ask me the question I don't know if I know what to say I would say if that's you right now that's okay we seek after the answers st. Peter says and is one of his letters he says always be ready to give a reason for the faith that's within you but if right now you're not ready that doesn't mean you're not ready to ask the question that does mean you're not ready to enter into a relationship doesn't mean you're not ready to enter into the conversation because you are a baptized Christian you're a Catholic who believes in what the Lord has revealed about himself in Scripture and in the tradition of the church and the Magisterium of the church and so if you don't know all the answers that's okay you don't have to start with the answers you can actually start with the questions anyways that's what I think for all of us here to send presents my name's father Mike Douglas you [Music]

Channel: Ascension Presents

Views: 72,493

Keywords: Fr. Mike, Fr. Mike Schmitz, father mike, father mike schmitz, evangelization, evangelization 101, How to share the gospel, how to spread the good news, how to share jesus, when to correct someone, introducing Jesus, Ascension Press, Ascension Presents, faith formation, the 99, evangelizing college students, share the gospel, evangelization for beginners, Catholic evangelization, how to evangelize, fr. Mike on evangelization, what is the gospel, how to share your faith

Id: OU9zlE2dmWY

Length: 6min 59sec (419 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 08 2020