Evangelization is best understood as the process of leading individuals to encounter Christ. Nonetheless, we can ponder: what does it mean to encounter Christ, and how can we prompt this experience?
Encountering Christ means having a personal experience of God’s love, grace, and presence. This encounter happens within the context of faith and involves both an emotional and intellectual dimension. An encounter with Christ marks a turning point that disrupts our status quo. When we truly meet Jesus, we become awakened to the reality of God’s kingdom. Our priorities shift from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness.
Encountering Jesus leads to repentance and conversion – turning away from sin and turning wholeheartedly to God. As we yield more of ourselves to Him, we begin to reflect His light to others. Essentially, encountering Christ launches us on the path of discipleship as we seek to follow Him.
We can encounter Jesus in a variety of ways. For many, reading and reflecting on Scripture provides a meeting place with Christ. By the Holy Spirit, the Gospel stories come alive to reveal Jesus’ mercy, wisdom and vision for our redemption. Likewise, through liturgical celebrations we join the body of Christ. Singing praises positions our hearts to receive fresh revelation about God’s character and purposes. Taking communion offers a tangible experience of Christ’s presence. Serving others also opens doors for divine encounters, as Jesus identifies Himself with the poor and marginalized. Additionally, activities like fasting, adoration and intercessory prayer create space for us to meet with God.
The more time we devote to spiritual disciplines like scripture meditation, solitude, fellowship and service, the more spacious our interior lives become. Here Christ illuminates areas that need realignment – resentments that poison relationships, addictive behaviors that enslave us or misplaced priorities that lead to burnout. In love, He frees us from demonic influences and corrects warped thinking patterns. Through these encounters, Jesus heals us and empowers us to live fully as the Father intended when He created us.
And, these encounters with Christ inevitably spill over to bless others too. Those who have met Jesus can’t help but proclaim and demonstrate His kingdom in words and deeds. Truly the proof of one’s encounter with Christ lies in a grace-filled countenance, a Spirit-empowered life and other-centered overflows.
Christ’s life-giving presence in our lives fulfills our deepest aspirations and realigns us with our ultimate goal – to glorify the Father. When we open our hearts to Him, He fills us anew with His love. Our highest calling is to abide in His presence, yielding to His transformative touch, and then to be vehicles of His life and light for this world.
Pierre-Alain Giffard
Other articles on evangelization and parish revitalization:
- What does it mean to have a personal relationship with Jesus?
- Unleashing The Evangelization Potential of Your Parish
- The Ultimate Goal of Evangelization
- God’s Longing for Love and our Mission to Make it Known
- A prayer for those whom we wish to encounter Christ
- Memorable Sundays
- Fr. Bedard’s Three-Step Blueprint for Evangelisation
- Guide for The Missionary Transformation of Parishes
- Divine Encounters: A Practical Guide for Small Evangelization Groups
- The Missionary Transformation of Sant’Eustorgio Parish
- Creating Vibrant Faith Communities: Insights from ‘Excellent Catholic Parishes’
- Sharing The Gospel According to People’s Needs And Receptivity
- A Prayer for Inviting Others to Evangelization Meetings and Services
- Welcoming Church Guests and Visitors: Dos and Don’ts
- Various Dimensions of Evangelization
- The True Measure of Success
- Pope Francis on Evangelization
- Revitalizing the Rural Parish for Mission
- Factors Leading to Christian Conversion
- Evangelizing Through Random Acts of Kindness
- Questions To Start Spiritual Conversations
- Three Feet From Gold
- Spreading the Gospel One Act at a Time
- Gather, Witness and Invite
- Prayer to Receive the Spiritual Gifts of The Holy Spirit
- The Language of Evangelization
- Key Factors for Parish Growth According to Rich Birch
- How to defeat Satan?
- Bringing Love, Hope and Healing Through the Gospel
- Love: Our Fundamental Vocation
- Touched by the Master
- A Man, a Dog, and the Ultimate Love
- The essence of evangelization: Loving God and our neighbours
- Loving Our Enemies and Reconciling with Others
- A Powerful Prayer for Healing: You Are The LORD Who Heals Me
- Living a Life of Love: Mother Teresa’s Legacy
- Living a Life of Love: Lessons from the New Testament
- In The Shadows Of Darkness, A Powerful Force Is At Work
- 19 Pastoral Orientations for Parish Renewal and Growth
- The Missionary Renewal of Catechesis
- Characteristics of missionary parishes
- Powerful healing prayer attributed to St. Padre Pio
- We are called to share our faith with others
- Should we seek to grow the Church?
- Find a Need and Fill It – Revealing God’s Heart in the Community
- 15 Habits to Evangelize on a Daily Basis
- The Church’s Mission
- Three Barriers to Building An Invitational Culture In Your Parish
- The Relational Evangelizer
- Doing Church at Home
- The Blind Girl
- A Group of Frogs
- The Elephant Rope
- A Shared Faith is a Growing Faith
- In The Shoes Of The Unchurched
- Parish Evangelizing Cells
- Six Unique Features of Missional Parishes
- Steps Towards Becoming A Missional Parish
- What Is Evangelization, And How Should It Be Carried Out?
- Discussion And Self-Assessment Questions For Parish Evangelization
- A Missional Church Is A Church That Prays
- The Jesus Prayer: A Method To Pray At All Times
- What can help children raised Catholic continue practicing the faith as adults?
- An Example of a Missionary Parish: Phoenix First Assembly of God
- Satan’s Tactics
- Learning to Be a Missionary
- When we cry out to God, he answers
- Presence and Proclamation
- Saving those who are lost
- Saint-Nazaire Parish: The story of a missionary transformation
- Small Groups and Evangelization
- Evangelizing By Inviting People To Receive Jesus As Lord And Saviour
- You Will Receive Power…
- Have You Heard About the Law of Three Hearings and Seven Touches?
- Three Habits of a Fruitful Christian Life
