Since we live in the simultaneous age of instant communication as well as diluted and meaningless vocabularies, we should define “evangelization” or “to evangelize.”
First, a summary of the other definitions out there:
From Merriam-Webster: to evangelize is “to preach the Gospel to” or “to convert to Christianity.”
From Cambridge: “to try to persuade people to become Christians.”
From Google Gemini: “evangelization is the act of sharing or preaching a specific set of beliefs—usually religious—with the intent of converting others to that faith.”
From ChatGPT: In a religious sense, it is “To proclaim the Christian message and invite people to believe in and follow Jesus.”
Or, “In modern English it can also mean enthusiastically promoting an idea or cause.”
From Claude: “It involves communicating beliefs, teachings, and values” and is “most commonly associated with Christianity.”
Ok, we get it.
What Does the Church Say?
The USCCB summarizes Pope St. Paul VI’s words this way: “Evangelizing means bringing the Good News of Jesus into every human situation and seeking to convert individuals and society by the divine power of the Gospel itself.”
“There is no true evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the Kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God are not proclaimed.”
What follows from here is a series of far more complicated and controversial questions.
Should We Evangelize?
Yep… we’re starting with a fiery one.
This is basically asking whether we should convince others of something. And, by extension, whether we should be evangelized or convinced of something else.
Many of us, even if not religious, would jump to answer, “Yes!”
But if we think about it, doesn’t the fervor to evangelize depend on what we’re preaching?
The stakes aren’t very high for our favorite coffee or movie.
But a way of life? A belief system?
My answer is yes, we should evangelize, but when it comes to truth and lies, right and wrong, we should only evangelize for the Truth… and what’s right.
Are We Evangelizing?
Another very good question.
Some are. Some aren’t. Fewer still are evangelizing for the right things. Fewer than that are evangelizing for the right things effectively.
The world is actually excellent at evangelization according to the secular definition: “enthusiastically promoting an idea or cause.”
Global ad spending is approaching $1 trillion. And let me tell ya, ad blocking is costing advertisers big time. The average person sees upwards of 10,000 ads daily. That’s about 1 every 5 seconds. We don’t recall 90% of these, but still.
Our time on screen is in the hours and has taken its toll on every generation, particularly younger ones.
All of that searching and clicking and scrolling and yearning and envying and buying is due to the world’s evangelization. A crude use of the word, but it’s been hyper-effective.
Meanwhile, the true evangelizers, Christians, have in large part been left behind.
Many Christians don’t “push” their beliefs on anyone. And that kind of means they don’t talk about it at all, or even live those beliefs.
Faith and Jesus are “personal.”
Catholics and Protestants alike have forgotten zeal for the house of the Lord (Psalm 69:9, John 2:17). Evangelizing means converts. Surely, to be effective, it can’t be pushy or fake or hollow or stale or outdated (I could go on), but it has to exist in some form.
When the world “markets” (basically means the same thing), it wants—you guessed it—conversions! Yes, that’s even the word they use!
If the commercial world isn’t afraid to push, the Church mustn’t be either!
What Is Effective Evangelization?
Effective marketing is why people drink a lot of soda, buy TVs, go to concerts, and do a lot of other things they don’t really need.
Sure, we marketers spin this by telling stories and connecting with others and helping the community and so on. But at the end of the day, the world is extremely motivated by cash.
The Church is motivated by souls.
Evangelizing in the sports world is not just an update on this game or that player. It’s showing why the game and experience is so great.
Evangelizing in the music world is not just the time and venue. It’s the stories in the songs and the connection between performer and audience.
Evangelizing in the food world is not just the price and the amount. It’s why your taste buds will dance and your health will improve.
So, if we’re tracking the logic, evangelizing in the Church world is not just the time or the place or the update. It’s why Christ and His Church will make you happy, answer your questions, calm your fears, give you hope, bring you peace, renew your strength, improve your relationships, inflame your purpose, and so. Much. More.
To do that, we have to tell stories. We have to show why. We have to listen and teach. We have to get into the hard subjects and the tough questions. We have to create amazing content that will impress the algorithms and the audience.
If a diocese or parish or any Christian institution were to put their best evangelization content against the world’s, would we be proud or embarrassed?
And don’t blame money. You don’t need money to go viral. You don’t need millions of dollars to be authentic, creative, and conversational about the real stuff in life.
Changing the Paradigm on Evangelization
Businesses, every so often, need to refresh their voice and presentation to reconnect with the value they provide to customers.
The Church needs to do the same.
Evangelization is not the bulletin. It’s not cluttered graphics of feast days, parish hall boutiques, and quotes from popes.
It’s real people, clergy and laity, showing—on the audience’s terms and in their vernacular—why the Faith is the best hope we have for getting through our breakups, divorces, job losses, identity crises, finals, gas bills, broken cars, family drama, political division, sickness, death, and everything in between.
Digital Outreach Needs a New Home in the Church’s Infrastructure
Historically, social media, SEO, emails, web engagement, etc., have been under the domain of the Diocesan Communications Office.
Maybe this is a hot take, but… We need to change that.
Yeah, you heard me right. In this modern age of confusion, poor attention spans, and saturated competition, these digital mediums belong under the Evangelization Office.
Comms teams have enough on their plates with public relations, journalists, the government, and crisis management. Think of the last ten years: COVID, abuse, scandals, vandalism, and more.
Evangelization teams exist to spread the Faith.
While comms handles everything coming at the Church, the evangelization team goes out into the world to stir up trouble. The good kind!
This structural change will make a world of difference to the mission of winning souls for the Lord.
What to Do Next?
If you are a diocese, purpose-driven nonprofit, ministry, or parish, take a look at your content.
Are you evangelizing or just updating? Are you offering real value for mundane, everyday pain points, family drama, social issues, government action, and chronic suffering?
Don’t be discouraged. Let’s use that zeal in your team.
If you feel underwater, our Health Check is an audit of your entire ecosystem that can help you take a step back and see the big picture. It gives clarity and insight. It will show you what’s working and what’s not and equip you with a plan to proceed confidently.
Thanks for reading, and let’s collaborate.
Join the conversation! Shoot me an email at mconnors@yellowlinedigital.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
