Cats are often mistaken as a “low maintenance” pet. We take them into our homes and expect them to immediately comply to all our rules and lifestyle, not giving the same attention to our cats as we would dogs, and yet wondering why people sometimes call their cats mean...the reality is, cats have their own needs that if we don’t meet them, they will be destructive, distant, and generally unfriendly. After all, cats are meant to climb, meant to hunt, and meant to claw so without these outlets we shouldn’t be surprised to see them scratching our couches and climbing on our tables and hunting our feet instead of their toys.
 
Before you just call me the crazy cat lady (which I am) I think the same can be said for evangelization. If we aren’t meeting people where they are at, we shouldn’t be surprised when people appear angry, outspoken, and sometimes downright rude in regards to moral or spiritual Truths. Like cats, all people have a general need in life, for us, a hole that can only be filled by God; but how that need is expressed can be drastically different from person to person. We aren’t a cookie cutter model of each other for how we relate to God. Even cats can have drastically different tastes in what kind of scratchers they like, what toys, or what foods, proving that even animals do not have a “one size fits all” design.
 
Sometimes when we think of evangelizing, it is easy to have our own agenda, rather than meeting people where they are at. If we think of the generic stereotype of missionaries coming to our door, we can see how this approach will turn more people off than show them the beauty of God.
 
Now, before you think this mindset gives you the excuse to not evangelize, realize there is beauty in sharing the Faith and even in other faiths boldness in spreading the Good News from door to door, but how we do this matters just as much as our courage in doing it. Instead of going in with a Bible verse and words of “have you been saved?”, we could have a different approach of, How are you? What can I do to help you? I ’m from so and so Church and I just wanted to invite you. Do you have any questions about God I can help you answer? If the person is a Christian we can even talk to them about Jesus without directly trying to convert them to Catholicism, but rejoicing in our similarities, sharing each other’s faiths, and asking them questions.
 
Without first listening we cannot expect the other to listen either. Once again, people aren’t that simple of a “thing”. We can’t enter evangelization with a mindset of you must be saved! You need Jesus! For all we know, the person so hateful against the pro-life movement had an abortion herself and is covering that pain by trying to convince herself that it wasn’t a baby. That person we are trying to tell about the love of the Father could have a terrible father and while that makes God the perfect answer to this need, they probably won’t be ready for this the first moment you try to talk to them. Even our own family and friends often have baggage we are unaware of. We will never reach them without first listening and in the purpose of evangelization, asking questions. After all, the questions are as numerous as the people on this planet. We won’t know what to ask until we meet someone, possibly even grow in relationship with them, and listen to the Holy Spirit for His words and not ours.
 
So how do you evangelize? This article is by no means meant to scare anyone about evangelization or “get you off the hook” by thinking about all we can do wrong. After all, even if we “mess up” God uses this for good and we can still reach people, just not always as effectively. We should never stop trying. We should never stop trusting because ultimately, it is the Holy Spirit who speaks through us if we let Him. Evangelization isn’t as hard as we think. We don’t have to go from door to door. We must ultimately do what God calls us to, but all it starts with is one question, How are you? ~ Trisha Trout
 
 
 
Cats in a Cat Tree
 
Cats are often mistaken as a “low maintenance” pet. We take them into our homes and expect them to immediately comply to all our rules and lifestyle, not giving the same attention to our cats as we would dogs, and yet wondering why people sometimes call their cats mean...the reality is, cats have their own needs that if we don’t meet them, they will be destructive, distant, and generally unfriendly. After all, cats are meant to climb, meant to hunt, and meant to claw so without these outlets we shouldn’t be surprised to see them scratching our couches and climbing on our tables and hunting our feet instead of their toys.
 
Before you just call me the crazy cat lady (which I am) I think the same can be said for evangelization. If we aren’t meeting people where they are at, we shouldn’t be surprised when people appear angry, outspoken, and sometimes downright rude in regards to moral or spiritual Truths. Like cats, all people have a general need in life, for us, a hole that can only be filled by God; but how that need is expressed can be drastically different from person to person. We aren’t a cookie cutter model of each other for how we relate to God. Even cats can have drastically different tastes in what kind of scratchers they like, what toys, or what foods, proving that even animals do not have a “one size fits all” design.
 
Sometimes when we think of evangelizing, it is easy to have our own agenda, rather than meeting people where they are at. If we think of the generic stereotype of missionaries coming to our door, we can see how this approach will turn more people off than show them the beauty of God.
 
Now, before you think this mindset gives you the excuse to not evangelize, realize there is beauty in sharing the Faith and even in other faiths boldness in spreading the Good News from door to door, but how we do this matters just as much as our courage in doing it. Instead of going in with a Bible verse and words of “have you been saved?”, we could have a different approach of, How are you? What can I do to help you? I ’m from so and so Church and I just wanted to invite you. Do you have any questions about God I can help you answer? If the person is a Christian we can even talk to them about Jesus without directly trying to convert them to Catholicism, but rejoicing in our similarities, sharing each other’s faiths, and asking them questions.
 
Without first listening we cannot expect the other to listen either. Once again, people aren’t that simple of a “thing”. We can’t enter evangelization with a mindset of you must be saved! You need Jesus! For all we know, the person so hateful against the pro-life movement had an abortion herself and is covering that pain by trying to convince herself that it wasn’t a baby. That person we are trying to tell about the love of the Father could have a terrible father and while that makes God the perfect answer to this need, they probably won’t be ready for this the first moment you try to talk to them. Even our own family and friends often have baggage we are unaware of. We will never reach them without first listening and in the purpose of evangelization, asking questions. After all, the questions are as numerous as the people on this planet. We won’t know what to ask until we meet someone, possibly even grow in relationship with them, and listen to the Holy Spirit for His words and not ours.
 
So how do you evangelize? This article is by no means meant to scare anyone about evangelization or “get you off the hook” by thinking about all we can do wrong. After all, even if we “mess up” God uses this for good and we can still reach people, just not always as effectively. We should never stop trying. We should never stop trusting because ultimately, it is the Holy Spirit who speaks through us if we let Him. Evangelization isn’t as hard as we think. We don’t have to go from door to door. We must ultimately do what God calls us to, but all it starts with is one question, How are you?