[00:00:00] Hey everybody, welcome to the EquipCast, a weekly podcast for the Archdiocese of Omaha. I'm your host, Jim Jansen. Now let's dive into some encouragement and inspiration to equip you to live your faith and to be fruitful in your mission. Let's go.

Hey everybody, welcome to the EquipCast, Coach's Corner, where I break down important topics to equip you and your team for mission, in your family, in your church, and in your ministry. My name is Jim Jansen, and today I'm going to talk to you about making evangelization the priority. Okay, so let's just start by being honest.

Evangelization just isn't our first priority. No matter what we might say or what logos or taglines we might have on our letterhead, our budgets and our facilities and our time and our personnel and [00:01:00] our, well, the way we spend our energy, all of those things communicate. Other things are actually the priority.

We drop everything. We run to protect our institutions and our facilities and our financial resources. But do we run for the lost children like the father of the prodigal son? Well, sad to say, oftentimes we don't. We know evangelization is supposed to be first, but what does that actually mean? Here's what we mean by evangelization.

Evangelization is the making and maturing of – important adjective here – adult disciples. We do a lot of things in the church, and all those things are good. Evangelization in its heart is fostering the conversion, first of non-believers or non-practicing, and then equipping them to be mature, fruitful missionary disciples in their families, in their neighborhoods, in their professions.

It's not simply pastoral care for souls. It doesn't exclude that, but care for [00:02:00] souls must be infused with a truly missionary spirit. I mean, this is the great commandment, love God and love neighbors, and it's also the great commission, right? So, it's love of God, Jesus literally thirsts for souls. And it's love of neighbor, the spiritual and, uh, corporal works of mercy, right?

I'll get kind of wrapped up in this, like, this is the great commission. Go make disciples. Like, I mean, it doesn't get more central and more important in this, right? Love of God, love of neighbor and the great commission. And this is what Vatican II, and the popes have been calling for. I could, you know, beat you over the head and, and just give quote after quote.

I'm just going to give one quote from John Paul II. This is 1984. He's speaking to the congregation for the clergy. So, this is, this is a well formed, educated group [00:03:00] of, uh, priests, bishops who are gathered, folks that work together with him in the Vatican. And he's talking about evangelization. And he says this, he says, evangelization is the cornerstone of all pastoral action.

The demands of which are primary, preeminent, and preferential. Now, we could take all day and break that down, but I just want to say, when, like, the Pope, and I might add, now, Saint John Paul II, says that evangelization, or the demands of evangelization, is primary, preeminent, and preferential, that's a big deal.

He doesn't use those words lightly, those are very churchy words, they carry some weight. My, like, very loose translation is evangelization is supposed to be number one. I mean, we're willing to do almost anything, but this. We've been resisting and doubling down on good things, but [00:04:00] they're good things that just aren't quite what the Lord has been asking.

So let me pause here. Before I go any further, I know some of you are like, I know, I believe this and I'm just tired and I'm overwhelmed. I want you to listen to the words of Jesus when he was tired. He had a very long day hanging out with the disciples and he literally stops because he can't go any further.

And he sends them into town to get some food. And as he's there, he has an evangelization conversation. Some of you know, I'm talking about John four, the woman at the well. And at the end of the story is this beautiful interaction. The disciples come back. They're like, Hey, we've got the food eat. And he's like, no, I don't need it.

My bread is to do the will of my father. Cause that interaction as tired and as exhausted as he was, there's something about that interaction that totally energizes Jesus. For those of you who are overwhelmed, right, listen to Jesus words to St. [00:05:00] Margaret Mary. He says, Take care of my interests, and I'll take care of yours.

I mean, I can testify in my own lifetimes that I've been overwhelmed with other tasks and to dos and really important things that needed to happen. When I prioritized the one thing that Jesus was really asking of me, giving my heart to him in prayer, and then bringing someone else closer to him, all my other stuff got done.

I mean, he, he literally almost did them for me, because I prioritized the one thing that he had entrusted to me. That was bringing a soul closer to him. His yoke is easy, and his burden is light. And if he's asking this, I promise it will be life giving. And I promise he is asking it. One more thing, for those of you who are tired and overwhelmed, do this as yourself, right?

It may be that your role in the process of evangelization is to teach and mentor new disciples who've just made a decision to [00:06:00] follow Jesus and they, they want to know what does it mean to live as a disciple of Jesus? Or maybe it's to meet new people, right? And develop the friendships so you can draw them into a relationship with Christ in the church.

Or maybe your role is to equip people for mission. Thank you. Whatever it is, play your role as yourself. But this is a challenge, right? Sometimes we just don't do the one thing Jesus is asking, even though we're made for it and that's what he wants. So, real quick, how do you do it? How do you make evangelization number one?

Well, start with prayer. Let Jesus convict your heart so that your desire is strong enough to overcome your fear and your distraction and your current habits and routines. I suggest meditating and having a conversation with Jesus on Matthew 28, the Great Commission, or anything in Acts of the Apostles, or Pope Francis Joy of the Gospel.

Evangelii Gaudium, great things to take to prayer [00:07:00] and meditate and let Jesus stoke your heart and your mind and increase your conviction. Okay, second thing you can do here, get some fellowship, surround yourself with others who are committed to making and maturing disciples. Just be honest and admit, like, okay, we're all gonna, like, relearn how to do this and we sometimes get distracted, but we're gonna do this and we're gonna do this either together or at the very least we're gonna, we're gonna try and, like, hold ourselves accountable.

We're gonna pray for each other. We're gonna support each other in living as missionary disciples. Finally, I really encourage you to declare your priorities. Make your intentions about how you intend to use your time, and your money, and your energy clear, and then invite accountability. Right, that's where that, that fellowship group comes in again.

Find that real, honest friend or coworker who will kindly point out that you're not quite living up to your stated priorities yet. [00:08:00] Let me pray for us. Oh Jesus, have mercy on us. Have mercy on me for the times that I've failed. To, uh, do the one thing you're asking to just make that simple invitation to have that conversation, to draw someone, uh, in the way you've particularly invited me close.

Lord, I pray for all those who are listening now who feel the tug and the call of your spirit at work in their lives to make evangelization number one for, for them, for their ministries, for their parishes, their families, their communities, uh, Lord, I ask that you would show them how. And that you would make it clear.

Indeed, your yoke is easy, and your burden is light. Amen. All right. If you want to continue the conversation, you can respond back in the chat at equip.archomaha.org. I recommend [00:09:00] Rediscovering the Heart of a Disciple by Ted Sri. He has real short chapters. He kind of breaks down Pope Francis on the joy of the gospel.

It's a fantastic resource for you individually or for a group just to think about. evangelization and, uh, what the Lord is calling each of us to individually and as communities of faith. Thanks, everybody. Thanks for listening to the EquipCast. We hope this episode has inspired you to live your faith and equip you to be fruitful in your mission.

Stay connected with us by going to equip.archomaha.org. God bless and see you next time.