This plan of introducing and implementing Catholic evangelization in the parish has three phases: Education, Transformation, and Outreach. The core team undergirding this is called the "E-Team" -- E for evangelization.
The Education Year utilizes every means to educate the whole parish about the mission of the Church and what Catholic evangelization means, including pulpit talks, evening seminars, newsletter and website articles. The Transformation Year enhances every parish ministry's already existing evangelization mission while developing an attitude of evangelization in parishioners through faith formation courses and seminars. The Outreach Year takes this ministry beyond church-going parishioners to inactive Catholics, while education and transformation for active parishioners continues unceasingly.
COMMUNICATING THE GOOD NEWS
The success of this plan relies on working closely with a Communications Ministry. The Parish Communications Director should oversee a periodical newsletter, frequently-updated website, materials that are given to newcomers, press releases sent to local newspapers, email announcements sent to parishioners who subscribe to a parish mailing list, bulletin inserts that describe upcoming special events using good advertising skills, and all other means of communicating.
This Communications Director should see her/himself first as an evangelizer who uses a variety of communications tools to invite people to the special events that the parish holds, targeting active Catholics, inactive members who have registered but don't attend Mass, inactive Catholics who can only be reached via the secular media, and non-Catholics who attend Mass with Catholic family members and are potential candidates for RCIA.
The Communications Director should also see her/himself as a coordinator of all methods of getting the word out, collaborating with all other parish ministries to obtain faith-based material and information about upcoming events for the newsletter and the website and assigning it to those who work in these media, and relaying this information to target audiences by using the full range of communication tools.
Year 1 - EDUCATION
Utilize every means to education the whole parish about what Catholic evangelization means. This can be done in conjunction with diocesan evangelization programs.
1. Form an Evangelization Team, nicknamed "the E-Team", of parishioners who:
- are interested in being trained in Catholic evangelization
- are able to connect with other parish organizations when collaboration is needed
- will examine their personal gifts and talents for the use of evangelization after Year 1
- in some cases will become trainers after Year 1
- will serve as spokespersons for the Evangelization Ministry
- will be actively involved in the Evangelization Ministry's parish events
2. Educate the parish at-large about:
- what Catholic evangelization is
- the goals of the bishops' plan, "Go and Make Disciples"
- the pope's call for a "new evangelization"
3. Educate all parish ministries and organizations about:
- what they are already doing that is evangelistic
- how to understand their ministries in view of the Church's mission to evangelize
- the value of collaborating with other parish ministries to better accomplish their own goals
Year 2 - TRANSFORMATION
Enhance every parish ministry's evangelization mission and develop parishioners into evangelizers.
1. Evangelization Team members get involved in other parish ministries to:
- assist them in their own evangelization mission
- serve as liaisons between the other ministries and the Evangelization Ministry
- provide resources and continued formation/education in the mission of outreach
2. Provide formation in evangelization to the parish at-large through seminars, retreats, and courses on:
- Church documents about evangelization
- the Sermon on the Mount and other scriptures pertaining to outreach and ministry
- faith-sharing and giving personal witnesses
3. Increase involvement in Small Christian Communities:
• promote faith sharing as part of evangelization, during each event of #2
• provide sign-up opportunities at each event
• include small group faith sharing opportunities in each event
Year 3 - OUTREACH
Take this ministry beyond church-going parishioners to inactive Catholics, while education and transformation for active parishioners continues; this phase never ends.
1. Evangelization Team members train and assist an Outreach Team to:
- make home visits to newly registered parishioners
- make home visits to inactive, registered parishioners
- personally invite others to join SCCs
- send cards from the parish to those who are ill, homebound, bereaved, newly married, or have babies being baptized
- be welcomers and greeters at Mass and other parish functions
- match the talents and skills of parishioners to ministries and parish organizations that need volunteers, and personally invite them to get involved
- reach out to parents of children enrolled in Religious Education classes
2. Evangelization Team members continue to work with other ministries:
- assisting the Liturgy Commission in finding appropriate ways to evangelize within the Mass
- being involved in and promoting SCCs
- communicating what the Evangelization Ministry is doing and why
- educating the volunteers/members of other organizations on how they are called and gifted for the mission of evangelization within their own ministries
- providing evangelization resources according to the needs of each ministry
3. Spiritual formation continues for the parish at-large to:
- increase awareness of everyone's role in evangelization
- invite more people to conversion and growth
- develop new members for the Evangelization and Outreach Teams
- increase involvement in Small Christian Communities
