ACTS II EVANGELIZATION TRAINING

ACTS II EVANGELIZATION TRAINING

The goal of the ACTS II Evangelization Training is to equip individuals with the skills and tools to become enthusiastic evangelizers, faithful and obedient to the commissioning of Jesus, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Matthew 28:19f).

Trainees learn how to give authentic witness of a life lived in the world according to the Gospel and to proclaim explicitly, with humility and under the power of the Holy Spirit, that salvation is in Jesus Christ. It is encouraged that you find someone to partner with in order to participate in this training. You will have many opportunities to interact with, and pray with, your "Prayer Partner". Jesus did not send His apostles out alone but sent them two by two. (Mark 6:7). You will not be denied access to the training if you can not find someone to go through the training with.

1. The training is primarily concerned with forming disciples, evangelizers, for Jesus Christ; disciples who are rooted in Jesus; persons who so love Jesus that their greatest desire is to bring others into a personal relationship with Jesus so that they, too, might love him deeply.
   
   This is what it means to be a disciple, an evangelizer: someone who brings Good News, Good News that has been experienced. And the Good News that the evangelizer has experienced is this, that:
   
   
   • (s)he is loved by Jesus;
   • Jesus is truly alive and in his/her midst;
   • Jesus has truly forgiven his/her sins;
   • Jesus is at work in him/her through the power of the Holy Spirit;
   • in Jesus, (s)he is victorious;
   • in Jesus, death has no claim on him/her;
   • in Jesus, (s)he has overcome the world;
   • in Jesus, (s)he can do all things;
   • in Jesus, (s)he is truly a child of God, a child whom the Father loves and cares about.
   
   All of this the disciple, the evangelizer, knows from his/her own living experience. What the Catholic Christian, the evangelizer, wants to do, then, is to bring others to Jesus as (s)he has been brought, with sensitivity and respect.

2. The evangelization training facilitates, within the trainees, the development of three essential means for striving to be Christ-centered and living a life in the Spirit: prayer, study, community and service.
   
   Prayer.

   Within the training, prayer is a major focal point. There are many opportunities for the trainee, and their prayer partner, to pray for and with each other, within the training sessions.
   
   Trainees are brought to the realization that time must be spent with the Lord, in prayer, in order for them to grow in their relationship with him, and for their evangelizing efforts to be effective. Trainees are encouraged, therefore, to give prime time to the Lord for prayer and Scripture reading on a regular basis.
   
   Prayer is participated in extensively throughout the training itself. Each session has an opening and closing prayer service.
   
   The Evangelizer's Handbook (EH), Be An Evangelizer? Me?, teaches one to pray the Scriptures; lists the principles for effective prayer and states the obstacles to effective prayer; encourages that prayer be incorporated into one's life on a daily basis.
   
   Study.

   A regular study of the Scriptures and frequent spiritual reading are required. The Bible is the handbook for all evangelizers. Before evangelizing others, the evangelizer must know the core message of the Gospel. Some of the topics that are studied are:
   
   

   • the Good News Proclamation: A Synthesis;
   • God's Plan;
   • Jesus and His Mission;
   • the Role of the Holy Spirit;
   • the Core Message of the Gospel;
   • Effective Communication Skills;
   • Personal Witnessing;
   • Resources for Evangelization;
   • Outreach and Pastoral Follow-Up; and much more.
   
   The training requires a minimum of four hours of study per week following the Study Guide instructions. This is a minimum! Some may have to study harder and longer to make the above, and more, their own so as to be an effective evangelizer. In addition, you will be required to do two devoted weekend retreats. These retreats are designed to teach and to evangelize you. This is an intense training intended for persons truly wanting to become effective evangelizers for our Lord Jesus Christ.
   
   The following excerpts from a pastoral letter on campus ministry, "Empowered by the Spirit: Campus Ministry Faces the Future," (National Conference of Catholic Bishops, November 15, l985), explains the need for the amount of study time recommended:
   
   

   "Many Catholics on campus, including faculty members, are unprepared to deal with intellectual challenges to the faith. They are unable to explain their belief to interested friends or defend it against attacks by hostile critics. Their understanding of the faith has not kept pace with their knowledge in other areas. The legitimate pluralism of theology and spirituality in the Church confuses them. They have not achieved an adult appreciation of their religion that would enable them to speak about it not only with conviction but also with intelligence. At times, this produces frustration and anger over the inadequacy of their religious training. These problems are intensified by the general religious illiteracy in our culture" (n. 47, 48).

   
   Service.

   The training prepares the trainee to serve the Church by reaching out to others, especially the unchurched, to bring them to Jesus Christ and into the Community, the Church.

The ACTS II Evangelization Training has been carefully designed, developed, and tested for training Catholic evangelizers and preparing for the future Church in the present moment. Every effort has been made to make it authentic and realistic.

ACTS II: Conversion, Proclamation, Community is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary under whose patronage Pope Paul VI placed the entire effort of evangelization in the Church. "On the morning of Pentecost she watched over with her prayer the beginning of evangelization prompted by the Holy Spirit: may she be the Star of the evangelization ever renewed which the Church, docile to her Lord's command, must promote and accomplish, especially in these times which are difficult but full of hope!

"In the name of Christ we bless you, your communities, your families, all those who are dear to you, in the words which Paul addressed to the Philippians: 'I give thanks to my God every time I think of you -- which is constantly, in every prayer I utter -- rejoicing, as I plead on your behalf, at the way you have all continually helped to promote the gospel ...'" (Phil. 1:3-5) (E.N. 82). This training in the NEW Evangelization will show and explain the moments of evangelization that were used by Jesus Christ Himself, the first and greatest evangelizer. The ACTS II Evangelization Training enables those trained to reach out, on a one-to-one basis, and witness the Good News of Jesus Christ to the active Catholic, the alienated/inactive Catholic, and the unchurched.

As a person progresses through the online version of the ACTS II Evangelization Training, he or she will be able to download a pdf version of the Handbook Section. It is our goal to make this training in the NEW Evangelization a DYNAMIC reality in the form of this training.