Part I: Catholics as Evangelizers

Go and Make Disciples, A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States

A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States

The Catholic Bishops of the United States set forth their perception of the meaning and importance of evangelization in their seminal document: Go and Make Disciples, A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States. This plan and strategy was presented to all Catholics in the United States on November 18, 1992. The bishops make the unequivocal statement about the primary mission of the whole Church in the United States: “Evangelization is what we are all about.” And they emphatically proclaim that: “We must be converted and we must continue to be converted.” (Go and Make Disciples, #14)

To bring about this conversion to Jesus Christ in and through the Church, the U.S. Bishops wrapped that treatise around three dynamic goals:

• GOAL I: To bring about in all Catholics such an enthusiasm for their faith that, in living their faith in Jesus, they freely share it with others.
• GOAL II: To invite all people in the United States, whatever their social or cultural background, to hear the message of salvation in Jesus Christ so they may come to join us in the fullness of the Catholic Faith.
• GOAL III: To foster Gospel values in our society, promoting the dignity of the human person, the importance of the family, and the common good of our society so that our nation may continue to be transformed by the saving power of Jesus Christ.

A simple way to remember what is asked by the three goals is to understand them as: Believe, Share, and Transform.

BELIEVE (GOAL I):

Encourage all Catholics to experience conversion to a deeper holiness and a greater love of God.

SHARE (GOAL II):

Welcome and invite others to learn about and share in the Catholic Faith and encounter Jesus Christ in the sacraments.

TRANSFORM (GOAL III):

Change society with the power of the Gospel.

The objectives and strategies outlined in Part III of this Plan, Spreading the Holy Fire, build upon and attempt to implement these three goals of Go and Make Disciples, a National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States. The strategies for implementing these three goals also support the evangelizing efforts of every individual Catholic, every parish, and every institution of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

PART II: Our Reality >>