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 behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age  (Matthew 28:19-20).

Effective evangelization requires a robust communications plan. When Jesus gave His apostles the Great Commission, they did not have the luxury of cell phones, email, social media and the plethora of communications resources we currently enjoy, not to mention automobiles. Instead, they traveled on foot (or on a donkey, horse or some other kind of four-legged creature) from city to city and town to town, proclaiming the Good News of Christ and performing miracles in His name. Imagine if all the wonderful technology we have today was available then. Peter and Paul could have announced their travel itineraries on Facebook and Twitter to attract more followers. Surely the videos of these miraculous healings would have gone viral, and those who witnessed these events would be calling or texting their friends to share what they just observed. However, the Apostles were not so fortunate to have the wealth of technological resources that make our lives so much simpler.

Every parish and ministry should take advantage of these resources to create a communications plan designed to make disciples and disciple-makers.  Additionally, every parish and ministry should have a person or team, appointed by the pastor whose sole responsibility is communications.  Beyond the Sunday experience – the hour or so when we have parishioners within the four walls of the church – how do we keep them engaged in the life of the parish?  How do we keep them focused on the ultimate goal of making disciples and disciple-makers? That is the vision: communications as a form of evangelization and disciple making.

Communications can be informative as well as formative.  So, rather than thinking about communications as putting an announcement about Tuesday night bingo in the parish bulletin, let’s focus on how we can communicate in a way that serves our goal of making disciples and disciple-makers.  Assuming each parish has an evangelization team, it’s imperative that the communications and evangelization teams work in tandem to come up with ways to reach out to parishioners.

The following is a list of valuable resources:

• Parish Bulletin – In the majority of parishes, the parish bulletin is the bridge between the parish and its parishioners.  It’s the place to go for information about upcoming events, or to learn how much was received in last week’s collections, as examples.  However, the bulletin can also be used as a tool for evangelization and catechesis.  For example, each week, for a period of five weeks, parishes can highlight one of the Five Thresholds of Conversion.  Similar ideas highlighting the different forms of prayer, publishing profiles of saints or even having parishioners share their stories. (Be sure to make your bulletin available online and via email to reach the sick and shut-in).
• In-person talks – During the Mass, but not in place of or during the homily, have people share their stories about their relationship with Christ or highlight a specific ministry.  Give attendees the opportunity to get involved in the life of the parish community.
• Small Group sharing is another excellent way to communicate.
• Create an email/phone database using a program (such as Flocknote) to send parishioners weekly or even daily messages to stay connected.  Even a birthday shout-out to a parishioner goes a long way to establishing a feeling of being welcomed.
• Create a Parish App.
• Connect through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
• Create a parish You Tube or Vimeo channel.
• Utilize the diocesan newspaper, the Gulf Pine Catholic.

1. How are you enabling evangelization through communications within your parish?
2. Whom do you want to reach?
3. Why are you communicating with them?
4. How will you reach them?
5. What will be the content of your message?