The efforts of ordinary people to spread the Gospel can have incredible effects in the world, Dr. Edward Sri told adults gathered at the SEEK 2023 conference Jan. 3.

Sri gave the example of Ven. Jan Tyranowski, a tailor living in Nazi-occupied Poland in the 1940s who saw a need to share the faith even in the midst of a difficult environment. So, he started small groups dedicated to training young people in the Catholic faith.

“Jan Tyranowski was just an ordinary layman. But he didn’t sit back and do nothing. He didn’t have training, but he just said, I’m going to do my best at evangelization,” said Sri, a theologian and author who now serves as vice president of formation at FOCUS and adjunct professor at the Augustine Institute.

One of Tyranowski’s small group members was a young Karol Wojtyla — the future St. John Paul II.

“If Jan Tyranowski didn’t rise up, if he didn’t live his baptismal call to evangelize — which every Catholic is called to do — if he didn’t do that, we may never have had John Paul II,” Sri said.

Sri’s talk kicked off the Making Missionary Disciples track of the five-day SEEK 2023 conference, which focused on practical ways for adults to evangelize in their parishes, homes and the greater community. About 450 parishioners from across the Archdiocese of St. Louis attended the Making Missionary Disciples track at the conference, joining about 3,000 others on the track from around the country. Session topics included ministry, prayer and divine intimacy, marriage and parenting, avoiding burnout, leading small groups and more.

Sharing your testimony

Parishioners from Holy Infant in Ballwin, St. Joseph in Cottleville, Assumption in south St. Louis County and St. John Paul II in Affton scootched their chairs close together in a circle for an afternoon small group “power session.” On the Making Missionary Disciples track, small groups of 6-10 people from the same parish, archdiocese or region came together in the afternoon to share takeaways and practice the skills they learned in the morning training sessions.

That morning, Karen Bromeier of Holy Infant and Josephine Frey of St. Joseph Cottleville learned how to effectively share a personal testimony in a session from Amber Ezeani, a former FOCUS missionary and host of “Becoming Love” podcast.

“Your testimony is simply sharing with others about your friendship with Jesus Christ and the influence He’s had on your life,” Ezeani said.

Although it might seem awkward, sharing your testimony can come naturally as you get to know someone, Bromeier explained to her small group.

“Maybe you’ve built a friendship, and they ask you why you live your life the way you do, and you can say, ‘This is why,’” Bromeier told them.

Briana Exline, a parishioner at Sacred Heart in Florissant, attended the conference with her 2-year-old daughter in tow. As a former sidewalk counselor with Coalition Life, she’s had some practice sharing her faith with people, but the testimony training helped her “hone in on the skills and how to make it short and simple,” she said. She learned to “try to keep the focus on Jesus and how He intentionally comes into our individual lives.”

A quote from the session will stick with Exline for a long time, she said: “Eternity is worth the awkwardness,” she repeated.

Accompaniment on the journey

Evangelization can be a “scary word” for many older Catholics, Elizabeth Cassmeyer said.

Cassmeyer, a parishioner at Immaculate Heart of Mary in south St. Louis, said she and many of her peers grew up thinking of it only as the kind of door-knocking more common in religions like Jehovah’s Witnesses.

“Bringing that word, evangelization, back has been an eye-opener,” she said. Learning about intentionally sharing her faith with others in a relatable way was a highlight of the conference, she said.

“I have difficulty sharing my own story sometimes, but there is worth in that. I’ve always been one to think, if they see my life, hopefully they’ll understand, but sometimes you do have to share your story,” she said. “We have some people in (my small group) who do that very well, and it helps me be aware that that’s my area that I have to work on.”

Immaculate Heart of Mary pastoral associate Debbie Gartner was excited to attend the SEEK conference after going to the SEEK First preview event in October. “Being in a room full of people that were happy to be Catholic, that were proud and listening and excited — I thought, ‘I want to be around more of that type of energy,’” she said.

The talks on evangelization through accompaniment stood out to her, she said. In her parish, she recalled a young man who she knew was struggling with an addiction and had just recently started attending Mass. She made it a point to greet him whenever she saw him.

“He’s like, ‘You remembered my name?’” she said. “…Sometimes it’s just knowing how to love each other because God loves you.”

It’s providential that the SEEK conference was held in St. Louis this year as the archdiocese is in the midst of the the All Things New pastoral planning process, Gartner said.

“I think it’s perfect timing so we can stop concentrating on just the buildings and the changing boundaries and realize we’re doing this to talk about Jesus, to grow in our faith, to become a stronger Church,” she said. “Us coming now and saying, let’s learn how to share our love of Jesus — that’s where the Church can be growing in all of this.”

Jesus at the center

Ryan Carney, chief advancement officer for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul national office and parishioner at St. Justin Martyr in Sunset Hills, agrees that accompaniment is an essential part of evangelization. He sees that through the work of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

“We’re preaching the Gospel through our actions,” he said. “We enter into real relationships with the people we serve. And where God takes that, it can be in very unexpected and wonderful ways.”

Serving others opens a door to invite them into the faith, he said. “It can be, ‘Hey, if you’re not part of a faith community, or if you’re looking for a home, come to church with us.’ And there’s been amazing and unexpected fruit that comes from that,” he said. “But it starts with a loving relationship, responding to their needs, treating them with a great deal of dignity. They see something authentic in us, and then great things happen.”

While his own focus might be on his work at the St. Vincent de Paul Society, when he looked around the Dome at the 17,000 people gathered, he was struck by a simple truth: “It’s just remembering who’s at the center of all this, and it’s Jesus,” he said.

“We’re reminded that we’re all Catholics,” he said. “Some of us are called to different charisms. Some might be leading worship, some might be serving the poor, but that core message of Christ resonates with everybody.”

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>> Sharing your testimony

A testimony is a short, personal story about a time you came to know Jesus or encountered Him in a significant way. All Catholics should be ready to share their testimony whenever the opportunity arises in conversation. These tips were shared by Amber Ezeani in her training session, “The Power of Your Testimony.”

Four parts of a testimony:

1. Life before Jesus. Don’t get into too many “gory details,” but explain what your life was like before your encounter.

2. Coming to know Jesus. Pick one moment and name specifically where you saw Jesus working in your life.

3. Life in Jesus. How was your life different after your encounter with Jesus?

4. Inviting others to know Jesus. After sharing your own story, ask the other person a simple question like, “How have you seen Jesus working in your life?”

Elements of a good testimony:

1. Concreteness. Be accurate in your details (don’t embellish with white lies), and be real and approachable.

2. Accessibility. Tell your story so that anyone can understand it. For example, don’t use technical theological terms that might be confusing.

3. Simplicity. Stick to a story you can tell in five minutes or less, and make sure the thread of the story is easy to follow.

Watch a video of Josephine Frey, a parishioner at St. Joseph in Cottleville, sharing a personal testimony at stlreview.com/3XkgNij