
CV NEWS FEED // Mark Nemecek of St. Paul Street Evangelization on July 17 shared his experience and advice regarding reaching out to people through simple conversations and prayer in public places.
Nemecek creates the online programs and training videos for St. Paul Street Evangelization, which offers online and in-person beginner training courses and workshops for individuals, groups, and parishes to learn practical methods for sharing the faith with people anywhere.
To start up a conversation with someone, Nemecek told CatholicVote at the National Eucharistic Congress, he either offers them a Sacramental or simply asks to pray for them. He then is able to encourage them to pray, to go to Church, and to receive the Sacraments.
The goal is to “gauge where they’re at in their faith journey, and then lead them a step closer,” he said.
For example, using his training and the rosary, he was able to help a man at a Detroit farmers market three weeks ago.
According to Nemecek, the man said, “I really need that. My sister just died two days ago.”
Nemecek began to pray for the man, who started crying. Not only had the man lost his sister, but in the prior two years, the man had lost half of his family.
Nemecek was able to bring the man to a nearby church to pray with him, and they exchanged phone numbers to maintain connection so the man would have ongoing support.
St. Paul Street Evangelization’s programs educate participants in direct, non-confrontational evangelization techniques that are suitable for public spaces like streets, festivals, parks, and other venues with significant pedestrian traffic. The organization also teaches skills for evangelizing to coworkers and family members.
The organization offers one- and two-day workshops to provide participants with basic certification. People can also become members of their online training site and receive materials to engage their parishes and schools in evangelization efforts.
To enroll in an online training course, schedule an in-person workshop at your parish, join a local team, or support the cause, visit St. Paul Street Evangelization.
