Joyful Witness / Kimberly Pohovey

How to bring Jesus to others? Follow the guide of a carpenter who shaped lives

Jesus ministered to thousands, but he invested in 12.

He ministered to large crowds but invested deeply in a small group. That’s how a grassroots effort begins. While society tells us everything bigger is better, Jesus knew the exponential impact his 12 Apostles would have on our world.

Think of the influence those 12 men had far and wide throughout the Roman Empire of the day. It’s staggering to think of the effect of their being taught by Jesus himself has had on our world.

I read an article some time ago that likened Jesus’ leadership style to that of a successful corporate leader. Jesus knew he needed an effective leadership plan that would translate into the growing and thriving Church of the future.

He ministered to thousands of people. He identified 72 disciples to spread his word extensively. He specifically chose 12 men to mentor and empower. He then centered on three of those Apostles—Peter, James and John—to, in essence, be his leadership team and closest confidants. And of course, we all know that Jesus chose Peter to be his right-hand man and the future leader of the Catholic Church, thus establishing the primacy of the pope.

In most corporate structures, there is a large workforce. Then a cross-section of that workforce makes up the mid-level managers. There is an upper-management team, and finally, the leadership team closest to the CEO. It takes the whole organization moving in one direction together to accomplish goals. The structure suggests the CEO invests in a small group whom he or she trains and empowers to then pass along the message to the next largest group in the business and so on.

Jesus created a similar structure in order to establish the Church and spread God’s word and message of love. And when his message was carried out to the farthest reaches of society, it was done by an army of disciples. But each individually impacted their corner of the world by converting minds and hearts one person at a time.

That is the challenge we are given today. When it comes to evangelization, we are today’s army of disciples. And like the early disciples, we, too, are called to spread Jesus’ message of love. Catholics are oftentimes hesitant to evangelize. I hear folks say they do not feel equipped to evangelize, they find the task daunting, are afraid to offend others or simply do not understand what is expected of them.

According to the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops, evangelization means bringing the good news of Jesus into every human situation and seeking to convert individuals and society by the divine power of the Gospel itself.

This means, on a grassroots level, we are called to infuse God in every human interaction. We naturally evangelize through the example we set in living a life of faith. We also evangelize by simply speaking witness to our faith by not being afraid to invoke God when speaking with and serving others.

It’s easier than we think. If we believe in our faith, then evangelizing is really just a matter of walking the walk and talking the talk.

And it all began with a grassroots effort by a carpenter more than 2,000 years ago. Jesus began by teaching 12, who then spread to 72 and on to thousands. Today, we Catholics number one billion around the world. But every convert comes from someone initially introducing them to Jesus.

How can you bring Jesus to others?
 

(Kimberly Pohovey is a member of St. Jude Parish in Indianapolis. She is the director of major and planned gifts for the archdiocese.) †