I wanted to speak to the word “evangelization”.  I know for some people this word conjures up images of door to door or T.V. evangelists, and Bible beating preachers.  Let me assure you that this is not what this is about.  The Writings for the New Church give the following meaning for the word evangelization.  “By evangelization are meant all things in the Word which treat of the Lord, and all things in worship which represented Him. For evangelization is annunciation about the Lord, His coming, and the things that are from Him which belong to salvation and eternal life. And as all things of the Word in its inmost sense treat solely of the Lord, and all things of worship represented Him, therefore the whole Word is the Evangel, in like manner all worship that was done according to the things commanded in the Word.” AC 9925

One way to define it is talking about the Lord, His Word and about things that show how to grow spiritually.  I think it is not in question that we ought to do this, it is more a matter of how we should do this.  If you see someone drowning in the water it is not a question of whether you should help them or not, but more a matter of how can you best help them?  If you can’t swim, diving in after them won’t help anybody.  So you assess the situation and do all in your power to help them.  This analogy can work for sharing the message of the New Church, or evangelizing.  I think what turns us off most about certain evangelization techniques is that people tend to go around telling people that they are drowning and forcing themselves on them to try and help, when the person is actually feeling just fine with their current religious beliefs.  One phrase that sticks out in my mind from a seminar I went to once is this: “First seek to understand before seeking to be understood.”  We will never know if someone has questions or is seeking religiously unless we take the time to understand who they are and where they are coming from.  To my mind there are A LOT of people out there who feel lost spiritually and who are seeking something to satisfy their spiritual thirst and to set them on a good path.  So we ought to be clearly available and present as a church so that people can find us.  It may even mean talking about the church without being prompted by the other person.  Just like you would share something that you really enjoyed or that meant something to you with other people.  How often do we say, “Oh, did you see that new movie?”  Of course we are going to share something we care about with others.  How much more so when it is something so life changing as the teachings of the New Church or the support and love you feel when you are with this church community. 

If actually talking to someone about the New Church (evangelization) or what the Lord has done for you in your life is more than you are prepared to do then here is a simple, but profound, thing the Lord invites us all to do.  The request comes after this invitation from the book of Revelation as explained in the Apocalypse Revealed, paragraph 956: “‘And let him that hears say, Come; and let him that thirsts come; and let him that wills take the water of life freely,’ signifies that one who knows anything of the Lord’s coming, and of the New Heaven and the New Church, and thus of the Lord’s kingdom, should pray that it may come; and that one who desires truths should pray that the Lord may come with light; and that person who loves truths will then receive them from the Lord without labor of his or her own.”