Be My Witness

Our Approach to the New Evangelization

Evangelization matters! It is the Church’s mission, and it represents a special responsibility for leaders. How can leaders help baptized Catholics embrace their role in passing on the flame of faith and bringing Christ’s warmth and light to all?

A program of RENEW International, Be My Witness is a Christ-centered, Spirit-led approach to forming disciples for the New Evangelization. Engage and form your priests, staff, parish leaders, and parishioners to create an ever-widening circle of commitment to Christ's mission.

Be My Witness gets the conversation started in the parish about the single most important topic facing our Church today--evangelization. It gives parish leaders the process and tools to build an ever-widening circle of conversion and commitment

The results are the pastoral plans and motivation needed to transform the parish into a “center of constant missionary outreach.”

Available in Spanish as Sean mis testigos.

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How 'Be My Witness' Works

Engage your parish staff and leaders

Parishes are called to be “centers of constant missionary outreach.” When parish leaders recognize that evangelization truly matters — and then focus on what matters — they create a vibrant parish culture for encountering Jesus and making disciples.

Be My Witness is a unique, practical approach to equipping staff, pastoral councils, and key leaders to address this vital challenge.

In the first six months, RENEW International guides your parish leadership through the transformation process with training and consultation:

Video-based learning modules with leader guides inspire, inform and provide planning activities and best practices
RENEW parish assessment identifies opportunities to become more evangelizing
RENEW's training and consultation supports success in each parish

Small Group Process

Be My Witness invites all parishioners to become partners in the New Evangelization using parish-based small groups — a proven way to encounter Christ, reawaken faith, and motivate missionary outreach.

In this small group process, members explore key insights from The Joy of the Gospel and develop the attitudes and behaviors of missionary disciples.

Participant books deepen understanding of the call to be evangelizers
Companion DVDs present real-life Catholic witness stories and insights on how to be an evangelizer in daily life
Scripture and prayer offer a rich spiritual foundation
Recommended action steps encourage living and reaching out as Christ’s missionary disciples.

RENEW International trains a dedicated team of lay leaders to invite parishioners and foster small groups.

Training and leader guides provide step-by-step direction
Downloadable publicity resources support the rollout
Available in English and Spanish

Experience

The Church calls us to transform our parishes into “centers of constant missionary outreach,” sending disciples to carry the Gospel to the margins of society through witness and through acts of charity, justice, and mercy.

A mission-directed parish—whether it is large or small, rich or poor, urban or rural— has three characteristics:

A vision that focuses on evangelization as the parish’s chief purpose
An intentional process for identifying and responding to the needs of the community and the world beyond
Many missionary disciples who enthusiastically embrace this vision and participate as partners in this process.

Through the experience of Be My Witness, staff, leaders, and parishioners become more open to using their personal gifts to build a mission-directed culture in the parish and beyond—an environment in which the evangelizing spirit is the energy behind every parish activity. This type of parish is recognized as a beacon of hope for everyone within its reach who has spiritual or material needs.

We at RENEW International are ready to assist you in this endeavor.

Program Resources

Learning Modules

Commitment and knowledge grow as parish staff and lay leaders explore and plan for Catholic evangelization.

Learning sessions include some or all of these elements:

Meeting agenda and guide
Short topical videos
Prayer experiences
Team activities
Discussion and planning tools

Participant Resources

Drawing from the rich insights of evangelization presented in The Joy of the Gospel, these resources engage participants in gaining a full vision of missionary discipleship and moving to empowered action.

The participant books and DVDs work together seamlessly to highlight the attitudes and behaviors of disciples.

Videos and reflections on the call to be evangelizers
Gospel passages depicting encounters with Christ
Questions to prompt discussion and faith sharing
Prayers and music suggestions for spiritually enriching experience
Action steps for living as a missionary disciples.

Witness Stories

An integral part of the Be My Witness faith-sharing experience, this video series is designed to encourage a culture of witness for the New Evangelization. Short, engaging videos present real-life stories of awakened faith and personal conversion. As participants watch these witnesses speak of faith, they become more comfortable sharing their own faith story with family and friends.

Ideal to share with parishioners, small communities, and parish ministries.

Please contact us to learn more about how the Be My Witness small-groups approach forms parishioners as disciples for evangelization.

Pastoral Support

Tap into RENEW International’s innovative learning approach and wealth of parish expertise. Our large, ever-growing knowledge base of best practices puts evangelization ideas at your fingertips.

Pastoral support is available in English and Spanish

Training delivered by RENEW’s experienced staff
Ongoing telephone and email consultation
Downloadable resources for publicity, invitation, and planning