Sharing our faith and spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ is at the very heart of our mission as Church. In this section of the website, you will find tools and resources to help you gain confidence in knowing when and how you can share your faith with others.
The term ‘Evangelisation’ is a Greek verb that means ‘to bring the good news to others’ for further details on what we mean by Good News see the section below.
The Good News is the news we need to hear every day of our lives.
There are many words used in Church circles that we might not be familiar with. A key one is ‘Kerygma’ which is a Greek word for ‘proclamation’. The Kerygma is the key teaching that we are to proclaim to others. It consists of the following Good News:
Providing confidence to Catholics to be witnesses of the Good News.
The Church community gathers together to profess their faith through the Creed. This is a summary of what Catholics believe.
For many people faith is very personal. The links below aim to provide resources to help people move from the more formal profession of Faith in church to a more informal sharing in a more conversational style.
They also serve as a reminder that we are always witnessing through our actions at home, in our neighbourhoods, in our workplaces and with our friends.
Landings is a series of relaxed, informal, lay-led meetings, based on faith-sharing within a small group, that offer a safe and supported “landing place” for Catholics who have been away from the Church and are thinking about coming back.
Landings offers Catholics wanting to reconnect a supportive community within which they can ask questions, discuss issues, deal with difficulties; an opportunity to be with other, ordinary Catholics who are trying to live their faith; and a safe environment in which to come to terms with recent changes within the Church and themselves.
Landings offers already active Catholics an opportunity to share their faith; to participate in the Church’s mission to welcome those who have been away; and a chance to grow and learn from each others’ spiritual journeys.
Landings offers Catholic parishes and communities a simple process for reaching out and supporting Catholics who have been away from the Church or who struggle in their relationship with God and the Church. Landings is usually parish-based and led by lay people within the parish community.
Conversations with Christians are one of the most important influences in bringing people to faith.
The Talking Jesus course will inspire you to share your faith and will give you practical suggestions to help you to be natural and relevant as you talk about Jesus with the people you meet.
There are six encouraging, video-based sessions with short films, inspirational, short testimonies, real-life examples from people who are talking Jesus, and a short, easy-to-follow course book.
The Kerygma Project is a way of helping Catholics live out their God-given call to take part in the evangelistic mission of the Church.
It aspires to form, train, empower and build up evangelised and evangelising communities and individuals.
The Project is being developed by Andrew Brookes OP. Various activities are currently available.
Join the conversation.
What do you think are the best practical ways to share the Gospel with people outside our churches? We do this both through words and actions with the ultimate aim of bringing people into the Church. However, in the first instance, we may just be trying to connect with people and let them know they can trust us. On the other hand, we may also be trying to encourage spiritual curiosity and openness.
If you are a practicing Catholic who is interested in evangelisation you may wish to join this conversation. The aim is to identify the best approaches to evangelisation for subsequent promotion in the diocese. To excite people about the possibilities for evangelisation and to generate new insights.
What are the best practical things parishes and individuals can do to interest people in Christianity?
Recent suggestions from these conversations have been:
Nightfever is an international youth led movement to organise evenings of evangelisation.
At its simplest it is the opening of our churches for Adoration in candlelight, with Catholics going into the streets to invite people in to pray.
In our diocese these events have run under the title of ‘Reach out’. There are planning templates and experienced hands willing to share their experiences.
Many Catholics do not regularly attend Mass and are not part of a worshipping community. The Welcome Home Campaign aims to reach out to the members of the fold who are missing from our pews.
A welcome home campaign is a simple invitation for those that are lapsed to return. A parish would organise a specific Mass on a particular weekend as the welcome back celebration and would think practically about how to make people feel welcomed. In addition, they may produce invite postcards for people to give out or share among their friends as a conversation starter.
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. “
CHARIS aims to serve and create communion between all the realities existing in Catholic Charismatic Renewal for the good of the entire Church and the proclamation of the Gospel in the world. The work of the Charismatic Diocesan Service of Communion (CDSC) in Hexham and Newcastle Diocese is centred on the following shared objectives based on 3 key priorities given to CHARIS by Pope Francis:
In this part of the website find the most up to date information on initiatives that are happening in the next few months. This includes Evangelii Gaudium Sunday, formerly known as ‘Home Mission Sunday’, which is celebrated every September and ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ which takes place every May/June.
Evangelii Gaudium Sunday:
The Third Sunday in September, formerly called Home Mission Sunday, is now Evangelii Gaudium Sunday. Named after Pope Francis’ first (solo) Apostolic Exhortation on the Joy of the Gospel, the day offers the Catholic community in England and Wales the opportunity to be joyous in proclaiming the faith – seeking new ways of understanding the faith and reaching out to others.
For more information, please visit our Evangelii Gaudium Sunday Page here.
Thy Kingdom Come:
Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray for more people to come to know Jesus. What started in 2016 as an invitation from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to the Church of England has grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer.
Find out more about ‘Thy Kingdom Come’.
Mission Made Possible
It is totally possible to have conversations with people that give life and help them to come closer to Jesus.
Mission Made Possible helps you to do just that.
World Day of Prayer
This is an annual occasion which takes place on the first Friday of March. It is ‘a women led, global, ecumenical movement’ and unites people in a worldwide circle of prayer through a service which celebrates fellowship, prayer and understanding of various races, cultures and traditions. Each year focuses on a different country and theme and sets out to promote the movement’s motto ‘Informed Prayer; Prayerful Action’.
To find out more about World Day of Prayer, please visit the World Day Of Prayer website.
Take a step of faith
Is the thought of sharing your faith just too scary? Do you wish you could help your family, friends and others to come to know Jesus, but you just don’t know where to start? Are you thinking; ‘that’s not for me, I could never do that’? Well, you are not alone. You are invited to become missionary and deepen your journey of discipleship from home. The Diocese of Plymouth’s online course will help you to have conversations about faith. Conversations with friends, family or in daily life that don’t make anyone else feel awkward but could be life changing.
Find out more about Genesis Mission and how God is helping people to become missionary disciples.
How to contact the Vicariate for Faith & Mission:
Email: adminfaith.mission@diocesehn.org.uk
Tel: 0191 243 3316 (office*) or 07375 934713 (mobile)
*Your call may be automatically diverted to the mobile number.
Admin office hours:
Monday to Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm, excluding Bank Holidays.
To see a full list of Vicariate contacts and leads, please visit our Faith & Mission page.
