CBB Review: Casting Nets

There have been a number of books released over the past few years on the topic of the new evangelization. Though evangelization is not really new, there has merely been a new emphasis placed on it, the techniques to succeed at evangelization can be. In Casting Nets: Grow Your Faith by Sharing Your Faith, Chris Stewart and Tony Brandt offer their insights and ideas on what methods work. It’s a great guide for those interested in sharing their faith with family and friends.

The book centers around Chris and Tony’s Casting Nets ministry. Spearheaded by their website castingnetsonline.com and their numerous talks given around the country they focus on what they call The Seven Pillars of Effective Evangelization. They are:

Pillar 1: Prayerful: Chris and Tony start in the beginning and that beginning is you. Prayer builds a strong foundation in one’s own life. Build that foundation before casting into the deep to bring others to Christ.

Pillar 2: Invitational: A simple invitation can make all the difference. That outreach to someone on the fence may be just enough to bring them to the Faith. “When it comes to evangelization we need to realize whose work it is. Evangelization is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is our job to invite and the Holy Spirit’s job to move hearts.”

Pillar 3: Hospitable – You know the old saying of honey draws bees better than vinegar? “If we practice an authentic hospitality that is honoring, humbling, and hyper-extensive, we can hop that strangers will be inspired to the Good News that Christ has waiting for them.”

Pillar 4: Inspirational: We should lead by example and how we live is the example we show. “Our words and our lives, our marriages and our families, our way of doing business and our way of playing, our parishes and our dioceses, all must be vivid signs in this world that we are called to live supernaturally. We are called to be saint.”

Pillar 5: Sacramental: The sacraments; Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist and Confession are the gifts that Christ and the Church has given us. We should be active partakers of them. We should also be excited to share these gifts with others.

Pillar 6: Formational: We must be willing to roll our sleeves up and teach or learn together as a group. Why not lead or become part of a Bible Study in your parish? “If we can match up our formal catechesis with some informal formation, then we will begin to produce disciples who are ready to be sent out on a mission to produce even more disciples like them.”

Pillar 7: Missionful: The call to be missionful requires us to go deeper into our faith. It requires us to practice the previous 6 pillars so that we can effectively help others. “Everyone is always somewhere in their spiritual journey whether they know it or not. Our calling to be missionful is to help them go deeper, to help get from “somewhere” to “someone” who is Jesus Christ.”

Casting Nets delivers a clear and concise plan of action for evangelization today. By following the simple and proven methods outlined in these seven pillars of evangelization, spreading ones faith just became a whole lot easier. Whether you are an individual looking to bring home a fallen away family member or friend or if you a parish leader looking for ways to draw in the lost, this book is a good starting point. Evangelization can be a daunting task. Do not let it be. Answer the call of our recent Popes and let Chris and Tony show you the way.

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