Raising Young Evangelizers

A Special Invitation 

My son loves to altar serve. He started doing it as soon as he received his first Communion, and now that he’s been doing it for almost two years, he’s begun training some of his younger friends. He started off by serving just daily Masses, where a kindly teenage server taught him a new task each week until he had learned to do everything from holding the hand towel to ringing the bells. Now, he’s begun doing the same for his friends as they’ve all reached the age to begin altar server training.  

Back when he first started his training, he loved it when he could see his friends sitting in the pews. He was always excited when his friends attended the Masses that he was serving, and after one of his first Sunday Masses, one of his friends approached him afterward to tell him what a good job he had done. When asked how he had learned to serve, my son told his friend that he had someone teaching him during daily Masses, which are generally shorter and have less pomp and circumstance than Sunday liturgies. And then, without missing a beat, my son invited his friend to attend daily Mass with him.  

Of course, it’s not easy for a 7-year-old to get to Mass, but luckily, my son’s friend asked his mom and she made it happen for them. As I’ve learned over the years, it’s hard to tell your child "no" when they ask to go to Mass, especially when your only excuse is that you’d like to sleep later. My son decided that he wanted to serve Mass whenever he could for Lent last year, and since he couldn't drive or walk to church by himself, his Lenten penance became mine. It was good for both of us, but that didn’t make it any easier to wake up early. 

Encouraging Our Young Evangelizers  

Kids make wonderful evangelizers. They are passionate about what they believe in. When my son received his First Communion, he wanted everyone to know. When he learned about the difference between mortal and venial sin, he needed his little sister to know when he thought she had sinned (He also told her that she’d be forgiven if she said she was sorry.). My son and his friends have had pretty amazing conversations about God. Kids who love Jesus often love talking about Him.  

Kids are also not afraid to tell the truth. My kids love to call each other out when they make bad decisions. Sometimes, that honesty extends beyond the immediate family. They see it as a service to the other person, helping them to live better lives more in line with Christ’s teachings. Many kids won’t hesitate to recognize and call out injustices when they see them.

My daughter recently gave my brother a ten-minute lecture on how important it is to go to church. If I had been the one to do it, I would have been shut down immediately, but when she did it, he sat quietly and let her talk. A child’s youthful innocence can make hard truths considerably more tolerable to swallow.  

Finally, kids handle rejection very well, especially when they are very confident that what they’re asking for is a good thing. My son has never been embarrassed when he’s invited someone to Mass or tried to explain some Catholic concept to someone. I’ve had to explain to him that sometimes it’s out of someone’s control whether or not they go to Mass, but it should never stop us from inviting them.

Softening Hardened Hearts

Some people are just waiting for an invitation. Some people are just waiting for a sign to say “yes.” Others might not be ready to accept the invitation, but they might set it aside to consider at a later time just because a child wasn’t afraid to ask. Kids seem to understand better that the worst thing that can happen is that they’re told “no,” and as any kid who has asked for a cookie knows, every “no” is just an opportunity for a future “yes.”  

Kids make wonderful evangelizers. With their innocence, naivety, and gentleness, they can reach places that most adults can only dream of. They’ve been known to soften hardened hearts and turn even the most willful adult back to God. As we work as evangelizers, bringing people to the Catholic Church, we can learn a lot from her youngest members.