A Change of Mind-- By Mary Grode

Newsletter-writing season is upon us, and my teammate Mary (pictured on the left with me below) decided to write an article in her newsletter about one aspect of our work here on campus, called barehanded evangelization. I thought it was a great article and a beautiful insight into what we do on campus and why we do it, so I wanted to share it on here. I hope you enjoy!! 

Mary and I posing on Sugar Loaf pinnacle rock in Winona

My Change of Mind 
Mary Grode, FOCUS Missionary at Winona State

One of my team’s weekly activities is called barehanded evangelization, as opposed to our main method of relational evangelization: teaching others about Jesus through friendships.  This means that we go out on campus with nothing but courage and the Holy Spirit to try to start conversations with students.  We ask them their opinions on matters of spirituality.  Our favorite question is, “Why do you think it’s so difficult for college students to take their faith seriously?” 

When FOCUS added this kind of evangelization to their set of tools, I was dubious.  I worried that people would be repelled by the crazy, pushy Catholics.  However, in a spirit of obedience, I set out on campus with my team last year and gave barehanded evangelization a try.  What I found surprised me.  Students were more than willing to chat with us.  They loved giving their opinions and talking about themselves and their beliefs. Maybe because no one else cares enough to listen. When we talk to students, we keep the conversations flowing by challenging them to think about what they believe.  Is it really logical?  Does it satisfy the desires of their hearts? 

I found out that not just my mind but also my heart was changed by barehanded evangelization.  I learned that students are not repulsed by people who want to discuss religion; they actually enjoy the conversation.  I also found that I began to love people with Christ’s heart.  The faces in the Student Center weren’t just faces any more.  They were God’s sons and daughters who desperately needed their Father’s love.  I also became a more courageous missionary.  Difficult conversations with students in my Bible study became much easier. 

Mary with some of the students she's mentoring 

If this helped me grow, but didn’t help the students, it wouldn’t be worth doing.  However, several students have actually thanked us for talking to them.  One girl said that we made her see things in a totally new way.  Additionally, I met Gabey on campus a few weeks ago.  She was thrilled to meet us and has now joined my Bible study. 

This method of evangelization has also reaffirmed the need for FOCUS.  After two years of talking to students, I have assembled a general profile of some of the students we meet.  I want to share this with you to unite you more closely to our mission. 

Most students we talk to on campus believe in God.  Some of these attend Church on a regular basis and many say they pray daily or at least when life gets rough.  Most of the students who believe in God emphasize their individual relationship with Him.  They have not found a church that satisfies their personal needs.  What they really mean is that they want to form God to their own image and likeness, rather than form themselves to Him.  They are left empty by the god they have created who is no bigger than they are and cannot fill them.  Their lives have no purpose because there is nothing greater than themselves.  They hide from their misery behind their school books, relationships, and Facebook.  They have made a false god for themselves because they don’t realize that they have a Father who loves them and a Brother who died on the cross to save them from their sins.  A God who freely created them in a plan of sheer goodness to share in His own blessed life (CCC 1).  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” John 3:16.  Our mission is to bring this Good News to the college campus and to the world.