Live it first. That’s the short answer. But there’s more to say about how we Orthodox think about sharing our faith, because it’s different from what most folks around here grew up with.
If you came from a Baptist or non-denominational background, you probably learned evangelism meant knocking on doors with a tract or inviting people to hear the gospel so they could make a decision for Christ. That’s not quite how we do it. We don’t have altar calls. We’re not trying to get people to pray a sinner’s prayer. We’re inviting them into something much bigger and older, the life of the Church that Christ founded, where we’re healed and transformed over a lifetime.
The Antiochian Archdiocese has been thinking about this for decades. We’ve got a whole Department of Missions and Evangelism, and they put it simply: witnessing is sharing the good news of what God has done in your own life. Not a sales pitch. Not a theological argument you’ve got to win. Just your story.
What Makes Orthodox Evangelism Different
We believe evangelism can’t be separated from the Church’s sacramental life. You can’t preach the gospel and then disconnect it from baptism, chrismation, and the Eucharist. Word and Sacrament go together. When Christ told the apostles to make disciples of all nations, He didn’t just mean tell them about Me, He meant baptize them, teach them, bring them into the Body. That’s why we don’t do “just believe” evangelism. We’re not offering fire insurance. We’re offering union with God.
This matters in Southeast Texas, where your coworkers at the plant and your cousins at Thanksgiving dinner think of Christianity as something you decide to do one Sunday morning. They might ask if you’re saved, and when you say “I’m being saved,” they’ll look at you funny. That’s your opening. Explain that salvation isn’t a transaction. It’s healing. It’s becoming who God made us to be. It takes a lifetime, and it happens in the Church through prayer, fasting, confession, and communion.
The Antiochian tradition has something else going for it. We’re not tied to any one ethnicity. Some Orthodox churches in America started as immigrant communities and stayed that way for generations. Antioch has always been more open. The Patriarchate of Antioch is in the Middle East, but we’ve been actively evangelizing converts in North America since the early days. Metropolitan Philip pushed hard for this. He knew we couldn’t just serve people whose grandparents came from Syria or Lebanon. We had to preach Christ to everyone.
How to Actually Do It
Start with your life. Are you patient with the guy at Walmart who’s moving too slow? Do you forgive your spouse when they forget something important? Do you fast when the Church asks, even when there’s brisket at the office lunch? Your neighbors will notice that before they notice your icon corner.
St. Seraphim of Sarov said, “Acquire the Spirit of peace, and a thousand souls around you will be saved.” He wasn’t exaggerating. When you’re at peace, not anxious, not angry, not grasping for control, people see it. They want what you have. That’s when they ask questions.
And when they do ask, tell them. Invite them to Vespers. Bring them to a feast day. Let them see the liturgy, smell the incense, venerate an icon. Orthodoxy isn’t something you can explain in a parking lot conversation. It has to be experienced. The services do half the work for you.
Don’t be pushy. Southerners are polite, but they can smell a hard sell a mile away. You’re not trying to close a deal. You’re introducing someone to a Person, actually, three Persons, and to His Body, the Church. That takes time. Some people visit for years before they’re ready to become catechumens. That’s fine. The Church has been here for two thousand years. We’re not in a hurry.
One more thing. Don’t argue. If your neighbor wants to debate whether we worship Mary or why we have all those “rituals,” you can answer briefly and kindly. But most people don’t argue their way into the Church. They’re loved into it. They see Christ in you, and they want more of that. Be patient. Pray for them. Invite them when it feels right. Let the Holy Spirit do the heavy lifting.
The bishops of North America, including our Antiochian leaders, have said we’re all called to this work, bishops, priests, and laypeople together. You don’t need a seminary degree. You just need to know what God’s done for you and be willing to share it when the moment comes. In a place like Beaumont, where most people think they already know what Christianity is, showing them something ancient and beautiful and true might be the best gift you ever give.
