When the resurrected Christ encounters two of his disciples discussing his crucifixion as they walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-35), three things happen.

First, Christ asks what they’re discussing, then listens to their story.

Next, when they’re done speaking, he teaches them all that Scripture revealed about him.

Last, once the disciples recognize Christ in the breaking of the bread, their burning hearts send them out to share the good news.

Listen. Teach. Send.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) adopted this approach in their 2024 document “Listen Teach Send: A National Framework for Ministries with Youth and Young Adults.”

The same three words provide “a methodology for evangelization” not just of youth and young adults but for those of all ages, said Paul Jarzembowski.

He shared these thoughts with The Criterion during a USCCB-sponsored workshop on “Listen Teach Send” at Marian University in Indianapolis on April 7-8. The document was created by the USCCB’s Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, for which Jarzembowski serves as associate director for laity.

Each of the three words is a section in the document, and each section has four parts.

“Listening can take place in a sense of encounter, presence, understanding and healing,” Jarzembowski explained in the workshop. “Teaching is about proclamation, catechesis, sharing the truth in love and renewing sacramental life,” and the person is then sent “to be a bold witness, to work with charity and justice, to discern their vocation and to be faithful protagonists today.”

He later shared with The Criterion how these concepts also apply to evangelization.

“If you just kind of share your story or proclaim Christ but you don’t know how it can fit into that person’s life because you haven’t listened—you haven’t encountered their realities, you haven’t heard some of the things that need to be healed—then it could potentially go nowhere,” said Jarzembowski.

“But the other part of the methodology is the sending, that it isn’t just, ‘Well, I’m just going to share this with you and have a nice day,’ but that the end goal of evangelization is ultimately that we want a person to take ownership of that faith, to be a protagonist of their faith, to discern where God is calling them. It’s not just to get them in the pew, but it’s rather to inspire them to lead a life of discipleship.”

Rachel Gilman, archdiocesan director of youth ministry, agreed with Jarzembowski that the listen-teach-send approach to youth and young adult ministry is applicable for evangelizing those of any age.

“The section on listening, I think, really gets into the heart of evangelization, of starting at that point of listening to the [person’s] stories,” she said. “Before we can even teach them about Christ, we have to let them know that we are here and that we listen, and we value their lived experience, and that we give them a place where they can share and ask questions without judgment.”

As questions arise, the process flows naturally into teaching, Gilman said.

“It wouldn’t necessarily be like, just hunker down and teach the faith,” she explained. “It’s more about using the experiences they’ve had but then continually walking with them and leading them to Christ.

“If we look at the road to Emmaus story, Jesus at some point does break open the Scriptures with them. But he doesn’t just say, like, ‘What are you doing? Let’s read Scripture.’ He converses with them first, gets to know their story, what they’re struggling with, and then says, ‘Hey, your answers are here in Scripture. Let me break it open to you.’ ”

Evangelization isn’t complete without sending, Gilman continued.

“If we’re listening to them and we’re teaching them, but we’re not asking them to also engage in evangelization themselves, then we’re missing the boat on the whole story of what Christ wants us to do,” she said.

“The sending really gets into, like, how do we empower [them] to then be evangelizers themselves, to use all that they have learned in their own accompaniment and then go do that same process with a peer or a family member, maybe who has fallen away from the faith.”

Jarzembowski emphasized multiple times during the workshop that youth and young adult ministry is not a program to be conducted by one or a few people. His explanation holds true for evangelization.

“It’s also the parents,” he said. “It’s also the families. It’s also the parishioners. Because it’s not a program or a process. It’s a journey. It’s an experience. It’s a walking-with.

“It’s accompaniment—and each [person] deserves no less than to be accompanied.”
 

(For more information on the “Listen Teach Send” document or to download or order a copy in English or Spanish, go to www.usccb.org/listen-teach-send.) †

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