The Great Commission: Models of Evangelization in American Catholicism (review)

Timothy E. Byerley is a priest in the Diocese of Camden and the pastor of St. John Vianney Church in Deptford, New Jersey. His exploration of models of evangelization is enriched not only by his local parish experience but also as cofounder and director of the diocese’s Collegium Center for Faith and Culture, which applies the models he describes to Catholic evangelization projects. Byerley is both a theoretician and a practitioner, basing his book on his doctoral dissertation at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Religion. The late Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J., provides the foreword, in which he commends the author for providing “a solid biblical basis” to the models he identifies and illustrating each with “interesting examples from our own national history, with which most American Catholics are all too unfamiliar” (p. xii).

The Catholic Church in America, in common with most historic denominations, struggles with the challenge of evangelism, as a series of scandals surrounding some television evangelists have affected the perception of evangelism. Second, evangelization in North America has been too closely identified with revivalism, emphasizing the task of bringing individuals to a decision while neglecting the duty to lead them into Christ’s lifelong school of discipleship. Without a subsequent change in direction and life transformation, church members lack both credibility and motivation. Third, there is the spiritual abdication of laypeople, believing that it is the task of the clergy to do the work of the evangelist. Byerley, in the course of his book, addresses these issues, which have resulted in The Great Commission becoming The Great Omission in so many congregations.

Six biblical models are presented with examples from American church history, analyzed, and applied to the contemporary situation: (1) The St. Stephen model, which is based on the saint’s example of Christian witness and its power to lead people to Christ; (2) the Jerusalem model, which deals with the role of the sacred liturgy in evangelization; (3) the Proclamation model, which focuses on the preaching of the Word and is inspired by the example of St. Peter; (4) the Fraternity model, which examines the role of community in the propagation of the Faith and is drawn from Christ’s selection and commission of the apostles; (5) the Areopagus model, inspired by St. Paul in Acts 17:16–34 and focuses on the infusion of Christianity into society; and (6) the Loaves and Fishes model, which examines Christian charity as practiced by Christ’s followers and its effects on evangelization.

This concise text provides an excellent study guide for use in the training of priests, in the composition of sermons, and in studies for congregational use. The models are complementary, providing a variety of avenues for the congregation as a whole to become involved in the Great Commission, which Christ gave to his disciples and continues to challenge all of us.