by PETER GRACE
AUCKLAND — How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
That was the analogy United States Catholic digital media and evangelising couple Greg and Jennifer Willits used when talking about the New Evangelisation to parish workers and diocesan staff in Auckland on August 25.

Mr Willits works for the diocese of Denver which, he said, has 140 parishes. He spoke about using ditital media to evangelise. He asked his audience how they feel when they think about what digital solutions they want, and contrast that with where they are now. It can seem
impossible, he said. But it’s not.
He has written two books, and they were written one word, one paragraph, one page at a time. Achieving anything that seems difficult can be looked at the same way. Take one step at a time. And that applies to evangelisation.
“There’s primary versus secondary evangelisation,” Mr Willits said. “Primary is going out to the world and bringing Jesus to those who don’t know him.
“The secondary evangelisation is not a new message. It’s the same message. What’s new about it is going out into the world and re-evangelising our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters … but it must start with you.”
That can mean overcoming fear.
He likes to fish, Mr Willits said, and he has a brother who lives near the coast. Sometimes he’ll phone and say that a certain fish will be running.
“Then I have to ask Jennifer for permission to go.” After organising his gear, he has to gas up the car before he can drive 300 miles to his brother’s home.
“Then we remember I have to get a fishing licence, so we go downtown and do that.” And they have to buy the beer.
Finally they get the boat to water, launch it and go out. The make cast after cast and catch nothing!
The point though, he said, is that “if you don’t get in the boat you’ll never catch anything”.
There are more than 300 passages in the Bible about overcoming fear. “Obviously God wants us not to be afraid.”
So the New Evangelisation is not about talking the talk, its about walking the walk.
“It’s new methods and new enthusiasm. It’s the new, plus the tried and true — that comes from you.”
There are three keys to the New Evangelisation: Know the Faith, Live the Faith, Share the Faith.
However, he said, if you know the faith and live the faith, but don’t share it, it’s a
selfish faith.
“If you live the faith and share the faith, but don’t know it, you could be sharing something wrong. You could be overlooking the gorgeousness of the faith.
“If you know the faith and share the faith, but don’t live it, then you are just a hypocrite.
“It will not work unless you are doing all three.”
So the New Evangelisation means taking one bite at a time. “If you aren’t doing anything now, start off doing something little. Maybe say one Hail Mary a day for a week, then say one decade of the Rosary a day for a week … build up slowly.”
Pope Benedict XVI said: “Every believer is called to the challenge of the New Evangelisation.”
Greg Willits says, “Are you going to pick up the phone, or are you going to let it go
to voicemail”?