How to be a Missionary From Your Living Room

Most of us will never go to a foreign land to spread the gospel. We just don’t have the support to drop everything and travel half-way around the world. We put our money in the basket at the second collection on World Missions Sunday but we never see where that money is going. We never see the people who are helped by our donation. We hear about evangelization and missionary work and we think, “I could never do that.”

But there are ways that you can be a missionary from your living room couch. When we think of missionary work, many of us think of people in a third world country. But oftentimes it is the people in our own lives, the rich people of the first world, and those who are completely wired to the internet, who need the word of God the most. Here are just a few suggestions:

1) Join an online discussion board.

One of my favorites is the forum on Catholic Answers. Joining a board gives you the opportunity to share what you know and learn from others. I would advise that you take what others say with a grain of salt, though. Some weird people prowl discussion boards. If you have any doubts at all about what you’re reading, do the research yourself. You will learn something either way.

2) Share religious stuff on social media.

On one of my Facebook groups, I share pictures and facts about Dominican saints and blesseds. It doesn’t take a lot to share uplifting spiritual materials on social media. Often, it only takes hitting the “Share” button on something your friends already have. Or, when you find a blog or an article that you like online, you can share that too. You might get rude comments from people online, but words are only words. I know, it has taken me a long time to teach myself not to take online comments personally. They can hurt, they do hurt, but in the end of the day, they are only words on a webpage. And they say a lot more about their author than they do about you.

3) Blog.

The Catholic blogosphere is pretty massive with bloggers from every edge and corner of the Body of Christ. There are mothers with no theological degree talking about sharing their faith with their kids. There are intellectuals with STDs talking about the latest speech the Pope has made. There are priests sharing their homilies. There is always room for more and there is always a place for you. Who knows when someone does a Google search on something related to the Catholic Church and runs across your work?

4) Be open to talking about faith with people you see everyday.

When evangelizing to people, sometimes the most important thing is that you have a personal relationship with them. You know where they are at spiritually. You know what is going on in their life. No one is more qualified than you are to tell them exactly what God wants them to hear. All you need to do is trust yourself and open yourself up to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will tell you what to do, as Jesus tells his followers in the Gospel of Luke (12:11-12):

When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.

You might feel like you’re being dragged in front of judges, but nurture your relationship with God through prayer and trust that the Holy Spirit will not let you down. Even you can be a missionary without traveling out of the country.