Florissant, MO, October 2, 2024—The Augustine Institute, through a new partnership with Sent Evangelization, introduces a way to evangelize that may be both unfamiliar and uncomfortable to Catholics: visiting door-to-door. The Sent method of evangelization trains and mobilizes laity to reach souls in the community who may be tough for Catholic pastors to reach. Based on baptismal identity and focused on charity, Sent enables parishes to fully understand their mission fulfilling the three mandates of the Great Commission: Sanctify, Teach, and Shepherd. Sent Evangelization Founder Austin Habash explains the method of knocking on doors (and hearts) in a seven-part course now available on Formed, the Augustine Institute’s on-demand streaming platform.
“Formed is widely known for providing quality video content that sanctifies and teaches,” says Habash. “Our complementary missions make Formed the perfect platform for Sent, and I’m honored to partner with the Augustine Institute to make it accessible to more parishes as we work together to share the love of God with those who live within our parish territories yet outside their physical walls.”
The idea for Sent was conceived in 2016 while Habash was a seminarian at the St. John Paul II Center for the New Evangelization in Denver. Using a whiteboard to sketch out the boundaries of the campus and the ratio of Catholics to overall homes, a visiting priest posed a tough question: “How can we reach the fallen away or disaffiliated?” Knocking on their doors seemed to be the simplest, most natural response.
Habash, along with Fr. Gabriel Sabado, of the Diocese of Phoenix, developed the Sent model that launched at four parishes prior to Covid. It is now being instituted at a new parish nearly every month. The unique team-based approach of Sent leans on the strengths and charisms of three individuals at a parish. It trains, equips, and accompanies them to serve as evangelists, intercessors, and supporters. Evangelists visit homes in the neighborhood to share the joy of the Gospel and offer their prayers as well as acts of service. Intercessors and supporters remain rooted at the parish chapel. Intercessors offer prayers for the work of the evangelists, while supporters facilitate actionable follow-up, whether scheduling a volunteer crew to pull weeds, take down Christmas lights, or assemble a gift basket of baked goods or sundries.
“Knocking on a stranger’s door initially invokes feelings of dread and fear of the unknown, but we have many heartwarming testimonials from Sent teams across the country that have forged lifelong relationships with people they never would’ve met otherwise– people behind closed doors who were lonely, hurting, or seeking truth. The best stories are of those who’ve been inspired to return to Mass or attend Mass for the first time,” said Habash.
These stories and much more are shared in the seven-part series now streaming on Formed. Hosted by Habash, the Sent series covers what neighborhood evangelization is, the components of a conversation at the door, the elements of a parish door-to-door team, how to build and launch a door-to-door team, how to accompany the neighborhood over time, and what happens after neighborhood evangelization.
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