How many people should the Average Catholic convert?

The Gospel of Matthew ends with Jesus proclaiming, “Baptize the Nations.” The beginning of Acts had over 3000 people willing to be Baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Notable Saints have assisted with conversions as well. Saint Ignatius, Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint John Bosco, Saint Philip Nerie, and so many more have led movement after movement to evangelize the world. Missionaries, such as Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius, have brought the Word of Christ to those who didn’t even share the same language. What should the Average Catholic do?

These success stories may be inspirational and critical to the mission of the Church, but they also seem foreign to the average Catholic. Most Catholics do not plan on entering missionary territories. There are Catholic programs such as Seek and Echo with that very premise, but they are not pervasive in the American Catholic culture. How is the Average Catholic meant to follow the Great Commission at the end of Matthew? We are lucky to catch our neighbors unloading their groceries. How are we going to bring up controversial topics such as morality and death?

Let us decide on an appropriate number to convert for the Average Catholic. We will start broad to ridiculous proportions and whittle it down to a more reasonable number; dare I say average. Well, let us start off big: Every person God intends on bringing into existence. This number is still being counted and will not stop growing until the end times. At some point, God will decide all humans have been brought into existence and the Last judgement will occur and we shall live all eternity with God in the after life, whether we want to or not, during the Resurrection of the Body. But the highest estimate I found of the number of every human being that have ever existed since the very first human emerged is 117 billion.

Don’t worry. The Average Catholic is not responsible for converting 117 billion. Let us put some restrictions on the number. Of course, all mortal humans have a limited time on Earth before their death. The psalms 90 says, “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures.” The oldest person in the bible was Methuselah who allegedly lived to be 969. I’m not sure about the reader, but I do not intend on living almost a Millenia. The average age of death in the United States is 77 years old which matches well with the psalms! Let us say 80 then. The Average Catholic has, God willing, about 80 years to convert those around them.

A second restriction we will put on is simply the practicality of reaching people. The guiding principle is that you can go broad, but shallow or deep, but narrow. The evangelists of the day, such as Fr. Mike Schmidt and Bishop Barron, are able to reach a very broad number of people but with an asynchronous approach. The Average Catholic would not have access to such a large audience. Some may have a humble blog (Please like and follow 😉 ), but most will not have a significant investment in evangelization. Thus, we are limited with those who we interact with in our daily life.

So far, we have 80 years to encounter people in our lives. The United States have small towns of less than 1000 people, but also some of the biggest cities in the World. Therefore, the average Catholic would be limited by their city and how they interact with the world around them. We may live in a city like New York City, but we only interact with barely fifty people in a single day. Some people may never leave their house and only interact with those they work with or live with. Still, the Average Catholic is obligated to evangelize those people in our lives; our neighbors as Jesus called them.

[Jesus says,] “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Luke 10:36-37

The Average Catholic will by necessity default to the deep and narrow approach. We will have grace filled moments throughout our life. We will encounter someone or they will encounter us, and that encounter will usher in a new acceptance of the Holy Spirit working in our life. What is conversion but a renewal of love towards God and His Creation? It is the personal encounter which triggers conversion more so than any video or book. We have a Personal God who made us in His image and we need to be personal as well.

We may not encounter 117 billion people, but the few that we do encounter will have eternal consequences. These relationships may last a life time or they may last a bus ride. Perhaps, a brief elevator ride is the only role we will play in a person’s conversion. Maybe that one phrase we heard as a kid will be the final nail in a person’s conversion. Only in Heaven, will we discover how much an impact we have had with our lives. The crazy part of evangelization is how often the evangelist failed to realize that they were converting someone. I have heard stories and have my own stories of someone was inspired by an Average Catholic without the Catholic being aware of it. Praise the Lord that we are His instruments!

Our original question asked for a specific number of conversions the Average Catholic should make and we still haven’t picked one. It may be a relief to hear we can successfully convert someone by accident, but doesn’t that only make it difficult to pick a number? Can we honestly take credit for something that occurred serendipitously. I don’t believe so, but we are talking about other humans! Humans who are complicated and made for the infinite. They have Free Will and opinions and beliefs beyond our control. Even God cannot force a conversion. How could the Average Catholic possibly be held responsible for that?

I believe it is reasonable to only be responsible for the people that we have full control over. According to Catholic Church teaching, there is one person that the Average Catholic has full control over within reason; ourselves. We have Free Will and Intellect. We can discern the good and choose it or not choose it. We are responsible for our own actions and our own relationship with God. The Average Catholic must take responsibility for their relationship with God and get on their knees to keep it strong!

How many people is the Average Catholic responsible for converting? JUST ONE. We must convert ourselves and work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Why be concern with a twig in our neighbor’s eye when there is a log in our own eye! We must admit that we cannot control another person’s conversion, but what we can control is our own witness of the faith. The pinnacle of witnessing to the faith is martyrdom. As the saying goes, “the blood of the martyrs are the seeds of the Church.” God willing, our witness will inspire other’s to convert. The Average Catholic desires heaven and desire others to join them. Let us carry on my fellow pilgrims! Together, we shall go to the pearly gates!