Making Disciples: Share the Kerygma
- Tanner Kalina
- 5 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Part Six: To accompany others, we must share the Good News, the Gospel, the saving message of Jesus Christ.
Editor's Note: This column is part of a yearlong series on evangelization, breaking down what often feels like a tall order into real, practical, actionable steps towards intentional accompaniment.
When I was an actor in Hollywood, I worked my tail off. A lot of people think actors just show up and have fun. Not the case.
I had to read mountains of scripts. Over and over. And then I had to memorize pages of lines. Over and over. And then I had to rehearse those lines. Over and over. And then I had to show up, with the pressure on, and perform those lines. Over and over.
But first things were first. Whenever I received an audition for a film or TV show, I had to read the script to familiarize myself with the overall story.
Even if I was auditioning for a small, side character in just one scene, I had to read the full script. Over and over.
I had to know the complete story inside and out in order to play my character well, because my one scene was informed by all the other scenes coming before and after it. That individual scene wasn’t a standalone reality — it was a part of the reality of a much broader narrative, and knowing that narrative informed how my one scene should be played. I wouldn’t dare show up to an audition only knowing my lines, because I’d inevitably say those lines out of context — or even out of genre.
In a similar way, disciples of Christ must know the narrative that they inhabit.
We must be so familiar with that narrative that it informs every decision we make.
We cannot view our existence as a standalone reality, but as the necessary part of a greater whole that it is.
The Scottish-American philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre once wrote, “I can only answer the question ‘What am I to do?’ if I can answer the prior question ‘Of what story or stories do I find myself a part?’”
The Christian narrative gives us the context for living our daily lives as disciples. That narrative matters.
When you notice the person you’re intentionally accompanying becoming aware of their religious sense, it's prime time to share the kerygma with them.
The kerygma is the initial and essential proclamation of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. It’s the story of our faith, the narrative of reality that we all inhabit. Colloquially speaking, it’s the Good News.
There are different formulas dioceses or apostolates use to share the kerygma, but the core elements are always the same:
We were created for an intimate relationship with God
We rebelled against God and were captured in slavery under a different power
Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, came to rescue us from that power, restoring our relationship with God
He asks us to repent and take on his mind — to see the world as it really is
We do this through Baptism and receiving his Holy Spirit, and by abiding in the Church he established
From this new life, he calls us to go and make disciples, bringing others into right relationship with God
Our response is required: to either make Christ the center of our lives or not
This is the kerygma. As disciples of Christ, we must know this story. We must be so familiar with it that we can share it in 30 seconds or 30 minutes — and anywhere in between.
And we must share it with the person we’re intentionally accompanying.
Sharing the kerygma with that person gives them the story of our faith so that they can play their part. It’s a necessary and pivotal moment in our intentional accompaniment.
Pope St. Paul VI famously wrote in his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi, “There is no true evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the Kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, are not proclaimed” (22).
In other words, our work in intentionally accompanying someone is incomplete without intentionally sharing the kerygma.
There comes a point when you need to sit down with the person you’re accompanying and blatantly share the Gospel with them, using your words. This can admittedly feel clunky, especially if you’ve never done this before, but it’s a crucial moment that you cannot skip. As St. Paul writes to the church in Rome, “But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?” (Romans 10:14).
You can enter into this moment by saying something along the lines of, “Can I share with you a message that has changed my life?” or “Would it be ok with you if I shared the work of Jesus?”
And if the person you’re accompanying says “Yes,” then share! Using your words!
You don’t need to be an articulate preacher. You don’t need to say everything perfectly. You simply need to trust the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit moves when the Gospel is proclaimed. Something happens when the good news of Jesus Christ is announced, and that something is not of your own doing.
Our big temptation is to assume that the person we’re intentionally accompanying is familiar with the kerygma, especially if we’ve been having intentional, spiritual conversations with them. “They’ve heard all of this at some point. They’re good.”
But even if they’ve heard all the pieces of the kerygma before, they need to hear those pieces put together. We can’t assume someone will coherently piece everything together and randomly aspire to become a disciple of Christ. We wouldn’t recount random snippets from our favorite book to someone over multiple conversations, summarizing a chapter here and a chapter there, and then say, “Ah, they know this book. They’re good.” Yet, this is exactly what we’re tempted to do with the life-giving message of the Gospel!
We’re conditioned to keep from rocking any boats, so we must actively work against our impulse to remain silent.
As we work toward leading the person we’re intentionally accompanying into an encounter with Christ, sharing the Gospel with them is essential to fostering that encounter. Or as Pope St. Paul VI wrote: “They have to be regenerated by an encounter with the Gospel. But this encounter will not take place if the Gospel is not proclaimed” (EN 20).
Even if someone has definitely heard the Gospel before, the Good News is something we can never hear enough of. Again, something happens when the Gospel is proclaimed.
We must be reminded of it. Over and over.
And once you’ve shared the kerygma with the person(s) you’re intentionally accompanying, a response is required on their part. Asking them something along the lines of “Are you willing to make Jesus the center of your life?” or “Do you want to commit to growing as a disciple of Christ?” helps facilitate this response.
It’s important to offer this for two reasons: 1) A moment of vocally committing to Christ deepens one’s inner commitment to him. 2) If the person you’re accompanying isn’t ready for this commitment, then you can understand why and how to serve them better going forward.
If they respond with a desire to make Christ the center of their lives, then congratulations (!), you get to enter the fun part of making disciples. This marks an official transition into a more formal period of intentional accompaniment. More on that in my next column.
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Making Disciples is an ambitious, yearlong series of columns meant to equip readers with the formation, both theological and practical, to go and make disciples as Jesus himself commanded in Matthew 28. Through these columns, we hope Denver Catholic readers will join us in preaching the Gospel, so that in Jesus Christ all might be rescued and have abundant life, for the glory of the Father.
