Love - Loving Catholicism

Loving Evangelization: Sharing the Good News with Friends

In my last post, 5 Tips for Effective Evangelization, I shared strategies I’ve learned over the years of my efforts to evangelize other people. One of those tips is to lean on your story. To illustrate the power of that strategy, I’m going to share with you a story.

Signing Up to Serve

The story begins in July of 2022 when I signed up to volunteer at St. Ann’s parish in Coppell, Texas during a Diocesan Conference. I didn’t expect anything more than that I would do a few hours work and then return home.

After my time of service finished, they offered evening Mass. I decided to attend. What happened next changed my life.

Receiving an Anointing of the Holy Spirit

Dr. Mary Healy spoke before Mass and stated that, “Before every new level of ministry, you need a new anointing.”

She and her team, which included a priest, then proceeded to call down the Holy Spirit on the crowd and to anoint us all that we might go out and spread the Good News to all the world. Before that day, I loved my faith, but when it came time to share the Good News, I approached it with hesitation.

I didn’t want to start fights or damage relationships. I’d gotten quite used to going along to get along.On August 1^st, I gathered up every ounce of courage I possessed and recorded a video entitled, “Abundance Is Your Birthright,” in which I shared what God taught me about abundance:

If you’re not receiving in abundance, it’s not because God doesn’t provide abundance for you. It’s because there’s something blocking the mechanisms that He designed to bring abundance to you and deliver abundance through you.

Evangelization: Daring to Share

It took a lot of courage for me to do what I did next, but I’m so grateful I did. I started sending that little video to select people on my email list. Among the list of people I selected to send it to, one of those was Joylynn M. Ross, the CEO and founder of Path To Publishing.

She also happened to be a business colleague of mine. I knew from many conversations that she believed in Christ but I also knew she wasn’t Catholic. I didn’t know how she’d receive what I sent to her. Would I anger her? Would she reject me?

With trembling fingers, I typed in this email, copied the link to the YouTube video I created, and hit the send button.

“I know that right now there are so many people worried about their money, about food shortages, and about their future.

That’s why I put together this short, five-minute video sharing a story from my own past. At a moment when I didn’t have the money for rent, I was facing eviction, and I didn’t know where we would go if the money didn’t turn up, I turned to God for help.

He didn’t send me money, but the message He sent me is worth sharing:

“Abundance is your birthright!”

If you don’t have access to all that you need and then some, it’s not because He doesn’t want you to have it. It’s because something is wrong with the system that brings abundance to you.

If you are looking for hope, if you need reassurance, if you’re worried about the future, I invite you to watch the video. If you’re doing well but you know someone who might need this message, please consider sharing it with them.

If you want to tap into the flow of abundance, but you’re experiencing some kind of blockage, I invite you to reach out to me and let me help you find the source of that blockage so we can remove it and you can enjoy the fruits of your inheritance.

Best wishes,

Brandy M. Miller

I didn’t know what, if anything, to expect from that effort.

The Answer to Prayers

That very next morning, Joylynn called me. The night before, she’d been tossing and turning in complete misery and confusion. She felt 100% clear on her calling, assignment, and purpose in life. She felt 100% confident she’d been operating in complete excellence while executing the tasks that needed doing in decent order and with integrity.

She felt something blocking her path to abundance but didn’t know what it was, she just knew it was something inside of her not outside of her. It felt so heavy.

She didn’t just pray that God help her figure it out. She demanded that He provide an answer in her inbox that next morning.

You can listen to her share her story here: https://youtu.be/FFB7KPhjpnI.

My act of obedience, of sharing a story about a moment when I turned to God because I couldn’t answer the challenge I faced and He answered me, became an answer to her prayers.

Psalm 145:10 – A Poignant Reminder

Before writing today’s post, I stopped to ask God what He wanted me to do. What did He want me to write?

The responsorial psalm for today’s Mass readings struck me. “Your friends make known, Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.”

It’s pulled from Psalm 145:10 which says, “All your works praise you, Lord; your faithful people extol you.”

If I’m the Lord’s friend, how can I not make known the good things that He has done for me? How can I not sing His praises for all the great things that have come to me through Him?

Make a S.I.M.P.L.E. Invitation

As I explained in the blog post, “Planning for Success: A How-To Guide for Leaders,” the simpler we keep things for people, the more likely they are to get done. S.I.M.P.L.E. means “Show Implementation with Measurable, Practical, Literal Examples.”

In John 1:46, Philip made a S.I.M.P.L.E. invitation to Nathaniel that led him to Christ. He simply said, “Come and see.” And then he walked with Nathaniel, showing him the way to where he could find Christ.

That’s all we need to do. Just share our story and invite people to come and see. Christ will do the rest.

Bungling Things By Adding Unnecessary Complications

The invitation I made to Joylynn worked because it was S.I.M.P.L.E. As we worked together, the two of us became so excited by the results we were getting that we set up a website. We conceived a vision for a program that would help others tap into the flow of abundance.

In December of 2022, I hosted a webinar called “Abundance Now” that got 7 people – all protestant or “spiritual but not religious” listening in and gave me the chance to talk about my Catholic faith. Every single one of the people who joined that webinar stayed on for the full time – including one who registered a complaint that there was too much Jesus talk!

The funny thing is that she told me, during our discussion after the webinar, that the Holy Spirit told her to stay til the end despite the fact she didn’t want to hear about Jesus.

Nothing else went right with that program and – at the time – I didn’t understand why so I abandoned the project. I now know that the mistake I made with the program wasn’t the program itself. It was my mindset. I was trying to pour the old wine of money into the new wineskin God made for me with abundance, and doomed the project to failure as a result.

When your product is love – the secret to true abundance – adding money to the mix only complicates things and blocks the very flow of abundance you’re trying to break open. Love can never be a transaction. It must always be a free, voluntary, sacrificial gift.

Getting Back on Board with the Lord

Once I surrendered to Christ and put together the plan that led me to offer Turning Problems into Prophets, it became clear to me where Breaking Open Abundance fits into the picture and the purpose for which God led me to create it.

I’ll be revitalizing that program soon and will let you know when it’s ready and available for you. In the meanwhile, just know this:

Your stories about what God’s done for you in your life deserve to be told and shared. People need to hear that He has not forgotten them. Friends don’t withhold the Good News from friends. You never know whose prayers you might be answering by finding the courage to share.

Learn How to Share Your Story

Get strategic tips for evangelization and how to share your story in my free course, Turning Problems into Prophets.

Embracing the Messiness of My Life

This morning on the way to confession, God and I engaged in a little tête-à-tête regarding my present circumstances and the mission he assigned my husband and I eight years ago.

I spent eight years fighting him on this mission, overlooking the obvious solutions to the challenges I faced, because – as God pointed out to me – I wanted to wait until I measured up to the world’s vision of success: millions of dollars in the bank and millions of admiring fans. Instead, God commissioned me to do this work and then allowed me to become homeless with little to no money to show for all my efforts.

A Question That Haunted Me

At one point, when I told my mother about the ministry God called me to do, to teach people how to take the same business skills required to build a successful business and use them to engage in evangelization – she asked me a question that cut me to the core. “How is anyone to take your business training seriously when you don’t have money to show them?”

When I look back at the last eight years, I think that’s the real question I kept asking myself. What makes me qualified to do this work? Like our stuttering friend, Moses, I essentially told God, “You’ve got the wrong girl! Don’t you know I’m a walking financial disaster? Nobody’s going to take me seriously.”

And every failure I met in trying to get the ministry up and running only further entrenched me in that fear that I wasn’t enough. I wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t credible enough. I hadn’t done enough. I hadn’t proven myself worthy.

Struggling to Value Myself Beyond the Money

I struggled to write this blog post. I struggled to admit to myself how much it hurts and how much of a failure I feel because I’ve ended up where I am.

Her question cuts me to the core because it reduces my accomplishments to rubble, and my worth along with it. In a society that values people by the money they make, few people see the person beyond their bottom line.

But then God shared with me why He allowed me to become homeless in the first place: He wants to use me to break people free of that mindset. To show them that they are worth far more than the money they make.

To take away their excuses and prove to them that no matter how bad the situation in which they find themselves, if they follow His instructions, He will equip them with everything needed to do what He’s assigned them to do.

Their worth is not measured in dollars and cents but in the blood of Christ which He shed for them to ransom them from captivity. Their value is not set by the monetary system but by Christ. And the same thing is true about me.

It’s Not About Me and How Good I Am

As I spoke with God, He pointed out to me my real problem: making myself and my circumstances the focal point of the ministry. He reminded me that the work He’s asked me to do isn’t about me and how good I am.

It’s about how great He is and how He can raise up the meek and the lowly regardless of their circumstances if they but place their trust in Him. It’s about reminding people that His power is not limited by our finances. He can turn our empty stone jugs into the best wine if we but do whatever He tells us to do.

That’s why He wants me to start it right where I am and not to be ashamed but to step out in faith and allow His perfection to cover my imperfections. He reminded me that those who turn to me for help will emulate my example. If I let money be the reason I didn’t do what He asked me to do, they’ll let the money be the reason they didn’t respond to Him either.

The Model of the Manger

Christ didn’t choose to enter the world in a fancy hotel or a palace, but in a manger. A messy, dingy, dusty, dirty impoverished manger where animals fed.

Nobody expected the King of Kings to be born there. Had His birth taken place in a palace or a fancy hotel instead, the messy, dingy, dusty, dirty and poverty-ridden shepherds would never have dared to approach Him. They would have been too intimidated by the polished appearance of perfection so far beyond their grasp.

My call is to minister to those Catholic families whom society has forgotten, neglected, and dismissed as worthless because of their empty bank accounts. To show them how to find the incredible wealth that God placed inside their heads and their hearts.

I’m to help them understand the irreplaceable value that they bring to the world whenever they open up their lives and allow the goodness of God’s work in their lives to be shared. Then, He can use them as a vessel of His love and His grace in the world.

Obedience, Not Perfection, Is Required

I don’t need to be perfect to do the work God asked me to do. I don’t need to have everything in order or to know everything. God will supply all of my needs. All I need to do in order to find success is to trust Him and obey. The rest is in His hands.

Eight years ago, in early May of 2016, I heard Christ telling me to come follow Him and He would make me a fisher of men. I felt, along with St. Peter, the frustration after all my hard work spent trying to catch my living failed.

However, unlike St. Peter, I refused to listen when Christ told me to cast my nets out into the deep. I simply kept grumbling and complaining that I’d worked hard and caught nothing. Today, I’m choosing to listen. I’m choosing to cast my net out into the other side of the boat and to trust that if I do as He tells me to do, the catch will be abundant.

Sound Familiar?

If this article sounds familiar, if you think you’re being called to do something by Christ but you’ve been allowing your bank account to be the thing that’s holding you back, I encourage you to place your trust in Him.

Sign up for our free course, Turning Problems into Prophets, and I’ll guide you through the skills you need to learn in order to engage in effective evangelization while learning the skills needed to build a successful business.

If, after you take the course, you feel you need more support or want to join a community of other individuals on the same journey, join our free Prophet Makers private online membership. We’ll work together to get you up and running, ready to play your part in bringing the love of Christ to humanity as you share the Good News.

Answering Christ’s Call to Share the Good News in a Post-Christian Society

Answering Christ's call to share the Good News of His love, embodied in the crucifixion.

Answering Christ’s call to share the Good News might seem tough in our post-Christian society. The Olympic opening ceremony mocking the Last Supper, the announcement by Prince Charles of England that the Church of England would no longer call itself a Church, Canada and many other Western countries punish Christians for sharing their faith. Faith-based discrimination claims rose in 2022 from a previous high of 2,000 to over 14,000.

It can be tough to find opportunities for sharing the Good News about Christ’s love, but only because we overlook the value of our problems.

Answering Christ’s Call Using Our Problems

Our problems provide us a common denominator, a shared battle ground, to leverage in opening the door to being able to witness to Christ’s awesome power.

All we need to do is tap into the rich vein of problems we’ve faced in our lives where we were powerless to solve it and were forced to cry out to God for help and support.

Then, we can share the way that God came to our aid and made things happen that were beyond our power – or the power of any human being – to do. That’s it. No need to argue. No need to have all the answers. We rely on Christ to do the heavy lifting. All we do is plant the seed.

Everyone Faces Problems

Everyone – even God – faces problems. God’s got roughly 8 billion of them by last count, if all we’re counting are the people He created.

Those problems give us a common bond with those who face those problems now but don’t yet know how to solve them. They allow us room to minister to those individuals and share with them the reason for our hope.

We become the trusted mentor who can help guide them past the problems that seem so far beyond their capability to solve when everything else they’ve tried failed them. Like the woman who bled for 12 years, we may not be able to solve her problem ourselves, but we can bring her to the One with the power to make the bleeding stop.

The Most Effective Problems to Use: Those That Required God’s Help to Solve

When your goal is to start a business, you use the problem that cost you the most time, money, energy, and effort to solve. That’s where your greatest opportunities lie. When your goal is to bring people to Christ, you start instead with the problem that you knew was impossible for any human being to solve. The one that forced you to your knees in search of help and led you to develop that trust and confidence in Christ you hold today.

That story will speak most clearly to the person facing that problem that seems so far beyond them to solve. It will get their attention and give them hope that all is not lost. Turning Problems into Prophets, our free online self-paced course, will teach you the steps to outlining your testimony so you can lead them from where they are to where you are today.

You don’t have to be a natural storyteller. You don’t have to have experience writing. I’ll give you a step-by-step blueprint you can use to create a compelling story. You’ll be equipped to tell your story in any situation with ease so you can become a beacon of light for those who wander in darkness and a sign pointing the way to wisdom for those who seek it. Get help answering Christ’s call by taking our free course now and get on your way to success in storytelling.

Answering Christ’s Call to Share the Good News Is Even More Important Now than Ever

What society doesn’t realize is that in rejecting Christ, they reject the eternal wellspring of divine love. Human love simply can’t replace Him.

And with that rejection of the ultimate source of love comes a whole slew of mental health ailments. That’s why addictions, suicide, depression, and anxiety are all skyrocketing. It all reflects a growing number of individuals who feel unloved and unlovable.

We’ve got the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. We’ve got the remedy they need. We must be sure we share that with them. Society rests on our success.

Loving Catholicism

Empowering Catholic families to share the Good News.

Category: Love