Speaking Ministry

The St. Paul Evangelization Institute provides speakers for Catholic events along with our own workshops. Below are some of our speaker profiles and talks. We ask for the reimbursement of our travel expenses and a stipend given to our apostolate in return for our work. Use the contact form below, or email Adam Janke at adam@stpaulev.com for more information or to book a speaker.

Available Talks

Click on a talk for more information.

10 Great Ways to be an Evangelist
Our 10 Great Ways talk is a the perfect introduction for your Catholic parish, school, or organization to the work of the St. Paul Evangelization Institute. This 60 minute talk flies by as we discuss 10 things that every Catholic can begin implementing into their own life to start evangelizing today. The first 3 are focused on our relationship with God. The last 7 are focused on our relationship with others. After the talk there is time for 30 minutes of Q&A. Every talk includes a free resource table with information and tools participants can pick up and start using the same day.
Evangelization in a Modern Culture
This 45-60 minute talk examines practical methods to evangelizing in a modern culture that has turned its back on God and the Christian faith. We will look at the 4 basic questions on which humanity finds common ground, study St. John Paul II’s Mission of the Redeemer and Blessed Pope Paul VI’s Evangelization in the Modern World, share real life stories of evangelization, and talk about ideas for evangelizing family & friends, in the workplace, and with people in random circumstances.
Conversational Evangelization
This 45-60 minute talk examines how to have a conversation that leads to conversion. We will walk through each of the steps that drive our apostolate: To listen, to befriend, to proclaim, and to pray. We start with ice breakers and conversation starters. From there we discuss the art of Christian listening. Then we talk about how to use a person’s story to share the story of God’s love and mercy. We proclaim the Gospel using our own testimony and invite people to make a response of faith. Finally we model how to invite someone to give their heart to Jesus, repent of their sins, and take the next steps to join a Christian community.
One Good Reason - Evangelization Method
This 45-60 minute talk examines our famous “One Good Reason” method of evangelization. It goes deeper than conversational evangelization and focuses on the “proclamation” part of sharing the Gospel. We will review the history of this method, it’s growth through out street teams, and how it has helped our evangelists become better at proclaiming the Gospel in everyday life. We will review the 5 archtypes (Catholic, Christian, non-Christian theist, agnostic, and atheist) and “one good reason” we use with each. Finally we will do some role playing and take questions and answers.
The Story of St. Paul Street Evangelization
This 45-60 talk covers the history of St. Paul Street Evangelization, from the conversion of its founder, Steve Dawson, to an international apostolate. It is filled with stories to inspire your listeners to become missionary disciples themselves. We will talk about some of our basic methods and do some role-playing with evangelization tools, including the miraculous medal.
What is a Disciple?
This 60 minute talk is focused on the concept of Christian discipleship. What is a disciple? What does the life of discipleship look like? During the first half the presenter will walk participants through the meaning of Christian discipleship in the Bible, through stories, and their own testimony. During the second half the presenter will lead an exercise where each participant will reflect on their own walk with God through a written handout. The talk ends with a call to “drop one’s net” and follow Jesus, whether for the first time or the 100th time.
Parish Mission
2 & 3 Day Hospitality Training – Our Catholic Hospitality Training Institute offers a 2 or 3 day parish mission on hospitality.

  • Day 1 – Called to Holiness – The mission begins with a look at our unique calling to live a life that is holy and pleasing to the Lord. We will focus on our gifts of brokenness, perspective and surrender considering how each one provides an opportunity to allow Christ to work through us and draw us closer. We will also take a look at the roots of hospitality in Church Tradition and Sacred Scripture to help us understand how our hospitality can be a beautiful and powerful fruit of our holiness. We will look at saints such as Solanus Casey and Andre Bessette.
  • Day 2 – Called To Share – During night two of our mission we will focus on understanding and spreading the Gospel message. We will focus on the gifts of evangelism, Gospel sharing and prayer. Authentic hospitality is a reflection of Christ’s love shining through us. In order to understand and share that love we must be strongly connected to Christ through prayer. We will focus on personal, formal and spontaneous prayer, what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, and take some time to practice praying with and for others. (Night two usually includes Adoration and a chance to drop our nets and follow Jesus as a disciple in the life of the Church.)
  • Day 3 – Called To Build His Kingdom On Earth – The final night of the mission is where we put all the pieces into practice. Participants will develop and practice skills for sharing the Gospel with those they meet. Using the gifts of connecting, comforting and mercy we will have an opportunity to practice interacting with each other and learn how “not to be a jerk for Jesus”.

Speakers

Steve Dawson

President & Founder

Location: Warren, MI

Adam Janke

Chief Operating Officer

Location: Warren, MI

Beth Schuele

Associate Director of SPSE

Location: Warren, MI

Sheri Wohlfert

Hospitality Coordinator

Location: Westphalia, MI

Dr. Deb McManimon

Local Director of Teams, St. Paul, MN

Location: Owatonna MN

Brian Lee

Director, St. Paul Street Evangelization

Location: North Carolina

Randy Grasso

Senior Regional Missionary

Location: Dallas, TX

Patrick Brennan

Missionary

Location: Brighton, MI

Mary Ann Weisinger

Archdiocese of Miami

Location: Miami, FL

Event Inquiry

If you are interested in hosting a talk or event at your diocese, parish, school, or organization, please use the form below to contact us. Someone will respond to you within 2 business days, but often sooner.

1 + 3 =