Chris Stefanick, a Colorado-based lay evangelist, speaks to a crowd at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport last month.
By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
People throughout history have imagined God as “a cosmic jerk who is out to get us,” lay evangelist Chris Stefanick told a packed house at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport. “That’s a nightmare,” he said, but “God created you for joy.”
During evening presentations in Iowa City and Davenport last month, the Colorado-based speaker and author emphasized the importance of Christian joy. That joy, he believes, is rooted in God’s love for each and every one of us. “It’s not about your perfect love for God, but his perfect love for you; you have to simply say ‘yes’ to the love you could never earn,” he said to the Davenport crowd. “We have to remember the love story,” because without that, religion becomes nothing more than a “to-do list.”
Stefanick leads the nonprofit ministry Real Life Catholic, which reaches out to millions of people each year through YouTube, other social media platforms, books, pilgrimages, podcasts and online courses, according to the organization’s website. He has spoken at a wide variety of venues, everything from small gatherings in parish halls to speeches for large crowds at the Christ Our Life Conference in Des Moines and at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.
The Nov. 18 talk at St. Mary Catholic Church in Iowa City coincided with the conclusion of the parish’s “The Search” program for current and prospective Catholics. The seven-part series featured videos of Stefanick exploring some of life’s biggest questions alongside experts in a variety of fields. More than 400 people attended Stefanick’s Iowa City talk, said Brandon Landolt, the parish’s director of formation and evangelization.
The following evening, Stefanick motivated the cathedral crowd with his energetic delivery and frequent calls and responses. He encouraged the roughly 750 attendees to lean into the joy of faith, regardless of circumstances. “Our brain didn’t evolve to make us happy; it developed to help us survive,” he said. “We remember that one jerk, that one person who cut us off,” and while that’s natural, it isn’t productive to dwell on it for too long. “Joy is the ability to feel pain without giving into it,” he said. “You need to be intentional about your battle for joy.”
He offered three tips for finding joy:
- Give thanks the moment you wake up, and when you feel triggered by something hurtful or unpleasant. “If you do this for little things, you’ll train your brain for when it matters most,” he said.
- Love yourself and reject the thought that your sins define you. “Don’t let past mistakes ruin your future direction,” he said. Make time for self-care so you can be at your best.
- Frame your mind with faith so that God isn’t just part of the picture of your life.
Stefanick closed out the talk by encouraging the audience to share their faith with others, even when it feels scary. “We’re afraid of what people think,” but by holding back, “we hold back the hope people need.” He encouraged the faithful to imagine themselves as saints, and to live that out in their day-to-day life. “Let your joy be bigger than your fear.”
Each audience member received a complimentary copy of one of Stefanick’s workbooks for further study and reflections. He hoped the presentation would serve as a “launching pad” for those in the audience. “You are here to be sent,” he said.
Deb Williams of St. Anthony Parish in Davenport said she was intrigued by Stefanick’s evangelistic approach and call to action. “Other faiths do it,” but in her experience, there hasn’t been as much of a push for it within the Catholic Church. “I don’t know why.”
Hieu Nguyen, director of missions and discipleship for Holy Family Parish in Davenport, said Stefanick’s “inspirational and motivational” talk fueled his passion for helping people encounter Jesus Christ and sharing the faith. “I need constant reminders and motivations to do what God has asked me to do,” Nguyen said.
“Chris reminded me to focus on Jesus, to be a disciple and a child of God,” Nguyen continued. He came away from the talk with “new and simple ways to evangelize.”
Mindy Altman, principal of All Saints Catholic School in Davenport, attended the talk with a few friends from Maquoketa, Iowa. “We had all been looking for ways to revive, refresh and grow in our faith,” she said. Altman found Stefanick’s talk inspirational on a professional and personal level, and appreciated his willingness to share some of the struggles he and his family have faced. “There’s no rule book for exactly what we’re supposed to be doing as parents,” said Altman, a single mother who joined the Catholic Church when her children were young. She looks forward to working on a devotional from Stefanick’s complimentary book at home with her teenage son.
For more information about Real Life Catholic ministries, go to www.reallifecatholic.com.
