Our evangelisation

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit - Jesus, quoted in the 28th chapter of St Matthew’s Gospel

Those who have received the Good News and who have been gathered by it into the community of salvation can and must communicate and spread it…[the Church] exists in order to evangelise - Pope Paul VI

​As ​Christians, we are called to communicate and spread the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. That’s what 'evangelisation' means. It’s a task not just for priests and deacons, but for all of us in the Church. It’s what the Church is for.

We communicate the Gospel in all sorts of ways. By how we live our lives. By our patience, generosity and compassion. Our honesty and trustworthiness. Our gentleness and our joy. But we need to back up our actions with our words. To talk to people about how God loves us and them. About our faith in Jesus Christ and how it makes a difference in our lives. About how we are proud to be Catholic.

You can read below about the groups in Holy Innocents’ that are dedicated to the work of evangelisation. In a sense, we could have included every parishioner and every one of our parish groups on this page. Each of them is called to spread the Gospel, by what they do and say and how they do and say it.

  • Outreach Group

    ​Originally, the main aim of the group was to support Father Victor in making home visits to as many parishioners as possible. More recently our efforts have been focused on welcoming new parishioners and their families to the parish. We introduced the Parish Contact Card (you have probably seen it in the porch) as a way of encouraging new people to introduce themselves. We have had a really good response to this initiative. Coupled with the many activities taking place at Holy Innocents’, the number of people wishing to join or to become involved in some way has risen and that’s been reflected in the higher number of visits the group made last year.

    When visiting parishioners, we normally go out in pairs and before we go out, we pray. Thinking about what makes the visits so special, Margaret one of our long-standing members, said, “It is a privilege to be able to welcome new parishioners to our parish. A personal visit from us means so much to them.” While Claire, a new member, recalled, “The people we visit are always very pleased to see us…At the same time we are able to get to know them a little and learn about their hopes for being part of Holy Innocents. I feel it confirms their welcome to and inclusion in our parish in a personal way and it is something we should definitely aim to continue.”

    The Outreach Group is also responsible for producing the parish Easter and Christmas cards. And, we are indebted to all the parishioners who have supported us and helped to deliver the 6,000 cards at Christmas and at Easter, to the surrounding households.

    Looking ahead, we are arranging a fund-raising concert at Holy Innocents’ on March 2nd for our parishioners their families and friends and all our friends from Churches Together in Orpington.

    If you would like to know more about the work of the Outreach Group, or might consider joining it, please contact

    ​ Contact Father Victor or Maria Nethercot

Back to Our Mission