Sharing Christ one person at a time
by George Ayer

Before you read the testimony that follows, I encourage you to watch this short video from Catholic Christian Outreach: “Who’s First?” The message of this video, which evokes the spirit driving CCO’s mission of evangelization, is an important frame to my own story, as it has become a central motto in my personal calling.

For years I lived an atheistic and rebellious life, but with a great deal of patience and help, Jesus in His goodness called me back. That journey is a story of its own, but my story today starts not long after that return to Christ.

I had recently come into full communion with the Catholic Church, was enrolled at Laurentian University, and was on my way to obtaining a B.A. in History and Religious Studies. In 2003 I attended the School of Evangelization and met Andre Regnier, founder of Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO). At the School of Evangelization, I was encouraged by a small booklet called the Ultimate Relationship (or UR) used to share the Gospel clearly and simply (one of CCO’s core tenets). The UR explains, in a few short pages, that you can have a personal, saving encounter with Christ through His death on the cross and His resurrection. It makes clear that Jesus came to save each of us from sin and death, and to reconcile us with God, offering His life of grace in His family the Church.

Like Andre, I wanted to spread this message, and university students were a special burden on my heart. In Sudbury’s Diocese I saw little drive or initiative for evangelization of young people, and my heart was asking, “Who’s First?”, but I was facing some serious challenges (in 2005 I would be formally diagnosed with Non-Verbal Learning Disability and Attention Deficit Disorder). Providentially, a Dominican priest arrived in Sudbury named Fr. Gabriel. The Lord gave Fr. Gabriel a heart to reach young people for Christ, particularly on the university campus, and his fire helped to keep my own heart burning for evangelization. We used the UR, as well as CCO’s Discovery faith study, to invite students into relationship with Jesus.

Around the time I finished my degree, Fr. Gabriel also moved away to Vancouver, and in the years that followed I encountered serious trials. I often asked myself: is it any use trying to evangelize youth in Sudbury? I felt like St. Peter, after Christ’s death and before His resurrection, or like the apostles who walked with Christ on the road to Emmaus: there was this burning in my heart to see people come to Christ, but I felt discouraged and at a loss. Then in 2008, my brother and I attended the annual March for Life in Ottawa where we met many people involved with CCO. It occurred to me that I needed to reconnect with CCO, and a desire was stirred up in me to attend CCO’s Rise Up conference. I wanted to get to know the people of CCO and to be empowered to share my faith again.

I was shy to go to it alone, so I asked my brother David Ayer to go with me. It turned out the Holy Spirit was putting Rise Up on his heart also, and that year, we travelled together to our first Rise Up, not far away, in Toronto (a wonderful grace for us both). We both came away from the conference with a new vision for evangelizing young adults in the Sudbury area.

The following year was a tumultuous one. David and I found ourselves pushed forward in our mission of evangelization and making new connections with young adults in the Sudbury area. In the same season we would lose our mom to a massive and unexpected heart attack. Still, God was driving us forward through the shock and the sorrow. We created new evangelization resources, taking advantage of David’s abilities as a graphic designer. I went to Quebec City for a Youth Summit in May of 2009, and a CCO missionary named Talitha encouraged me to lead a faith study in my home. Several months later I found myself sitting in my living room, leading the study for some of those young adults who had been on my heart for so long. The following May 2010, I was able to bring the study group to another CCO Youth Summit in Ottawa so Talitha could see the fruit of her previous year’s encouragement.  That year we would also take our first group trip to Rise Up in Montreal, going again in 2013 (Ottawa) and 2015 (Montreal, again), bringing a growing group of up to 10 people!

Something the Lord said to Andre Regnier became my own motto during this period: reach the world for Christ one person at a time (another of CCO’s core tenets). Today, two of my dear friends are encouraging examples of the fruits of this approach.  When I met my friend David Samuel he was using time at church to escape a difficult relationship. He had grown up Catholic but did not fully understand his faith or feel connected with the Lord. God prompted me to reach out and befriend him. Over the years our friendship has lead him to a more personal relationship with Christ and to a life of active discipleship, and today he is in a relationship with another faithful Christian, and they are exploring the vocation of marriage.

Another dear brother in Christ, Justin Laporte, I met in the Confession line. I was attending a Catholic charismatic prayer meeting, and he was about the only other young adult there. Our friendship began that night. We regularly discussed ministry ideas together, and he joined that CCO Discovery faith study I held in my living room. It was there that he eventually announced God was calling him to the priesthood. For several years now he has been a seminarian with the Marians of the Immaculate Conception. Christ has guided him through many challenges as he continues to explore and discern his calling.

Both friends attended a Youth Summit and a Rise Up, and I firmly believe there is a connection between such evangelization conferences and faith formation for young adults. Even my own vocation has been influenced. Rise Up Montreal, in 2010, emphasized for me that holiness and evangelization are two sides of the same coin. God called me, through my own challenges, to found an outreach to and for people with disabilities and mental health challenges, and with His guidance, I began helping to disciple young adults while discovering daily how He was working through my own weaknesses and disabilities.

A final CCO core tenet worth mentioning is Great Expectations. I have great expectations for what God will do at Rise Up 2017 in Ottawa this 150th anniversary year of Canada. With great thanks, we can announce that St. Therese’s Vision for Disability Giftedness will have a table at the conference. Please look out for my brother, David, and I. With his graphic design skills, David has helped to create new and wonderful resources for our ministry, and we look forward to sharing them with you at Rise up Ottawa 2017 (God Willing in His providence)! We continue to partner with CCO in our ministry to reach souls for Jesus, and like CCO we wish to continue to ask, “Who’s First?”, because we also want to see every person experience the love of Christ!