“Evangelization is about showing up”: Steve Dawson on taking the Gospel to the streets

Ignatius Press Podcast

There was a time when Steve Dawson found himself in trouble with the law, mired in destructive

behaviors and relationships. Today he spends his days sharing the Good News with anyone who will

listen, as founder and president of Saint Paul Street Evangelization (in between these two stages of his

life, he says, he could be found downing Jack Daniels while watching Mother Angelica).

Struck by how Jehovah’s Witnesses, Evangelicals, Mormons, and even atheists are comfortable

preaching about their beliefs in the streets, Dawson has devoted his life to combating the perception

that street evangelization “isn’t a Catholic thing.” In fact, preaching, teaching, and sharing the Good

News in public are practices that go all the way back to the Apostles, and many great saints have

engaged in them.

During his years as a street evangelist, Dawson and his team have honed skills and developed methods

of communicating the Faith in simple, accessible, and compelling ways. In this episode, Andrew Petiprin

speaks with Dawson about his powerful conversion story, some of the amazing things that he’s seen in

his years of street evangelizing, and why the basics of evangelization are important for every Catholic to

master—whether they’re sharing the Faith on the street, in the workplace, or in their own families.

Related reading: “Catholic Evangelization: Stories of Conversion and Witness”, now available at

Ignatius.com.

Learn more about Dawson’s work at Saint Paul Street Evangelization: https://streetevangelization.com/