Evangelization 2000 estimates that there are about 1100 worldwide that they know about. In Africa alone, there are 100 in 54 countries and in South America, a country like Brazil, on its own accounts for over 300.
The schools take many different forms depending on the background of the participants and who is running them. Some, particularly those geared to young people and run by communities, are fully residential and last from four months to a year. Others, geared more to people in full-time work, would perhaps involve evenings only, week-ends or holidays, and would be run on a diocesan or parish level.
Evangelism, discipleship and formation courses tend to overlap, particularly those run by the various communities, and something of their charism would be imparted as well as techniques of evangelization and basic church teaching.
What is perhaps of significance is the cross fertilization and help the different schools give each other. Many schools seem to be started by former participants from the more established ones and these informal links remain. One of the most significant in this respect is the International Catholic Programme of Evangelization, started a decade ago by two Maltese brothers, Henry and Mario Cappello.
Drawing on the experience of the non-denominational Youth with a Mission, they formulated the idea of a fully residential three month formation course, followed by a one month outreach, where the participants could put into practice what they had learned on the course through street evangelism, dance and drama, and preaching.
Today ICPE has permanent bases in Malta and Germany. As well as helping start schools in Europe, they have also helped start them in Africa and New Zealand. They reckon in the past decade to have trained over 50,000 people all over the world.
The same kind of pattern is similar elsewhere. Usually from very small, humble beginnings, with perhaps only half a dozen or so students, a huge work of God gradually develops and takes shape due to the commitment of only a few people.
Over the years, different programmes have been developed and perfected through trial and error, trying to get the balance between intellectual, spiritual, and practical formation. One very popular one is that of Jose Prado Flores from Mexico, which is used not only all over Latin America, but also in Europe.
The residential schools in particular have an opportunity to really mold and form the characters of the participants-a bit like the religious orders in the past. There is a lot of emphasis on developing a servant heart through practical service and manual work, learning to be real and transparent through personal sharing and being willing to put up with physical hardship and growing in a disciplined prayer life. Thus, even those who never go on to full time evangelistic service in the Church benefit from the formation of becoming solid lay Catholics, able to serve the Lord effectively wherever they are.
Evangelization 2000 is responsible for running ACCSE 2000, an Association of Coordinators of Catholic Schools of Evangelization, which have occasional meetings and support each other through teachings and other materials.
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