For many years, parishes across the country have implemented the Light of the World Retreat in their evangelization strategy. They've been convicted about its effectiveness in preaching the kerygma, the basic gospel message. They've seen their parishioners go from sitting on the sidelines to becoming evangelizers set on fire with the love of Christ.

But Light of the World Evangelization Ministries is more than a retreat.

It must be. A retreat alone is not enough to fulfill the mission of the Church. A single program or event cannot constitute a parish's entire evangelization strategy. That's why we've recently begun a new era of parish evangelization ministry. Yes, the retreat is the crucial starting point, the encounter with Christ. But Light of the World doesn't exist simply to promote a retreat program. We've got our sights set on much loftier goals.

Our new logo contains four symbols that express the fulfillment of our mission.

1. The World

Any ministry that shares the same mission as the Catholic Church has one primary goal: evangelization. Our rich Tradition, myriad devotions, and profound catechesis are all beautiful fruits of the Church in our world. But make no mistake, our mission must be to share the gospel with every person on this earth (Matthew 28:19-20).

As Light of the World Evangelization Ministries pursues exciting new frontiers of parish evangelization, we are committed to keeping this commission first and foremost in our minds. All that we do must be at the service of this vital mission of evangelization. The "blue earth" portion of our logo is a constant reminder that we mustn't let any boundaries or obstacles prevent the spread of the Good News to every corner of the globe.

"God is opening before the Church the horizons of a humanity more fully prepared for the sowing of the Gospel. I sense that the moment has come to commit all of the Church's energies to a new evangelization and to the mission ad gentes. No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples."

Pope St. John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio

2. Catholic Parishes

Parishes help make a worldwide Church approachable and personal. They take on the personality and culture of the communities in which they exist, and so each parish is uniquely qualified to bring the gospel to the people who live in its boundaries. In this way our parishes are an authentic participation in the Incarnation of Christ. Parish life enriches and deepens our faith, and in turn it's from our parishes that we go out to fulfill the great commission that the Lord has given us.

Light of the World Evangelization Ministries specializes in parish evangelization. We offer an effective parish retreat, resources, tools, and ongoing support. That's why our logo displays a Catholic church as its central object. As we help parishes experience transformation, so also the people in their communities will encounter the life-changing power of Christ. This is how we will evangelize the world: one parish at a time.

3. Light

Light has always been a symbol of our faith and as a sign of the Lord's presence in our world. Jesus often used light to describe our struggle with sin, transformation, the need for evangelization, and the life of grace. He also called Himself the "Light of the World."

(See what we did there?)

The identity of our ministry is inherently wrapped up in this symbol of light, which is why we included colors of gold in our logo. Our passion is bringing the light of Christ to all people through their local parishes. And as we share the light of Christ one parish at a time, one soul at a time, we see world change.

And that brings us to the last symbol in our logo...

4. Transformation & Evangelization

Our parishes run into trouble when they fall into "maintenance" mode. They struggle as they put most of their energy into maintaining the status quo, and the mission comes to a grinding halt. But evangelization is about movement, about going out, and about transformation. When we are committed to evangelization, we are never at rest because we know that this world is not our home.

The golden band in our logo gives the impression of this motion. It represents the light of Christ transforming Catholic churches into evangelizing parishes, and His love and mercy ultimately transforming the entire world.

For the Sake of the Mission

Our new logo represents our renewed commitment to the Church's mission of evangelization. We are more dedicated than ever before to helping parishes break free from the chains of "maintenance mode" and to become zealous and effective heralds of the gospel message. All that we are and all that we do is for the sake of this mission. After all, when our parishes win, we all win.