Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
Dear Fellow Catholics,
This weekend is the kick off for the 2025-2026 Diocesan Catholic Charities Fundraising Drive. This drive is the main source of funds for the diocesan social justice efforts, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and so on. It supports Catholic Family Services and the various Catholic Centers of Concern around the diocese. All important work.
This week is also the kick off for the Evangelization Fundraising Drive of the Bible Christian Society. Evangelization is THE mission of the Church. As Pope Paul VI said,
“We wish to confirm once more that the task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church. Evangelizing is, in fact, the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize. (Evangelii Nuntiandi, #14).
"She exists in order to evangelize." However, ever since the diocese disbanded its Office of Evangelization - which included the Offices of Evangelization, Pro-Life, Family Life, Lay Ministry, and Prison Ministry - in February of last year, there have been no “official” evangelization efforts occurring in the diocese.
That’s where the Bible Christian Society comes in. Even before the Diocese ever had an Office of Evangelization, the Bible Christian Society was teaching Catholics and non-Catholics alike, throughout Central and North Alabama, about the Catholic Faith. It started in 1998 when we went on the air with The Bible Christian Hour - a live, call-in, Catholic apologetics program on the largest Evangelical radio station in Alabama. That led to my giving talks at parishes around the diocese, then around the country, that were designed to not only teach Catholics about their faith, but also how to defend that faith.
Those talks were eventually broadcast on the EWTN Radio Network and now, some 25+ years later, millions of copies of those talks have been distributed across the country and around the world. Over that same time period, the Bible Christian Society sponsored more than 60 conferences, luncheons, and breakfasts - in Birmingham and Huntsville - where we brought in the finest Catholic speakers in the country to educate, edify, and energize thousands of Catholics.
And, even during the 15 years that I was the Director of the Office of Evangelization for the Diocese, the Bible Christian Society never let up. During that time, we brought Catholic radio to the Birmingham area and now there are 3 Catholic radio stations in the diocese for which we were responsible. Here are a few more of the evangelization campaigns we sponsored in those years:
• Hundreds of Catholic billboard ads in Birmingham, Huntsville, and the Gadsden/Anniston areas
• Over two million (yes, million!) online banner ads promoting the Catholic Faith
• Hundreds of television ads in the Huntsville and Birmingham markets
• Full page ads - on the Eucharist, Confession, Mary, Purgatory, the Pope, and other such topics - in the sports pages of the Birmingham News and Huntsville Times (remember them?) every month for a year
And, even though the Office of Evangelization at the Diocese is no longer around, the Bible Christian Society is still here and we are planning on kicking our evangelization efforts into an even higher gear.
But, we need your help to do so. Our latest project is that we’ve started implementing a systematic plan of evangelization, on a zip code by zip code basis, which we hope to eventually carry to all corners of the diocese. A few months ago, I sent a Catechism of the Catholic Church to every non-Catholic pastor in one of the Birmingham metro zip codes. Those Catechisms were accompanied by a letter asking the pastor to please make use of the Catechism as a reference should he/she ever have occasion to speak about the Catholic Church from the pulpit, in a Bible study, or in a Sunday school class. Essentially, challenging those pastors to make sure they are accurate in what they say about what we believe and why we believe it. (To see a copy of the letter: https://www.alabamaevangelization.com/catechism_letter.)
The mailing of the Catechisms to the pastors was followed up several weeks later with the mailing of a Catholic pamphlet - The Roman (Catholic) Road to Salvation - to every household and business (over 7000 in total) in that same zip code. This pamphlet describes what the Catholic Faith teaches on salvation, just using the Bible. (If you would like to receive a free copy of this pamphlet, just send your request to: john@biblechristiansociety.com).
In the next few weeks, with your help, the plan is to send out another pamphlet - Which Church is THE Church of the Bible - again to all of the households and businesses in that zip code. This pamphlet contains a short, multiple choice quiz, using the Bible and common sense, that points people in the direction of the Catholic Church. (To see, and take, the quiz, click here: https://www.biblechristiansociety.com/quiz.) And, we’re getting ready to repeat that entire process in another zip code here in the next few weeks and, hopefully, eventually repeat the same process in every zip code in the diocese. At least, that’s the goal.
In addition to those mailings, we have more television, billboard, and internet ads in the works. We also want to start putting Catholic ads on the radio. Can you imagine having Catholic ads on The Rick Burgess Show? Wouldn’t that be awesome?! We want to use every means available to blanket the entire geographical area of the diocese with the unadulterated, life-saving, and soul-saving teachings of Christ and His Church. Will you help us to do that?
You know, I’m a simple man with a simple thought process. And that process goes something like this: Jesus started a church. Is there anyone Jesus does not want to have in His church? Well, I don’t think so. And, if that church is the Catholic Church - which, as Catholics, we believe it is - then is there anyone Jesus does not want us to try and bring into the Catholic Church? Or, you could ask it another way: Is there anyone that Jesus does not want to have receive Him - Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity - in the Eucharist? My simple answer to both of those questions is, “No.” So, if Jesus wants everyone to join His church, the Catholic Church, so that everyone can receive Him in the Eucharist, then should we not, as Catholics, want what Jesus wants and work to make it happen?
And that is what I am asking you to help us with. The Bible Christian Society exists to do what we can to bring about the realization of Jesus’ prayer at the Last Supper that we, His followers, will be one as He and the Father are one (John 17:11). It’s why I do what I've been doing for the last 25+ years.
So, if you want to be a part of an evangelization effort in this diocese that is unlike anything that is going on anywhere else in this country; if you want to see information on authentic Catholic teaching - as opposed to Catholics worship Mary, we don’t go by the Bible, we believe we’re saved by works, etc. - disseminated to a few million people throughout the Birmingham diocese via television, radio, billboards, the internet, snail mail, and a few cutting edge ways - such as geofencing - then please prayerfully consider making a donation to the Bible Christian Society. And remember, with God, all things are possible!
You can make your contribution here: https://www.biblechristiansociety.com/donate
Or, you can mail a check to:
Bible Christian Society
PO Box 424
Pleasant Grove, AL 35127
(All donations are tax-deductible.)
One last thing - if you don't mind me asking a favor of you, could you please forward this email to all the Catholics you know in the diocese? I would greatly appreciate it!
Finally, thank you for your time, your consideration, and your prayers!
John Martignoni
205-960-3734
john@biblechristiansociety.com
website: www.biblechristiansociety.com