Ignatius Press Podcast “Evangelization is about showing up”: Steve Dawson on taking the Gospel to the streets
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
Learn more about Dawson’s work at Saint Paul Street Evangelization: https://streetevangelization.com/