More than 70 bishops, youth ministry leaders and diocesan directors for evangelisation from across Australia gathered in North Sydney from 27-28 August, 2026.

Hosted by the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry (BCELM) and organised by the National Centre for Evangelisation (NCE), the Evangelise gathering built on nine months of listening.

It gave leaders the opportunity to experience synodality through prayer, listening and discernment, while helping shape a renewed Australian Catholic youth ministry statement.

Ms Qwayne Guevara, Facilitator, Young People and Formation at the NCE, said bringing leaders together was an important next step in responding to pastoral and spiritual needs of young people today.

“For the past nine months, we’ve listened to young people and leaders from across the country about their experiences of youth ministry,” she said.

“In light of those meetings and conversations, it was good to come together in prayer and friendship, and ask: what is God calling us to do next?”

Bishop George Kolodziej SDS, Bishops Delegate for Youth and Bishop of Bunbury, opened the gathering with Mass reminding the participants that the Church needs to recognise young people as an important part of its life, listening to their gifts, questions, experiences and hopes.

Drawing on the Emmaus story, he said the Church is called to walk alongside young people, listen to them and discover the way forward together.

“One of the great strengths of our Church is the diversity of our communities, and that has been very evident over these two days. Young people experience the Church in many ways across Australia, and we are called to be attentive to that. Sharing those realities together has helped us see both the challenges we face and the opportunities before us.” Bishop George said.

A key focus of the Evangelise gathering was consideration of a renewed Australian Catholic youth ministry statement, with writing team member Fr Chris Ryan MGL exploring its contextual and theological foundations.

Participants were then invited to explore the draft through their own experience, highlighting areas of strength and development and how it could serve the diverse realities of youth ministry across Australia.

The gathering also gave directors for evangelisation an opportunity to share experiences and to identify opportunities for greater collaboration and support across dioceses.

The final session of the gathering announced and explored an ongoing framework of support, endorsed by the BCELM, to implement the renewed statement and expand Catholic youth ministry locally.

“The journey together is ongoing, and the hope is that we return to our communities knowing that we’re not doing this work alone. We are part of one Church. The witness of our communion will be a sign of God’s love for all young people across Australia especially in our current context nationally,” Qwayne said.

The gathering concluded with participants being commissioned to return to their dioceses, schools, communities and ministries.

The feedback from the gathering will contribute to the BCELM’s ongoing development of the youth ministry statement and the support needed to help local communities across Australia renew their commitment to young Catholics.

Previous Evangelise Conferences

Pilgrims of Hope: Charisms for the Mission of the Church (2025)

Representatives of 25 ecclesial communities and movements met with Australia’s Catholic bishops in Sydney from August 21-22, 2025, to strengthen their relationships and discuss ways to effectively collaborate. Hosted by the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry (BCELM), the event was the first gathering of new movements and communities in more than a decade.

Sessions from Pilgrims of Hope: Charisms for the Mission of the Church are available on Evangelise Plus. Access the videos by clicking on the link below.

Evangelise: A Synodal Way (2024)

In June 2024, diocesan leaders for evangelisation were invited to a summit hosted by the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry. The summit reflected on the BCELM statement, Evangelisation: Encounter, Discipleship, Mission; and encouraged synodal dialogue through spiritual conversation about Church structure and support for evangelisation, and strategies for evangelisation in the world today.  

Presentations from Evangelise: A Synodal Way can be viewed at Evangelise Plus by clicking on the link below.

Evangelise (2022)

The Australian Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry hosted the inaugural 'Evangelise' conference online from October 20-22, 2023. The conference, drawing on the Commission’s mandate, promoted understanding and explored practices of evangelisation in Australia through encounters with Christ, formation in discipleship, and mission in the world. The event sought to empower Catholics to carry forward the Church’s evangelising mission after the second assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia.

The conference featured two live online gatherings on Friday, October 21 and Saturday, October 22. Morning sessions, followed by a range of keynote sessions, nurtured Church leadership and community ministries. Afternoon and evening sessions explored the personal baptismal call of all Catholics to live the Church’s evangelising mission in the world, focusing on family, ecology, public life, new media, cultural engagement and more.

You can watch the sessions from the Evangelise gathering at our video resource website, Evangelise Plus, by clicking on the link below.