The Spiritual Gift of Evangelist

1.1 Every Born-Again Christian Has at Least One Spiritual Gift.  Every born-again believer in Jesus Christ has received a spiritual gift from the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). Please recall also that one spiritual gift may have a variety of ministries (“διακονιῶν”), with a variety of spiritual effects (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). Therefore, if you have the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist, that single gift may result in a variety of ministries and spiritual effects. Although not all believers may have the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist, they should all do the work of an evangelist, in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people God sets before them (2 Timothy 4:5; Matthew 28:18-20).

1.2 Meaning of the Term “Evangelist.” The term used to describe the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist in Ephesians 4:11 means a believer with a special ability to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Evangelist performs specific services to the church. Many passages in the New Testament describe the work of evangelists. We will focus primarily upon the use of the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist.

1.3 Evangelism and the Spiritual Gifts. All believers must know and use their spiritual gifts to the glory of God. All believers, not just the pastors and church leaders, perform the work of evangelism.  While all believers must perform the work of evangelism, only some believers have the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist, bestowed by the Holy Spirit upon some, but not all, believers as a gift of grace which works according to His power (Ephesians 3:7).

1.4 The New Testament Diversity of the Term “Evangelist.” The Greek term translated as “evangelist” has diverse applications in the New Testament.  As you read through these varying uses of the term “evangelist” and related words, please keep in mind that I interpret these passages below as examples, on the one hand, of spiritual activities all believers will do at times; but, on the other hand, the person with the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist in the forms described below will have a special gift from God to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.  Let us explore some of those uses to gain insight into the different ways God gifts people to serve in His name and in His ministry to the Body of Christ. We will see below that the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist involves different major areas of ministry. We will look at them one at a time.

1.5 The Gospel Defined. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-3, Paul described the Gospel that he preached and how it changed the lives of the Corinthian believers. Paul carefully explained the steps involved in the work of the evangelist. Paul described certain articles of faith as of first importance.

1.5.1 Christ Died for Our Sins. The Gospel centers upon Jesus Christ, and His death for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3). Paul taught that the truth of the Gospel was according to the Scriptures, which contained prophecies, contemporaneous records, and historical accounts of the life, death, burial and ascension of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah of Israel, and Savior of the world.

1.5.2 Christ Was Raised.  The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ support the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Without a resurrection from the dead, we are still in our sins and of all men the most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:4-19).

1.6 The Gospel Preached. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). But hearing requires preachers to go and spread the good news. They can only go if they are sent. So, people can only be converted and call upon the name of the Lord if they have a preacher sent to them, who will faithfully proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 10:5-17). Not everyone hearing will believe, but those appointed by God to salvation will always believe (Acts 13:48). Other people hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but repudiate it and judge themselves unworthy of eternal life (Acts 13:46).

1.7 The Gospel Received. Jesus proclaimed that as many as “received” (“ἔλαβον”) Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name (John 1:13). Hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ must be united with faith in those who hear (Hebrews 4:2). So, merely hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ profits nothing. In fact, if you hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and do not receive Jesus as Savior, then your heart may become hardened, causing you to think lightly of the kindness and patience of God, Who is not wiling for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance and eternal life (Hebrews 4:7; Romans 2:4-5; 2 Peter 3:9). The Gospel of Jesus Christ must be received for what it really is, the word of God, and not the word of men, so that it will perform its work in the believers (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

1.8 The Gospel Stand. Paul also described believers as people who “stand” (“ἑστήκατε”) in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1; see also 2 Corinthians 1:24). Likewise, because of our faith we stand in the grace of God, and exult in the hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:2). Believers must put on the full armor of God to stand firm against the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:11). So, believers who stand firm in their faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ enjoy the blessings of God throughout their lifetime.

1.9 The Gospel of Salvation. Salvation comes only through receiving Jesus Christ as Savior. No other name under heaven has been given by which we must be saved. There is no salvation in anyone else (Acts 4:12). Jesus alone is the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Jesus alone has the words of eternal life (John 6:68). Paul received the Gospel of Jesus Christ by direct revelation from Jesus Christ, and not from men (Galatians 1:11-13). This Gospel of Jesus Christ, preached by the apostles and others, is the word of the LORD which endures forever (1 Peter 1:25; John 6:68).

Section Two

The Ministry of Evangelists: Foundations

2.1 Evangelist: The Scope of the Ministries.  The single Spiritual Gift of Evangelist may give rise to a variety of ministries. In the New Testament, we see many people sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a variety of different ways. From those examples, we can learn about some of the ministries people may have as they employ the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist bestowed upon them by the Holy Spirit.

2.2 Jesus the Evangelist. Jesus came as a leader of Judah, a Ruler Who will shepherd Israel, the people of God (Matthew 2:6). Jesus fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah the prophet: “the Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor” (Luke 4:18). Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom and presented Himself as the only Savior, attested by God through His words and works, proven by the Scriptures and the direct testimony of God the Father and the Holy Spirit and John the Baptist, and with the proof to all men by His resurrection (John 5:33-47; Matthew 4:13-17; Matthew 17:5; Acts 17:31). Jesus promised to build His church, and He does so one believer at a time by individual faith–even when multitudes receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ together (Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:41). A believer with the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist may often display the compassion of Jesus Christ, and present the good news of salvation to all kinds of people, in all kinds of places.

2.3 Other New Testament Evangelists. Jesus taught His disciples to beseech the Lord of the Harvest to send forth workers into the harvest, for the fields were white for harvest (John 4:35). Jesus sent forth the twelve apostles as His eyewitnesses of His life and resurrection (Matthew 28:17-20; Acts 1:21-22; Acts 10:37; 2 Peter 1:16). Some of His apostles had very unsavory reputations before they received salvation (e.g., Paul the persecutor of the church–Galatians 1:23). A believer with the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist may have come from a very unGodly background, but now has been saved, cleansed and commissioned by God to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

2.3.1 Peter the Evangelist. After the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, just as Jesus promised, Peter and others began to preach. Jesus had described a geographical expansion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: beginning in Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, and then to the  remotest part of the earth (Acts 1:8). At Pentecost, Peter preached about Jesus and His crucifixion. When the crowd heard the message, they wanted to know what they must do. Peter then explained repentance, salvation, and baptism to them and thousands believed (Acts 2:14-42). Even when faced with opposition from the religious leaders, Peter continued to preach about salvation (Acts 3:11-26; see also Acts 6:7). The religious leaders arrested Peter and John, but they continued teaching and preaching (Acts 4:1-31). Peter and John also preached salvation in Samaria (Acts 8:14-25). Later, Peter also preached salvation through the entire regions of Caesarea, Lydda and Joppa (Acts 9:32-10:48). The believer with the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist may preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people who are hated by other groups of people. A believer with the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist may also travel into new regions, all over the world, to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

2.3.2 Stephen the Evangelist. Stephen, one of the seven chosen to be in charge of the ministry of feeding the widows, being full of grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people (Acts 6:8). With great wisdom Stephen proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Jews in Jerusalem and sealed his message by being stoned to death (Acts 6:8-7:60). A great persecution of the church in Jerusalem arose upon the death of Stephen, causing the scattering of many believers, who preached the Gospel to many places, including Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch (Acts 8:1; Acts 11:19). A believer with the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist may give that believer’s life as a martyr because that believer did not shrink back from sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to hostile crowds.

2.3.3 The Woman at the Well.  Jesus met a Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar and presented the Gospel to her. He declared Himself to be the Messiah of Israel. Although the woman at the well did not have the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist, she does present a very good example of reaching an entire city through the ministry of one person speaking to an entire city. This woman apparently had a poor reputation in town, because she had five husbands, and the man she was with at the time was not her husband (John 4:7-45). Yet, Jesus chose her to be His messenger to Sychar. Today, Jesus chooses people with highly blemished reputations to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to entire cities. A believer with the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist may shortly after salvation begin sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to an entire city.

2.3.3.1 The Ministry of Sowing. After the woman at the well sowed the seed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Sychar, that entire city came to see Jesus. As they came, Jesus looked at the people of Sychar and taught His disciples a valuable lesson about evangelism: “One sows and another reaps” (John 4:37). Jesus meant that He and others had sown the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Sychar, and now some of those people were coming to meet Jesus and receive Him as Messiah and Savior. A believer with the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist may have the ministry of sowing the Gospel of Jesus Christ among people so that other believers may reap the fruit of that sowing later.

2.3.3.2 The Ministry of Reaping.  Jesus told the disciples they were reaping what they had not sown. Even so, the sower and the reaper would rejoice together over the harvest of souls. Jesus meant that His disciples would harvest the fruit sown by the woman at the well when she went into Sychar and told the people about Jesus (John 4:28-31; see also 1 Corinthians 3:6). A believer with the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist may have the ministry of reaping souls who believed because another believer has sown the Gospel of Jesus Christ earlier among those people.

2.3.4 The Gadarene Demoniac. Jesus met a Gadarene man possessed by a legion of demons. After speaking to that man, Jesus cast out the demons and the man returned to his sound mind and sat with Jesus. As Jesus got into the boat to leave, the Gadarene man sought to join Jesus in the boat. Jesus denied the man, saying: “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he left and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him (Luke 8:26-39). Although the Gadarene man did not have the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist, Jesus chose this man who broke chains and lived in tombs to receive the gift of eternal life from Jesus, and then proclaim the marvelous grace and love of Jesus to the entire area. The believer with the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist may have to confront demons as part of the ministry of evangelism. Furthermore, a believer with the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist may have been demon possessed previously, but now is saved and controlled by the Holy Spirit; that believer may spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people who knew the evangelist as a demon-possessed person.

2.3.5 Philip the Evangelist. Philip apparently became known as “the evangelist” because of his preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 21:8). Philip went through Samaria, proclaiming Christ to them. He left Judea in a wave of persecution, beginning with the death of Stephen (Acts 8:4-5). A believer with the Spiritual Gift of Evangelist may go to new places, driven forward by persecution behind them. Upon arrival they begin proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people previously separated by religious cultures and practices.

Section Three

The Ministry of Evangelists: New Fields