The Gift of the Evangelist© by Gary W. Crisp
The “Preacher”
Ephesians 4:11c : “The gifts He gave were that some would be...evangelists”
The Greek word, euaggelistes (yoo-ang-ghel-is-tace'), means very simply: “a preacher of the gospel”; hence, an evangelist. Taken from several Greek words, it describes one who “announces good news”, especially the gospel; one who declares, brings or shows glad tidings; one who preaches (the gospel); a messenger, especially an “angel”. And from a very old Webster’s Dictionary, I also found this definition:
“Evangelist: In the early church, one who first preached the Gospel to a nation or people; in modern times, a traveling preacher, not usually a regular minister in any church; also, one who holds meetings, often in the open air or in a tent.”
All of these definitions pretty much tell us the meaning of what most of us believe an evangelist to be. Let’s look at a few verses, then I’ll share some other, slightly different, views of what an evangelist can be. Acts 21:8, 9 tells us of Luke and Paul’s visit with Philip: “The next day we left and came to Caesarea; and we went into the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven, and stayed with him. He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.” Philip, although called an evangelist here, was one of seven men chosen by the twelve apostles to serve as “assistants” under them. Some people refer to them as deacons, but whatever they were, they were specially touched by God, for they had power and favor. These, according to Acts 6: 3, were “seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.” In other words, they were spiritual men to whom the apostles could trust the care and overseeing of the Church.
Evangelists Are Deacons?
No, not necessarily, but let’s take a side trip a moment and look at another important Part of the Body, the deacon. First of all, about “this business”, mentioned above in Acts 6: 3: The “business” was the tending to the daily needs of the Church, including seeing to widows and serving at tables. Also, the word in Acts 6:1, translated as “daily ministration” in the KJV, is rendered as “daily distribution” in the NRSV, NIV and Phillips translations; it is called “daily ministration [and] distribution (of relief)” in the Amplified Bible. The word used in Acts 6:1 is taken from the Greek words diakonia (dee-ak-on-ee'-ah) and diakonos (dee-ak'-on-os).
If these two words sound a lot like “deacon”, it’s because that’s where we get the word deacon. It means “one who is in attendance as a servant or aid; one to run errands; an attendant, i.e. a waiter (at table or in other menial duties)”. If this doesn’t sound like any deacon you’ve ever known, I’m not surprised. Take a look at Acts 6: 8-15 and all of ch.7 to see if that is remindful of deacons of today. Most likely we have not known many, if any, men like that. In these verses, we see the death of Stephen, the first Martyr of the very young Church.
To be fair, the job description of the deacon also includes: “teacher and/or pastor, minister, servant, one who brings relief, and one who gives service”. A deacon is not to be appointed “lightly”, according to Paul’s admonitions to Timothy:
1st Timothy 3:8 : “Likewise must the deacons be serious-minded, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of power or financial gain; v.10 : “And let them also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. v.12 : “Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. v.13 : “For those who use the office of a deacon honsetly and virtuously acquire for themselves an honorable place of service, as well as a great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
Why is a deacon so important to the Church? Because they are people who are appointed to the “local” Church, who are close to the people of God, knowing the hearts, the needs and the “pulse”, as it were, of that local Body of Believers. This is why the apostles explained that they could “trust” the men they had chosen as deacons. Pastors and leaders of the church today must also be certain that the men or women they choose as deacons will also have the best interest of the Church at heart. Apostles and evangelists are not around the churches of the Lord day in and day out, so they must “trust the Church” to those who will faithfully take care of all of its needs.
One of the reasons we have looked at some length at the deacon in the churches, is because Philip (remember Acts 6: 5) was initially “chosen” by the apostles as a “deacon”. We can see, from Acts 21:8, 9 that Philip had another calling. He had the Gift of the Evangelist, the call of God to serve the Church of Jesus. While the apostles may have chosen Philip as a deacon, then sent him to minister to the needs of the churches, Christ chose Philip as an evangelist, sending him forth to the Church at large, as a Gift from Himself to His Body. So never think that the appoinment as a deacon will somehow prevent you from becoming “something more”. If Christ wants you, He knows perfectly well where to find you.
Do You Have the Heart of an Evangelist?
Have you ever been asked by your pastor or some other leader in your church to “get involved” with the Witnessing Campaign or Door-to-door Outreach of the church? Or perhaps you were “coerced” into attending Soul-winning Classes? And maybe your heart did not really feel like you should go? Before I say anything else, let me make it very clear: I am not referring to those who are very timid and fearful of sharing the Love of Jesus Christ with others. I am not talking about Christians who are absolutely “terrified” when it comes to the thought of having to “talk” about their experience with the Lord Jesus. None of us should be “gripped with fear” when it comes to sharing about our love for Him and His Love for us. It does happen, though, but that is “another issue”.
What I am referring to is Christians who know “how” to share the Love of Jesus; who know “how” to lead someone to and through the Sinner’s Prayer; and I am talking of those who know and understand “how” to pray for the need of someone they are dealing with. All of us must learn how to minister to others. None of us are born with this ability, and none of us are necessarily “Born Again” with it either. We all must learn to overcome our fears and insecurities when it comes to witnessing and soul-winning. God helps us in this matter in every way He can. But, what if, after learning and knowing “how” to do all of this, you still don’t necessarily feel the Saturday Witnessing Campaign and the Thursday Night Soul-winning Classes are “for you”?
Maybe You Don’t...
I have a very simple answer, if this is your case. You may not be “called” to be an evangelist! “What?”, you say. What do I mean? What I mean is this: There are so many gifts and callings in the Body of Christ, as we have already established in earlier lessons, and what generally happens in most churches is this: The leaders (i.e. pastors) of most churches see that there are areas within their churches that seem to be “lacking”. Usually it is the “numbers” of the church. Too few numbers, to be exact, so the church must do something about it. “Go out into the highways and byways” is how it is referred to sometimes. Bring more people in. But to do that, someone has to “go out”. That usually means rounding up volunteers. And that may mean you!
Now here’s the problem. There are those who love to go out into those “highways and byways”; they love to knock on doors, confront people, hand out literature, etc. Does this make these people more “spiritual” than us because they love to do such things and we do not? No, not exactly. If we do all of these things in the natural course of whatever our “calling” might be, then we have no reason to think we’re any less than those who go “boldly” out onto the witnessing and soul-winning trail. It may just simply mean this: Those people may have the call of an evangelist on their lives; we may not. It really can be that simple.
Why Are There Gifts In the Church?
All of the five gifts that Christ gives to the Church, as well as the nine gifts of the Spirit, are given and dispersed to the Whole Church. When all are in place and operating as they should, there will be no lack. Churches will not feel the need to coerce those not called to evangelism to do the work of an evangelist. Or, to put it another way, when the gifts and callings of God are all working at full throttle, the evangelists will delight to do their job, and we (called to other duties) will be free to do ours. Paul tells us, in 1st Cor.12:14-27,
“For the Body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, ‘Because I am not the hand, I am not of the Body’, is it therefore not of the Body? And if the ear says, ‘Because I am not the eye, I am not of the Body’, is it therefore not of the Body? If the Whole Body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the Whole Body were an ear, where were the smelling? But God has set the members every one of them in the Body, as it has pleased Him. And if they were all One Member, where is the Body?
“But there are many members, and yet One Body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’, nor can the head say to the feet, ‘I have no need of you’. No, actually those members of the Body, which seem to be more feeble, are more necessary: Those members of the Body, which we think to be ‘less honorable’, upon these we bestow greater honor; and those parts that appear to be ‘less deserving’ are actually those more essential to our [the Body’s] health. Our honorable parts have no need for greater honor. God has made and joined together the Body, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked or ‘seemed’ (to us) inferior.
“He did this so that there should be no division in the Body; but that all of the ‘separate’ members should have the same care one for another. Because when one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or when one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now, you are the Body of Christ, and each of you are Members of Him.”
We might paraphrase Paul’s words, and say something like this: “Pastors and leaders, don’t try to make the foot do the job of the hand, or the ear do what only the eye can do. And don’t hinder the nose by assigning it the duty of hearing. All Parts are members of the Same Body; don’t weaken the Whole Body by trying to get the wrong parts to do the jobs of others. When you do, there will be division and weakness and need in the Body of Christ.” How, then, can pastors and leaders get their people doing their prescribed jobs? There is a way. The way that the Lord desires. It is what I call The Ephesians Four Way. The fourth chapter of Ephesians gives the solution to any church that is seeking the “easy way to minister”. Here are verses 11-13:
“And he gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers; all of these Gifts are for Perfecting the Saints, for the Work of the Ministry, and for Edifying the Body of Christ. This will help us all come into Unity of Faith, bringing us to the Knowledge of the Son of God, to a Perfect (more mature) Man, and to the Measure of the Stature of the Fullness of Christ.
“If we will do this (allow the five-fold ministry gifts to have their effect), then we will not be like ‘children’ anymore, where we are tossed back and forth, carried ‘this way and that’ with every ‘wind of doctrine’, being deceived by the cunning words of men, who lie in wait using deceitful schemes and teachings filled with error. Instead, we will be speaking the Truth in Love, that we may ‘grow up’ into Him in all things; He Who is the Head, even Christ; He from Whom the Whole Body is joined and knit together by every ligament and each Part with which it is equipped. For when each Part is working properly, then this promotes the Body’s growth in building itself up in Love.”
The proper way to allow a church to grow is by teaching it, by encouraging it, and by showing it “how” to function as it ought. Too many of us in too many churches are going about “building our churches” the wrong way. Don’t start out by expecting the sheep of the Lord to be perfect. I have seen too many ministers take that approach. That approach will only frustrate people. Teach them, show them, help them to first understand who they are In Christ. Once you can show them this, you can then move them to a place where they will delight to serve Him, thus making it very easy to find out “what Gift” they may have been given by the Lord. Once they know their gifting and calling, then they can actually help you prepare others for ministry and help to edify and build up the Church. It is a process; it is a teaching process. Some learn more quickly than others, so patience is of the essence.
Do the Work of an Evangelist
2nd Timothy 4:5: “But you (Timothy) be watchful in all things, enduring afflictions, doing the work of an evangelist, and making full proof of your ministry.” Paul had a special affection and bond for Timothy. As you read the two letters which he wrote to his “son in the faith” (1st Timothy 1:2 & 18; 2nd Tim. 2:1: and others), you’ll quickly see that Timothy was “more than a son”. Paul taught and discipled Timothy, leaving no stone unturned and leaving nothing to “chance”. In the verse we looked at earlier (2nd Timothy 4:5:) Paul admonishes his “son” to be watchful, to endure afflictions, to carry out “to the full extent” his ministry...and what was his ministry? We see in this verse that he was, among other things, an evangelist. “Do the work of an evangelist.” Timothy had other giftings, other callings, but Paul “reminds” Timothy to not fail in that call as an evangelist.
To those of us who have this same “call” on our hearts and lives, Paul’s words stand true to us as well. To those of us who do not have this call, don’t fret. If the evangelist is the “hand”, then we may be the “elbow”. All of us have a Part to play in the Whole Body of Christ. First, let us hope we are in a church that recognizes all Five Gifts of Christ to the Church, as well as the Nine Gifts of the Spirit. Secondly, if they do, then let’s also hope that the ministers in our church are actively helping each and every Body Part to function in the manner in which Christ has designed for it to function. If there are any ministers out there, please...stop attempting to make the nose “walk” and the foot “see”. Neither can do those tasks; neither of them was created for anything other than their own fulfilling task.
Once churches, ministers and leaders can accept their responsibilities according to Ephesians 4, by teaching and helping all gifts and callings of God, then we, the Whole Body, can move and grow and function as we are meant to. And the Apostles, Prophets, Teachers and Evangelists will be free to minister to, edify and build up the Church the way that Christ intended. Evangelists must be encouraged in our churches, not exploited. That goes for all five of these special anointed Gifts of Christ.
You need a soul-winner? Find someone who has the gift and call of an evangelist. You need to send someone out witnessing? Get ahold of the evangelist. You want someone to canvas the neighborhood? The evangelist would be happy to do it. Of course, once the Lord sends that evangelist out to the rest of the Church (and to the world, as His witness), you may not see him very often, if at all. One other point...if we, as pastors and teachers, do not teach and encourage and bless the five-fold ministry within our churches, then we can not expect to “find” that evangelist when we may need him or her... or any other of the helpful gifts Christ has so graciously given to His Church.
What is the one thing all churches are called to do?
We are all called to be obedient to the teaching in Ephesians, chapter four...
Perfecting the Saints
Preparing Them for the Work of Their Ministry
Building, Strengthening and Edifying the Body of Christ
Till We All Come Into the Unity of the Faith In Jesus Christ
To go to the teaching on the “Gift of the Pastor”,
the next in the series, please click
here.
Thanks so much for your interest, and may the Lord bless you with insight, understanding, encouragement and hope as you read these teachings on His Gifts to the Church and to you! If you have any questions or comments concerning this teaching, please drop us a line at our E-mail here! Thank you for your input.
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