This week we are continuing our study of the equipping ministries listed in Ephesians 4:1, and will take a brief look at the ministry of the evangelist.
In the New Testament, there are over twenty people referred to as apostles, only a few who are referred to as prophets, and only one who is called an evangelist—Philip (see Acts 21:8). Timothy was instructed by Paul to “do the work of an evangelist” (II Timothy 4:5), but was never called an evangelist.
The Greek word that is translated in these verses “evangelist,” is euaggelistes” which literally means “a good messenger,” or “messenger of good,” of “good news.” From the beginning it was used in reference to those who preached the gospel.
In this sense, all the apostles were also evangelists. However, this was but one of their many duties. There were those whose entire ministry was to preach the gospel to bring the opportunity of salvation to the unsaved. Philip, who was appointed with Stephen as one of the seven deacons in Jerusalem, is the only example that we are given of this ministry in the New Testament. From Acts 8, we see that he operated alone, and his ministry was limited to bringing the people to salvation. He needed the apostles to come behind him to establish those who embraced salvation into a church. Even though Philip demonstrated remarkable signs and wonders so as to stir the entire city, in this case it was the apostles who prayed for the people to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
We then see at the height of this revival of an entire city, Philip being led away to preach the gospel to just one man in the desert. That would require remarkable sensitivity and obedience to the Spirit, as well as submission to the ministry that God had given to the others, i.e. the apostles. Philip was obviously not possessive of his work, and recognized his own limitations.
Today the Southern Baptists seem to recognize this ministry, and have learned to utilize it better than any other segment of the body of Christ. When one demonstrates this anointing in their ranks, they put a very high value on it, and try to promote those with this gift by providing support for crusades and other outreaches. The bigger ministries, such as Billy Graham, also try to enlist the rest of the body of Christ in their efforts to reach a city. It is therefore not surprising that the most anointed evangelists of our times have come through the ranks of the Southern Baptists.
Because Paul instructed Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist” many have construed this to mean that all are called to do this. Certainly we should all be ready to share the hope that is within us. It is noteworthy that studies have shown over 95 percent of those who come to salvation do so through the witness of a friend or relative. This means that less than 5 percent are coming through crusades, Christian television, tracks, and all other forms of witnessing combined. This brings us to an important point concerning the ministry of the evangelist—it’s primary responsibility is to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry as is the case with all of these ministries listed in Ephesians 4:11.
It is the special function of the evangelist to impart a love for the lost world, and a passion for reaching the lost. The fact that 95 percent of those who come to Christ do so through the witnessing of individual believers is the way that it should be, and should be considered a testimony of the success of the evangelists in the church today.
However, though we may have the ratio right, the numbers of new conversions are growing dramatically almost everywhere on earth except in the United States and Western Europe. These are the primary places where the church has been experiencing a meltdown of devotion to biblical morality, integrity, and sound doctrine. Because the majority of evangelism is relational, one of the most crucial elements to effective evangelism is an encouraged church. When immorality, impurity, and a departure from sound doctrine begin to creep in the light begins to dim, and the witness of the church stops.
In II Corinthians 13:5 we are exhorted to “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!” One way we can do this is by the way that we are reaching the lost. Regardless of how mature we have become we are not walking in the light unless it is setting free those who are in darkness. This is a basic characteristic of everyone who walked in the light in both Scripture and in history. We can make all manner of excuses for not reaching the lost and saving souls, but we should be examining ourselves to find out what is wrong.
One of the things that we have started doing is giving a brief but direct call to salvation at the end of most of our services regardless of what the message was about. The result has been that in almost every service there is at least one new convert, and often many more. We started doing this because studies have shown that less than 25 percent of those in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. Others have found that there can be a majority of people in conservative evangelical churches who have never had a born again experience.
One friend of mine gave a brief salvation message at the end of a service in one of the most respected evangelical churches in the country, and expected only a handful to come forward. He was shocked when hundreds poured out of their seats to be born again. The pastor was so humiliated that he accused the evangelist of heaping condemnation on the people, but that was not the case. These people were in this church because they believed in it, and wanted it, but even though some of them had faithfully attended this church for years no one had told them how to be born again, or led them through a salvation prayer.
Of course we can point to many churches that are so focused on the salvation message that they fail to feed and help mature the sheep that have come to salvation. However, there seems to have been an overreaction to this. Many presume that those who are attending their church have been born again when they have not. Even so, to empathize a bit with the pastor noted above, the church meetings should be for believers, not unbelievers. If we equipped our people properly to do the work of evangelism, every home of our members would be a lighthouse for salvation. So would every home group and prayer meeting. They would be leading people to salvation at work, while shopping, at the Lions Club, etc.
Like all of these ministries, we can only touch on them very superficially here. My goal is to stir up the gifts that have been dormant. If just one in each congregation is stirred up, many more will catch on. If this has stirred or convicted you in any way, please continue pursuing the Lord in this. What could be more important in our life than leading even a single soul to salvation?