The Office Of The Evangelist

The Office of the Evangelist

Ephesians 4:11-16 - And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

The ministry of the evangelist is one of the five perfecting ministries God gave to men so that Christians may come to spiritual maturity. Apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists, and pastors are the governing body of the church. The office or ministry of the evangelist falls into this category.

Evangelists are given to help train and equip God’s people and to bring them to maturity. They are to prepare the saints for works of ministry and to teach them how to build up the body of Christ. The purpose is to bring the church into unity of the faith so that the body of Christ can grow into the full measure of Christ Himself. This is also true for the other four ministry offices that have been given to the church.

a. Definition

The word “evangelist” comes from the Greek word “euagelion” which means "a messenger of good news or gospel". It is applied to someone who is able to communicate the message of the Gospel in such a way that many people will listen and be moved to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

An evangelist is someone who has been given a special empowerment by the Holy Spirit to evangelize and is called to be a witness for Jesus Christ. It is the special ability God gives to some to proclaim the Gospel of salvation effectively so that people respond to the gospel message.

b. Their function

The office of the evangelist is only given to certain individuals who God anoints with supernatural enablement to minister.

A person cannot simply study to be an evangelist and no one can teach someone to be an evangelist. You cannot choose to be an evangelist. The evangelists of God are not trained in the religious schools of man, nor are they raised up from among the leadership of the organized church.

Evangelism is one of the easiest gifts to spot because people with this gift are focused on people being saved. Signs and wonders are evident when they preach the gospel.

When an evangelist preaches, they nearly always end with an invitation to receive Christ.

The best source of information for detailing the work of an evangelist is contained in the New Testament letters addressed to evangelists such as Timothy.

The book of Acts records the ministry of Philip who was also referred to as “Phillip the Evangelist.” He successfully evangelized many including the Ethiopian eunuch.

Acts 8:5-13 - Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city. But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the great power of God." And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

Paul preached the gospel wherever he went. That was his primary purpose and passion. He taught that it is not sufficient to hear the message because he believed there had to be personal repentance and faith that leads to salvation.

He was convinced that people everywhere needed to hear the gospel and boldly declared the life-changing message. His evangelistic preaching included the following and emphasized that true believers experiences the life of Christ in their hearts.