As the year of 2004 came to an end, I spent some time reflecting on both my personal and ministerial aspects of my life. I thought about the goals I planned to achieve but never started; all my accomplishments, my defeats, my victories, and pondered the "what ifs." I discovered that most of the year was spent on seeking God's will as I explored new ways to create a balance between being a church member, ministering in my home church and as an itinerant evangelist. I believe many strong gifted ministers struggle with similar issues that tends to place them outside the box of the regular church structure. My hope is that this article will shed more "light" on the topic.
SQUARE PEGGING IT - Part of an evangelist's responsibility is to exhort Christians to "go" out into the world and make disciples." This message shakes the majority of the church out of their comfort zones; especially when the word "go" in relation to the "Great Commission" is repetitive, it can put a damper on relationships in the evangelists home church.
Evangelists have an extraordinary passion and zeal to reach the lost, which can often be misunderstood as self-promotion or immaturity. Their hearts cry out, "Lord, touch the hearts of your people to reach the lost." When there is not much response, they end up feeling frustrated and alone in their callings, wondering why the majority of the church does not share their passion to reach the lost. Therefore, they often feel like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole.
During times like this, feeling discouraged, they might think about giving up; to stop exhorting the church, leave their church family, or even withdraw from their ministry. However, this reaction would be contrary to Scripture; thus every Christian must belong to a local congregation, for they are not to forsake assembling together, no matter how strong their gift or office. The question is: "How should evangelists and other strongly gifted ministers fit in with their local church fellowship, without compromising their passionate gift and fiery zeal, while still maintaining peaceful loving relationships with those who reject their primary message?" This is not an easy task for visionaries who are zealous to do the Lords will.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. (1 Corinthians 12:4-6 NASB)
Depending on each person and their calling, gifting and anointing; degrees of tasks will vary. For instance Reinhard Bonnke is a mass evangelist but not all evangelists are called to mass evangelism; he also struggled fitting in at his local church: He wrote, "I wanted to do evangelism, and (those in leadership over me) didn't want me to do it. When God spoke to me and said that I should obey Him more than man, then His blessings began to follow."
EVANGELIST - "a bringer of good news." This sounds simple enough right? Wrong! There is much more to the calling of an evangelist. *The word "evangelist" only appears three times in the New Testament, therefore, it is worth spending time digging deeper into the Scriptures for more revelation. Let's look at those three Scriptures:
- The Office of an Evangelist - And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ… (Ephesians 4:11-12 NASB) Here we see the office of the Evangelist as one of the distinct five-fold gifts sent to the church, to equip the saints for the work of service and to build up body of Christ. You might be familiar with an allegory that refers to the "the human hand" as a map; each finger represents one of the five fold gifts, the middle finger reaches out the furthest, which could only be the Evangelist.
- Doing the work of an Evangelist - But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:5 NASB)Timothy was mentored, trained and labored on Paul's apostolic team, (see 1 Thessalonians 1:1 & 2:6). Even so, Paul exhorted him to do the work of an evangelist (see Ephesians 4:11), which implies he was to take the gospel out further into Ephesus. Paul also told him to be sober and to endure hardship! Hardship is right, the combination of ministry and relationships are not easy for those who do the work of an evangelist.
- Philip the Evangelist - And on the next day we departed and came to Caesarea; and entering the house of Philip the evangelist… (Acts 21:8 NASB) Philip is the only named evangelist in the entire Bible! This is why when exploring the ministry of an evangelist we must glean from Philips life. Combined with Ephesians 4:11, we learn that evangelists have two major tasks they must learn how to balance and fulfill to the church and to the lost. However not forgetting they must also keep their relationships intact as they minister the powerful and convicting message of the gospel!
TWO MAJOR TASKS -
1st The Lost - Philip worked, lived and fellowshipped with other five fold ministers; both Paul's apostolic band and the prophet Agabus visited his home where he lived with his four daughters who were prophetess. Even though Phillip was connected and linked with the apostolic and prophetic leaders he was also very sensitive to the Holy Spirit and moved from place to place under Gods authority.
Philip was ordained as a deacon and later moved into the office of an evangelist. He went, to Samaria, and preached "Christ." He performed miracles of healing and deliverance; many believed, were saved, and baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. When the Jerusalem Church found out, they "sent" the apostles Peter and John to help. It is interesting to note that the apostles were "sent," they were already "sent ones". The Scripture does not tell us if Philip was "sent", it says that after Steven's martyrdom, he "went" to Samaria. Also, Philip, like Jesus, ministered to "many people at once" and sometimes to "only one person," he also labored "with others" and sometimes "alone."
When the Spirit of the Lord told Philip to go to Gaza he did not go out "two by two" or ask for a man's permission, he obeyed the Spirit. Can you imagine the Holy Spirit telling you to go into a bar or to a dry lonely desert and talk to someone from a different culture about Jesus? Would you submit to God or call your pastor first? If Philip had consulted with men, he would have missed the divine appointment God had pre-ordained. Philip's obedience to God had opened the door for the Ethiopian to be "saved and baptized." Philip was faithful to the Holy Spirit and was transported supernaturally to his next assignment!
2nd The Church - God has given the Church five distinct ascension gifts to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. This means that evangelists are to use their special gift to teach, preach and motivate Christians to reach the lost. However, this does not mean they are exclusively constrained to their home church; to the contrary evangelists are called to go to other churches, places, and wherever the Holy Spirit leads them in obedience to God. The two main tasks of an evangelist are to the lost and to the church and I wrote a summary of some of my personal ministry experiences as I sought to achieve these tasks for the Lord.
It is clear that the Evangelists responsibility is to the church and to the lost. As a fivefold minister I continue to learn about my calling as an evangelist and fitting in with "today's" local church.
To read and learn more about my personal experiences...go to>>
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