WHAT IS The Gift of EVANGELIST?
The gift of evangelist is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to share the gospel with unbelievers in such a way that men and women become Jesus' disciples and responsible members of the Body of Christ.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES FOR this Gift
Tap each verse to read it. Unless otherwise noted, all scriptures are in the English Standard Version.
Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did.
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,
On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
IN THE GREEK
EUAGGELISTES
Strong's Number: 2099
A preacher of the gospel; to announce the good news; to declare, bring, good tidings.
SUGGESTED POTENTIAL STRENGTHS & CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS GIFT
- Enjoys talking about Jesus to the lost (Acts 8:5).
- Very instrumental in leading others to believe in Christ as Savior (2 Timothy 4:5).
- Has a burden for the lost (Romans 9:1-3).
- Enjoys being with unbelievers in order to share the gospel (Acts 8:25).
- Is able to persuade people to make decisions (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).
- Able to sense when a person does not know Jesus Christ, and to have compassion for that person (Acts 8:34-35).
- Feels a life calling into the evangelistic ministry.
- Enjoys equipping themselves with memorization of the Word.
- Enjoys meeting and connecting with new people.
- Ability to effectively share with others encouraging stories of God's work in their own life.
SUGGESTED POTENTIAL WEAKNESSES & WARNINGS OF THIS GIFT
- Judgmental toward others who are not actively involved in evangelism (Luke 9:45-46).
- Rely on own power of expression or persuasion to convert people (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).
- Because emphasis is on winning the lost, could be viewed as lacking spiritual depth.
- Eagerness to share Christ with others could be viewed as forceful or abrasive.
- May come across too aggressively, causing more harm than good for the cause of Christ.
- May thrust other believers into evangelistic situations they are not yet equipped to handle.
- Potential to rely on techniques that may no longer be relevant or appropriate for those they are trying to reach.
- Tendency to fall into debate; may be more concerned with winning the argument than the soul.
SUGGESTED WAYS TO SERVE BASED ON THIS GIFT
- Evangelism Work
- Evangelism Training
- Community Ministry
- Altar Worker
- Event Speaker
- Preaching
- Greeter
- Bible Study Leader
- Prison/Jail Visitation
- New Believers Teacher
GOOD BIBLICAL EXAMPLES
PHILIP
*The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016).
Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.