A few years ago Carolyn was talking with a Bible school
student in Nigeria. He explained that he had an evangelist's call
and that the Lord had given him the mission of evangelizing a
series of villages in his region. He told her in great detail how
he was going to go back to his village, establish a church there,
raise up some elders, leave the church in good hands, and then go
on to the next village and do the same thing. He said that with
the Lord's help, he was going to buy a bicycle so he could ride
from village to village to check up on the churches he had
established. He planned to be in a larger town during the rainy
season so he could call by telephone and talk to the church
leaders because the roads were impassable during the rains.
        After hearing this Carolyn asked the young man if he
understood the call of the apostle. He said that he did not, that
he was only familiar with the pastor's and the evangelist's call.
Carolyn then explained to him that the vision or mission the Lord
had given him fit exactly that of an apostle, not an evangelist.
        This young man's lack of understanding is common,
particularly in the developing nations of the world. When God
calls people to ministry, often they do not fully understand what
their calling is. It is common in many parts of the world that
when a person does not pastor a church, he or she takes the title
"evangelist." In so doing the term evangelist loses its true
meaning and becomes a general term describing non-pastoring
ministers of the gospel.
        In this teaching we will examine what and who an evangelist
is, and what he or she is not.

The Universal Ministry of Reconciliation
        First let us recognize that in one sense we all are called
to evangelism. For the Scripture says,

        "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself
        through Christ and gave us the ministry of
        reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to
        himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against
        them. And he has committed to us the message of
        reconciliation." (2 Cor 5:18,19 NIV)

        God sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to reconcile the world
to Himself. As believers, we too must be committed to reconciling
all people to Christ. This is the personal responsibility of
evangelism that falls on every believer. We all are called to
witness and lead lost people to salvation through Jesus. But this
is not to say we are all called evangelists.

The Evangelist, One of the Five-Fold Ministries
        Paul writes, "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some
to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors
and teachers . . ." (Eph 4:11 NIV) Some call these the "five-fold
public ministries." Other ministries found in the Bible fall into
a category generally known as helps or support ministries. (See
Rom 12:6, and 1 Cor 12:28.)
        The New Testament Greek word for evangelist is 
or, euaggelistas. It appears many times in its verb form,
euaggelion. It only appears three times in the noun form, meaning
"evangelist." (See Acts 21:8, Eph 4:11, and 2 Tim 4:5.)

The Good News In the Old Testament
        The Greek word euaggelion in its verb form means "to preach
the good news" or "to preach the gospel." The most literal
translation is "to announce the glad tidings." The Hebrew
equivalent used in the Old Testament also means "to announce the
good news," but in a much boarder sense than we think of today.
        The noted theologian, Gerhard Friedrich, analyzed both the
Greek word euaggelion and its Hebrew equivalent in the
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.1  In his explanation
Mr. Friedrich referenced Psalm 40:10 and 68:11,

        "I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of
        your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love
        and your truth from the great assembly." (40:10 NIV)

        "The Lord announced the word, and great was the company of
        those who proclaimed it." (68:11 NIV)

        Friedrich continues, "Most significant for an understanding
of the New Testament concept of euaggelion is . . . Isaiah and
the literature influenced by it. Psalm 40:10 and 68:11 speak only
of the isolated acts of Yahweh which are to be declared. . .
Isaiah, however expects the great victory of Yahweh, His
accession, His kingly rule, the dawn of the new age. . . .
        "He is the herald who precedes the people on their return
from Babylon to Zion. All Jerusalem stands on the towers and
walls expecting the train of returning exiles. They see the
messenger . . . on top of the hill, 'Peace and salvation. Yahweh
is King,' he cries to them. . . He proclaims the victory of
Yahweh over the whole world. Yahweh is now returning to Zion to
rule. The messenger publishes it, and the new age begins. He does
not declare that the rule of God will soon commence; he proclaims
it, he publishes it, and it comes into effect. Salvation comes
with the word of proclamation. By the fact that he declares the
restoration of Israel, the new creation of the world, the
inauguration of the eschatological age, he brings them to pass.
For the word is not just breath and sound; it is effective power. 
Yahweh puts His words on lips of His messengers. He it is who 
speaks through them. [emphasis added]
        "The close connection between this whole circle of thought
and the New Testament is evident. The eschatological expectation,
the proclamation of the Kingdom of God . . . the introduction of
the Gentiles into salvation history . . ."
        The first thing we notice when we read the above passage is
that as Friedrich describes them, God's words and deeds were
proclaimed by the Old Testament prophets, not evangelists! In
other words, in the Old Testament period, when God was teaching
the Israelites about Himself, He used prophets. In fact, there
really were no evangelists as we think of them today in the Old
Testament period. God used His prophets to help train the
Israelites to become a holy people set apart. He never directed
them to evangelize the surrounding tribes and nations!

The New Testament Good News
        Now that we have looked at the power of the declaration of
the good news in the Old Testament Hebrew form, let us again
examine the Greek word found in the New Testament, euaggelion. It
is only after Jesus' death and resurrection that the Great
Commission was given to all believers to go into all the world
and make disciples of Christ. It is in this context that we begin
to see the noun form of euaggelion, euaggelistas. In its simplest
terms, beginning in the New Testament period, the evangelist is
one who proclaims the good news of the Kingdom of God to those in
need of salvation.
        Here is what Mr. Friedrich had to say about the first
century church evangelists: ". . . The number of evangelists must
have been greater than one might suppose from the number of
occurrences in the New Testament. The New Testament evangelist is
not one who declares oracles as among the Greeks. He is . . . the
one who proclaims the glad tidings, [the good news]. Euaggelistas
originally denotes a function rather than an office, and there
can have been little difference between an apostle and an
evangelist, all the apostles being evangelists. On the other
hand, not all evangelists were apostles, for direct calling by
the risen Lord was an essential aspect of the apostolate. In all
three New Testament passages the evangelists are subordinate to
the apostles."2
        From an analysis of the Greek text it is clear that the
evangelist's primary function is to proclaim the "good news" of
salvation through Christ Jesus to the lost. Let's now examine the
call of the evangelist and make some observations about the
person of the evangelist.

The Evangelist's Burden
        The called evangelist seems to have an intense understanding
of the ultimate fate of the unsaved. He is often gripped with a
vision or sense of the harvest field and the lost souls in it.
His heart aches for the lost. His continual prayer is for the
lost. He longs to see their salvation.
        Since his vision for the lost is so intense, once a person
receives salvation, the evangelist often forgets about him or
her. It is his compelling vision of the harvest field that drives
him.
        This is the characteristic that separates the evangelist
from the apostle. When the evangelist makes converts he wants to
quickly move on. The apostle stays and works to form a
functioning church before he moves on to a new field. Remember
the story of the young man in Africa that Carolyn talked to?
Remember how he wanted to establish a church in each village and
how he understood the need to stay in contact with each church
and help them grow? That's how Carolyn knew he was not truly an
evangelist. (Although as an apostle, evangelism would be one of
the things he would need to do.) The heart of the evangelist is
not with the already established church. This is not to say that
one is right and the other is wrong. It is merely a major
difference between the two ministries.

Boldness When Moving in the Gift
        The evangelist moves with great boldness when he or she is
moving in the gift. There is power and authority in his words.
There is a fearlessness when he or she is proclaiming the good
news of salvation. Now this does not necessarily mean that the
evangelist has a naturally bold personality. I have known many
rather mild mannered, almost meek evangelists. But when they are
stirred by the Holy Spirit to speak God's truths to the lost, the
meekness disappears and a directness and intensity flows. The
boldness and authority is simply there, even when he is speaking
in a rather quiet voice to a small group or even to one person.

Signs and Wonders Accompanying the Call
        Very often signs and wonders accompany the ministry of the
evangelist. Let's turn again to the expertise of Mr. Friedrich.
He says, "[the evangelist] is not just speaking and preaching; it
is proclamation with full authority and power. Signs and wonders
accompany the evangelical message. They belong together, for the
Word is powerful and effective. The proclamation of the age of
grace, the rule of God, creates a healthy state in every respect.
Bodily disorders are healed and man's relation to God is set
right. Joy reigns where this Word is proclaimed. It brings
salvation . . . It effects regeneration. It is not the word of
man, but the living, eternal Word of God. The Holy Spirit, who
was sought for the day of salvation, attests Himself now in the
time of fulfillment when the glad tidings are proclaimed."3
        There was an evangelist named Kathryn Kuhlman in America
during the 1960's. I will describe what I saw at one of her
services. There were more than 7,000 people at the meeting.
Someone began to lead in worship choruses. After nearly an hour,
Ms. Kuhlman appeared wearing a long flowing gown like one would
expect a celebrity to wear. She began quite informally talking
about Jesus. She read a verse of Scripture and talked more about
her lovely, lovely Jesus.
        I had intended to take notes on her sermon but it was
impossible to follow anything she said. By this time I was
thinking I had wasted my time by coming. Then she began to speak
words of knowledge about various healings that were occurring all
over the auditorium. I was watching a small girl sitting close to
me with a deformed leg. Suddenly her withered leg grew out and
become whole right before my eyes, less than two meters away!
This miraculous physical healing completely erased all of my
doubts!
        The healings, testimonies and words of knowledge continued
for about two hours. She then began to give an altar call for
salvation. More than 2,000 people responded to the salvation
appeal! By this time I decided she could say, do, and dress any
way she wanted as long as Jesus worked through her!
        In Scripture we see Philip the evangelist at work in Acts
8:13 demonstrating the miraculous. "Simon [the sorcerer] himself
believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere,
astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw." (NIV)
        I believe the miracles which accompany the evangelist flow
from God's love and compassion for people's suffering. But they
also have a broader purpose. Miracles draw people. Even mature
Christians are drawn to a ministry where miracles occur. Miracles
build up the faith of us all, believers and unbelievers alike!
And they certainly set up the unsaved to hear the message of
salvation.

The Salvation Message
        Let me make another observation about the message of the
evangelist. It seems to me that regardless of the Scripture he
chooses as his text, the evangelist has the God-given ability to
turn it into a salvation message! He can find salvation in almost
any Scripture in the Bible. He can get people saved preaching
from Leviticus or the "begats"!

Personal and/or Corporate Evangelism
        I believe that there are two kinds of evangelists. There are
those who are able to speak to the multitudes. They are happiest
when they are preaching to large crowds. This is usually the
picture we have in our minds when we hear the word "evangelist."
        But there are also what I call the personal evangelists.
Years ago there was a man in my church who was a personal
evangelist. I used to go with him as he did door-to-door
evangelism. I have never seen anyone more effective than this man
in personal evangelism. He would knock on the door of a total
stranger and in a matter of minutes have that person (and often
several people) on his or her knees tearfully asking Jesus to
come into his heart! In two hours he would gain access into
several homes leaving a wake of newly saved people in the kingdom
of God. Yet this man, with this powerful gift of personal
evangelism, could hardly preach a sermon to a congregation!
        Both corporate and individual evangelism work with a high
degree of effectiveness. And of course, there are some
evangelists who are comfortable proclaiming the salvation message
in both settings.

Early Ministry Success
        I have observed that the evangelist, much more than the
pastor, teacher, apostle, or prophet, can become effective in his
ministry call quickly. I once knew a very powerful evangelist who
got saved one day and was out preaching salvation in the park the
next day. He had been born again less than one day. He obviously
didn't know the Bible. Yet people were getting saved!
        We have already noted that it is because God's truths are
being proclaimed by the evangelist that he usually moves in great
power and miracles. This power is from God. It is not something
the evangelist can create. The person proclaiming the salvation
message is simply an agent used by God. The whole purpose of the
message is so that those hearing it will become saved.
        This early success can be a great trap for the evangelist.
It takes the Lord, by His Holy Spirit, years if not decades, to
make a mature believer. It takes the Lord, by His Holy Spirit,
years to raise up mature apostles, prophets, pastors or teachers.
And evangelists are no different.
        The evangelist makes a mistake when he or she arrogantly
assumes that the presence of God's power is also God's approval
of his ministry and his person. Just because an evangelist
experiences many salvations through his ministry does not
necessarily mean he is a mature Christian.

Pride and Inflated Ego
        The very power mentioned above, if it is accompanied by a
lack of character and Christian maturity, will almost without
exception lead to pride and an inflated ego in the evangelist. I
know of one evangelist who had great pride. On one occasion a
fellow minister went to him to admonish him about his sin. The
evangelist replied, "Do you know who you're talking to? I'm God's
man of power! Don't you speak to me that way!" This evangelist
was full of pride and rejected the admonition. In less than one
year he fell into public disgrace because of the very sin God
tried to warn him about.
        In light of what we are saying you may ask, "How can this
be? How can someone so full of sin have a valid evangelistic
ministry in which many people get saved?" That's a good question.
I believe the answer lies in part in God's faithfulness to the
hungry heart of the hearer of the message. God can use any vessel
He chooses to reach those who will listen.
        Years ago there was an American evangelist who had a
powerful ministry. He was also an alcoholic. I have heard stories
that at times he would get into the pulpit drunk and yet many
people would get saved during the meeting! Why? God honors the
heart of the hungry. It is God's will that none are lost. So when
one hears the message and is saved, God rejoices regardless of
the vessel delivering it.
        Of course, that alcoholic evangelist will have to personally
stand before God's judgment, just as we all will. God was not
ignoring his sin. There will be a judgment. But we must never
question the salvation of anyone just because the person
delivering the message is a tainted vessel. (And we do well to
remember that all of us sin daily so we're all tainted vessels to
some degree.)

The Evangelist Often Gets Out From Under Authority
        Since most evangelists desire to follow the harvest, they
are continually traveling. Usually a local church, or a group of
churches, sends out the evangelist. The sending church or
churches are their spiritual covering. It is crucial that the
evangelist return periodically to report back on his ministry.
All of us must have spiritual authority figures over us. We must
never place ourselves outside that authority and accountability,
and the evangelist is no exception!

The Evangelist May Leave Converts Unchurched
        The evangelist's burden is for the lost. He gives the altar
call, prays the people to salvation and leaves the next day! He
therefore often leaves the newly saved behind without a local
church to nurture them. I have seen this many times.
        One of the best movements I've observed in recent years in
the ministry of evangelism is the teamwork with local churches in
an effort to get the names of the newly saved so followup can be
done. The goal is to get the new convert into a local church
immediately. There should always be a system in place to capture
the newly saved and funnel them into local churches for growth
and nurturing. None of us, including the evangelist, are doing
our jobs completely unless this is done.

The Evangelist Makes A Poor Pastor
        Although many would deny it, evangelists don't make great
pastors. For one thing they continually preach salvation messages
to the already saved. Their burden is simply not for the already
saved functioning within an existing church. This is not to say
that God will not, from time to time, place an evangelist in the
pastorate. But it is the exception rather than the rule.

The Hearers of the Good News
        As every Christian knows, including the evangelist, not all
who hear the good news of salvation are going to respond
favorably. And even among those who respond many will fall away.
I recently heard Billy Graham say that fifty percent of all new
converts fall away within five years. This reality obviously
grieved him.
        Jesus addressed this in the parable of the sower. (See Mark
4:3-8.) He told of the four responses by those who receive the
good news. Some listen, but the enemy steals the message; some
get saved but fall away because of persecution; and some get
choked and bare little fruit because of the worries of this life,
the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things. But
some who hear and are born again grow and produce a crop of
thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown!

Conclusion
        Let me conclude by briefly referring to the Reverend Billy
Graham. He is the most well known evangelist in the world today.
He began his ministry in 1943. By the late 1940's he had gained
national fame throughout the United States. His ministry then
became worldwide.
        In the last six decades literally millions of people have
come to Christ through the evangelistic ministry of Billy Graham.
Today his organization, in addition to holding crusades
worldwide, produces Christian movies and literature for world
distribution. He has a weekly broadcast called the "Hour of
Decision" that began in 1950. In 1966 he inspired the World
Congress on Evangelism in Berlin. His organization continues to
host periodic conferences on world evangelism. His quest for lost
souls seems to know no bounds.
        For many years now Billy Graham's ministry has been sending
a team ahead to a crusade region one year in advance of the
crusade. That team works with the local churches to train them to
assure good followup on those who come to Christ during the
crusade. As I've already said, this is so crucial and effective.
        Billy Graham personally is hosted by kings, presidents, and
world leaders in every nation he travels to. Yet his personal
humility can be felt and observed by all. To me, Billy Graham is
the model of a fully mature Christian moving in unparalleled
power as an evangelist. He personally, and his ministry, has
stood the test of time. He is a world statesman for Christ! He is
truly the model for every evangelist!


        1. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, edited by
Gerhard Kittel, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapid
Michigan, Volume II, Pages 708,9.
        2. Ibid, Page 737.
        3. Ibid, Page 720.