The Ministry of the Evangelist & Evangelism

It is important not to confuse the 'Ministry of the Evangelist' with Evangelism!

By Kevin Piper:

The entire Church is called to do the work of evangelism (witness for Jesus) but only some are called to be Evangelists.

You will notice that the disciples commission in Mark 16 was given to all of the disciples, but only Philip was called an Evangelist.

The ministry of the evangelist is to prepare God's people to witness for Jesus. Evangelism is the responsibility of the entire church, not just a few people... "And He gave some... to be Evangelists... for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry (evangelism), to the building up of the body of Christ: Eph. 4:11 12.

The Great Commission: The Ministry of the Evangelist, for some.

Matt 28v16-20. Make disciples of all nations.

• ¹⁸ And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

I believe this commission has been given to the fivefold ministry to take the 30 fold saints (believers) on to become 60 or 100 fold disciples.

The Evangelist points saints to Jesus, who is calling them to become His disciple. This call needs to be answered by every believer for themselves.

Therefore it was not given for evangelism on the streets but for the equipping of the saints to make them into disciples who will then go out and be witnesses for Christ.

The Disciples Commission: The Ministry of Evangelism, for all.

Go and preach the gospel Mk 16v14-18 

• ¹⁴ Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen. ¹⁵ And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. ¹⁷ These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
• The Disciples were commissioned to seek and save the Lost.
• This commission is out worked through His disciples… You & Me

Who is a Disciple?

• Luke 14:26-27 - A disciple is a believer who has answered Jesus call to love God so much  that in comparison to how much they love God it looks as though the hate everyone and everything else. Unless you do this, you cannot be His Disciple

Just Do It! The early church didn't have witnessing classes, yet they turned the world upside down with the gospel. Jesus said, "You shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit has come upon you: and you shall be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8).

All a person needs to witness is to know Jesus Christ and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

It's not just how we live our lives that is the witness that the gospel is referring to. We are witnesses of Christ's resurrection in our lives. Just like a witness of a car crash tells a reporter what he experienced.

• 1 Peter 5:1 - [Serve God Willingly] Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, 

Note this is my view and doesn’t necessarily represent Reach NZ  

So What Is The Gospel?

There are many miss-conceptions in the modern church about what evangelism is.

I don't profess to be a theologian by any stretch of the imagination, however the following is what I believe God has revealed to me.

In order to clarify what evangelism is we will have a look at the following three principles.

1. The Works of the Gospel:

Feeding and clothing the poor, education, hygiene etc. These are the things we do because we have experienced the gospel.

These are all good things that we should be doing, however any secular organisation or religious organisations like Mormons or Jehovah Witness can do this.

So we can see that the works of the gospel are not the gospel message we must preach!

2. The Effects of the Gospel:

What the gospel has done in our lives. Our testimonies about our conversion, deliverance & healing etc. These also are all very important tools we can use because we have experienced the power of the gospel in our own lives. However these things are not the gospel we must preach!

3. The Words of the Gospel:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation everyone who believes... Romans 1:15-17

• The Disciples Commission: Mark 16:15 - And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

This is the gospel message that we must preach! This is evangelism.

The works and effects of the gospel are very important tools that we can use, however without the words of the gospel the works or effects of the gospel are POWERLESS to change lives.

Without the WORDS of the gospel - it is not evangelism.

The Gospel is What makes it Evangelism?

So we can see that without the gospel message included in whatever we are doing, it is not evangelism.

So what is the Gospel?

Seven Keys to Unlock the Power of God

¹⁾ Sin ⁽²⁾ Righteousness ⁽³⁾ Eternal Judgment ⁽⁴⁾ Heaven or Hell ⁽⁵⁾ Grace

⁽⁶⁾ Repentance from Sin ⁽⁷⁾ Trust in the Saviors’ substitutional Death and Resurrection.

If we take away preaching any of these seven keys in our gospel presentation, we take away the power of God for salvation and we preach another gospel.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16

“And they went out and preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed…And after that Jesus Himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.” Mark 16:17-20

See Galatians 1:6-10 for the consequences of perverting the gospel message.

As we present these truths we need to be led by the Holy Spirit as to how much emphasis we need to put on each of these keys. We need to be discerning as to where each individual person is at, so it’s very important to listen to the person’s response and be led by the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 24:14   "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations... and then the end will come.

Experience the Power of God

Learn how to share the gospel biblically and experience the power of God working through you.

It is vital that the sinner hears God's voice, not ours

• ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20

• Then He opened their minds to understand the scriptures. Luke 24:13-49

• See Galatians 1:6-10 for the consequences of perverting the gospel message.

When we are witnessing to sinners we must communicate the good news with them. Our objective should be to lead them to Christ. It is the Holy Spirits job to convict them of their sin, and it is His responsibility to save them once they have heard from Him.

• "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;
  John 16:7-9

NB: Leading someone to Christ does not necessarily mean they are saved, it simply means they have come into God's presence and have heard His voice. Then they are in His hands. We need to learn how to speak into their conscience (the place of right and wrong) and avoid their intellect (the place of argument). If all they receive is an intellectual understanding, then we have simply missed the mark. They need to hear from God, not us. In my view there is no need to tell anyone they are going to Hell and I have never had to tell anyone they are going there. Just like we shouldn’t tell them they are a liar or a thief etc, it is so much more effective when we allow them work that out for themselves and confess it.
It is their confession that activates their conscience, allowing the Holy Spirit to convict them of sin, righteousness and judgment. When we tell them they are a liar or a thief or they are going to Hell, we are simply speaking to their intellect (the place of argument) rather than their conscience (the place of right and wrong). It's not our job to convict them (we can't), and when we try to do so we can easily bring them under condemnation rather than leading them to the Holy Spirit who convicts them. In my experience this is the key that allows them to hear the cry of God's voice to be reconciled, rather than our voice. It's an awesome experience when we see the Holy Spirit burning in their heart as we share with them the Law, the Prophets and Psalms, and then see Jesus reveal Himself to them. Glory to God!
It is all about our heart attitude. If the gospel is presented from a heart of condemnation, then we are not preaching according to the will of God and may well harden the heart of the hearer even more. However, when we preach with a heart of compassion, love and concern, even the hardest of hearts can melt. The same message with a wrong heart attitude will produce a poor harvest, and their blood will remain on our shoulders. The bottom line is, they must hear from God, not us.
Jesus came to save not condemn! It is not Gods will that anyone should perish, but for everyone to come to His saving grace. 1Peter 3:3-9 The gospel is not a message of condemnation but of love, compassion, grace and concern for the salvation of lost sinners. Nobody has to go to Hell, not one person. We MUST WARN THEM not condemn them! They are already condemned and we must warn them. It can be very easy to find ourselves preaching a message of condemnation. But that is not the heart of God.
If we communicate the gospel message in love then they will hear from God Himself. They will leave with the knowledge that they do not have to go to Hell and that Jesus came to save them, not condemn them. However, it is their choice where they spend eternity. John 16:7-9 "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; John 3:17-18 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge (condemn) the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18"He who believes in Him is not judged (condemned); he who does not believe has been judged (condemned) already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:36 36 "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." 2 Peter 3:9 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 1 Timothy 2:4 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. John 10:28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. John 10:27-29

It is all about our heart attitude. If the gospel is presented from a heart of condemnation, we will only speak into their intellect (the place of argument) and we will not be preaching according to the will of God and may well harden the heart of the hearer even more.

However, when we preach from a heart of compassion, love and concern, even the hardest of hearts can melt. The same message with a wrong heart attitude will produce a poor harvest, and their blood will remain on our shoulders.

The bottom line is, they must hear from God, not us. Then He opened their minds to understand the scriptures. Luke 24:13-49

Compiled by Kevin Piper

(NB: These comments don't necessarily express the view of Reach NZ)

New Zealanders are Hungry for the Gospel

Learn how to share the good news under the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit!

Believe it or not, sinners are keener the hear the Gospel than what the Church is to share the Gospel. We encourage you to become part of the solution to the problem and support us as we equip the saints to evangelise the world as we have all been commanded to do.

'Seeking & Saving the Lost and Equipping Disciples to do the same'

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