The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: - Vital Christianity

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Purpose: Salvation of the Lost
THE GIFT OF THE EVANGELIST (Eph. 4:11)
Definition: “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.” 31
“The gift of proclaiming the good News of salvation effectively so that people respond
to the claims of Christ in conversion and in discipleship.” 32
The best definition of evangelism I have ever heard was given by D. T. Niles:
“One beggar telling another beggar where there is bread.”
Description: The Greek word for “preach” is evangello, a compound of two Greek words:
ev (“good”) and angello (“to bear a message”). An evangelist is literally the person “who bears a
message of good news.” He is a herald who announces the good news of the gospel to those who
have never heard it before. He is a person who proclaims the gospel to the unsaved.
An evangelist is not a person who just announces good news indifferently; he is one who
persuasively challenges people to accept it and thus be saved. Paul put it, “Since, then, we know
what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men” (II Cor. 5:11). Jude spoke of the urgency to
“snatch others from the fire and save them” (Jude 23). An evangelist is not only concerned about
the sowing of the seed of the gospel of Jesus Christ (I Cor. 15:1-3), but also that that seed will fall
into fertile soil and produce fruit. Conversion that issues in discipleship is the goal. Responsible
membership in God’s church is the objective.
When Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, the Bible testifies, “When the people heard this,
they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’”
(Acts 2:37). The result was that 3,000 of them were converted and baptized.
Although the main responsibility of the evangelist is that of persuasively proclaiming the good
news in the power of the Holy Spirit, he is not to be indifferent to the results. Present day
evangelists like Bill Bright of Campus Crusade and Billy Graham have carefully worked out
programs of follow-up to see that the new convert will grow and become incorporated into the
life and fellowship of a local congregation.
Although all are to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8; 8:1,4), all do not have the gift of an evangelist
(I Cor. 12:29-30).