The image that often comes to mind whenever we hear the word “evangelist” is a Billy Graham, Billy Sunday, or George Whitefield. Maybe we think of a John Wesley or a Francis Asbury. Or, the image is that guy on the college campus stopping students on the way to classes or the gal on the sidewalk with a microphone in hand. Or, maybe it is that person sharing the gospel via an app or in a virtual world using a VR headset. The imagined paradigm usually includes someone who heralds the evangel, calls for responses from unbelievers, and moves on down the road. While such is one important manifestation of an evangelist’s ministry, it is only part of the calling. And because we often limit our thinking to those actions, we create a stereotype that fails to provide a complete understanding of the work of evangelists.
Evangelists & Unbelievers
But let’s take a moment to consider the few times, three to be exact, the word “evangelist” is found in the Bible. Philip is called an evangelist (Acts 21:8). He preached the gospel in Samaria and to the Ethiopian (Acts 8). That makes sense: An evangelist heralds the good news to unbelievers with an expectation they will repent and believe (Acts 20:21). Philip had the title; he had the actions.
Paul sends Timothy back to the Church in Ephesus that was already well-established and had elders (Acts 20:17-38). One of the exhortations to this young apostolic worker included him doing the work of an evangelist (2 Tim 4:5) which included preaching to those far from God but, in all likelihood, involved another expression.
