In 1903-04, Campbell Morgan delivered a series of addresses to American seminary students on the subject of Evangelism. In his lecture on The Evangelist, Morgan stated, “Happy indeed is that church whose ecclesiastical order will allow it to make room for a man to exercise the gift God has bestowed, and unhappy is that Church who wants each of its ministers to be something of a prophet, and something of an evangelist, and something of a pastor and teacher, and thus making him something of each, makes him the whole of nothing.” Although there are some shared and overlapping responsibilities, an evangelist is not a pastor. So, what is an evangelist and what is he to do?
From my class notes in Personal Evangelism in seminary from deep within the last century, nay, millennium, Dr. James Eaves’ definition of evangelism is: To so present Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit that people may come to put all their trust in God through Christ, accept Him as their Saviour, serve Him as their Lord in the fellowship of His church and share their witness with others.
Evangelism is the joy and responsibility of every believer. An evangelist is one who is specifically called and uniquely gifted to devote the bulk of his time, energy and resources doing evangelism. For the most part, that necessitates an itinerant (traveling) ministry.
“Isn’t an evangelist supposed to do revival meetings?”
Certainly, although “revival” may be misleading. We pray for, work for, and desperately long for revival, but we must admit we don’t schedule a supernatural act of a sovereign God, in other words, a miracle. (See my definition of Revival Yearnings*)
But I’m all for preaching protracted meetings sponsored by local churches. However, part of my understanding of the New Testament Evangelist is that he’s the guy who takes the Gospel to those who’ve never heard.
That’s why I feel compelled to spend so much time in Mexico’s Central Field, what our missionaries call The Heart of Darkness, an area of six states that are 0-2% evangelical. There are vast areas with countless villages that have no Gospel witness, areas our missionaries simply cannot get to.
So far this year, we have handed out about 15,000 Gospels of John in a joint effort to get the Gospel to every home in Mexico in the next six years (now about 5.)
“Why don’t you publish results?”
I believe in numbers. Numbers represent souls. What we are doing now, at this stage in Operation Go-Mexico is really pre-evangelism, praying over communities and sowing the Seed. This is just part of a ten step process in a Church Planting Movement. So I’m slow about reporting numbers of converts at this stage, hesitant to declare as “saved” those over whom the angels have not yet rejoiced.
“Isn’t an evangelist supposed to be a good fund-raiser?”
Probably so. But I’m not. To give a direct but reluctant answer to the many who have asked…we have no visible means of support, no guarantees, no medical insurance. And no complaints.
We are trusting the faithfulness of the Lord and wouldn’t have it any other way. Thanks to those who have asked.
Campbell Morgan said about the evangelist: A man who receives the gift of the evangelist is one to whom there is given a clear understanding of the Evangel, a great passion in his heart results from the clear vision, a great optimism fills his soul, born of his confidence in the power of Christ to save every man; and growing out of that passion and that confidence a great constraint seizes him to tell somebody, to tell everybody, the glad news of salvation by Jesus Christ..where this is the all-consuming fire, there you have an evangelist.
