Guardians Of The GospelSample

Whose responsibility is evangelism? Evangelism can be simply described as the proclamation of the good news about Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit. We have been transformed by a message, but it is not a message we can keep to ourselves, and so we become its messengers.

But then there is this word evangelist that Paul uses here to Timothy. The term evangelist confuses people. If there are specific people called evangelists who are to—as the name suggests—do evangelism, does that mean the rest of the church is exempt from taking the gospel to the world? Should the church leave evangelism to the ‘professionals’?

There are only three uses of the word evangelist in the bible and all in the New Testament. The first is attached to a person, Philip the evangelist (Acts 21:8), the second is included in a list of ministry gifts for the church (Ephesians 4:11), and the third is here in Paul's second letter to Timothy.

From these brief mentions in the NT we see that God does raise some to be evangelists, but their task is not simply to do evangelism on behalf of everyone else. They might have a specific gift by God's grace that lends itself to effectively winning people to Christ, but they also have a responsibility to stir and equip the church to its primary concern—to reveal the glory of God to the world. Evangelism is the business of every Christian.

In the first chapter of this letter, Paul calls himself a herald of the gospel. That’s not a word we use a lot today, but it's helpful when thinking about the task before all believers. To herald means to announce, to be a messenger. The Psalmist reminds us that the wonder of creation makes an announcement of the glory of our God (Ps. 19:1-2). But the wonder of each of us being new creations through the power of the gospel can bring an even clearer announcement of God’s glory through our lives and from our mouths.

Certainly, some are called to be preachers and have the gifting to match the call. But all are called and empowered to be witnesses of and make known the gospel (Mt. 28:16-20; Acts 1:8). We do this through:

Proclamation: anytime we explain who Jesus is

Demonstration: anytime we live out who Jesus is

Invitation: anytime people are drawn to our lives as we exhibit Jesus character, and are drawn to His kingdom as we explain it and offer a verbal invitation to accept Jesus as Lord

In Advance, we mentor people from as wide an array of backgrounds and skillsets as you could imagine. The common thread among them is that they have taken seriously the reality of the gospel through which they have faith in Jesus Christ and the identity that follows trusting in Him to be witnesses to all the world of His truth and love in word and deed.

To do the work of an evangelist.

Advancing the Gospel - join the movement

Advance seeks to stir the gift of the evangelist in the Church, but also to help all believers step into the fullness of what it means to be ambassadors for God’s kingdom in this world through evangelism. Through Advance groups, we all commit to going into the world for God’s glory, but also to equip and encourage the Church for evangelism in any way that we can. Advance is for anyone who desires to communicate the gospel with clarity, has faith that the gospel is the power of God for salvation, and longs for the opportunity to invite people into relationship with Jesus Christ.