Featured What Is an Evangelist?

If anyone is tempted from my title to think that this is aimed at anyone, they are wrong. What I hope for here is a good discussion about the Biblical position of evangelist. I sincerely hope it does not turn personal, either by someone objecting in a personal way, or someone else aiming their comments at an individual. We are all adults here. We can have a Bible-based discussion.

The term "evangelist" (Greek euaggelisths, εὐαγγελιστής), and it occurs just three times in the NT: Acts 21:8, Eph. 4:11, 2 Tim. 4:5). However, Philip is specifically called an evangelist (the only one so named in the NT), so we can glean information from his ministry.

First of all, here is a definition from my favorite lexicon (Friberg, Friberg and Mille, accessed through BibleWorks): "one who brings or announces good news; in the NT evangelist, preacher, or teacher of the gospel." Hmm. That doesn't give us a lot of information, and my other lexicons are not much better. We must look at the Biblical usage to get more.

In Eph. 4 it is made plain that the evangelist, along with the other positions listed in v. 11, is given to the church "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (v. 12). Thus there is a very strong local church connection. The evangelist exists to strengthen the local church.

How does he do this? Philip's life gives us information. Philip was greatly used of God in both mass evangelism (Acts 8:5-8) and personal evangelism (Acts 8:26-40). Many souls were saved through his ministry. Therefore, how does he strengthen the local church? By mass evangelism (promoting revival, of course, without which mass evangelism cannot truly occur), and by personal evangelism (both winning souls and promoting Spirit-filled personal evangelism).

Note also that Philip's family were soul winners (Acts 21:8-9). The evangelist whose family does not follow Christ and witness for Him has failed.

Concerning the other mention of the evangelism, Paul tells Timothy to "do the work of an evangelist" (2 Tim. 4:5). This indicates a difference between the missionary/pastor's work and the evangelist's work. In other words, Timothy was not gifted to the church as an evangelist, but he could do the same work in the absence of an evangelist: mass evangelism and personal evangelism.

 

Interpreting the Biblical evangelist as what we now call a missionary is a common position. The Robinson/House Analytical Lexicon actually has "missionary" for the gloss. However, most missiologists say that the modern missionary is the Biblical "apostle," and I agree. (Note that their were two tiers of apostles, with the 12 having some special privileges. Missiologists equate the modern missionary mostly to that second tier.)

Note that Philip did not plant churches per se, though his mass evangelism resulted in a church planted; he called for help from Jerusalem to solidify his work, IMO.

Excellent view here--and I agree if we only use the Biblical term "evangelist" in place of "revivalist," which of course is in itself a good, descriptive term.

This is a good description of the foreign missionary, or home field church planter. It's a tough job, and anyone who tries it without direct guidance from God is in for a heap of sorrow.

I think we only disagree on the terminology, not the functions and definitions.

 

That's all well and good, but do you have any Scriptural or lexical evidence for this?

The usage of the word in the ancient world included a related word referring to the priestess of Hera (from the entry in BAGD), but I don't know of any evidence that the evangelist was a political reporter. In the Septuagint, the Greek word translated "herald" in Dan. 3:4 is kerux (κῆρυξ), not the word for "evangelist."

 

In spite of my OP, you are making this personal. Please stick to Scripture.

And Happy Thanksgiving.

 

The standard for whether or not an evangelist is Biblical should be his pneumatology. In other words, what does he teach about the Holy Spirit. Remember what was said about Evangelist Philip and the other deacons: "men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom" (Acts 6:3).

 

Please elaborate. How does the Scripture delineate between professional and lay evangelists?

 

Please go back and look at my previous post. I specified Scripture. Now, where in Scripture are the amateur and pro evangelist mentioned?

 

Good point. But he also had support from churches (Phil. 4:16, 2 Cor. 11:8).

Happy Thanksgiving!