The Spiritual Gift of Evangelism
Evangelism: A Spiritual Gift Definition
While Evangelism is the responsibility of every Christian, people who possess the spiritual gift of Evangelism share their faith with exceptional boldness and skill. To that end, people with the spiritual gift of Evangelism often share their faith as a natural part of any conversation. Similarly, Evangelists may even find it natural to share their faith with complete strangers. Finally, Evangelists can list the specific names of people whom they have personally led to faith in Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-13 lists Evangelist not only as a spiritual gift, but also as an important office within the Church. In this passage, the Apostle Paul stresses that God has ordained the Evangelist to “prepare God’s people for works of service….”. The Evangelist shares this God-ordained commission with Apostles, Prophets, Pastors and Teachers. But it is the work of the Evangelist that enables those in other ministry offices to fulfill their ministry calling. For, a person must first come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior before they may be discipled.
Personal Evangelism, Gift Expression
If God has given you a relational personality, you will likely prefer Personal Evangelism. You likely seek to build authentic relationships, and through the trust established in those relationships, share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To that end, this type of Evangelist is thrilled when they can personally pray with an individual to accept Christ. In a similar fashion, they care deeply about the spiritual welfare of the people God has brought within their life. And, they may spend considerable time praying for the salvation of those that do not know the Lord. So, the Personal Evangelist resonate with the passion of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 – ”All this is from God, who….committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God”.
Programmed Evangelism, Gift Expression
Programmed Evangelism centers around “Seeker Events”. Seeker events may include Sunday Seeker Services, Crusades, or Alpha-type Evangelistic programs. Programmed Evangelism utilizes the gifts and abilities of many people to accomplish the work of communicating the Gospel message. So, the Evangelist who prefers Programmed Evangelism will likely be highly creative, and/or possess strong administrative skills. Or, again, they may also be “big picture” people who seek many conversions to Christ. In Acts 17:16-34, The Apostle Paul used “Programmed Evangelism” when he entered the meeting of the Areopagus in which the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated new ideas every day. Paul introduced a new idea for discussion, the “Unknown God who raises the dead to life”. The result was that a few influential philosophers believed in Jesus Christ.