WHERE ARE THE EVANGELISTS?
So, I've found myself in recent weeks pondering on some key verses in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, namely Chapter 4 v11-14……. a passage you probably know well if you've been part of a ChristCentral church for any length of time.

And the question I ask myself is, “Where are the evangelists?”

I mean, I can think of any number of pastors and teachers in our family of churches, a good number who act as prophets, and I recognize those who lead our apostolic family, even if we struggle with the designation “apostle”.

But where are the Evangelists? Where are the people called by God to lead lost people to faith in Christ and to encourage everybody in the Church to do the work of evangelism?

All of us as God’s people are called to be witnesses, but some are called to be Evangelists. Like pastors and teachers, prophets and apostles, Evangelists are called to equip the saints for “works of service”, and that includes the ministry of evangelism. So, where are these Evangelists in ChristCentral UK?

Please correct me if you think I’m wrong, but it seems to me that we are not seeing much “fruit” in terms of growth by conversion in our churches. There seems to be more stories coming in, in recent months of salvation and baptisms, which is great, and I rejoice at the news of every single soul saved and added to the Church even as we pray for revival. However, our research shows that we are starting from a very low base when it comes to conversion growth.

Could it be that the reason that the ministry of evangelism in our churches is not producing much fruit is because we are not properly using the tools God has given us to do the harvesting? In a few weeks time I’ll use a sharp knife to harvest the courgettes in my garden, not the spade I used to plant them!

Could it be that the prevailing culture of our day is not so “anti-faith” as we are told it is, and the communities where we live are not as closed to the Gospel as we might think they are? Could it be that we are just not using the right “tools” to get the job done…….witnesses empowered by the Spirit and equipped by an Evangelist given by God with a passion to see lost people won for Christ? Evangelists, and leaders doing “the work of an Evangelist” (2 Peter 4 v5), are both badly needed.

Ephesians 4 v11 tells me that God has given, and still gives, Evangelists to His Church…….. so where are they and why aren’t we using them?

Maybe, we haven’t used the Evangelists He has given us in the past very well, and therefore, maybe, He doesn’t see the need to give any more? After all, being an Evangelist in our churches has been described, at times, as “banging your head against a brick wall” (CONFESSION – that was me!). So, maybe, God is relieving some people from the frustration of a permanent sore head!

But our God is a generous Father who never stops giving when we are in need and when we ask. So it is much more likely God continues to give us Evangelists but that we are not recognising them, encouraging them, praying for them, training them and releasing them as much as we should be doing!

So with that in mind at Devoted Leaders 2023 we launched Euangelion*, a team of people who are passionate about raising up Evangelists across our family of churches and supporting leaders who are ‘doing the work of an evangelist’ in their local context. We are praying that God will continue to raise up recognised Evangelists in your local church who are there “to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the of God and become mature, attaining to the full measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4 v12-13).

*Euangelion – Greek word (noun) meaning “Good News…… the announcement of Jesus Christ as Saviour, King and Lord of All” used 77 times in the New Testament. The corresponding verb, euangeliso, meaning “to preach or tell the Good News” occurs a further 54 times. In other words, a very important New Testament word!

The Euangelion team are planning an Evangelists Online Gathering on Sunday 22nd October at 7.00pm, to book your place contact eric@euangelion.uk

Steve Hurd is an Elder and Evangelist at The Ark Church Huddersfieldand would love to hear your stories of how the Gospel is working now in your context/local church. Please send him your stories/responses at steve.hurd@arkchurch.org.uk 

All articles on this website are the speakers own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the position of ChristCentral or Newfrontiers