The Forgotten Gift Your Church Needs!

“I have unsaved friends and family; I want them to know Jesus, but I don’t know what to say.”

Picture the scene; here is a faithful Christian in an evangelical church. They consistently attend services, they enjoy being fed the Word, and they love the worship. Spiritually, they are growing, and their love for Christ is increasing, yet there is something missing. They hear week in and week out about the wonders of the gospel, yet, when it comes to being able to share the good news, they aren’t sure what to say.

They may go to other Christians, asking them how they communicate the gospel with the lost, and the response is dismal. Some say they don’t share verbally; instead, they just live their lives and hope people can see something different about them. Others hang their heads and admit it has been a very long time since they’ve told any lost person about Christ.

The burdened Christian goes home, opens his or her Bible, and while reading through the New Testament, they see many exhortations on how the Christian should live, but then they notice something else – evangelism is verbal. People actually opened their mouths and shared the good news. As they read, they come across Romans 10:17 that declares saving faith comes through hearing a message about Christ. 

They pause in their reading and consider what has been written. Hearing implies someone had to verbally share the message of Jesus – that is more than just living a life and hoping for the best. We must tell others.

Yet, their burden remains. How can I share the gospel – I don’t know what to say!

This is an all-too-common problem, and one I’ve seen many times over. The question we need to answer is, ‘how can we fix it?’

Often, when we hear about people wanting to learn how to share the gospel, we tell them to share their testimony or simply invite a person to church. That is good, but it doesn’t go far enough in equipping the Believer to share the Good News.

Perhaps, the response given would be to point the Christian towards an evangelism training course, which is excellent, but unless the truths taught in that course are being modelled by the one teaching the programme or by the church leadership, it isn’t going to have a long-term impact and may not help at all. 

So, what are we to do?

I am convinced that Ephesians 4:11-12 gives us the answer,

And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ.

Paul, writing under the direction of the Holy Spirit, pens these very familiar words. We are reminded that the Lord has given gifts to His Church. Gifts, which aren’t to be used for the building up of self, but for strengthening of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:7).

One of those gifts, a gift, that I think has been very much forgotten, is the gift of an evangelist. An evangelist is one who has been called and gifted, not just to preach the gospel in special meetings, or lead events, but also “to equip the saints for the work of ministry.”

When we picture an evangelist, perhaps we imagine someone like Billy Graham standing before a crowd preaching the gospel. Maybe, in your mind you think of John Wesley, or George Whitefield. All these men proclaimed the Good News, but they also worked hard at equipping others to share the gospel.

An evangelist, if he is truly called to be an evangelist, must have a dual role – proclaiming the gospel, and equipping others to do the same. But sadly, this gift has been forgotten or ignore in much of the modern evangelical church – which results in many Christians not being equipped, motivated, and encouraged to share the gospel.

We’re missing a key part of our spiritual body.

John MacArthur stated,

“It is my conviction that each local assembly should raise up evangelists, to send some out in mission enterprises and to have others remain permanently in the church fellowship—to teach, mobilize, and lead others out to fulfill the commission of winning the lost to Christ.”

If you want to see your church more outwardly focused, or if you want to see Christians equipped to share the gospel, then use the gift God has given to the Church – the evangelist.

If we’re going to reach the lost, then we need to use the gifts the Lord has given. We need to once again raise up those who are called to be evangelists, and then use them, not just to reach the lost, but also to train and equip Believers to share the wonderful message of Christ.

A book I found very helpful in thinking through the role and gifting of an evangelist, is Roger Carswell’s book, “And Some Evangelists.” I would commend this book to all those who feel called to evangelism, and to church leaders. May the Lord grant this gift more and more, and may we use the gifts He has given us.