Why Don’t Pastors Use Evangelists?
Since the book of Acts, evangelists have had an important part in local church ministry. The only man mentioned as an evangelist is Philip who was also one of the first deacons. Even though the evangelist is mentioned as a ministry gift in Ephesians 4:11, it has been shelved by some pastors, and many churches have rarely, if ever, used them.
Defining an evangelist is the subject for another article. However, here are some reasons that some pastors have said they don’t use evangelists.
“I had a bad experience with an evangelist, and so I don’t use them anymore.”
I really wish I could tell you that all evangelists are good ones. At Ambassador Baptist College, we strive to train evangelists to be biblical in their preaching and ethical in their practices. But honesty compels me to admit that there are some bad evangelists who have hurt churches.
Has anyone ever seen a bad pastor or missionary? Should we not use pastors and missionaries because some were bad? I am afraid that we have let circumstances instead of Scripture dictate the validity of gift of the evangelist. The evangelist is a ministry gift given to the local church. Don’t use the bad ones and find the good ones.
“The gift of the evangelist is no longer in existence.”
There is no exegetical or historical evidence for this statement. In Ephesians 4, Paul said that apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors/teachers were given to the church. Apostles are off the scene because one of their qualifications was that they had to see the resurrected Lord. Prophets are no more because we have God’s revelation in the Bible. That leaves evangelists and pastors.
What Bible verse teaches that evangelists are no more? Was there something in the example of Philip (the only man called an evangelist) to cause us to conclude that there are no more evangelists? A good look at the New Testament and Christian history yields no evidence of such.
“Evangelists are modern-day church planters.”
Are evangelists and church planters the same thing? While I have no doubt that some church planters are evangelists, I think it is an overreach to come to that conclusion. What church did Philip plant in the New Testament? Some people speculate that he started a church, but just remember that it is speculative, not authoritative.
Some evangelist friends of mine have helped church planters and have a heart for church planting. To limit the work of the evangelist to church planting is to place an extra-biblical description on the gift of the evangelist.
“Pastors and deacons are the only two church offices.”
This is a correct statement that sometimes yields a flawed application. Yes, the pastor and the deacon are the two church offices, and their qualifications are laid out in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. However, in the context of ministry gifts in Ephesians 4, only pastors and evangelists are mentioned. Just because evangelists are not mentioned in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 does not mean they are not legitimate.
God gave the church pastors and evangelists to both serve and to edify. Seeing a church without a pastor breaks my heart. Churches need shepherds to lead them in biblical truth. When churches fail to use evangelists, they are missing out on a gift that God wants to use for the edifying of the body of Christ and the work of the ministry.
God is still calling men to be evangelists, and He will use them in our churches. Pastor, find evangelists who love God, lost souls, and His church and use them!
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-12