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Define Your Mission as a Vocational Evangelist

Vocational evangelism is an important calling and one that is needed in the church.

The Bible says, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Eph.4:11-12 NIV)

As a vocational evangelist, you understand the important role you have in the body has been placed right up there with Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, etc. As you define your mission in ministry, make sure you avoid confusing the “program” of revival preaching with the biblical role of the Evangelist. As you know, the gift of evangelist is not just about preaching revivals and touring with a particular evangelistic program; it is about being the advocate and equipper of evangelism in the body of Christ.

Many vocational evangelists are concerned about the decline of evangelism in the church, attributing the downward evangelistic trends in the church to the local church’s lack of appreciation for the church-wide revivals. While many churches could benefit from holding a multi-day (or multi-week) emphasis in evangelism, the problem may also be a matter of perspective about what the mission of the evangelist is in the body. Evangelists may need to adapt their role to the current climate and needs in the church.

Make an Assessment of Your Ministry Mission

Many organizations and companies recently have had to make an assessment of “what business they are in” in recent years. Changes in technology and culture have forced many companies into reorganizations and redefinitions of how they view their primary tasks. These social and technology forces are also currently impacting the church. How other organizations have reacted may provide clues for how Evangelists can adapt in a changing climate.

For example, companies who formerly made celluloid film have seen their business decline with the advent of digital photography. These companies have had to retool their perspectives (and their factories) to become competitive as companies that provide digital image management, digital image reproduction, etc.

The oil and gas industry is in a similar situation. Where formerly they considered themselves drillers and refiners of oil and gas, they now have to consider themselves as “providers of energy solutions”. The perspective causes them to retool their organizations to become more competitive in all forms of energy production, including solar, bio-fuels, wind, etc.

There are many other examples found in all kinds of industries that have yet to “see the writing on the wall” that they need to redefine their mission because of shifts in culture and technology. If these companies don’t adapt, they will find themselves irrelevant and out of business. They need to adapt with the changes in their environments.

The Evangelist as Advocate of Evangelism in the Church

What about the ministry of the Evangelist? That spiritual office will never leave the church. Of course not! But the means by which the evangelist aids the church might change. Technology and cultural changes are impacting the church just as it is changing the general marketplace. And Evangelists can adapt to the needs in the church of today.

Take a look at your ministry; could it be there are ways you might need to retool your mission from “Preaching Revivals” toward becoming an “advocate of evangelism” in the church? The broader perspective might take you further and far afield from what you have done in the past.

I deeply admire the evangelists of the past. What they have done is important for the church. But looking at the Evangelist of today who attempt to imitate what they have done in the past, I fear if many don’t find a way to become more relevant to the church, they may find they have less impact and won’t be able to fulfill the mandate given to the evangelist in our present context, “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”

What is in decline is not interest in evangelism per se; it is interest in revival preaching as they have been done in the past that is waning. The culture and technology of the church is changing. The weekly crusade revival is formatted after the revivals of the Great Awakening, the crusades of Billy Sunday and Billy Graham. These ministries were stronger and more effective in a different cultural and technological context.

Many evangelists have unnecessarily canonized the” form” of crusade evangelism as THE form of evangelism for the Evangelist. Will this approach work in the local church the same way it did in the past?

Don’t Stop What You Are Doing, But Start Looking for Ways to Adapt to the Changing Environment

Just as the companies mentioned above still produce the same materials they have always produced: celluloid film, oil and gas, etc. Evangelists don’t need to stop preaching revivals as they have always done. However, they can expand the perspective on what they offer to churches as they work now. It may feel a little like working on the train station while the trains are running, but you can start right now (just as the other organizations mentioned have) and begin to adapt to the changes in society and technology.

How to Refocus the Vision and Become an Advocate of Evangelism

There are many ways Vocational Evangelists can plug in their gifts into the church by becoming Advocates of Evangelism. There are great needs and the” field” of evangelism is “white unto harvest;” what seems to be lacking are Evangelists who understand the opportunities to let their gifts shine in the church as Evangelism Advocates.

• Become an expert on the needs in the church. Study church stats (in annual reports) in the state or area where you normally serve. You will find that about one half of all churches in your area have not baptized anyone in the last year. How can you help the ones that have the least results? Go and help them turn around their outreach at no charge as one of your “side projects”. This is taking the Evangelist’s calling, “so that the body of Christ may be built up” literally!

• Start new projects that solve the church’s evangelism problems. If you can produce fruit in local churches who lack evangelistic results and change their situation, you will soon become an in demand evangelism consultant to the church.
• Help church leaders and denominational leadership help smaller churches succeed. Most churches are smaller and need help with evangelism outreach. Contact your denominational office and ask where you can help (free of charge) churches experience the break-through they need. State Evangelism Directors love to work with problem solvers.
• Become an expert on unchurched people’s perceptions and needs. There are many resources available to help you. If you can become an expert on the people who don’t go to church and help the church and pastors understand the people who are outside the walls of the church, you will be in demand in the church. Read books, websites, and attend seminars about reaching people in this culture. Soon you will become an expert people want to hear from.
• Teach Evangelism and Equip Church Members to Share their Faith. Technically, Evangelists have been called to, “prepare God’s people for works of service” not just preach crusades. Thats a pretty big mission! Start a blog or a newsletter, write articles and give them away, lead free seminars that help the church understand the need for evangelism. Become known of as an advocate of evangelism.
• Share Christ broadly, lead people to Christ, and become a public advocate for Christianity. The fruit of you expressing your spiritual gift will speak for itself. Help the church communicate Christ in the public forum, spotlight the opportunities to endorse Christ in the public square.

(Stay tuned for more on Marketing Ideas for Vocational Evangelists)