A gift of the Spirit

The Gift of the Evangelist

The equipping gifts of Ephesians 4 · Ephesians 4:11

The gift of the evangelist is a Spirit given ability and burden to announce the good news of Jesus and to lead people to faith in Him. Christ gave evangelists, Paul says, to equip the saints and build up His body. It is one of the equipping gifts of Ephesians 4, and it aims at both the lost and the maturing of the whole church.

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;Ephesians 4:11 (KJV)

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:Ephesians 4:12 (KJV)

What the gift is

Among the gifts the ascended Christ gave His church, Paul names evangelists. The word means a bringer of good news, a herald of the gospel. The gift of the evangelist is a Spirit given capacity and love to proclaim the good news of Jesus, to make the way of salvation clear, and to call people to repentance and faith. Some believers carry this burden with particular power, seeing people come to Christ through their witness again and again.

As one of the equipping gifts, the evangelist is given not only to reach the lost but, Paul says, for the perfecting of the saints and the edifying of the body of Christ. The evangelist stirs and equips the whole church for its witness, keeping the good news central and helping ordinary believers learn to share it. The gift serves both those outside and those inside the family of God.

How it appears in the New Testament

Philip is the one man Scripture actually calls an evangelist. In the book of Acts we watch him do the work: preaching Christ to the city of Samaria with great joy, and then, led by the Spirit, explaining the Scriptures to a single Ethiopian official on a desert road until the man believed and was baptized. Philip shows the gift on the largest and the smallest scale, to a whole city and to one seeking heart.

Paul urged Timothy, who was a pastor and teacher, to do the work of an evangelist and make full proof of his ministry, showing that even those not chiefly gifted this way are to share the good news. The whole church is commissioned to go and make disciples and to be witnesses to the ends of the earth; the evangelist leads the way and equips the rest to follow.

How it builds up the body of Christ

The evangelist builds up the body first by adding to it, bringing new believers to Christ and into His church. But the gift also strengthens the existing body: it keeps the gospel central, stirs the church out of comfort and inward focus, and equips ordinary Christians to open their mouths about Jesus. A church with healthy evangelists does not forget why it exists.

Like every equipping gift, its aim is the maturing of the saints, not the fame of the evangelist. True evangelism magnifies Christ crucified and risen, not the messenger, and sends new believers into the care of the whole body to be taught and grown. Where a so-called evangelist gathers crowds to himself rather than to Christ, the gift has been distorted; where he points people to Jesus and into His church, it is pure grace.

How to recognize and use it

Those with this gift love to speak of Jesus, find natural openings to share the gospel, and often see others come to faith through them. If that is you, give yourself to it gladly and boldly, in season and out of season, always with gentleness and respect. Keep the message about Christ and Him crucified, and hand new believers into the loving care of the church, so that they are not only reached but grown.

And whatever your gift, do the work of an evangelist in your own measure, as Paul told Timothy, for we are all witnesses of the hope within us. The evangelist leads and equips, but the good news is entrusted to the whole family, and there is joy in heaven over every sinner who repents.

How this gift points to Christ

The evangelist's whole message is Christ, for the good news is Jesus Himself: His death for our sins, His burial, and His rising again the third day according to the Scriptures. Philip preached Christ to a city and opened the Scriptures about Jesus to one man on a desert road, and the true evangelist still has but one theme. The gift magnifies not the messenger but the Savior, and hands every new believer into the care of His body to be grown up in Him. Its joy is the joy of heaven over one sinner who repents, and its labor is that the name of Jesus be known and loved to the ends of the earth.

The more excellent way

Whatever place the gift of the Evangelist holds, Paul sets one thing above every gift. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, he says, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal; and though I have all knowledge, and all faith, and have not charity, I am nothing. The gifts will one day pass away, but now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; and the greatest of these is charity.

So this gift, like all the rest, is given by one Spirit for the common good, to build up the one body of Christ, and it is nothing at all apart from love. The gifts are not for our standing but for our serving, and they all belong to Him whose body the church is. Use whatever you have been given to love one another, and to point every eye to Jesus, from whom every good gift comes and to whom every gift returns its praise.

The Giver calls you

Every gift of the Spirit comes from the risen Christ and points back to Him. The same Lord who pours out gifts on His church calls you by name to know Him, to be filled with His Spirit, and to take your place in His body. Read the Word, pray, and gather with the family of God on The Living Bread. Free, with no ads, for all people.

Get the app Who is Jesus?

Questions people ask

What is the gift of the evangelist?

It is a Spirit given ability and burden to announce the good news of Jesus and lead people to faith in Him. Christ gave evangelists to equip the saints and build up His body (Ephesians 4:11-12). It serves both the lost and the maturing of the whole church.

Who is an evangelist in the Bible?

Philip is the one person Scripture calls an evangelist. In Acts he preached Christ to a whole city and also explained the gospel to a single Ethiopian official on a desert road, showing the gift at work on both the largest and the smallest scale.

Is every Christian supposed to evangelize?

Yes, in measure. The whole church is commissioned to make disciples and be witnesses, and Paul told even the pastor Timothy to do the work of an evangelist. Those specially gifted lead the way and equip the rest of the body to share the good news.