Evangelism Leaders Discuss the Vital Role of Evangelists in the Church

Joe Oden, national prayer and evangelism director for the Assemblies of God, and Tim Enloe, national evangelists’ representative, both share a passion for seeing America turn back to God. Through the office of the evangelist and the responsibility of all believers to evangelism, they believe a mighty move of God can be ignited that will sweep the nation.

To help clarify the distinctiveness of the gift of the evangelist and the participation of all believers in evangelism, Enloe references Ephesians chapter 4 in which Paul describes unique ministry gifts given to certain individuals.

Biblically, the evangelist is a ministerial gift that equips believers, those who are already in church, to share Christ. Evangelism is the act of bringing the gospel to the lost, explains Enloe.

“While every evangelist should carry a burden for renewal and revival, the true tell-tale sign of an evangelist is someone who can equip the saints for the work of the ministry, leaving church members with fresh motivation, desire, and tools to effectively reach the lost,” Oden states. “For someone that would think or feel that an evangelist is primarily a guest speaker on a plethora of topics, they probably have never been exposed to a true evangelist.”

Enloe echoes Oden’s statements and adds, “Evangelists bring a gift and a calling that is distinctly and decidedly different. They have a unique gift for equipping the church to lead in evangelism efforts.”

Unfortunately, he continues, over 80% of Evangelical churches have no budget or plan for evangelism efforts. “We tend to just hope that fish jump in the boat, but we need to be emphasizing this effort with resources and forethought,” says Enloe.

“We are finding that leadership often holds an assumption that people understand how to share the gospel, and they don’t,” Oden says. He states that his personal observations of participants at conferences and events indicate a mere 5% of believers feel comfortable sharing the gospel. Additionally, Oden reported that a recent study showed 90% of believers will never lead someone else to Christ.

These statistics highlight the importance of evangelists and evangelism more than ever.

Enloe believes that one way evangelists can help church members turn this statistic around is by recognizing and drawing out the gift of evangelism in others.

“When I go to a church that hasn’t had an evangelist in a long time, there are always numerous individuals who will say that they’ve been waiting to have that gift called out of them and brought to the surface. Evangelists tend to get called into ministry by other evangelists," Oden says.

Historically, evangelists have filled an essential role in Pentecostal spirituality.

In fact, early in the Assemblies of God’s history, large numbers of churches were founded out of evangelistic events. “Evangelists would hold services where many would give their lives to Christ, then a pastor would be brought in to care for the new flock,” Enloe says.

To continue to invest in the work of the Assemblies of God’s 600 evangelists, Enloe and Oden, along with their teams, host an annual evangelist conference, Evangelist Recharge, which will take place Nov. 20 and 21. Doug Clay, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, says that the importance of this annual event remains a priority because “the quality of evangelists helps the church fulfill its mission.”

This year, Evangelist Recharge will directly lead into the Ignite Evangelism conference, an event designed for anyone to attend who wants to be equipped on how to share the gospel and personal testimonies, and learn more about the gifts of the Spirit. The conference, the first of its kind in 40 years, will provide opportunities for attendees to develop personal tracts, learn how to start conversations about faith with non-believers, and be filled with a fresh empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

“The two conferences are lumped together intentionally,” Enloe says. “We want to Renew, Inspire, Equip, and Strategize all attendees, both evangelists and constituents who want to deeper Spirit inspiration as they move forward in evangelism.”

The General Council of the Assemblies of God offers a resource to those looking to bring evangelists to their church; a database that lists each of the AG’s evangelists and can be searched by region, district, and/or ministry emphasis.

For more information, links are provided for searching AG evangelists, Evangelist Recharge, and Ignite Evangelism.