What is the gift of evangelism?

Evangelism, or the preaching of the gospel, is an essential part of Christianity.   How else can people hear about the message of salvation unless they hear someone proclaiming the gospel?  The Apostle Paul makes this point clear in his letter to the Romans, as he begins by quoting the Prophet Joel’s proclamation [Joel 2:32] of how everyone can be saved and then continues on with rhetorical questions about how we can hear the same message today.

“…, ’Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:13-14 NIV)

The Apostle Paul later lists evangelism, among other spiritual gifts, in his letter to the Ephesians.

“But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it…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 unit we all reach unity in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:7, 11-13 NIV)

The aforementioned passage indicates that the gift of evangelism serves a unique role in relation to the other spiritual gifts such as apostleship, prophesizing, shepherding and teaching.  For instance, the gift of apostleship helps believers serve as ambassadors of the gospel, the gift of teaching helps believers apply the Word of God to their lives, and the gift of prophecy helps believers understand God’s sovereignty.  Similarly, in regard to the gift of evangelism, the Holy Spirit helps believers proclaim the message of salvation to unbelievers, in a manner that results in them putting their faith in God.

On a side note, the function of evangelism is not necessarily synonymous with that of shepherding or vice versa.  For example, you may have a believer with the gift of evangelism, but not the gift of pastoring or shepherding, who serves as a youth pastor and incidentally many young people turning their lives over God.  In this scenario, the church leadership could possibly make the mistake of viewing this youth pastor’s conversion results as being equivalent with shepherding and leadership qualities.  As a result, you may end up in a situation where the church leadership accidentally appoints this youth pastor to a senior pastor leadership position, even though he or she may not have a shepherd’s heart (the spiritual gift of shepherding) in regard to watching over the spiritual welfare of the believers in the church and bringing them into fellowship with one another.

In other words, there are many believers who have the gift of evangelism.  Some of these believers are in church leadership positions as pastors, while others are active members within their congregations and communities.  Yet, you still other believers with the gift of evangelism, as well as the gift of apostleship, who may represent their local churches and/or denominations/affiliations as traveling evangelists spreading the message of salvation to others in different areas of the world.  Regardless, evangelism is an intricate part of the church since people need to hear about the message of gospel…so they can ultimately have the hope of putting their faith in God.   

What is the gift of encouragement?

The theme of encouragement is intertwined throughout the Word of God with our hope for eternal salvation through the saving grace of Jesus Christ.  The Apostle Paul summarizes this point with the words – “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” (II Thessalonians 2:16-17 NIV)

As for the spiritual gift of encouragement, the Apostle Paul lists the gift in his letter to the Romans.

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many from one body, and each member belongs to the others.  We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.  If a man’s gift is…encouraging, let him encourage….” (Romans 12:4-6, 8 NIV)

One of the greatest examples of a person with the gift of encouragement is a Levite named Joseph, whom the apostles later called Barnabas – the Son of Encouragement – after he sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles’ feet. (Acts 4:36-37)  Barnabas later brought Saul [the Apostle Paul] to the apostles and encouraged them to have Saul join them as one of the apostles, even though they were all afraid of Saul’s past history and doubted the authenticity of his conversion. (Acts 9:26-28)  Barnabas later worked side-by-side with the Apostle Paul and was a great encouragement to him as well as the people around him, evident by his response at Antioch.

“Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews.  Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.  The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.  News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.  When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all of their hearts. (Acts 11:19-23 NIV)

      

In summary, encouragement serves as an integral part in the work of the Lord as everyone is encouraged to comfort one another as fellow believers in Jesus Christ.  The Apostle Paul reaffirms this point in his letter to the Thessalonians – “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (I Thessalonians 4:11 NIV)  In similar manner, the Holy Spirit entrusts certain individuals with the spiritual gift of encouragement, as he guides them to provide reassurance and solace to others in helping them reaffirm their faith in God.