“Ephesians 4” Call To Equip The Saints For The Work Of Service As A Evangelist:
I believe the five fold passions and points of view are in every believer in Jesus Christ since the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ indwells them. So how do we allow the artesian well of the Holy Spirit to surface the evangelistic spirit that is in all believers? That is the calling of the five fold ministry of the Church.
If it weren’t for the spiritually birthing process of the evangelist, most of us would never have heard the saving gospel of Jesus Christ and how it would transform our lives, dramatically. That evangelistic spirit is in all who believe in Jesus Christ as their savior and Lord. How can we, the 21st century Church allow the creative evangelistic spirit to arise in believers, then help to nurture it, care for it, develop it, and then release it to produce fruit for the Kingdom of God?
I certainly don’t have all the answers, but encourage you to ask the creative Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ to give you “revelation” of who He is and how to show that to others. I only offer a few suggestions:
Walk The Walk With Believers: Actually invite those you are mentoring, preparing, and equipping to bring forth the evangelistic spirit to your home to have an informal time of conversation, modeling how you can talk about one’s faith, how you can have people share their narrative stories about their faith or lack of faith, and what to do with their responses. Model how to bring the conversation back to Jesus and our need for Him, inviting your guest to accept Jesus as a friend, a listener, a savior, a lord, a care taker, etc. Show scripture like “The Romans Road”, so you know how Biblically to lead to salvation, if needed. Encourage them after they make a decision for Jesus to share their new narrative with someone else to solidify their experience. Then welcome them back A.S.A.P. to share their new walk with you. If you model the power of one-on-one evangelism, they will feel more comfortable when they are placed in that situation.
Live The Walk, Inviting One To Walk With You: Most people are lead to the Lord by personal contact with a believer. Believers must walk the walk in their daily lives and walk with others in theirs. Walking beside nonbelievers in their daily walk allows you to build trust, help them when they fall, practice your faith in needed situations, and learn to just be “real” with people, not “religious”. Soon they will see a difference, hopefully, in our life compared to their, and a need for a savior and a change, and then have a model from which to begin their new walk when they feel the need for Jesus. The price: time! This method takes “time” and “commitment”, but the results are astounding and fruitful. Practice this living out your walk around the fellowship of believers as your equipping process before being released to walk it out with non-believers.
Personal Narratives Are Powerful: We all have a story, a personal narrative, an unique tale that pertains only to us, created by us, and lived by us. No one else has your story, but there can be some commonalities to everyone’s stories. Personal narratives allow people to know who you are, how you became that person, and what is important to you because of your story. In other words, it exposes you, makes you vulnerable, and allows others to see who you were B.C., Before Christ, and after you have known him. The most powerful evangelistic tool you have is your story because it is how you lived life, and its meaning to you. You don’t need tracts, nor huge Crusade meetings in sports venues, nor Billy Graham television reruns. All you need is your own story, for it is powerful, meaningful, which offers life, the life in Jesus you now live. Practice telling your story to believers as an equipping process to build up your confidence and comfort level.
Birthing Is A Process, Not A Religious Practice: A true evangelist majors in birthing! They love new things. They love starting new things. New project stimulate them. Taking someone or something from the “old” to the “new” brings them joy. Allow people whose evangelistic spirit has risen to birth, start, initiate prayers, visions, insights, and directions that the local congregation as a whole is doing. Their contribution to the “body of Christ” is not just “biological evangelism”, but the entire birthing process. They know how to handle “birthing pains”, spiritual contractions. They can be like Barnabas, the encourager, because they can encourage one to see the birth beyond the birthing pains. They have a vital role in the body to the body of Christ.
Release The Evangelist: The worst thing to do after training or equipping someone is then to stifle their vision, their enthusiasm, their drive, their passion, and just let them sit back. RELEASE THEM TO SERVE! You have equipped the evangelist for the “works of service”, so let them serve! Let them do what drives them: Birth! Don’t place restraints on them that the other four in the five fold could do for them. They need not have to shepherd, teach, give prophetic insight, or see over new converts. Their passion is to win the lost and birth things in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Release them. Will we ever think one is “ready” for ministry? Probably not, for we are called to just let them “do it” after being hearers and seers of what they were to do! Will they make mistakes? Yes, of course, we all do, but that is the role of the shepherd to give pastoral advice and direction to the evangelist, the teacher to teach truth into the evangelist’s life, the prophet to refresh the evangelist’s spirit, and the apostle to give proper oversight, “seeing over” what and how the Holy Spirit is doing in the evangelist’s life. The evangelist will submit to the ministry of the other four as they minister to him bringing proper accountability in his/her life.
Church, let equip, nurture, care, then release, while continuing serve the evangelist bringing accountability, and we see a “new day” in a “new way” that the Church does church!