The Evangelizer: the Call and Mission in Our Contemporary Society
CHAPTER ONE
PREAMBLE OF STUDY
The Church is missionary in its very nature. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ means to be a missionary. Therefore, the task of evangelization falls to every Christian. Yet the task of evangelization falls to each differently, according to his role in the Church. Evangelization begins with a personal encounter with Jesus himself. It is impossible to proclaim Jesus with integrity and conviction without knowing him individually on a first name basis, a foundation that disciples of today build and maintain in prayer.
Next, Jesus told Paul, “You will be told what you must do” (Acts 9:6). Evangelizers are both called by Jesus and receive their instructions from him. Evangelization is about promoting Jesus and his Gospel, not promoting one’s self. As John the Baptist correctly observed, and Paul put into practice, “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30).
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literature that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.
Evangelizer
“Evangelist” is a word which occurs three times in the New Testament (Acts 21:8; Ephesians 4:11; 2 Tim. 4:5), but which does not occur in the LXX or other Greek versions, in the Apostolic Fathers, or in the Didache, and not in classical Greek usage. It is a translation of euangelistēs, and it is from the same root as the words translated “gospel” (Grk. euangelion) and “to preach” (Grk. euangelizō). “If angelos signifies a bearer of a message, then euangelistēs means a bearer of a good message. The word is not to be understood of a person who occasionally bears a good message, but one whose business, or work, is to deliver good messages. … If John, the Baptist, means John whose business it was to baptize; then Philip the Evangelist means that Philip whose work it was to evangelize, or publish a good message
The Problem With Today‘s Evangelists
Ephesians 4:11 says, It was he who gave some to be evangelists God has given every minster the task of his calling. However, in most cases, the minister has missed his calling; perhaps, none less so than in the case of the evangelist. Ministers of America have answered the call of the ministry for hundreds of years. They have stepped up and ministered the Gospel according to the Word of God; but have they? Even though many ministers preach and teach the Word, there is an element that has suffered gravely; that element is making disciples. Most ministers of the Gospel are content to sit by and watch those in whom they lead come week after week and do nothing for God. In fact, it could be said that the very ministers of the Gospel themselves are content to reap only a small harvest to placate themselves while ignoring the true calling of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist was an evangelist. He was a voice crying in the wilderness. Even though he did not technically have the message of salvation, his message was a precursor of the One who did; Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, John knew that every messenger should have those who embraced and purported the message. John made disciples; his disciples were those who followed him and purported his message (Matt 9:14, 11:7, 14:12; Mark 2:18, 6:29; Luke 5:33, 7:18; John 3:25) . Jesus Christ gave believers a mission to complete, but believers have failed miserably at the mandate. Believing that someone else would surely do what God has commanded, believers have been content to sit on the sidelines Leaders have been content to watch the game, but never getting involved, not understanding, or ignoring, the full mandate that has been given to all who believe in Jesus Christ.
CHAPTER THREE
Evangelization in the Modern World
There is no doubt that the effort to proclaim the Gospel to the people of today, who are buoyed up by hope but at the same time often oppressed by fear and distress, is a service rendered to the Christian community and also to the whole of humanity. For this reason the duty of confirming the brethren a duty which with the office of being the Successor of Peter we have received from the Lord, and which is for us a “daily preoccupation,” a program of life and action, and a fundamental commitment of our Pontificate seems to us all the more noble and necessary when it is a matter of encouraging our brethren in their mission as evangelizers, in order that, in this time of uncertainty and confusion, they may accomplish this task with ever increasing love, zeal and joy.
This is precisely what we wish to do here, at the end of this Holy Year during which the Church, “striving to proclaim the Gospel to all people,” has had the single aim of fulfilling her duty of being the messenger of the Good News of Jesus Christ the Good News proclaimed through two fundamental commands: “Put on the new self” and “Be reconciled to God.” We wish to do so on this tenth anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council, the objectives of which are definitively summed up in this single one: to make the Church of the twentieth century ever better fitted for proclaiming the Gospel to the people of the twentieth century.
We wish to do so one year after the Third General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which as is well known, was devoted to evangelization; and we do so all the more willingly because it has been asked of us by the Synod Fathers themselves. In fact, at the end of that memorable Assembly, the Fathers decided to remit to the Pastor of the universal Church, with great trust and simplicity, the fruits of all their labors, stating that they awaited from him a fresh forward impulse, capable of creating within a Church still more firmly rooted in the undying power and strength of Pentecost a new period of evangelization.
CHAPTER FOUR
Conclusion
An “evangelist” is one who is well acquainted with the good news and makes it his business to share it. He encourages men to regulate their lives so they are in harmony with the Gospel. He recognizes and refutes wrong “doctrine” by how it harmonizes or fails to harmonize with the gospel. The writers of the Gospels are called “evangelists” because they did what evangelists do — they were telling the story (oral tradition). “Tell me the story of Jesus!” is our appeal to those who would be evangelists. Do the work of an evangelist! Set the churches in order with your great preaching! Reproduce yourselves as you recruit young men for the office of evangelist!
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