“Do the work of an evangelist.” At installations and ordinations, when verses are read as hands of blessing are laid upon the candidate, those words are sometimes spoken. “Do the work of an evangelist.” They were written to young pastor Timothy by St Paul. But what is Paul saying? Elsewhere he is clear that evangelists are spiritual gifts from God, along with pastor/teachers, prophets, and apostles. Acts 6 says that a certain Philip was appointed to be a deacon to oversee the distribution of food to the neglected widows in the Jerusalem church. Yet a few chapters later Philip the evangelist is speaking about Christ to an Ethiopian official. Is this the same Philip or is the title “ the evangelist” supposed to distinguish him from “Philip the deacon?” Stephen was also one of those appointed to be a deacon, yet later, he later proclaimed a powerful message to the Jewish officials. Just how fluid were these job descriptions?

If the work of an evangelist is to be done exclusively by pastors, we have a problem. First, it is not listed explicitly among the pastoral duties in our vows of ordination. Pastors could object, “You can't hold me accountable for something that isn't in my ordination vow.” Secondly, Philip was not a pastor. He was not the spiritual leader of a congregation. He was called an evangelist. If the gift of evangelist can be swallowed up in the gift of pastor/teacher, why not the other gifts as well, such as those of prophet or apostle?

Some will explain it this way: Paul says Timothy is to do the work of an evangelist, not to be one. Sometimes we are put in positions where we do work that is not our vocation. I can help build a Habitat for Humanity house, but my vocation is not that of a carpenter or plumber. Nevertheless, I am doing the work of those craftsmen in that special setting. But should doing the work that another is gifted to do eliminate that specific calling? Because I can be a week-end plumber or carpenter, does that eliminate the need for plumbers and carpenters? Hardly. So pastors doing the work of evangelists ought not eliminate those who are God's gifts of evangelists.

Who are those gifts to the church which the Scriptures call evangelists? Perhaps they are the ones who regularly invite people to your Sunday service without any prodding. Maybe they are the ones who always seem to have handouts in purse or pocket – tracts, Portals of Prayer, etc. and give them out in a winsome way. It could be that they are the ones in your church who have no trouble integrating the Gospel story into the story of their life and share that with non-Christians easily on a regular basis. And yes, they are also the pastors who look forward weekly to spending time with people who are outside the church. In fact, if a week goes by without their being able to do that, they become very frustrated and grumpy. I suspect the types of people just described do not need to hear Paul say, “Do the work of an evangelist.” It is not only their duty but their delight. The rest of us will “do the work of an evangelist” where and when God gives us the opportunity. Someone once said that one doesn't need every person in the church to do evangelism work – if only ten per cent were doing it, the church couldn't keep up. Wouldn't that be an interesting problem to have?