What Is Evangelism?

By James Quansah, Pastor

I HEARD so much about the word, “evangelism” in 1997 in Accra when I left the Catholic Church for the Apostolic Faith Mission International, a Charismatic church led by the then Evangelist De-Graft Osei Kwame. My new church would always plan to embark on evangelism in different cities, towns and villages in Ghana and Ivory Coast.

Today, just as it was in the past, Christians talk about evangelism, but some of them hardly understand it. Nii Amoo Darku, in his book, Total Evangelism (2nd Edition), writes, “Evangelism, as a word, is not found in the Bible. It is argued in some quarters, however, that the concept “to evangelise” and its derivatives have actually been around much longer and also occur fairly frequently in the New Testament.”

He continued “…It is only around early nineteenth century that the verb, “evangelise” and its derivatives “evangelism” and “evangelization” were rehabilitated in church and mission circles…” However, evangelism is generally accepted among believers of the Christian faith to mean the act of declaring the gospel to the unregenerate.

Christians who are called, prepared and burdened with the responsibility to declare the gospel to the unsaved world so as to persuade men and women to believe in Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit may be called evangelists. Thus, Christ sets evangelists in the church (Ephesians 4:11), Philip is described as an evangelist (Acts 21:8) and Paul, the apostle, encouraged Timothy to do the work of an evangelist (2 Timothy 4:5).

According to Bishop Wembley Temple, “To evangelise is to present Christ Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit that men shall come to put their trust in God through him, to accept Him as their Saviour, and serve Him as their King in the fellowship of the church”.

But how should Christian believers present Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit for the salvation of the unregenerate? Clearly, it must be presented through the preaching or proclamation of the gospel. Thus, many Christians obey the command of Jesus Christ to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God on the streets, homes, and through the media.

In the days of His flesh, Jesus Christ personally preached the gospel, pointing people to Himself. In Matthew 10:7, Jesus sent His 12 disciples, charging them with these words, “…And proclaim as you go, saying “The kingdom of heaven is at hand…”  Then, in Matthew 24: 14, it is written, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Similarly, in Matthew 28:19, Jesus Christ orders all His disciples to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” And when Christ had risen from the dead, He further reminded the church of its great duty of world evangelization when he said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses…to the end of the earth.”

Consequently, the early church did not disappoint the Lord Jesus in preaching the gospel for the salvation of souls. In Acts 2, Peter flanked by the other apostles preached the gospel, bore witness of the risen Christ Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit and thousands were saved. Though some Christians are specially called, prepared and set in the church to function in the evangelistic office as evangelists, all Christians are called to evangelise.

Thus, Philip, who was a deacon ministered as an evangelist. Stephen also preached the gospel, leading to him being stoned to death. Today, several Christians serve God as evangelists in various parts of the world. In Ghana, most of the evangelists particularly those associated with the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches preach on the streets in the cities, markets and buses.

However, do these streets evangelists really understand evangelism? Do they know what evangelism is and what is not it? It appears they lack deeper understanding of the word and need to be educated and trained. This article, therefore, is a step in the right direction. A critical analysis of the content of the preaching of most streets evangelists shows how they often insult and mock sinners.

But evangelism is not about insulting, rebuking or mocking unbelievers or sinners. In fact, it is neither threatening people with hellfire nor pointing them to their sins as we hear many evangelists do in Ghana these days. In his teaching, Samuel Adubofuor, adds that “evangelism is not man-made propaganda, evangelism is not a system and evangelism is not an optional extra for those who like it.”

Evangelism is sharing Jesus Christ with unbelievers. It is bringing someone face to face with the Lord Jesus. According to Adubofuor, “evangelism is the outworking of God’s love in a fallen world. It is sharing the Good News of salvation in Christ.” Evangelism is communicating the love message of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection in the power of the Holy Spirit to the unsaved. Evangelism is communicating the deep wisdom of the love of God through Christ Jesus for the salvation of humanity.

Sinners do not repent because they hear a message of insults or mockery but a message of love. The gospel of salvation, therefore, is the gospel of love, message of love preached in love by ministers of love to reconcile man to God. This is centered on the words of John: “For God so love the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).