The ministry of the evangelist is not only to preach the gospel into the world but to stir the whole church to evangelism. In this session we explore how we can all play a role in being fire-starters in the church to help encourage and equip those around us to be faithful to God in evangelism.
SESSION IN A SENTENCE
Alongside proclaiming the gospel to the world, an evangelist will also be committed to stirring the church to evangelism by encouraging and equipping all believers for works of service.
SESSION BACKGROUND
Since the advent of social media, a new form of celebrity has developed: the so-called ‘influencer’. These are people who have developed such a following on a social media platform (particularly YouTube) that they are able to exert a mass-appeal influence over people. It’s not an entirely new concept – celebrities from the entertainment and sports world have been telling us for years through advertising what to wear, eat, drink and smell like. But this generation of celebrities are arguably the first to have gathered a following for the purpose of influence itself.
Paul tells us in Romans not to conform to the influences of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds through submission to the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:2). As God’s holy people, we are the original influencers, with a message that brings life, freedom and hope.
In Session Seven, we reminded ourselves that salt with no flavour is good for nothing. A social media influencer’s power hinges on how many followers they have and how well those followers engage with whatever they promote. For the church, our distinctiveness is far more important, and to lose it is far more costly. A social media influencer may lose their fame and career as they fade in influence, but if the church fades in influence and loses its distinctiveness, the world will miss opportunities to see the gospel lived out and hear it proclaimed in a way they can understand.
Evangelists are passionate to see the world receive the gospel, but they must also be passionate to continuously stir the church to bear gospel influence in the world. After all, there is no ‘plan B’ when it comes to the gospel, and the church of Jesus Christ are its only ambassadors. Whenever the church forgets this or becomes distracted, evangelists and those who are passionately engaged in evangelism in any capacity can lovingly fuel and stoke the fires of evangelism once more so that the influence of the gospel can shine brightly for all to see: that the whole church would take the whole gospel to the whole world for the whole glory of God.
Session guide
CATCH UP (10–20 MINS)
Take time to catch up with one another, sharing stories, encouragements, feedback on opportunities and anything else that would encourage the group. Share about your experiences inviting people to respond to the gospel in light of the last session (Session Ten – Application). Have you had opportunities to be intentional in this area since last time? If so, what has been the result?
PRAYER
Commit the time to the Lord and pray over any situations, positive or challenging, highlighted in the catch up time.
TEACHING (20–30 MINS)
Work through the following teaching material in your own way, either by reading it word for word, or by reworking it into your own presentation.
‘So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.’
EPHESIANS 4:11–13
Even those who have a huge platform need some inspiration in life, as Hollywood action hero Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson testified in an interview:
‘When I was eight years old, I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark in Charlotte, North Carolina. I walked out of there and was so inspired. I loved the movie, and I knew I wanted to be that guy.’
Discuss: Have you ever encountered someone so inspirational that you immediately wanted to do what they do/be like them? What was it about them or what they were doing that had this impact upon you?
Whether from a family member, historical figure, pop culture icon or even a fictional character, we can find inspiration in all sorts of places. Some of this inspiration affects the hobbies and careers we pursue and can even shape our character and worldview. Sometimes it works the other way – you can see someone so talented that it actually discourages you from pursuing something: ‘What’s the point, I’ll never be as good as them!’
There are many inspirational biblical figures, and it’s good to look to heroes of the faith both on and off the pages of the Bible – especially as we realise that, as impressive as they may be, they were just ordinary people being faithful to God. Knowing that the reason Moses could speak in power to Pharaoh had nothing to do with his oratory skills, and everything to do his with faithfulness to the call of God and submission to his power, is encouraging as it is inspiring. God is the same, so we could do the same things too.
Ultimately there is only one person who can inspire and empower us. In Jesus we have both the perfect model for what our lives should be, and the perfect power by which we can hope to live in such a way. As we are compelled by the example and teaching of Jesus, and as we are empowered by him for our life of faith, we should be considering the potential influence we have upon those around us.
Paul teaches in Ephesians 4 that Jesus has blessed the church with different gifts that are useful for his kingdom purposes. Evangelists are listed alongside apostles, pastors, teachers (or pastor-teachers) and prophets, and Paul states that people who hold the gifting to fulfil these callings are to equip the church for works of service and to build up the body of Christ.
‘…somewhere, an idea emerged and became very popular in the Christian community…It is that the ministry of the church is to be done by the paid, professional, theologically-trained clergy. According to this view, the whole purpose of the laity is to receive the benefits of ministry, in terms of preaching, counselling, comfort, and those other things that we seek to provide in the church. But the reason why certain gifts are given for leadership is to equip the believers for ministry. The church is to be a mobilised army.’
R.C. SPROUL
It would be a mistake to look at the ministry roles in Ephesians 4 and conclude simplistically that they refer to certain special people in our churches. Paul’s letter reveals something far better. These ministries exist because the church is special, and God is at work through ordinary people to ensure that it grows to maturity as one body. We take care of those in our church community while reaching those outside of it. Everybody gets to play.
We have a responsibility to use our gifts well, and that means being intentional about being inspirational. It also means that, by the humility and holiness we have explored in previous sessions, we must lead the way in protecting against any misuse of these gifts that can cause division in the church. Pride, ego, envy and the abuse of power are each a shortcut to division.
Discuss: Who in your church is most likely to be considered inspirational, and with that in mind what roles and functions in the church do you see people aspiring to today? Perhaps it’s to become a pastor or youth worker, a worship leader or a Bible teacher. Are people aspiring to witness and evangelism, and if not, why not?
Here are five ways in which we can attempt to inspire others – whether we consider ourselves to be evangelists or not – to share the gospel faithfully:
- PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL – One of the best ways to inspire people to share the gospel is to do so regularly in our gatherings. Another way is to invite our Christian brothers and sisters to come to events where we are preaching (not least for their prayerful support, but also to build their faith as they see its power at work as people encounter Jesus for the first time), or to come with us where/when we know we will have opportunity for gospel conversations with someone. As we share the gospel either publicly or personally we can constantly affirm that evangelism is a privilege and joy for all believers.
- PREPARE TESTIMONY – Help people to think through their own testimony and the impact God has had upon their life from the time they first met him until now. How did they first come to put their trust in him, and what has he been doing in their life recently? Deliberately preparing personal testimony is both a great way to inspire and equip each other for evangelism and an act of worship as we give God thanks for what he has done in our lives.
- PRIORITISE STORYTELLING – In our gatherings and conversations we should regularly share stories about our evangelistic activity. Celebrate and be encouraged when you see God at work through you, and choose to think positively and constructively about what you can learn from situations that didn’t seem to go so well. As your community hears stories of God at work through ordinary people just like them, they will grow in confidence that God could use them too.
- PRACTISE TOGETHER – It might seem odd to ‘practise’ evangelism by role playing with each other, but it is actually a great way to prepare for conversations we might have and help to build people’s confidence. We wouldn’t expect someone to drive a car on a public road without any practice or support, and neither should we expect people to witness without offering them an opportunity to grow in confidence through practising and learning together.
- PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY – Through your church and in your wider friendship group, make opportunities for people to get involved in evangelism. Organise local and international mission opportunities, invite people to be part of a ministry team at events you are running, or take a few friends out for a couple of hours of street evangelism. The ways in which you could do this are numerous: run some training before you go and debrief when you get back. In time people will become more comfortable taking the experiences ofthese ‘formal’ opportunities into their everyday lives and their evangelism will move from an organised mission week to an everyday opportunity.
However we go about doing it, let us commit to stirring and helping our brothers and sisters in Christ step into the fullness of their identity as the messenger children of God.
DISCUSSION (15 MINS)
- What does it mean to build up the church in the way that Paul describes in Ephesians?
- How do we maintain our distinctiveness in the world as followers of Jesus, and in the church as passionate evangelists?
- Other than the five ways we explored in this session, how can we inspire others to evangelism?
‘We are the people of God, and our mission is to share the good news of Christ with the world. But before we can go out, we must first be encouraged and supported by one another.’
JIM ELLIOT
APPLICATION (10 MINS)
Hopefully you will have a desire to stay in this group beyond the end of its first year and continue to journey together to grow as evangelists into Year Two. But with inspiring the church to evangelism in mind, now could be a good time to consider what it would look like to run your own Advance group alongside being in this one.
Multiplication is a core principle of the Advance movement because it should be our desire as evangelists to encourage others in their evangelism. Take some time to compile a list of people who might be interested in following the same journey you’ve been on and then begin reaching out in the coming weeks. Use your experience from this group and the Advance resources to help you plan and organise your own group.
PRAYER
Spend time praying for the local church, that all within it would be faithful to the gospel call on their lives. Pray for opportunities to encourage others, and pray to commission each member of the group to not only proclaim the gospel to a world in need, but to inspire and equip other followers of Jesus to do the same.
ACCOUNTABILITY (15 MINS)
Have you ever felt frustrated or angry at the church or people within it for what you perceive as a lack of evangelistic action or even heart for the lost? It’s understandable to feel this way but the enemy can so easily twist these feelings into lingering resentment, superiority or even outright unforgiveness. Chat about this idea as a whole group and then pray in pairs for soft hearts towards our brothers and sisters, and wisdom in how to encourage them to faithful witness.
Complete accountability forms, share in pairs or smaller groups and pray for one another.
DON’T FORGET…
The Global Network of Evangelists offers support, fellowship and equipping to evangelists all around the world. Visit their website at evangelist.global to find out more and as you head towards the end of your first year of Advance, consider applying to join the network as part of your ongoing Advance journey.
