A Christian movement for emphasizing personal conversion and the authority of the Bible or, by extension, any other form of preaching or proselytizing. Evangelist Ray Comfort, host of the TV show dedicated to evangelism The Way of the Master, says "simply put, Christian evangelism is when we share our faith with others."
The word evangelist comes from the Koine Greek word εὐαγγέλιον (transcribed as "euangelion") via Latin "Evangelium", as used in the canonical titles of the four Gospels, authored by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (also known as the Four Evangelists). The Greek word εὐαγγέλιον originally meant a reward for good news given to the messenger (εὔ = "good", ἀγγέλλω = "I bring a message"; the word angel is of the same root) and later "good news". The latter term gives rise to the word "Gospel". Reasons for Evangelism
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Commanded by God
According to the King James Bible, during his last days on earth Jesus commanded his disciples the following:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.
– Matthew 28:19,20 King James Version
Other translations render the phrase "teach all nations" in the above quotations as "make disciples of all nations."
Jesus also states in the Gospel of Mark to "go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). These are two main passages of Scripture where it can easily be seen that Christians are commanded to preach the Gospel.
The call of each Christian is to get the word of restoration, or Word of God, out to those outside of the Church who have not heard the word of God to them. Before the beginning of time, before even the earth was formed and the heavens were wrought, God destined each one to who they were, as the Psalmist describes "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them." (Psalm 139:16 New King James Version) So the focus of evangelism must be towards calling ones who have not heard the word of God towards their 'destiny' as sons of God.
However, it must not stop here. There were many individuals in the 1950s to 1970s who were touched by evangelists, such as Billy Graham. These ones were moved by the words of the speakers, convicted by the Holy Spirit, touched by the presence of God, realising that they are included in a purpose that God created and formed outside of time - to be a son of God. God wanted fellowship with man from the before beginning of time where God just was - He is the 'I AM'. "...and God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM. And He said, So you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you'." (Exodus 3:14 Modern King James Version)
The writer John lays out the purpose of God with regard to sons of God coming into the fellowship very clearly: "...that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ." (1 John 1:3 New King James Version) This was the purpose of God - that there would be many sons of God and that they would come into the fellowship of God.
However, it is clear 'coming into fellowship with God' is not anything mystical. Over the centuries, there have been many eccentric versions of the mystical interpretations of 'coming into fellowship with God'. Therefore, coming into the fellowship of God is not conjuring up religious revelations and reckoning that as from God. On the other extreme of the spectrum, neither can it be as single minded as just going to church every Sunday, sitting in the pews from week to week, attending all meetings with a religious fervosity. People can go to church their whole lives and not find salvation because they didn't join the fellowship.
Therefore, the question for every Christian and the question of evangelism is: 'Where is fellowship, and how is it found?' Christ sums up fellowship in the statement, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20 New King James Version) Fellowship simply means being found in a relational dialogue with those who are doing the will of God, that is actually amazingly a dialogue of God Himself, where others can speak the word of God into the lives of others and actually call these ones unto the the book of who we are that was written before time. The common question of a wandering pilgrim who is lost in the crossroads of life is 'Who am I?' Even, 'what is the meaning of life?' It's only as sons of God, called from 'out there' into the fellowship of God, does one begin to answer these questions and understand who we are.
The apostle Paul desribes the dynamic of fellowship in 1 Corinthians 1:16 - "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." God calls each one to walk in the name, or just who we are to be that was written before time in the 'book', to be lived in the realm of time. It is amazing to think that each and every human being has a destiny, but has a choice. God gave mankind a choice - to fellowship or not. This is why Adam and Eve ate of the fruit. However, God calls us accountable to our actions. Galations says, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." (Galations 6:7 New King James Version) Each man and woman have a call as a son of God. To evangelise is to express this call, or destiny. However, if a son of God doesn't enter the fellowship of God, he or she will die (not talking about physical so much). This is the dynamic that evangelism should be - the realisation to those who have not been saved that they are a son of God. But also the call into the fellowship where the name of each individual, their destination of identity, of who they are, is slowly revealed. God has given each person a choice - be a son of God in the way God formed us and destined us and found in fellowship, or die. The heart of evagelism is to get sons of God all the way to the signpost of fellowship - here, a pilgrim's walk of life is directed in a dialogue with those who do the will of God.
Evangelists
Sometimes, the regular minister of a church is called a preacher in a way that other groups would typically use the term pastor. The evangelist in some churches is one that travels from town to town and from church to church, spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Though many Christians of various theological perspectives would call themselves 'evangelists' because they are spreaders of the good news. Many churches believe one of their major functions is to function as evangelists to spread the good news about Jesus being our savior.
The evangelical movement in Protestant Christianity encompasses denominations and parachurch organizations such as the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association which, among other characteristics, focus on evangelism and the drawing-in of new converts. In common parlance, the title of evangelist is most easily associated with those who lead large meetings like those of Billy Graham, possibly in tents or existing church buildings, or those who address the public in street corner preaching, which targets listeners who happen to pass nearby on the street. It can also be done in small groups or even on a one-to-one basis. Increasingly, the Web enables anyone to become an Internet evangelist. Though it is a misnomer to believe that to be evangelical one has to accept a certain sort of Biblical fundamentalism. Many radicals and liberals would call themselves 'evangelical'.
The term is also used in a non-religious sense to describe an individual who takes up a cause and convinces others to it (see technology evangelist). Guy Kawasaki, an author and venture capitalist, describes evangelists as individuals who promote a particular product. At Apple Computer, he was part of a team of Apple evangelists that convinced programmers to develop software on the Macintosh Platform. In The Human Fabric (Aviri, 2004), Bijoy Goswami describes the "Evangelist" as one of three core energies in people and society.
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