For too long there has been a myth disseminated in the Church which suggests that evangelism is a particular ministry for which some are gifted and called and others are not. The trouble with that view is it cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament! Of course there are individuals with a specific gifting who have a more focused ministry in evangelism. But the work of evangelism belongs to every disciple of Jesus Christ.

Evangelism is not a separate ministry in and of itself. Evangelism is not a task to be ticked off on a list. Evangelism, when fully understood, is far more organic than that and it should permeate our lifestyle and be at the core of our life and calling as disciples of Christ.

To put it another way: evangelism is not the cause of something, evangelism is the fruit of something else. Just think about that statement for a minute. Evangelism isn’t something we do to achieve something else. Evangelism is what happens as a result of something else. That is: evangelism is the natural outflow of a healthy Church.

The clearest example we have of this can been found at the very beginning of the Church as we know it. In the closing verses of Acts chapter 2 we have that wonderful snapshot of the Church in action and the fruit of that action:

Acts 2:42-47   “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

Where is the ‘evangelism’ in that passage? Well in today’s thinking we would just look for souls saved and that’s all contained in the very last sentence. But it’s important to note that it is the Lord Who is adding people to the Church. So does that mean we don’t have a role to play in evangelism? Not at all. What the Lord does in that last sentence is actually the fruit which flows from what the Church does and who the Church is in the preceding narrative.

Simply put: when we are doing what we have been called to do; when we are being who we are called to be – then God does what He promised to do – He builds the Church. These verses in Acts 2 describe a healthy Church in action and the result is growth, spiritual and numerical growth.