The care and feeding of vocational evangelists

What can a pastor and church do to bless and assist God's evangelists? It is not a question that most of us will consider without some prompting, yet it is one we should consider since full-time, vocational evangelism is a God-ordained ministry. In fact, the Scripture presents the evangelist right next to the office of pastor in the Bible (Ephesus 4:11). So, how do we care for and feed God's evangelists?

Believe in them

The Scripture clearly indicates that God intended for some to be evangelists; therefore, we should believe in the ministry of the evangelist. We should accept the office of evangelist just as we do other offices of the church.

Use them

Pastors and churches should schedule evangelists to lead revival services and evangelistic events in their churches. When a vocational evangelist is used in such meetings, at least one person will trust Christ as Savior 98.6% of the time - that has been the experience of Keith Fordham, an evangelist from Georgia, and I believe it holds true for all vocational evangelists.

Support them

Evangelists, unlike pastors and staff members of churches, do not receive a salary or benefits package. A church should consider adopting an evangelist and adding him to the church staff. If your church is small, you could combine your efforts with a neighboring church in order to assist an evangelist. The church(es) could then pray for the evangelist, pay health and life insurance costs, and provide other caring ministry to him and his family.

Also, a church could provide a small office, a part-time secretary to take calls and help with scheduling speaking engagements, and a once-a-year offering to help the family have a vacation from the rigors of evangelistic living on the road. If you use an evangelist in your church, be sure you pay for every expense he incurs. It is reported that 8 out of 10 evangelist who enter the ministry will give up after a couple years due to financial restraints. This often happens because churches do not compensate evangelists properly for their expenses.

Love them

A church affords a minister the opportunity to feel and sense a loving Christian family. This loving church family is something an evangelist does not get to enjoy on a regular basis. An evangelist must travel week after week, often from one state to another, and from one congregation to another. Notes, cards and a place on a church prayer list would mean so much to the evangelist and his family.

Also, when an evangelist is in your church, take a real love offering. Take the offering in every service, beginning with Sunday morning. Appeal strongly to your church family and encourage them to give from the heart to the offering! Such offerings do not hinder your regular church offerings; in fact, I observed that it helped my churches to give more faithfully to the budget offering when we took loving offerings for visiting evangelists.

Help them

If an evangelist does something that disappoints you, sit down with him and tell him about it. It is wrong to spread gossip about an evangelist or be critical of him behind his back. He may not realize his behavior or words are offensive. A God-called evangelist will welcome your suggestions and you could be instrumental in helping him become more effective for the Lord. You can also help an effective evangelist by recommending him to your pastor friends. Writing letters or making calls to recommend an evangelist is a wonderful way for you to support an evangelist.

There are a number of other things we can do to assist vocational evangelists, but these brief suggestions comprise a good start to the proper care and feeding of vocational evangelists. If you have further questions, contact us in the Evangelism Ministry Offices of the Georgia Baptist Convention at (800) RING-GBC or (770) 936-5236.