What Is the Biblical Role of an Evangelist?

Apostolic Life in the 21st Century

David K. Bernard

Apostolic Pentecostal, Religion & Spirituality, David K. Bernard, Christianity, Upci, Oneness Pentecostal, Theology, United Pentecostal Church International

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 22 June 2026

⏱️ 10 minutes

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Summary

What is the biblical role of an evangelist? Many Christians associate evangelists with traveling revival preachers who move from church to church preaching special services. While that model has been common in Pentecostal circles, is it the same role the apostle Paul described in Ephesians 4:11? In this episode of Apostolic Life in the 21st Century, Dr. David K. Bernard explores the New Testament ministry of the evangelist and explains why this calling remains essential to the church today. D...

Transcript

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0:00.0	Dr. Bernard in Ephesians 411, Paul lists evangelists as one of the roles in what is often referred to as the five-fold ministry.
0:14.6	I think back to when I was growing up, an evangelist was somebody who was an itinerant preacher, travel across the country, preaching
0:23.2	what we called revivals, which were a series of church services. The evangelist often lived in a
0:28.4	travel trailer or a motor home, and with this family, relied on offerings from the local church
0:33.4	where he preached, and he had to be a good preacher. You weren't going to get many revivals.
0:37.5	But I'm not really sure that's what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he mentioned evangelist
0:42.2	as part of the five-fold ministry. Biblically speaking, what is the role of an evangelist in the church?
0:49.3	Let me first say that the type of ministry you described is valuable, needed, and we should support that.
0:59.7	Yeah, thank God for all the evangelists.
1:01.4	Yes. And we use the term evangelist, but if we're going to be biblical, while that may be the best
1:09.7	one word, it may, the biblical word evangelist is not the exact
1:15.5	equivalent. So the biblical word evangelist does not mean itinerant preacher. Some itinerant
1:22.1	preachers, their main focus is pastoral type, you know, supporting the pastor, you know, encouraging, edifying,
1:29.2	building up the local church, or maybe a teaching ministry. And those are valid ministries as well.
1:35.9	But the word evangelist in the Greek is related and comes from the word evangelist or gospel. So literally, an evangelist is someone who word evangel or gospel.
1:44.6	So literally, an evangelist is someone who preaches the gospel.
1:48.5	The focus then would be on someone who has an effective ministry
1:54.7	of helping lost people come to God.
1:57.6	Obviously, every time a pastor preaches, there's probably a component of evangelism
2:03.9	most, if not all the time. And in fact, you can see Paul told Timothy do the work of an evangelist.
2:10.6	So even if you're not an evangelist by calling or primary ministry, other ministers, including pastors, are supposed to do that kind of work.
2:19.9	It's not limited to just someone labeled an evangelist.
	...

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