Evangelism = awakening others to grace for the first time

The gift of evangelism is the divine strength or ability to help non-Christians take the necessary steps to becoming a born again Christian. In a sense, a person with the gift of evangelism awakens someone to radical grace for the first time.

And, whereas you might think a person with the gift of evangelism will speak from a stage, most of them probably don’t. Rather, you find them at work, in the office, at school…

… living everyday life, wherever people are.

After all, since God loved the world so much that He gave us His Son- John 3:16— doesn’t it make sense He would place these gifted sons & daughters of His everywhere that the people whom He wants to redeem might be?

I’ve seen signs at churches that say, “Evangelism is a responsibility, not a gift.”

Or, “Evangelism is a command for everyone, not a calling for some.”

True. 

And false.

Think about it like this— 

Whereas all believers can “lay hands on the sick” and see them recover (see Mark 16:15-20), some believers have a unique ability to walk in this gift at a higher capacity. The same thing is true of evangelism. Everyone can share their faith (and should); some people have a higher effectiveness at doing so— it’s how the Spirit expresses Himself through them.

Note, too: evangelism is a gift as well as one of the five-fold offices mentioned in Ephesians 4:11-12 (the five types of leaders gifted to the church to “equip the saints for the work of ministry.” 

So, some people with this gift are empowered to work “in the world” wherever they are. Others are called to serve the church by empowering others to find their gift and calling as they evangelize. 

See also Acts 8:5-6, Acts 8:26-40, Acts 14:21, Acts 21:8, Ephesians 4:11-14 or chapter 13 of the LifeLift book, chapter 12 of the workbook