The Evangelist

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;” (Ephesians 4:11)

The Evangelist is only mentioned in the Bible three times, in the above verse, in Acts 21:8, where Luke says, “…we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him,” and in II Timothy 4:5 where Paul commanded Timothy to “…do the work of an evangelist…”

The word evangelist means one who announces the gospel. This is the first indication of what an evangelist does.  One does not announce things to people who already know.  The other source of information is to examine what Philip did since he is the only person named as an evangelist.

Both Acts 21:8 and Acts 6:5 make it clear that he was one of the seven chosen as deacons.  Acts 8:5-6 describes Philip going to the city of Samaria and preaching to the people there.  “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.  And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.”  It was an area where the gospel had not been preached.

He baptized those who believed and started a church according to Acts 8:12-14.  “But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.  Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.  Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:”   The church at Jerusalem sent Peter and John to help him train the people.  The implication is that they stayed for a considerable period.

After starting the church in Samaria, Philip went about sixty miles southwest to witness to a single foreigner in Acts 8:26-31.  “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.  And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.  Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.  And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?  And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him."

Clearly, though he had been in Jerusalem, the eunuch had not heard of Christ.  When Philip taught him about Jesus fulfilling the prophecies in Isaiah 53, The eunuch accepted Christ and was baptized as we see in Acts 8:36-39.  “And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?  And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.  And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.” The eunuch he led to the Lord returned to Ethiopa where he started a church, which later led to the Coptic Church still found in Ethiopia and Egypt.

“But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.” (Acts 8:40)

Philip then preached in the various cities along the coast as far north as Caesarea, where he apparently helped start another church.  He was there when Paul and Luke came back in Acts 21.  Peter opened the door for non-Jewish believers to join that church in Acts 10, when he met with Cornelius and his friends.  As an apostle, Peter could unlock the door for Gentiles to join the church.

From the description it is clear Philip went and preached to people who had never heard and started churches, making him the first missionary.  Paul did not even get saved until later.  The biblical word evangelist thus refers to what the modern church calls a missionary.

In Paul’s analogy to construction of a building, the evangelist would be the framing crew, who erect the basic framework of the building on the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets.  Once the building is dried in and protected from the weather, they turn the work over to the finish crew and move to another job.