In the scriptures, our Lord Jesus often ran into conflicts with the Jewish leaders who were known as the Scribes and Pharisees because they were not living the life that reflected what they taught others.
Therefore, as an Evangelist, there are certain characteristics you just possess and showcase in order to help you show good examples to those you are trying to convert and keep as the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is why I am writing this religious discourse to help you learn about the 15 characteristics you must possess as an Evangelist, so without any further ado, let’s get down to it.
15 characteristics of an Evangelist.
The 15 characteristics of an Evangelist are:
- Preaching the gospel.
- Endurance.
- Wisdom of God.
- Righteousness.
- Godliness.
- Generous.
- Have faith.
- Loving.
- Kind hearted.
- Gentle.
- Humility.
- Indiscriminate.
- Live an exemplary life.
- Patience.
- Prayerful.
1. Preaching the gospel.
The number one characteristic of an Evangelist should be the preaching of the gospel because it is through preaching the gospel that he will be able to fulfill the aim and purpose of evangelism which is to save the lost souls.
In 2 Timothy 4:2, the Apostle Paul urges his co-Evangelist known as Timothy to preach the gospel in and out of season. And this in and out of season should not be seen in the literal sense alone (that is, as rainy and dry season) because it also connotes the positivity and negativities of life that an Evangelist is going to face or experience during the course of delivering his job as an Evangelist.
The Apostle Paul himself, who is regarded as one of the greatest Evangelist of all time; reluctantly recounts his resume of having good times (in season) as well as suffering (out of season) for the sake of the gospel.
In Philippians 4:14, he recounts how the Christians in Philippi were taking good care of him even in his troubles and in 2 Cor. 11:23-28, he also reluctantly recounts his suffering which included working much harder, being thrown into prison on several occasions, whipped countless times, had several near-death experiences, stoned and shipwrecked. He even mentions how he was flogged 39 times by the Jews.
This therefore takes us to the next characteristic of an Evangelist which is enduring all pains and sufferings for the sake of the gospel.
2. Endurance.
Having read the Bible and seen the pains, sufferings, torments, miseries etc. that all the Evangelist went through in the course of preaching the gospel, it is therefore very important to possess endurance as one of he characteristics of an Evangelist.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Master of all the New-Testament Evangelist; endured so much sufferings which ended in an early death in the hands of His own very people. And nearly all His 12 disciples, except John the beloved, also died prematurely.
Aside from the 12 disciples, we also see how Paul, whom He converted on his way to Damascus while going to to persecute the early Christians also went through much sufferings that also ended in a premature death.
In Mark 8:35, Jesus Himself mentions that whosoever will loose his life for the sake of the gospel will save it for eternity.
This is the reason why Paul said in Colossians 1:24 that he was happy for his physical sufferings because it is helping him to complete what was still remaining of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ for His body, which is also called ‘the church’.
Therefore, as an Evangelist, you must learn how to endure whatever miseries you are going to face for the sake of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. Wisdom of God.
An Evangelist must be filled with the wisdom of God because the message you are entrusted to preach is Christ Himself who is the power and wisdom of God as the Bible reveals in 1 Corinthians 1:24.
but for those whom God has called, both Jews and Gentiles, this message is Christ, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
In Ephesians 3:7-13, Paul reveals that he was given the privilege of making people see how God’s secret that was hidden in the past ages is revealed in the present time by means of His wisdom contained in God’s words in different forms.
4. Righteousness.
Even though so many people misunderstand the Bible’s point of view in on the fact that there is no righteous man on Earth as recorded in Romans 3:10, you as an Evangelist must understand that the scripture also upholds the fact that whosoever practices righteousness is righteous as recorded in 1 John 3:7.
So you must therefore aim to practice righteousness at all times because it is one of the characters that an Evangelist must possess and showcase.
5. Godliness.
Godliness is simply the ability to emulate God. It is however unfortunate that so many people believe there is no tendency for a human being to become Godlike, but in Leviticus 11:44, God Himself commands human beings to be holy as He Himself is holy.
In the New Testament, Peter urged the early Christians to be holy in their behaviors because the God Who called them is also holy. (1 Peter 1:15).
6. Generous.
Generosity is another character that every Evangelist must possess and showcase because as our Lord Jesus said in Luke 6:38 that if we give unto others it will also be given to us, you will be able to amass more blessings that will enable you further the course of preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Acts 20:35, Paul confirms that one of his duty as an Evangelist was to be generous, and he quoted the words of Jesus in Luke 6:38 to remind us that it is more blessed to give than to receive.
7. Have faith.
In Hebrews 11:6, the scripture reveals that those who do not have faith cannot please God, because whoever comes to God must believe that he truly exists.
So since as an Evangelist you will be witnessing and testifying about the existence of God and the need for every human being to come to Him for salvation, you must therefore believe that God exists first before you try to convince others to do the same.
In Romans 10:17, the scripture goes on to reveal that faith comes from hearing the words of Jesus Christ, and since you as an Evangelist is entrusted with that word, you must have faith in order to uphold and utilize it.
8. Loving.
In Mathew 22:38, Jesus reveals the love of God and that of fellow human beings as the greatest of all commandments.
Before He left His disciples to His death, He commanded them to love one another, and even made an example of it by trying to share the last supper with all of them. And as we all know, Judas who did not truly love Him was the only one who left in the middle of the supper to go and betray Him to His enemies.
This therefore goes to show that if you do not possess love as one of the characteristics of an Evangelist, you are going to betray Christ by continuing to live in sin as well as not be able to exhibit the loving characters that will encourage people to be converted by your preaching.
9. Kind hearted.
To uphold your status as an Evangelist you must be kind to everyone, especially those who are living in sin because if you are not a kind-hearted human being you will never be moved by compassion to seek salvation for them through prayers, fasting’s and preaching the word of God.
If the Lord Jesus was not kind, He wouldn’t have left His exalted position to seek the salvation of human beings who were led into sin and death by their fore-parents.
10. Gentle.
An Evangelist must be a gentle person who is not harsh to others. Even when you are seeing people doing what literally goes against the word of God, you must use a gentle attitude and behavior to correct them.
In Galatians 6:1, Paul advises: Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
As you can see, without using gentleness to correct others faults, you will also be tempted and will never be able to overcome it.
11. Humility.
An English proverb upholds the fact that pride will always go before a fall, and in the Bible we see how Lucifer was enthroned from his high position because of pride. (Isaiah 4:12-14).
On the other hand, the Bible shows us in Philippians 2:6-11 that even though the Lord Jesus Christ had the same nature with God, He humbled Himself to the point of facing a shameful death on the cross of Calvary.
But it did not end there, because God finally raised Him up to a position that is higher above any position in heaven and on Earth.
In Mathew 23:11-12, Jesus Himself taught us how to be humble when He said: But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
12. Indiscriminate.
As an Evangelist you must not discriminate, whether fellow Christians from other denominations, people of other religions or even the unbelievers.
This is because if you discriminate, you will never be able top get close to the people you were meant to save.
The scriptures shows us in Mark 2:15-17 that while on Earth, our Lord Jesus Himself associated with sinners and when He was tried to be criticized by the Jews He told them that it is a sick person who needs a physician and for that reason He came in order to save the sinners.
That reminds me of the story of Peter and Cornelius in Acts chapter 10 where Peter tried to discriminate Cornelius because he was not a Christian. But after Jesus intervened and he had an encounter with Cornelius he made the speech below as recorded in verses 34-43.
Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. The word which God sent to the [a]children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all— that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”
13. Live an exemplary life.
In Mathew chapter 23, Jesus reveals how the teachers of the Jewish law who were known as the Scribes and Pharisees were fond of not practicing what they preach.
According to Him, they laid heavy burdens on people and are unwilling to help them carry them.
According to Jesus, if you are preaching for others to stop a particular attitude they will later catch you doing it, they will do it in a worse way because they will feel as if you were deceiving them.
And for this reason, you must aim so much to practice whatever you are preaching to people so they can be able to hold onto it whenever they see you are keeping to the same instructions.
14. Patience.
Persuading people to depart from their sinful lifestyle is not an easy task and for that reason an Evangelist must be very patience when he is trying to convert the lost souls.
No matter how the person is resisting your preaching or using threats to scare you away, you must exercise patience and look up to God as the only One that will help him see his wrongs and turn over a new leaf.
15. Prayerful.
Prayer is the fuel that enables the evangelical vehicle to accelerate to any destination, and for that reason an Evangelist must be a very prayerful person.
You must always implore God to intervene and save the lost souls whom you are trying to win over to His side.
Always keep in mind that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood but against the powers and principalities, rulers of darkness and wickedness in the heavenly places. Thus, the weapons of our warfare are never carnal but mighty through Christ to the pulling down of strongholds.
May God help us all in Jesus name. Amen.
