What IS an Evangelist?

[Praxeas]

EVANGELIST. The word translated in the NT ‘evangelist’ is a noun from the Verb euangelizomai ‘to announce news’, and usually rendered in EVV as ‘preach the gospel’. (The NT term echoes Heb. meḇaśśēr, mebaśśereṯ in Is. 40:9; 52:7.) The verb is very common in the NT, and is applied to God (Gal. 3:8), to our Lord (Lk. 20:1), and to ordinary church members (Acts 8:4), as well as to apostles on their missionary journeys. The noun ‘evangelist’ occurs three times only in the NT. Timothy (2 Tim. 4:5) is exhorted by Paul to do the work of an evangelist; that is to say, make known the facts of the gospel. Timothy had accompanied the apostle on his missionary journeys. But it is plain from the injunctions in the two letters addressed to him that his work when the apostle wrote was very largely local and pastoral. That he is enjoined to do the work of an evangelist shows that a man who was an evangelist could also be a pastor and teacher.
In Acts 21:8 Philip is described as ‘the evangelist’. Philip had been chosen as one of the Seven in Acts 6, and after the persecution of Stephen he was prominent in preaching the gospel in unevangelized parts (e.g. Acts 8:5, 12, 35, 40). Though an evangelist, he was not included among the apostles (Acts 8:14). A similar distinction is made between Timothy and the apostles in 2 Cor. 1:1 and Col. 1:1. It will be seen, then, that though apostles were evangelists, not all evangelists were apostles. This distinction is confirmed in Eph. 4:11, where the office of ‘evangelist’ is mentioned after ‘apostle’ and ‘prophet’, and before ‘pastor’ and ‘teacher’. From this passage it is plain that the gift of evangelist was a distinct gift within the Christian church; and although all Christians doubtless performed this sacred task, as opportunity was given to them, there were some who were pre-eminently called and endowed by the Holy Spirit for this work.


Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996). New Bible dictionary (3rd ed.) (347–348). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.