The word “evangelist” is a transliteration of the Greek “εὐαγγελιστής” (euangelistḗs), which means “proclaimer of the gospel”¹A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (BDAG), Third Edition or “a bringer of good tidings”.²https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G2099&t=KJV [Accessed 03/08/2021] The term is used only three times in the New Testament and seems to have been infrequent in the earliest centuries of the church as well, but it denoted a person recognized and entrusted by the churches as a preacher of the good news of Jesus Christ. As one lexicon explains, “This name is given in the N. T. to those heralds of salvation through Christ who are not apostles.”³Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Today, the word “evangelist” typically refers to someone who devotes themselves full-time to the work of preaching the gospel to the lost or, more informally, to any Christian with a reputation for frequently sharing the gospel with unbelievers.

Biblical use of the term “evangelist”

The Bible uses the term “evangelist ” precisely three times:

“On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him,” (Acts 21:8).

“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,” (Ephesians 4:11).

“But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry,” (2 Timothy 4:5).

None of these verses offers us a plain definition of the word. Indeed, in each case, the writer obviously assumes that his readers already understand what the word means. That said, we are given several clues that help us round out a pretty clear definition.

Evaluating the biblical data

From the few references we have, at least four observations can be made:

1. The word itself is derived from the word “gospel” or “good news,” and clearly means a person who brings such a message to people. This is why J.B. Phillips translated the word as “preachers of the Gospel”⁴Phillips New Testament, Ephesians 4:11 and Robert Young rendered it as “proclaimers of good news”.⁵Young’s Literal Translation, Ephesians 4:11 This is the unambiguous meaning of the word.
2. In Ephesians 4:11, “Evangelist” is listed alongside formal titles like apostle, prophet, and pastor. This strongly implies that it was a defined position among the early churches rather than merely an informal designation for any believer who shares their faith.
3. Similarly, when Paul tells Timothy to “do the work of an Evangelist,” this seems to indicate that evangelists had a definitive, specified role whose work could be imitated.
4. The man mentioned in Acts 21:8 is called “Phillip the evangelist” the same way other men are called things like “Simon the tanner” (Acts 10:32) “Herod the king, (Acts 12:1), or “Alexander the coppersmith,” (2 Timothy 4:14). In other words, “evangelist” seems to have been Phillip’s distinctive title in the same way that a man’s position in government or his vocational trade might serve to distinguish him from other men of the same name.

Thus, while we cannot be certain, it seems that evangelists were specific, designated people who served a special role in proclaiming the gospel. As John Calvin summarized in his commentary on 2 Timothy 4:5:

“Whether he denotes generally by this term any ministers of the gospel, or whether this was a special office, is doubtful; but I am more inclined to the second opinion, because from Ephesians 4:11 it is clearly evident that this was an intermediate class between apostles and pastors, so that the evangelists ranked as assistants next to the apostles. It is also more probable that Timothy, whom Paul had associated with himself as his closest companion in all things, surpassed ordinary pastors in rank and dignity of office, than that he was only one of their number. Besides, to mention an honorable title of office tends not only to encourage him, but to recommend his authority to others; and Paul had in view both of these objects.”⁶Calvin’s Commentary on 2 Timothy 4:5, https://ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom43/calcom43.iv.v.ii.html [Accessed 03/04/2021]

Phillip the Evangelist as an example

Since Phillip is specifically identified as an evangelist, his life and ministry help illustrate what the “work of an evangelist” probably looked like. In the brief account the book of Acts provides, we find him often on the move proclaiming the gospel to people in unreached places. Though he is first mentioned as one of the seven appointed men serving the widows in the Jerusalem church, his role takes a turn when persecution scatters the majority of the believers there. We then immediately read:

“Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them,” (Acts 8:5).

Thus, Philip seems to be the first man to take the gospel beyond the Jews to a foreign people, the Samaritans.⁷The Samaritans obeyed the law of Moses and worshiped the God of Israel, and thus were not considered “Gentiles,” yet they also were not Jews and even Jesus called them “foreigners,” (Luke 17:18) After ministering there for a time, he travels south toward Gaza (Acts 8:26) and meets an Ethiopian with whom he also shares the gospel. After this, Philip travels from town to town proclaiming the word:

“But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea,” (Acts 8:40).

From this example (and the other Biblical data), most commentators have concluded that Evangelists were migrant ministers who shared the gospel from place to place rather than settling down to serve in one church or city. Marvin Vincent defined them as “Traveling missionaries”⁸Marvin R. Vincent, Vincent’s Word Studies of the New Testament, Vol. 3 (Macdonald Publishing Company, 1887) 389 whose “work was not confined to a particular church.”⁹Ibid, Vol. 4, 322 Calvin likewise said that their purpose was “to preach the gospel in all places, and not to have any certain place of abode.”¹⁰Calvin’s Commentary on Acts 21:8, https://ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom37/calcom37.ix.ii.html [Acessed 03/04/2021]

Yet, upon further reflection, it seems that perhaps evangelists did not necessarily have to move about from city to city in order to fulfill their duty. While it is true that Philip traveled all over Judea and parts of Samaria for a time, he seems afterward to have served as an evangelist in one city. Acts 8:40 says that he preached from town to town “until he came to Caesarea.” Many years later, the Apostle Paul and his companions “came to Caesarea” and stayed in “the house of Philip the evangelist”. It appears that Philip not only remained in Caesarea but even settled down in a home there, and yet he is still called “the evangelist.” While it is possible that this was a reference only to Philip’s past service as an evangelist, it seems more likely that Philip was still fulfilling his role, preaching the gospel to the many people coming and going through that bustling port city.

Conclusion

The term “evangelist,” though not used often or emphasized much in the New Testament, seems to refer to people who were set apart and entrusted with the task of proclaiming the gospel to unbelievers. While all believers share the charge to spread the gospel, these were individuals who were appointed specifically to carry out that task as their primary role and gifting. They may have often done this by traveling about from town to town, though it was also possible to fulfill their mission by remaining in a specific place (especially if that place was a large center for trade and travel where many unbelievers from many places would always be present.) The term would roughly correspond to how we often use “missionary,” so long as we are talking about overtly gospel-centered missions that focus on verbal proclamation rather than humanitarian efforts.¹¹This is not to say that humanitarian efforts by Christians are a bad thing, only that the Bible would not call such missionaries “evangelists”