Portrait of an Effective Evangelist

How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?
–Romans 10:14

Biologist Thomas Huxley was known as Charles Darwin’s bulldog. In fact, many people say had it not been for Huxley, the theory of evolution would have been nothing but a minor theory. Huxley was also an agnostic. The story goes that one Sunday, Huxley asked a man who was going to church why he was a Christian. The man hesitated, but Huxley assured him that he didn’t want an argument; he simply wanted to know what Christ meant to the man. So the man related his testimony of how he came to faith in Jesus Christ. When he finished, Huxley’s eyes were filled with tears. He said, “I would give my right hand if I could only believe this.”

The fact is, there are millions of people around the world who would love to embrace the hope of Jesus Christ. But as Paul said in Romans 10:14, “How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” The Greek word translated as “preacher” doesn’t refer to a paid professional like me. In the Bible, a preacher is a proclaimer, anybody who shares the hope of Jesus Christ with others. Had the spread of the gospel depended on paid professionals, Christianity never would have gotten off the ground. But the explosive growth of Christianity was due to ordinary men and women who were willing to share the extraordinary message of Jesus Christ.

In Acts 6–7, we see the first Christian martyr, a man named Stephen. He wasn’t a pastor; he was a layman and deacon in the church. In Acts 8, we see the first and only person in the Bible called an evangelist. Like Stephen, he wasn’t a pastor or an apostle; he was a layman and deacon. His name was Philip.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a paid professional or a layperson–as Christians, we are all called to be evangelists like Philip. This week, through the life and ministry of Philip, we’re going to discover three characteristics of an effective evangelist.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “Portrait of an Effective Evangelist,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2021.

Thomas Huxley’s story as told by William Barclay, The Gospel of John, vol. 1, The New Daily Study Bible (Westminster John Knox, 2001), 108.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.