The Four Evangelists, by Jakob Jordaens

See also: Evangelical

Evangelism is the Christian practice of proselytization. Jacob Jordaens ( May 19, 1593 - October 18, 1678) was one of three Flemish Baroque painters, along with Peter Paul Rubens A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Proselytism is the practice of attempting to convert people to another opinion and particularly another religion The intention of most evangelism is to effect eternal salvation to those who do not follow the Christian God; others believe it is to inform others about the Kingdom of God. In Theology, salvation can mean three related things being saved from or Liberation from something such as Suffering or the punishment of The term "Godhead" The term Godhead is a term denoting deity or divinity Evangelism is done in obedience to the Great Commission, a command from Jesus to his disciples to proselytize, as recorded in the New Testament. The Great Commission, in Christian tradition is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings In Christianity, the disciples were the students of Jesus during his ministry. Proselytism is the practice of attempting to convert people to another opinion and particularly another religion Christians who specialize in evangelism are known as evangelists, whether in their home communities or as missionaries. A missionary is a member of a Religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith someone who proselytizes. Some Christian traditions consider evangelists to be in a leadership position, and they may be found preaching to large meetings, and in governance roles. Christian groups who actively encourage evangelism are sometimes known as evangelistic or evangelist.

The communication of Christian faith to new geographical areas and cultures is often referred to as evangelization, or specifically, world evangelization.

Etymology of evangelism and evangelist

The word evangelist comes from the Koine Greek word εὐαγγέλιον (transliterated as "euangelion") via Latin "Evangelium", as used in the canonical titles of the four Gospels, authored by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (also known as the Four Evangelists). Koine Greek (Κοινὴ Ἑλληνική, "common Greek" or, ciˈni ðiˈale̞kto̞s "the common dialect" is the popular form of Greek which emerged in This article is about the canonical books of the New Testament Matthew the Evangelist (מתי/מתתיהו "Gift of Yahweh " Standard Hebrew and Tiberian Hebrew: Mattay or Mattithyahu "Saint Mark" redirects here For other uses see Saint Mark (disambiguation. Luke the Evangelist ( Hebrew: לוּקָֻא Greek: Loukás) was an early Christian leader who is said by tradition to be the author of Saint John the Evangelist (d ca 110 יוחנן " The LORD is merciful" Standard Hebrew Yoḥanan, Tiberian Hebrew The Four Evangelists refers to the authors of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament that bear the following ancient titles Gospel according The Greek word εὐαγγέλιον originally meant a reward for good news given to the messenger (εὔ = "good", ἀγγέλλω = "I bring a message"; the word angel is of the same root) and later "good news". An angel is a Spiritual Supernatural being found in many Religions Although the nature of angels and the tasks given to them vary from tradition to tradition The latter term gives rise to the word "Gospel".

Our modern word "Gospel" comes from the old English word, "Godspell. " In old English "spell" meant "word" (we carry this meaning also in our word "spelling"). So in other words "Godspell" meant, "God word" or "Word of God. " Therefore the Gospel is the good news found in the Word of God.

Evangelism or proselytism

While evangelism is usually regarded as converting non-Christians to Christianity, this is not always the proper usage of the word. If converting to Christianity includes services or material benefits it is called proselytism[1][2].

On the other hand, converting Christians (e. g. , Orthodox) who are not churchgoers to another Christian denomination is commonly seen as evangelism, not proselytism.

Catholic missionary work in Russia is commonly seen as evangelism, not proselytism. Archbishop Kondrusiewicz openly stated "that proselytism is absolutely unacceptable and cannot constitute a strategy for the development of our structures either in Russia or in any other country in the world. "[3]

Especially regarding claims by Orthodox church that spreading the faith and receiving converts amounts to proselytism[4] Catholic church CDF issued document called "Doctrinal Note on some aspects of evangelization" which states that evangelism is "an inalienable right and duty, an expression of religious liberty . The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF ( Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei) previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office, . . ", document added that "The incorporation of new members into the Church is not the expansion of a power group, but rather entrance into the network of friendship with Christ which connects heaven and earth, different continents and age. It is entrance into the gift of communion with Christ . . . "

Reasons for Evangelism

According to the Christian Bible, during his last days on earth Jesus commanded his disciples as follows:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, [even] unto the end of the world. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Amen.

– Matthew 28:19,20 KJV

Other translations render the phrase “teach all nations” in the above quotation as “make disciples of all nations. The Gospel of Matthew (Gk Κατά Ματθαίον Ευαγγέλιον is one of the four Canonical gospels in the New Testament and is a Synoptic gospel ” Jesus is also quoted in the Gospel of Mark saying

Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature"

– Mark 16:15 KJV

These are two main passages of the New Testament from God that commands everyone who believes in Christ Jesus to preach the Gospel. Content Authorship The gospel itself is anonymous but as early as Papias in the early 2nd century a text was attributed to Mark, a cousin Content Authorship The gospel itself is anonymous but as early as Papias in the early 2nd century a text was attributed to Mark, a cousin

Evangelists

Sometimes, the regular minister of a church is called a preacher in a way that other groups would typically use the term pastor. A pastor is an official person within a Protestant group of people and related to the positions of Priest or Bishop within the Anglican, Roman Catholic The evangelist in some churches is one that travels from town to town and from church to church, spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. This article is about the canonical books of the New Testament Many Christians of various theological perspectives would call themselves 'evangelists' because they are spreaders of the gospel. Many churches believe one of their major functions is to function as evangelists to spread the evangelist belief that Jesus is savior of humanity.

The title of evangelist is often associated with those who lead large meetings like those of Billy Graham, possibly in tents or existing church buildings, or those who address the public in street corner preaching, which targets listeners who happen to pass nearby on the street. William Franklin Graham Jr KBE (born November 7 1918 better known as Billy Graham, is an evangelist and an Evangelical Christian Open air preaching or street preaching is the act of publicly proclaiming a religious message to crowds of people in open places It can also be done in small groups or even on a one-to-one basis, but actually it is simply one who spreads the gospel. Increasingly, the Web enables anyone to become an Internet evangelist. An Internet evangelist is a person who uses the Internet to present a religious viewpoint such as Christianity to the world

The term is also used in a non-religious sense to describe an individual who takes up a cause and convinces others to it (see technology evangelist). A technical or technology evangelist is a person who attempts to build a critical mass of support for a given technology in order to establish it as a Technical Guy Kawasaki, an author and venture capitalist, describes evangelists as individuals who promote a particular product. Guy Kawasaki (Born August 30, 1954) one of the original Apple employees responsible for marketing the Macintosh in 1984 is a Silicon At Apple Computer, he was part of a team of Apple evangelists that convinced programmers to develop software on the Macintosh Platform. An Apple evangelist, also known as Mac(intosh evangelist, and Mac advocate is a promoter of the Apple Macintosh platform Macintosh, commonly nicknamed Mac is a Brand name which covers several lines of Personal computers designed developed and marketed by Apple Inc In The Human Fabric (Aviri, 2004), Bijoy Goswami describes the "Evangelist" as one of three core energies in people and society.

Perspectives on evangelism

See also: Approaches to evangelism

Though there is some controversy concerning missionary activity and possible implications of "cultural imperialism", Christian D. See also Evangelism, Christianization A Christian mission has been widely defined since the Lausanne Congress of 1974 as that which Cultural imperialism is the practice of promoting distinguishing separating or artificially injecting the Culture or language of one nation into another T. Niles characterised evangelism as "… one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. "

Many modern TV "evangelists" are prone to scandal, like Jimmy Swaggart^[1] and several were under investigation in 2007 by the U. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. S. congress for their lavish lifestyles. ^[2]

Ray Comfort is, by some definitions, an evangelist best known for his sermon "Hell's Best Kept Secret" and his ministries of Living Waters and Way of the Master, formed with Kirk Cameron. Ray Comfort (born December 5 1949) is a New Zealand -born Christian. The Way of the Master ( WOTM) is a United States -based Christian Evangelism ministry, founded in 2002 and headed by American actor The Way of the Master ( WOTM) is a United States -based Christian Evangelism ministry, founded in 2002 and headed by American actor Kirk Thomas Cameron (born October 12, 1970) is an American Actor best-known for his role as Mike Seaver on the television Situation comedy

Evangelism and missions

Throughout most of its history, Christianity has been spread evangelistically, though the extent of evangelism has varied significantly between Christian communities and denominations. Evangelism and apostolic ministry often go hand in hand. As mentioned earlier, evangelism comes from the Ancient Greek εὐαγγέλιον (evangelion) meaning good news, often translated gospel; thus an evangelist is one who shares the "good news". An ἀπόστολος (apostolos) is literally "one who goes" and refers to the missionary calling. Since missionaries often travel to areas or people groups where Jesus is not yet known, they frequently take on an evangelistic role. But the apostolic or missionary calling is not necessarily the same (and it is a misnomer and misinterpretation to equate them), as there are many who serve in missionary, church planting, and ministry development roles who have an apostolic calling or serve in an apostolic role but whose primary duty is not evangelism.

See also

• Open-air preaching
• Biblical Evangelism
• Evangelicalism
• Evangelical Catholic
• Great Commission
• Internet evangelist
• Missionary
• Televangelism
• Christian televangelist scandals
• Romans Road
• Altar call
• Ultreya
• Dawah
• Evangelists encyclopedia category
• technology evangelist

References