What is Evangelistic Gifting?
Gifts of the Holy Spirit • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 9 viewsIn today’s message, we will look at people who are gifted by the Holy Spirit to be Evangelistic and how that plays out in their lives
Notes
Transcript
Handout
March 1st 2026
Series: Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Sermon Title: The gift of Evangelism
Topic: What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and in this part, specifically APEST gifts.
Key Passages: ADD
Topic: Holy Spirit, Gifts, Evangelism
Sermon Blurb: In today’s message, we will look at people who are gifted by the Holy Spirit to be Evangelistic and how that plays out in their lives.
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***Yellow means what is yellow will be on the screens and in the handout.
Dedication, Baptism, or Ministry Highlight (1st Sunday, every even month):
Sermon:
Hello, Family Church!
Welcome, whether you are here in person or online.
Family Moment –
Start with something personal from your family life recently to help people get to know you.
Celebrate salvation/rededications/baptisms last week.
Celebrate new disciples and disciple-makers.
PAUSE
If you are new to Family Church, we are SO happy you are here today!
Today, we continue our series on the ways the Holy Spirit gifts us in the New Testament.
Gifts can be spiritual.
Gifts can be physical.
Gifts can be relational.
Gifts can come in all different shapes and sizes.
And this part of this series will walk down several different roads.
As we learn about the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
And we are all NOT gifted the same by God.
We do NOT have all the same talents.
Abilities.
And so on.
And that is a GOOD thing.
PAUSE
Let me put the gifts we are talking about currently on the screens so you can see those…
Holy Spirit APEST Gifts: A-Apostolic P- Prophetic E- Evangelist S- Shepard T- Teacher
Each week, we will be going over one gift.
Two weeks ago, we spent the entire message looking at the Apostolic gift.
And if you are gifted apositically, what does that mean for you in school, at work, and in the church?
High level….
Apostolic people are the leaders of leaders.
The people who start new companies.
Launch new initiatives.
Bring new sports to a school.
And so on.
Last week, we are going to talk about the second gift on the screen.
People who are gifted prophetically, how will that play out in school, at work, and in church?
High level….
Prophetic people hear God and speak God’s heart
They call people to account
They reveal God’s perspective
They discern spiritual reality
And so on.
And if you missed those messages, go back and listen to it online.
This week, if you are gifted evangelistically, how will that play out in school, at work, and in church?
Then, next week, we will talk about people who are gifted to shepherd, how will that play out in school, at work, and in church?
Then we will wrap up in week #5, talking about how people are gifted to teach and how that will play out in school, at work, and in church.
PAUSE
Would you all like to know something SUPER interesting about this gift…
Raise your hands for me if you think we have a bunch of pastors whose #1 gift is evangelism.
Ok…
Now let me see how many of you think that NONE of our pastors have this as their #1 gift…
The second group is right!!!
Isn’t that interesting…
Evangelism is about reaching people for Jesus…and all of us are more gifted at other things…
Weird right!!!!!
For me…(Adjust for you)
This one ranked #2nd for me.
My number 1 was Apostolic, as we discussed two weeks ago.
And if you were NOT here when we took the test to see all that…after service ADD PLACE TO GO…
Pick up that super short and easy test, and that will help you as we continue in this series.
ADD where to do online as well…
PAUSE
And let me say this…
If you do NOT think you are an evangelist….
Don’t tune me out!
You can learn a lot about how other people's minds work in this series.
And if you know how someone like me thinks, it will help you interact with your boss at work.
Maybe a teacher.
Maybe a parent.
Maybe a partner.
And so on.
So even if you are NOT gifted this way…
Stay dialed in and take good notes today because this will help you!
Everyone has aspects of each gift, but most people have one or two dominant areas.
Your gifting can develop over time.
And all roles are equally valuable to the community.
PAUSE
So, jump into the Bible.
If you have your Bible with you —and I hope you do —open it to
Ephesians 4
New Person Bible Connection:
If you do not have a Bible, that is ok!
After service, we will give you an AMAZING leather-bound study Bible!
Just go to ADD YOUR CAMPUS PLACE and get one for FREE!!!
Or you can always download the Family Church app and follow along on your phone as well.
Simply download the app and click "Sermon Notes" on the main page.
Here is something interesting about the APEST gifts…
These are all gifts given by Jesus.
Here is what the Bible says.
Ephesians 4:11-16 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Let me remind you…
Look at what Jesus said…
These APEST gifts have a clearly defined purpose by Jesus.
Look at verse 12 in your Bible.
These gifts are “to build up or equip” the church…
So the people of the church can do “works of service.”
So, the PRIMARY reason we are gifted with these gifts by God is to build God’s church….
Do not miss that in fact…
Why don’t you write that down…
The primary purpose of the APEST gifts is to build up God’s church.
(Repeat)
And it goes on to say….
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
You can stop reading there…
Note those ending words.
“Each part does its work.”
We are all gifted differently by God, and that is GOOD!
PAUSE
So….
Let’s talk about the gift of being an evangelist.
The gift I am betting very few of you in the room think you have…
And I am guessing a few of you really want this gift, either.
Evangelists tend to get a bad rap because we all think of the guys on TV who are crazy.
Or the guys who used to stand on street corners and yell at people.
PAUSE
The evangelist is the person who carries God’s mission forward.
The person who loves to lead people to Jesus.
The person who loves to talk to random people about Jesus.
Evangelists have a unique ability to convince people to follow God.
They are better at selling people on the idea of God.
They are not afraid of talking to strangers.
PAUSE
Look at the role description in your notes….
People who are gifted as an Evangelist: • They live out Jesus' mission to seek and save the lost. • They invite people into a relationship with Jesus • They convince people that Jesus is the missing key to their life • They proclaim the Good News of Jesus
Now I am sure some of you are wondering…
Ok, so how will this play out in life?
If that is all about leading people to Jesus…
How does this play out for you at school or work.
If you are gifted this way in school.
You’re the type of person who will convince your friends or classmates to do things…
And that can be good or bad.
But you are the person who pulls people together and sells an idea.
Be it good or bad.
You are the type who can build teams.
You can lead people into consensus.
You're not afraid to talk to others.
You’re passionate about some things and maybe don’t know why but you are…
You’re the one to befriend the new kid.
Sit with others that are overlooked.
Invite people to things.
PAUSE
If you are gifted this way in the working world.
You are likely a salesperson or sales leader.
Because like I say to my son Thatcher…you will one day sell God or sell something else…
If you have the apostolic mix like I do…you might build things and then sell them…
Evangelists in the workplace:
Build relationships quickly.
Help pull teams together.
Ask questions that open doors.
Have lots of co-workers who seek them out for encouragement.
Turn lunch breaks into personal conversations naturally.
PAUSE
If you are gifted this way in the church world.
You are going to try and talk to everyone about Jesus.
You are going to try to lead people to accept Jesus as their savior.
As a church, we actually have two guys who are Evangelists for their job.
They both spend their entire day trying to lead people to Jesus!
PAUSE
So, let’s learn more about it from the Bible so you can better understand who God created you to be and what He created you to do.
Let’s start with what does “Evangelist” mean Biblically?
You will see the definition in your notes.
Evangelist: A Holy Spirit–empowered believer who proclaims the good news of Jesus clearly, calls people to respond in faith.
Jesus is the best example of this.
Let me show you a few verses where Jesus explains not only that he was an Evangelist…but what they do.
Luke 4:43 “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God…because that is why I was sent.”
Mark 1:14–15 Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God…Repent and believe the good news!”
John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Do you see it church?
Evangelists proclaim the good news of Jesus.
They sell Jesus.
They convince people that Jesus was God and that he is the only path to eternal life.
They are Jesus’ salesmen and saleswomen!
PAUSE
So, like with prior weeks…let me give you some markers from the Bible for Evangelistically gifted people.
4 Marks of the Prophet gift: 1) You make truth simple.
Evangelists translate the gospel into everyday language.
That is why Paul said this in
Colossians 4:3–4 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message,
so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
Twice, Paul asked God to help him make it clear for people to understand their need for Jesus.
If you ever go with us on the Early Church Teaching trip one day, you will go to Athens.
And you will go with us and see the place where this next passage was LITERALLY spoken without any question.
Paul here stands up and says EVERYONE….
Let me explain something complex to you all with clarity…
Acts 17:22–31 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.
23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god.
So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.
25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.
30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
Evangelists want to help people process things so they can follow Jesus.
2) You build bridges
Now, from a Christian perspective, these are bridges toward God.
But again…it can be in so many other ways.
You might build relational bridges to make a sale.
You might build bridges to help people heal relationships as a counselor.
You might build bridges to get people on the same page with a project, team, or plan.
Evangelists want to bring people together.
A great example of this in the Bible is
John 4:1-26
, where Jesus leads the Samaritan woman to faith.
He built a relational bridge with her that led to faith.
3) You see opportunity everywhere
And again…anyone who knows a true sales person…this makes sense!
We see this in the Bible with Evangelists.
Go back to Acts 17…right before where we read a minute ago it says:
Acts 17:16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
Paul saw a city that deeply needed something.
They deeply needed Jesus!
And so he went to tell them about Jesus.
Acts 8
Is filled with stories about Philip sees every moment as a divine appointment.
Endless people and places to tell people about Jesus.
And read it later today…
It has one of my favorite stories about Phillip.
He literally is led by God to run by a dude in a chariot…
Asks the guy on the chariot if he understands the Bible.
And then jumps on the chariot…
Explains the Bible to the dude…AKA marker #1 we talked about.
And leads the dude to Jesus and then baptizes the dude!
Evangelists see opportunity everywhere…
To the frustration of their spouses.
Kids..
Business partners…
Bosses..
And so on…
And one more….
4) Deep love for lost people
Evangelists feel God’s burden for the lost.
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Evangelists feel God’s burden for the lost.
But this…As I have explained in prior weeks, this is where it can go astray with people.
See, we can have a DEEP love for lost people.
But that deep love can be misplaced.
And because we love people so deeply…we can choose to affirm them vs challenge them.
We can choose to agree vs challenge misplaced ideologies.
People wired this way can tend toward wanting unity more than truth.
To get the sale vs doing the right thing.
PAUSE
So, let’s pivot….
Let’s talk about how this gift will show up in your life more...
Let’s start with the students.
Students… in school,
Students with the evangelist gift:
Befriend the new kid, the lonely kid, the outsider.
Sit with people others overlook.
Invite people to church, youth group, or small group.
Or to join a team with them at school.
You will naturally talk about Jesus in a way that feels natural, not forced.
Use sports teams, clubs, and hallway moments as ministry opportunities.
A teenager with this gift:
Notices the classmate always eating alone and will go sit with him.
You will builds relationships with students and teachers.
You will share Jesus simply by saying: “Hey, I’m going to youth group tonight — want to come?”
This is evangelism in its purest form.
PAUSE
Adults in the workplace…
Build relationships quickly.
You’re the one in the office who naturally brings hope, joy, and positivity.
You’re the excitable one.
You ask questions that open spiritual doors like: “How can I pray for you?”
Your coworkers seek you out for advice, prayer, and encouragement.
You turn lunch breaks into purposeful conversations.
You notices a coworker stressed about their marriage.
You say, “Hey, if you’re open, I’d love to pray for you. Jesus helped my family—He can help yours.”
Seeds are planted.
Doors open.
The gospel moves forward.
In the Church…Evangelists:
Stir believers to pray for the lost (Acts 4:29–31).
Train others to share their faith (Eph. 4:11–12).
Keep the church outward-focused (Luke 14:23) they are the Pastor Bob’s who want all of you outside the church serving!!!
They welcome newcomers with warmth.
Often start new ministries or outreach efforts.
They give the church a missional heartbeat.
PAUSE
So, to wrap this all up…
Church — without evangelists:
We drift inward.
We lose urgency.
We stop reaching the lost.
We forget the Great Commission.
But with evangelists:
The fire of the gospel burns bright.
Lost people hear good news.
New believers are born.
The church grows in joy and mission.
Jesus said:
John 4:35 “Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”
Every soul matters.
Every person counts.
Every neighborhood is a mission field.
Every believer is sent.
Evangelists help the whole church live this out.
PAUSE
And let me say one more thing…
Because I know SO MANY Christians say, “I am not gifted this way so it is not my job.”
So let me read you one last thing from the Bible….
Let’s read something from Timothy….
Read this with me…
2 Timothy 4:5 “Do the work of an evangelist.”
Do the work…
You might not be gifted this way.
But you are still called to do this…
PAUSE
Let me give you a life application today.
If you are new or newer to Family Church, we LOVE to end our messages with something for you to talk about with someone else.
Something to help you apply the message to your life.
So here is this week’s Life Application…
Life Application: If you have the Evangelistic gift, pray about how you could use that to build God’s Kingdom more.
If you do not, pray about how you could support someone who does in expanding God’s Kingdom.
As a result of today’s message, I will….
Prayer:
Make sure to do a salvation call!
Communion Flow #2 – March, September
Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, is when followers of Jesus takes a moment to remember what Jesus did for us.
At Family Church, we believe the Table of the Lord is open to ALL followers of Jesus.
So, we practice “open communion”, which means you do NOT have to be a member of this church or attend a special class… in order to take communion.
PAUSE
Also, if you have kids with you who have made Jesus their Lord and Savior, they too are welcome to participate if you as a parent think they are ready.
In Romans, we read about God’s goodness to us. The Apostle Paul writes this in Romans 3:
Romans 3: 23-25 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.
Paul continues his thoughts in chapter 6...
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God loves us so much, that He left His perfect heaven to provide the ONLY way for you and me to be forgiven of our sins and made right with God.
Jesus left Heaven to come to earth, and to give His life for us.
Jesus became the bridge for our sins and the substitution for our punishment.
Jesus took on our sins and He offers His righteousness to anyone who would believe.
And Jesus did this so that we can be forgiven our sins and enter His perfect heaven.
In His love and mercy, God has already established a means for you to be forgiven of your sins.
Jesus has already done the deed…
Jesus made the ONLY way for anyone to be saved from their sins.
When someone places their faith in Jesus, God performs a Divine Exchange...
In exchange for our sin, God clothes the believer in Jesus’ righteousness.
And what activates this, is faith.
Faith in Jesus.
Faith in Jesus’ perfect, sinless life,
Faith in Jesus’ willingness to die on their behalf.
And faith to invite God to forgive them of their sins and exchange Jesus’ righteousness.
PAUSE
And that is why we take communion…. to remember Jesus and what He did for us!
We believe and confess that our Savior Jesus Christ has ordained and instituted the sacrament of the Holy Supper to nourish and sustain those who are already grafted into his family, into his church...
That God gave the act of Communion as a means of grace for nourishing and strengthening disciples of Christ.
Jesus instituted Communion on the evening He was betrayed.
In Mathew 26:26-28 we read,
Mathew 26:26-28, “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’
Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you.
This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’”
PAUSE
Now we are going to listen to a song and as you listen I want to encourage you to take a moment and reflect on what it means that Jesus was willing to sacrifice His body for you and shed his blood for the forgiveness of your sins….
Take a moment and thank Jesus for his sacrifice for you.
Take a moment to ask Jesus to forgive you of any hidden sin in your life.
If you have not given your life to Jesus…take a moment now and ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and tell him you now submit your life to him…
And then after this song, I will explain how we will take communion…. together….
AFTER THE SONG ENDS…..
In the seat in front of you there is a cup the looks like this……
EXPLAIN HOW TO OPEN based on style….
Just so you all know, the bread is gluten-free…
Let’s first take and eat the bread of life and give Jesus thanks for sacrificing his body for us.
Scripture tells us then Jesus took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’”
Drinking this cup symbolizes Jesus shedding his blood for our sins….
AND us asking Jesus to give you an increased portion of his Spirit to keep us away from sinning in the future!
Take and drink the cup in remembrance of Jesus shedding his blood for your sins.
Offering:
Thank you all for being here today!
If you would like to continue your worship through giving, there are offering boxes by the doors as you exit, or behind me on the screens. You can also see other ways to give here at Family Church.
You can also place any connection cards you filled out in there.
