What is the Community of Evangelists?
The Community of Evangelists is a network of ongoing spiritual and practical support for Evangelists or those who are exploring a calling as an Evangelist. This community aims to raise up, challenge, and support theologically diverse Evangelists for our world today.
Being part of the Community does not ‘authorise’ you as an Evangelist in any formal way, but it does affirm and support you in your ministry. Districts and Circuits are encouraged to recognise and commission individuals as evangelists within the life of the Church, as is appropriate for your local context.
What does being part of the Community involve?
Equipping
Since there is such diversity in the way evangelistic ministry is carried out, the Community is less about prescriptive training, and more about offering relevant and robust opportunities for equipping members in their ministry. These opportunities are shaped by suggestions from Community members.
There are occasional short online events throughout the year offering high quality speakers on themes relevant to evangelism and opportunities for question and discussion. There are also two weekend residentials each year. These are retreats, offering spiritual nourishment and reflection time, as well as some training and developing for our ministry in evangelism. The events are open only to Community members.
Coaching
In your first year of being in the Community, you are offered high quality, monthly 1:1 coaching sessions free of charge. You will be matched with a coach who understands the dynamics of the context of your ministry. Regular coaching will help you move from practicing evangelism well to faithful intentionality and excellence as an evangelist. After a year, we can review how coaching is going and possibly create a longer term arrangement for you.
Connecting
Through an optional WhatsApp group, and through the in-person and online gatherings, you will find mutual support with other Evangelists across the Methodist Church. You will be connected to a wider movement of evangelism and can learn, share and practice together.
If you are curious about joining the Community, work through these following sections to help with your discernment:
What is an Evangelist?
What is evangelism?
‘Our Calling' describes evangelism as ‘making more followers of Jesus Christ'. Simply, evangelism is sharing the good news of the gospel with others - it is a process of invitation and response, which normally takes place in the context of a personal relationship. Evangelism happens through our words, our lives and our prayers and is a joining-in with God’s mission of salvation and reconciliation of all things and all people.
Many of us might think of one particular tradition when we think of evangelism – but there are many ways to be an evangelist. It is a calling broad enough for every single one of us in all our diversity to follow.
Are some people called to evangelism in a particular way?
All disciples of Jesus are called to listen for, speak of, and live out the Good News from their own experience, perspective and relationship with God. While all are called to evangelism, some people have particular spiritual giftings as Evangelists.
John Wesley used the phrases “ordinary call” and “extraordinary call” to make this distinction. While we all have ordinary callings which we share with others, we will each also have an extraordinary calling for which we are gifted – be it to teaching, pastoring, evangelism, or something else. Wesley saw his own ministry as an Evangelist as the fulfilling of his “extraordinary” calling.
While we may all be called to evangelism through our words, lives and prayers – some have this “extraordinary” calling to a ministry as an Evangelist.
Another way to make the distinction is by saying we are all called to evangelism, but some are called into ministry as an Evangelist – the capital ‘E’ helping us to see that this is something specific about our gifting and vocation.
What does the ministry of an Evangelist look like?
Evangelist is not a formal office of the Church, and therefore the ministry of an Evangelist might happen differently in different contexts. You might be lay or ordained, paid or unpaid, as part of a team or an individual. Here are some examples:
- You are employed in a role with a specific evangelism remit by a church, circuit or district.
- You are in a different ministry role, for example a minister, chaplain, youth leader, etc. but you see evangelism as being a central part of your calling to that role.
- You run a particular project or initiative which is evangelistic or is seeking to be more so.
- You are not in any formal ministry role, but you live your everyday life with a passion for sharing the gospel.
Evangelists always work in partnership with Christian communities, both new expressions of church and inherited. We recognise a calling to evangelism as distinct from a calling to pioneering or church planting or preaching – although there is common ground for each of them.
Am I called as an Evangelist?
Maybe you recognise something of an Evangelist in yourself – though you may not feel that it is at all extraordinary! Maybe you feel confident in your ministry as an Evangelist, but isolated. Maybe you would hesitate to call yourself an Evangelist, but you do find yourself having faith conversations or sharing the good news in the places you live and work.
Please use the discernment questions further down this webpage to explore whether you might wish to join the Community of Evangelists.
How do I join the Community of Evangelists?
You can sign up to join the Community of Evangelists at any time – there isn’t an annualised application process. The Community is an ever-growing network of individuals in ministry as Evangelists.
The application process has the following stages:
1. Speak to others about it.
If you’re thinking about joining the Community, speak to somebody you know and trust about it who is in church, circuit or district leadership. Direct them to this page to help them with the conversation. You can also speak to Cameron Lee-Hume, the convenor of the Community, to ask questions or find out more by emailing lee-humec@methodistchurch.org.uk
2. Pray and listen to God in discernment.
There are discernment questions to help you pray and reflect later on this webpage.
3. Apply using the online form.
If, after your conversations and your prayers, it feels right to apply, then use the application form to join the Community. You will need to ask your referee to fill in a form as well.
4. Welcome to the Community!
You will then be welcomed into the Community and invited to start attending events, residentials and online gatherings.
Discernment Questions
You can use the following questions to help you discern whether you’re exercising a ministry as an Evangelist or called to explore such a ministry. You may want to write your reflections in a notebook or on a digital document to help you process.
Give yourself plenty of time to do this – it could be one long sitting or over a few days or weeks. We encourage you to be honest about yourself, there are no right answers. Remember, God is calling you as you are and you don’t have to be the finished article or try to be like someone else.
We recommend that once you have answered the questions that you take them to a person you know and trust in church leadership to discuss what you’ve written and/or to pray with them about this discernment.
Once you’ve finished the questions, offer your answers to God in prayer, and ask for God’s guidance.
Consider these twelve statements – which ones feel most true?
- I find I naturally build relationships and partnerships in my community beyond the church.
- I enjoy finding imaginative ways to communicate the gospel.
- I am passionate about encouraging other Christians to share their faith.
- I find myself having faith conversations almost by accident.
- I have offered prayer to friends, family, neighbours etc who aren’t Christians.
- I have journeyed with others as they explore faith and become followers of Jesus.
- I try to challenge the Church when it becomes inward looking.
- Being connected – both to God and to other people – energises me.
- I find it stimulating talking about tricky faith questions with people outside the Church.
- I see God in diversity – I don’t want to ‘make disciples’ that look just like me.
- I look out for, and can respond to, opportunities for evangelism as they arise.
- I seek to connect others with communities of faith.
Consider the following questions:
- In what ways do you consider yourself an evangelist? In what ways don’t you
- Where are your opportunities for evangelism? In what ways do you feel you’re called to be an evangelist through those opportunities?
- Think of a time you had a faith conversation with somebody. How was it? Where do you see God was at work in that conversation?
- In what ways do you feel most comfortable talking about Jesus?
- Think of a time you shared your faith through your actions. What did you do? Do you recognise that as evangelism?
- Think of a time when you’ve felt ‘out of your comfort zone’ in an evangelistic experience. What did you learn about God? What did you learn about yourself?
- Think of a time when you had a positive experience of sharing your faith. What gifts or skills did you use to do that?