Evangelists in church

With reference to the letter in the May 20 issue, I think one point needs to be raised. The word evangelism is translated from the original words meaning a preacher of the gospel. The verse cited, Ephesians 4:11, also refers to pastors and teachers.

We haven’t evicted evangelists at all. We have evangelists (preachers), pastors (shepherds, usually the same person as the preacher) and teachers within every Southern Baptist church I know.

I believe Mr. Chilton was referring to “itinerant” evangelists. In that case, he is taking the local churches to task for not inviting them in to preach, when the church already fits the biblical model of having the evangelist as a part of the local body.

It’s traditional to have “evangelists” come in and preach “revivals” every year. It may not, however, be biblical.

Bob Cleveland
Pelham, Ala.