Serving as evangelist requires diversity, strength of God’s call

Being an evangelist in the 21st century means being diversified.
   
Alabama Baptist evangelist Leon Westerhouse said the many changes in technology and mindsets that have occurred over his nearly 40 years of ministry have forced the state’s evangelists to find new approaches, events and scopes of ministry.
   
Westerhouse said he encourages evangelists to reach out to people “as you go,” instead of just during events. “It makes your ministry live if you’re living for Christ,” said Westerhouse, convention liaison for the Alabama Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists (ACSBE).
   
Evangelists also now travel on missions trips, work in prison ministries and lead conferences, Westerhouse explained. “Many are doing more missions trips overseas because they see a hunger there.”
   
Still “more people [in the United States] seem turned off to evangelists now,” Westerhouse noted. “People have more distractions.”
   
Regardless, Westerhouse advises beginning evangelists to stay focused on God and remain faithful to their calling. “Make sure you’re doing what God has called you to do, then you’ll succeed.”
   
The annual meeting of the ACSBE will take place during the Evangelism Conference Feb. 3 at 11:45 a.m. at Heritage Baptist Church, Montgomery. For more information call Perry Neal at Heritage Church, 334-279-9976.