Who is the True Evangelist? We Need a Paradigm Shift.

We are all called to carry out the great commission, but who really holds the office of an evangelist? Many Christians would describe an evangelist as someone that travels from church to church to preach messages. Their messages inspire believers to give to ministries that focus on taking the gospel to the unreached. Perhaps they would mention someone that preaches a message to bring revival to the church and convince people we bring to their meetings to become a follower of Christ. The right answer, however, according to Ephesians chapter 4, is that the evangelist is a person who equips believers to “do the work of the ministry so that they may build up the church.” That means the person who gives us the intellectual ability to answer the questions and objections of family and friends is really acting in the office of the evangelist. By training believers to give a reasonable answer, these people are probably doing more to win people to Christ than many traveling preachers. Apologetics is the branch of Christian theology that seeks to address the intellectual obstacles that keep people from taking faith seriously, and therefore it is the apologist who is the true evangelist. The vast majority of the people in evangelical churches today are completely unprepared to give reasonable and intelligent answers to the questions and objections of unbelievers. Just saying, “the Bible says it; I believe it and that settles it” is not an answer. It is a statement of ignorance that shows unbelievers that Christians don’t have answers. The church, and the culture at large, is under intellectual attack, and the average Christian doesn’t have any answers. That is why I believe that, out of necessity, the church today is heading into a new age–the age of the apologist. But churches are not hiring apologists, and with already strained budgets they are unlikely to do so. So what is the answer? Ratio Christi is placing well-trained apologists at the grassroots level all around the country. Our main goal is to open apologetics clubs on university campuses, which are at the front line of this intellectual battle. At each of these universities, we place a trained apologist to work with the students. We then encourage our campus directors to become community apologists; they are able to serve the church without putting a strain on the church’s budget. The goal of these community apologists is to Defend Truth & Christianity at the University, and to train the body of Christ to answer the tough questions and objections to Christianity. They are there to “equip the body of Christ” to do the work of the ministry and fulfill the great commission by bring truth and the Good News to their family and friends. To help facilitate this paradigm shift, please forward the link to this blog to every Christian that you know—particularly pastors. For more information on how to get an apologist in your community, go to our web site at ratiochristi.org, or contact us at info@RatioChristi.org.

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