ALPHARETTA, Ga. — At last year’s annual meeting of the Georgia Baptist Convention, Thomas Hammond, executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, announced a statewide evangelism initiative to bring the gospel to every individual in Georgia. Hammond said the goal is to train every Georgia Baptist to clearly articulate the gospel and help every church to develop a strategy to intentionally pursue its mission field for Christ. “
Evangelist Jon Reed, president of the Georgia Baptist Evangelists, and secretary-treasurer Jeff Cleghorn are delighted with the emphasis that is being placed on evangelism.
“Look at the early church,” said Reed. “Historians estimate that as many as 300,000 people came to Christ in the first year after Pentecost. Those early believers were so passionate and effective that most were martyred for their faith, and the apostle John was exiled for simply refusing to stop preaching Jesus.”
The problem today, according to Reed, is “not just the petulance and perversion of the world, but the prayerlessness and powerlessness of the church.”
He quoted English evangelist Leonard Ravenhill, who said, “The church is asleep in the light.”
Reed continued, “Our pews are full of good people living powerless lives because they have never been confronted with the full demands of discipleship.”
That lack of discipleship, he explained, includes prayer and sharing the gospel. “The average Christian prays less than five minutes a day. The majority never share their faith. We’ve accepted carnality as Christianity, and now we are wondering where the power went.”
Ephesians 4:11-12 says God called certain believers to be evangelists. These gifted individuals, along with pastors and teachers, are a part of God’s divinely ordained team to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.
Reed emphasized, “Each week, church members are blessed to hear from a pastor and a gifted teacher. But rarely do they hear from an evangelist—someone called and equipped by God to call the lost to Christ and stir the saved to mission. Evangelists don’t preach better; we preach differently. Our calling is unique, and our burden is deep.”
Part of the problem, Reed said, is that instead of working together, pastors and evangelists have sometimes criticized one another. “Pastors try to be evangelists. Evangelists try to be pastors. Imagine a Super Bowl coach putting a kicker in at linebacker or a lineman at quarterback.”
Both pastors and evangelists are important, though distinct, parts of the church of Christ. “God has designed the body to function in unity, not uniformity,” he explained. “When pastors and evangelists partner, the result is supernatural. A God-called evangelist will never compete with the pastor but will complement his ministry and bless the church.”
Music evangelist Jeff Cleghorn was called into full-time ministry at the age of 18 during a revival meeting where evangelist Bill Stafford was preaching. He recalled, “At that time I had no idea that I would end up in full-time music evangelism, but I knew that God was calling me into a life of vocational ministerial service.”
After 14 years of serving as Pastor for Instrumental Music at Second Baptist in Warner Robins, Cleghorn felt the Lord calling him to something different. “Doing something else was not even on my radar, but I could sense God dealing with my heart about what I was doing, and I felt like a change was on the horizon,” he said. “In 2008, He used circumstances in my life to show me exactly what He had been preparing me for as He moved me into full-time music evangelism.”
Despite his inexperience in his new role, Cleghorn said opportunities presented themselves. “Provision was made, and I never looked back. Today, I use the word ‘musicianary’ to describe what I do. I get the privilege of taking the gospel to the world by using my God-given gifts at the piano to point people to Jesus and bring glory to His name.”
Cleghorn agreed with Reed that evangelists have a calling that is different from others. “I fully believe that God-called evangelists are gifted with presenting the gospel and sharing Christ in a unique way. I have personally watched preaching evangelists preach the simplest Gospel message and cast the net to reap a bountiful harvest of souls.”
When it comes to music, Cleghorn added, “God-called music evangelists know how to ‘set the table’ and prepare the congregation for the evangelist to preach the gospel message. From a biblical standpoint, every Christian should be an evangelist sharing God’s plan of redemption. Charles Spurgeon said that every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor.”
Brian Parker, executive director of the Gwinnett Metro Baptist Network (GMBN), is a strong advocate of evangelism and the work of the evangelist. During his last pastorate, he had back-to-back years with 30 salvations during his crusades by using an evangelist.
Parker commented, “As a pastor and now as the executive director of the GMBN, my heart longs for the revival of the church and for the harvest of souls. Therefore, I differentiate between the terms revival and harvest. I believe revival is for the church and is when the people of God are revived or refreshed in their walk with Him.”
In contrast, he said, “A harvest crusade is when the people of God work and labor to reach people for the purpose of salvation. It is a time dedicated to prayer for the unsaved, outreach to the unsaved, and inviting and bringing the unsaved to a service to hear about God’s amazing grace.”
That’s when an evangelist’s gifts truly shine. “When the unsaved are present, I think the best thing a pastor can do is make sure that an evangelist with the gift of harvesting is present. That is my heart. Work for revival. Work for lost to be present at a service. Work to have a prepared harvester present.”
The partnership between pastors and evangelists working together for the glory of God is a powerful combination. “Evangelists are on the front lines to push back that darkness through the life-changing power of the gospel. Pastors can’t do everything, nor can evangelists. But working together, pastors can sow seeds and prepare hearts, and prayed up and pure evangelists can come participate in the harvest by preaching and giving invitations.
Reed agreed with Parker, saying, “All pastors should lead their churches to pray, plan, and prepare for a God-sent revival. I’m not talking about a ‘good’ revival with full pews and a good preacher, I’m talking about a ‘God’ revival that starts with brokenness in the pulpit and repentance in the pews. Revival is not a luxury; it is a necessity. It is healthy for a pastor to call his church to set aside a specified time for a revival. It is truly amazing what God can do when we give Him time to work.”
Quoting Ravenhill again, Reed said, “The only reason we don’t have revival is because we are willing to live without it.”
Reed concluded, “The greatest need in America is not political or economic, it is spiritual. We are witnessing a moral free fall, and the root is not Washington, it’s the Church. Judgment begins in the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). The land is dry because the altar is empty. As the Church goes, so goes the nation.”
That spiritual need can be met, Reed said, by evangelists. “We carry a message of urgency, repentance, and hope. We are not better than others, but we are burdened. God raises up evangelists to shake the sleeping, save the lost, and stir the church. We preach for decision, we call for surrender, and we plead for revival.”
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Georgia Baptist Evangelists may be contacted at: www.georgiaevangelists.com.
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