Do the Work of an Evangelist
God gives each believer spiritual gifts to be used for His glory and the good of the body of Christ. In addition, our Creator has designed each one with a distinct personality and unique temperament. Normally, there are aspects of ministry with which we feel more comfortable than others. We have more confidence and are seemingly more effective when our ministry assignment lines up with who we are and the way we are equipped.
In Scripture, God gives us some insight into the personalities of the characters He records. Take Timothy, for example – from the Bible record what can we conclude about his temperament? He was young (1 Tim. 4:12) and sickly (1 Tim. 5:23), and appears to have been given to timidity and fear (2 Tim. 1:6-7; 1 Cor. 16:10). He was not the temperament type that would seem to make a good evangelist. And yet his coworker and mentor tells him that he must “Do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 4:5).
In a church, many aspects of ministry need to be taking place at the same time: contact making, relationship building, evangelism, discipleship, counseling, teaching, training of workers, orchestration of the work force, administration… and more. When a local church body is fully functional, there are a variety of spiritual gifts at work through multiple personalities. In such a setting it is easier for each believer to minister within his comfort zone. But in pioneer church planting, all aspects of the ministry have to be done by just a few. The church planter at best has to see that they all get done, and often must be able to effectively work at them all.
Has God gifted you to do certain things? Yes! But when the need arises, He is able to help you to do even more. As a church planter, don’t be content to stay within your comfort zone – it will result in a ministry that is imbalanced and ineffective. Like Timothy, allow God to stretch you and use you in ways you may not have thought possible. His work will move forward, and He will get the glory (1 Cor. 1:26-31).