Where Are the Evangelists?

“And He gave some…as evangelists” (Eph. 4:11).

When evangelist Billy Sunday died in 1935, mass evangelism was declared dead by many. No one, it was claimed, would draw the crowds and make converts that Sunday did throughout his ministry. Now that the ministry of Billy Graham has effectively ended, I hear the same murmurings. “Crusade evangelism is dead.” I have heard people claim that the new method of evangelism will be more personal and small-group oriented.

Now I have no doubts that the Lord will use personal evangelism in powerful ways in this generation, and I pray that He does. But were such efforts absent from the last century or millennium? Of course not. Indeed, the ministry of Billy Sunday and Billy Graham, et al, would not have been effective had there not been people, personally and intentionally, sharing the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

My concern is two-fold. Our generation has neither become more evangelistically minded personally, nor has our generation gained a vision for mass evangelism. Indeed, our generation has almost entirely written off the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through preaching. So I ask: WHERE ARE THE EVANGELISTS?

I have been researching the early ministry of Billy Graham for the last ten years, and I have been struck by several things. First and foremost, Billy Graham came out of an evangelistic environment and impetus which today does not exist. Of course we do not want the old wine-skins of past generations. But it is striking to note that there were thousands of evangelists holding meetings both big and (mostly) small. And along with these events were prayer meetings in preparation for these meetings. So today, where are these evangelistic meetings? And perhaps the more important question: Where are the prayer meetings asking that the Lord would raise up laborers for the Harvest?

I confess that I have an idealistic view of the work of the previous generation and realize that its imperfections have had their consequences. But still, there was a great movement of the Spirit of God through this post-war generation which led to the creation of the great evangelistic ministries, such as the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Campus Crusade for Christ, the Navigators, Young Life, and many other organizations including thousands of missions organizations which have reached millions of people with the Gospel.

So I ask again: Where are the evangelists? Where is the passion for the lost that so pervades the work of the Apostles and their New Testament writings? Where is the next generation of evangelists to carry the torch which is being passed by the previous generation?

Lord, would you raise up laborers for Your Harvest? The workers are SO FEW.