Guidelines and Requirements for Evangelist

Updated: December 2, 2025Lay Licensed Ministries

Guidelines and Requirements for Evangelist

Guidelines and Requirements for Evangelist

Title III, Canon 4, Section 9

An Evangelist is a lay person who present the good news of Jesus Christ in such a way that people are led to receive Christ as Savior and follow Christ as Lord in the fellowship of the Church. An Evangelist assists with the community’s ministry of evangelism in partnership with the Presbyter or other leader exercising oversight of the congregation, or as directed by the Bishop.

Discernment

Candidates considering the ministry of Evangelism Facilitator should confer with sponsoring clergy, spiritual directors, their Congregational Commission on Ministry, and other vocational guides to discuss honestly how to test a call.

Discernment Questions for those discerning a call to this ministry:

  •  Do I have the capacity for discerning gifts in others, and enabling them to tell their spiritual stories?
  • Do I feel called to connect the Church with the secular world?
  • Do I feel called to help others witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ?
  • Do I feel called to help others exercise their particular evangelical gifts?
  • Do I have the gift of active listening?
  • What does the Baptismal Covenant mean to me?
  • Have I asked God whether God might be calling me to this ministry?
  • Would I be able to relay the tradition of our church, appreciating our history and diversity?
  • What would I tell someone if asked, “What is important to know about God?”

Qualities of Call

  •  Continually nurtures own spiritual growth and development.
  • Able to effectively communicate and build relationships among people in our diverse communities.
  • Welcomes the opportunity to build relationships with people with little or no introduction. Seeks out opportunities to invite people into a deeper relationship with God through the Church.
  • Exhibit a particular call for enabling evangelistic ministry within a congregation.
  • Practices the qualities of a good coach – patient, compassion, curiosity, openness, and trust. Good Coaches listen deeply, ask engaging questions, and reflect on what they hear, and in the process develop a respectful and meaningful relationship with individuals.
  • Meets people where they are.
  • Demonstrates the commitment to be a life-long learner.

Background Knowledge:

  • Individuals should have basic competence in these areas:
    • A general understanding of the theories and processes related to spiritual growth and Christian formation.
    • Detailed knowledge of the creeds, catechism and Baptismal Covenant.
    • An understanding of contemporary issues facing the local church and larger Communities.
    • A general knowledge of Holy Scripture (Old and New Testaments), Church History, Liturgics, Theology, Ethics, canons, polity, structure, and decision-making processes in The Episcopal Church.

Skills

  •  Demonstrate appropriate social skills for meeting and dealing with people.
  • Model personal evangelism in the community.
  • Seek to equip and encourage all members of the congregation, including the ordained leaders, to exercise their particular evangelic gifts.
  • Search for and share strategies, programs and other tools available for connecting churches with the secular communities in which they are embedded.
  • Have an understanding of the concept of using public narrative as a way to help others link their own calling to that of their faith community.
  • Communicate regularly with their counterparts throughout the Diocese and beyond.
  • Participate in workshops and other events to assist their own congregations and their sister congregations throughout the Diocese.
  • Recognizes the face of Jesus in every individual and seeks to listen and have dialogue with those individuals as they move along their spiritual paths to a knowledge and love of Jesus Christ.
  • Understands that evangelism is the responsibility of every believer and thrives on encouraging others to live out this responsibility.
  • Exhibits courage, wisdom and energy, inspiring others to be transformed by the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ.
  • Encourages and supports others in their ministry of evangelism, through prayer or providing spiritual practices and practical tools to his/her fellow church members to use when talking with others.
  • Able to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ with clarity and conviction.
  • Speaks with love, grace and dignity to those facing hardships and crisis, inviting them into knowledge and experience of faith in God.
  • Able to inspire, encourage, and equip church members to be effective witnesses to the Good News in Jesus Christ.
  • Shares his or her gifts with others, seeing his or her primary ministry in the church as helping individual church members and the congregation as a whole to live into our calling to share the Good News of God in Christ.

Education and Training Possibilities

  •  Recommended participation in Education for Ministry (EfM) curriculum.
  • The preferred Curriculum is one offered by the Bishop Kemper School of Ministry for Evangelism Certification:
    • Christian Spirituality
    • Contemporary Mission*
    • Social Ministry
    • Christian History
    • Contemporary Society
    • Anglican Identity
    • Church Communications
    • Relational Evangelism*
    • Other courses as needed
    • *Auditing of either course is recommended during the discernment process
  • Training and mentoring by local clergy and regional resource persons for Evangelism.

To be Licensed

  • Completion of application located on diocesan website.
  • Describe their sense of call to this ministry and define their understanding of what it means to be an Evangelist in writing to the Lay licensing committee and orally in a meeting with the Commission on Ministry.
  • At the time of licensure, the lay licensing committee will work with the licensee to find a mentor that can provide them with support and guidance as they begin this ministry.
  • Criminal background check. Contact Human Resources Administrator and Finance Assistant for information (hr-finasst@diowestmo.org).
  • Safe Church, Safe Community modules are required for this license. Contact Human Resources Administrator and Finance Assistant for information (hr-finasst@diowestmo.org).
  • Compete Diversity Workshop. Contact the diocesan office for information about training.

To Renew Your License

  • Licenses are renewed in a set rotation every three years not based on date it was issued.
  • Completion of renewal application.
  • Completion of all requirements for initial licensure. Note dates of items completed since initial licensure.
  • Provide a report with license application that notes how license has been used since last issued.
  • Participation in appropriate continuing education.

Resources:

  • Online Resources:
  • Books for Individual or Group Study:
    • Tell it Like it is: Reclaiming the Practice of Testimony. Lillian Daniel, Alban Institute, 2006
    • Discerning Your Spiritual Gifts. Lloyd Edwards, Cowley Publications, 1988.
    • Listening Hearts, Discerning Call in the Community. Suzanne G. Farnham, et.al., Morehouse Publishing, 1991.
    • Fireweed Evangelism: Christian Hospitality in a Multi-Faith World. Elizabeth Geitz, New York: Church Publishing Inc., 2004
    • The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West… Again, 10th Anniversary rev. and expanded ed., George G. Hunter, III, Abingdon Press. 2010
    • The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb. Eric Law, Chalice Press, 1993.
    • Testimony: Talking Ourselves into Being Christian. Thomas G. Long, San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 2004.
    • The Active Life: A Spirituality of Work, Creativity, and Caring. Parker J. Palmer, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishing. Originally Published by Harper & Row, 1999.
    • Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism, 2nd ed. Martha Grace Reese, Chalice Press, 2008.
    • Radical Welcome: Embracing God, The Other and the Spirit of Transformation. Stephanie Spellers, New York: Church Publishing Inc, 2006
    • I Am Yours. The Rev. Dr. Steve R. Rottgers, Vervante, 2005.
    • Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening; Diana Butler Bass, New York, Harper One, 2012.
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