The Various Ways To Spread The Good News

There are many ways the Word of God can be spread throughout the world that many of us never take into consideration. Most are focused on hiring a full-time preacher and letting them do all the work of the Church. First of all, the Bible nowhere suggested that a local preacher was to do all the work of the church. Secondly, this would ignore all the talented Christians within a local congregation and allowing them to go to waste. Let us examine those who do the work of the church but get little credit for all of their efforts.

I have known many preachers and teachers of the gospel who have chosen to provide for their families by working an occupation in the world. This decision is consistent with the apostle Paul’s decision to provide for himself at certain times in his life as a Christian while still preaching and teaching at every opportunity (Acts 18:1-3 cf; 20:34-35 ff; 1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Thess. 2:9; 2 Thess. 3:7-9). He even refused wages that he abuse not his power in the gospel (1 Cor 9:18).

Some think that if a church does not have a “full-time” preacher they are either unfortunate or failing. Acts 8:4 describes early growth in the church as not necessarily the result of supported evangelists. Yet there remain those who may not appreciate the efforts of the other evangelists of the Lord.

Another group of Christians we sometimes overlook in the work of evangelism are the elders, men who have proven themselves as strong Christians, who preach and teach God’s word, and who stand up for truth (1 Tim. 3:1-7 f; Tit. 1:5-9). Those who rule well are worthy of payment for their efforts (1 Tim. 5:17-18). With the office of elder comes the awesome task of leading, defending, and caring for the flock of God. These responsibilities demand much time, love, and patience. Surely if we can support evangelists for their dedication to preaching and teaching we can support elders for the tremendous work that they do (1 Tim. 5). To their credit, hardly any elders ask for payment for their awesome responsibilities.

The Bible gives a picture of strong churches with elders sending out preachers (Acts 11:19-26 cf; 15:22 f; 1 Pet. 5:1). Would a church be a failure if the duties of preaching and teaching were carried out by non-supported elders and the other Christian men of the congregation, while the congregation provided for sending out evangelists? Certainly not, and as a matter of fact there are congregations of the Lord that have decided to do this.

Constantly we stress the importance of the “full-time” evangelist. Yet, a Christian is to be full-time in his work to the Lord no matter what his occupation (Lk. 9:23). We are to be subjects of our King whether at work, in our neighborhood, in our homes, or in the assembly. Our lives need to be the Lord’s (Gal. 2:20) and our work is to stand for truth as being good examples (Col. 4:5-6 f; 1 Pet. 3:13-17) that others may be influenced to turn to God (Jam. 5:10-20). Each one of us comes in contact with people every day whose only chance to learn of God may be through our efforts (2 Cor. 3:2-3).

Whether we are working as Christians, elders, evangelists (supported or not), or teachers, we are all necessary to accomplish the Lord’s will in spreading his word (Gal. 4:7-16). We all have gifts and should appreciate them, not over or under emphasizing a particular group (1 Pet. 4:7-11). We should all encourage one another in the talents we have (Matt. 25:14-30 f; Rom. 12:6-8).

In today’s multimedia world it is easy to spread the Word of God. Some do it from house to house. Some do it in print. Some do it by phone. Some do it by the world wide web. No matter how you do it, your work and labor of love will not go unrewarded. The Hebrew writer said it this way: “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end” (Heb 6:10,11).

There are many Christians working hard in the Lord’s Kingdom who are teaching, preaching, and spreading the gospel who would not be defined as “a fully supported evangelist.” The Lord needs all of us to accomplish his will (Eph. 4:16). I pray God will continue to provide us with the health and strength to carry on, for the rest we all long for is not in this world. Our rest remains in heaven where we can all be together someday (Heb. 4:8-10).