REDEFINING THE OFFICE OF THE EVANGELIST: A

STRATEGY TO ENHANCE CHURCH GROWTH IN THE

UPCSA PRESBYTERY OF ZIMBABWE

BY
RONALD MATANDAKUFA

MINI - THESIS SUBMITTED AS A PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BACHELOR OF THEOLOGY
DEGREE

IN
THE DEPARTMENT OF ECCLESIOLOGY

AT
JUSTO MWALE THEOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

LUSAKA - ZAMBIA

OCTOBER 2012

STUDY LEADER: REV MOSES L MWALE

DECLARATION

I, the undersigned hereby declare that the work contained in this research document is my
own original work and has not previously in its entirety or in its part been submitted at any
University or College for a degree.

Signature Date

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DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated firstly to my late grandmother Gogo Sayimani who trained me in the
way of life; the way of Jesus Christ. Secondly to my loving wife, who supported me each step
of the way and finally to all the evangelists in the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern
Africa.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to God who graciously allowed me into his field and gave me the strength to
reach this far. One of the joys of completing a journey is to look in the past and remember all
the friends and family who have given their help and support on this long but fulfilling road.
It is a pleasure to thank all the people who made this thesis possible.

I have now come to the end of my studies; both the UPCSA Presbytery of Zimbabwe and the
General Assembly gave me a life-time opportunity to study at Justo Mwale Theological
University College and generous sponsorship during my studies. This support is very much
appreciated. I also wish to thank Rev. Sam Mtonga of UPCSA Chelstone Congregation, Rev.
Saulos Phaika of Matero Congregation and Rev. Wilbert R. Sayimani for their guidance and
encouragement.

Rev. Moses L Mwale has been the ideal supervisor for this thesis. Throughout my thesis-
writing period, his wise advice, insightful criticisms, and patient encouragement, as well as
academic experience assisted very much. It would have been difficult to do it without him.
Thank you for helping to shape and guide the direction of the work with your careful and
instructive comments.

I also wish to thank Professor Jaco Hamman for editing my work. He took time to read this
paper and taught me more about English language than I thought I needed to know in a short
period of time.

I am indebted to S. Ruzivo, G. Botomani, F. Sakala, T. Kasere, Rev. C. Chifombo, Rev. A.

Tabarira, OBC. Mhango, Rev. K. Mutimwii, all the lecturers and students at Justo Mwale
Theological University College. Thank you for providing a stimulating and fun environment
in which to learn and grow.

To my dear wife Petronella and my daughter Makatendeka, for their endless love, prayers and
encouragement; a very special thanks. Thank you, thank you and thank you for all your

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practical and emotional support, you have been my pillar and my joy. Finally, to all those
who indirectly contributed to my research, I extend my deepest appreciation. Your kindness
means a lot to me. Thank you very much.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i
DEDICATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.1 RESEARCH TITLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

1.2 RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2.1 RESEARCH BACKGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
1.2.2 RATIONALE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2.3 RESEARCH FOCUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
1.3.1 RESEARCH QUESTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3.2 HYPOTHESIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.4 AIM, OBJECTIVE AND SIGNIFICANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
1.4.1 AIM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
1.4.2 OBJECTIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.4.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.5 RESEARCH DELIMITATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
1.6 LITERATURE REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
1.7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
1.7.1 NATURE OF RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.7.2 DATA COLLECTION AND RESEARCH DESIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
1.7.3 DATA ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
1.7.4 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

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CHAPTER 2: WORKING DEFINITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

2.1 CHURCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
2.2 OFFICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 SPIRITUAL GIFT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
2.4 CHURCH GROWTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
2.5 EVANGELISM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.6 EVANGELIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
2.7 CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

CHAPTER 3: CDE: A HISTORIC BACKGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

3.1 A BRIEF HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

3.1.1 THE CHALLENGE OF MISSIONARIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.2 CHURCH DEVELOPMENT EVANGELIST (CDE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
3.3 THE CRISIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
3.4 CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

CHAPTER 4: CHURCH GROWTH AND EVANGELISM: THEOLOGICAL

CONSIDERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

4.1 CHURCH GROWTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

4.1.1 INTERNAL GROWTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
4.1.2 EXTENSION GROWTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
4.1.3 BRIDGING GROWTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
4.1.4 EXPANSION GROWTH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.2 A QUESTION OF QUANTITY AND QUALITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
4.3 EVANGELISM: A MISSION PRIORITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
4.3.1 PRESENCE EVANGELISM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.3.2 PROCLAMATION EVANGELISM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

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 4.4 THE EVANGELIST IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
4.4.1 Acts 21:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.4.2 Ephesians 4:11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
4.4.3 2 Timothy 4:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4.5 THE GIFT OF THE EVANGELISM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
4.6 CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

CHAPTER 5: DEFINING THE OFFICE OF THE EVANGELIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

5.1 A CALL FOR ACTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

5.1.1 ENVIRONMENT FOR GROWTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
5.2 PASTOR AS AN EVANGELIST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
5.3 EVANGELIST AS A PASTOR: A NEW MODEL IN UPCSA . . . . . . . . . . . .34
5.3.1 THE CARDINAL CONCEPT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
5.3.2 A NEW MODEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.3.2.1 REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.3.2.2 THE NEED FOR TRAINING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
5.4 LAY PREACHERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
5.5 CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

CHAPTER 6: GENERAL CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

6.1 CHALLENGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

6.2 FUTURE RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

LITERATURE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
UNPUBLISHED SOURCES.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
PRIMARY TEXT.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
INTERNET SOURCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
ORAL INTERVIEWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 RESEARCH TITLE

Redefining the office of the Evangelist: A strategy to enhance church growth in the UPCSA
Presbytery of Zimbabwe.

1.2 RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE

1.2.1 RESEARCH BACKGROUND
Over the past century the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa (South Africa,
Zambia and Zimbabwe) has relied upon the office of the evangelist. The office has
contributed greatly to the church as we know it today. The denomination has evangelism as
one of its top mission priorities and it has led to the training of more evangelists and elders in
order to live up to this priority. It is of vital importance to note that the church does not only
recognise the need for evangelism but also the importance of equipping and training those
who are to do the work of the ministry.

Currently, the church in Zimbabwe has more evangelists than ministers. It was reported to the
UPCSA 9th General Assembly (Reports: Papers of the UPCSA General Assembly September
2010) that in the recent years over forty evangelists were appointed who were working with
only thirteen ministers in the church. Sadly, as of 2012, only twenty six of these evangelists
are still working in the church, and others have left to join other churches or do something
else with their lives. These evangelists were appointed to start and develop congregations. In
doing so, they participated in the vision of the church of moving from the maintenance
understanding of ministry to becoming a mission oriented church. Together with the
ministers, evangelists are involved in church planting and they have also been used to stand
in, in the congregations where there are no resident ministers. They would perform almost all
the roles of the minister keeping the flock together, except for administering sacraments.

1.2.2 RATIONALE
This research is not just another paper being added to a long list of works. The field of
Ecclesiology is just too wide and the office of the evangelist is one office that has received
little or no attention in the mainline churches, much more in the UPCSA (Zimbabwe). This in

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its own entails the need to research on this topic. The church prioritises evangelism.
Alongside this praiseworthy priority, it has also enrolled many evangelists with the aim of
planting more churches and bringing about the growth of the church. If the purpose of the
evangelist is to grow the church, why is the UPCSA (Zimbabwe) not growing? And why do
half of the evangelists fail to sustain their ministries? What is the church to do next? How can
the office of the evangelists be redefined so that it becomes a more useful and very effective
instrument of church growth in the UPCSA Presbytery of Zimbabwe? Questions like these
are important, and necessitate research, to which this project want to contribute.

1.2.3 RESEARCH FOCUS

In the research, the researcher endeavours to investigate how the office of the evangelist is
currently being understood and employed in the UPCSA Presbytery of Zimbabwe and further
establish what impact it is having on the growth of the church in order to make it more
effective.

1.3.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT

The UPCSA believes that evangelism is a God-given obligation and made it one of the
denominations mission priorities. Without evangelism there can be very little or no church
growth at all. In the church's determination to be a mission-oriented church it has established
a committee called Mission and Evangelism. This committee focuses more on evangelism as
an activity.

It is essential to acknowledge the fact that the UPCSA has managed to sustain the office of
the evangelist in an era where some believe that it has ceased. Considering the role it plays in
evangelism and church planting, no one can argue the significance and contribution this
office has made to the establishment of the church. All-in-all the Presbytery of Zimbabwe has
twice as much the number of evangelist (twenty six) as that of the ministers (thirteen). This
should almost guarantee the growth of the church at a faster rate. But sadly this is not the
case. In over one hundred twenty years of existence (1890-2012) in Zimbabwe the church has
one Presbytery, thirty-one congregations and thirty-nine preaching stations.

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Currently, the growth of the church is a worrying matter to many committed members of the
UPCSA (Zimbabwe). Over the years, misconceptions and misunderstandings have developed
that produced ineffectiveness in a well-organised office. No other office has been more
misunderstood in the UPCSA (Zimbabwe) than that of the evangelist and this certainly has
effects on church growth.

1.3.2 RESEARCH QUESTION

In this research, the Researcher will explore the following question;
How can the office of the evangelist be redefined so that it becomes a more useful and
very effective instrument of church growth in the UPCSA Presbytery of Zimbabwe?
1.3.3 HYPOTHESIS
The researchers hypothesis is that if the office of the evangelist is redefined, the church
would have a precise contextual theological understanding of this office and it would employ
it in a manner that facilitates the growth of the church at a much faster rate. A sound
understanding of the office of the evangelist coupled with adequate training will greatly
accelerate the growth of the UPCSA Presbytery of Zimbabwe. The redefining of this office
will also contribute to the self-understanding of the evangelists as essential co-workers to the
pastor and remove the misconceptions of seeing this office as a stepping-stone to the office of
the pastor. It is the considered view of the researcher that a well-defined and understood
office of the evangelist will greatly benefit the church both in terms of harmony and
accelerated growth.

1.4 AIM, OBJECTIVE AND SIGNIFICANCE

1.4.1 AIM
This research intends to investigate the low levels of growth in the UPCSA Presbytery of
Zimbabwe, which has a high number of evangelists, who are considered to be church planters
and propose recommendations on how church growth can be enhanced through this office.

1.4.2 OBJECTIVES
To investigate the factors that are responsible for the slow growth in the UPCSA
Presbytery of Zimbabwe.

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 To investigate how the office of the evangelist is being understood and employed in
the church.
To establish ways in which the growth of the UPCSA Presbytery of Zimbabwe can be
accelerated.
To recommend the way forward for the proper understanding and utilization of the
office of the evangelist for the purposes of church growth.

1.4.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH

The significance of this research is that:
It seeks to highlight issues that have contributed to the slow growth of the church for
the past one hundred twenty years, which the commission reports have not brought
out.
It provides a solid framework for the church to plan for growth and how to manage
that growth
It will encourage other scholars especially in the UPCSA Presbytery of Zimbabwe to
research more on the topic as well as enrich the JMTUC Library.
1.5 RESEARCH DELIMITATION
The field of Ecclesiology is wide. Therefore, the scope of this research is understanding the
office of the evangelist in the UPCSA, focusing on how it is used and how it can accelerate
the growth of the church in Zimbabwe. Even though the research is focusing on the church in
Zimbabwe this does not mean that the researcher will not take advantage of the General
Assembly's trans-border geographical heritage in conducting interviews.

1.6 LITERATURE REVIEW

In Ephesians (4:1-12), God saw the need in the church and supplied 'grace' to each member of
the Body of Christ. This 'grace' has also been bestowed upon men and women in the church.
Their many goal is to build up the saints so that they can serve God. Berkhof (1996:584)
distinguishes the kinds of offices in the church between ordinary and extraordinary offices.
When the father of reformation, John Calvin was given the opportunity to put his ideas into
effect in the ordering of the religious life of the city of Geneva, his idea of a proper
ecclesiastical polity had four office-bearers: pastors, teachers, elders and deacons. In his book

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The Institutes of Christian Religion, he states that among the Apostles, Prophets, Evangelist,
Pastors and Teachers only the last two have an ordinary office in the church. It is indeed the
Lord Jesus who rose up the other three at the beginning of his kingdom. Even now he
occasionally raises them when the necessity of time requires (Calvin 1816:650)

It is important to note that in the Reformed tradition both extraordinary and ordinary offices
derive their authority from their calling as ministers of the gospel. This means an evangelist
as an extraordinary officer has an extraordinary gift or function. In this regard Calvin's
position must not be interpreted as pointing to extraordinary offices as expired offices but as
ministers who have a function or gift similar to those of special offices of old. Church offices
must not be taken for granted; they require results. Kung (1968:406-9) is convinced that
ordination into church offices is not the handing on of a complete authority which glorifies
the one who receives it without binding him to any responsibilities which comes along with
that office. The authority given is one of service and it demands from him a corresponding
attitude, life and work. The basis of this authority is what Hooper (2007:16) describe as a
calling. According to him, to be a minister not only of Word and Sacrament, but also in any
capacity one must be called. And this brings us all (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelist, Pastors
and Teachers) to one level of being servants but with different tasks in the life of the church.

Hannan (2005:112) raises up the issue of training evangelist. He goes further to consider also
the kind of training that evangelist went through. An evangelist ought to be a specialist; he
must be trained as much as the Pastor is trained. And the church must not settle for anything
less, it is better to have a few specialists who work effectively than filling the office with
many people who have little or no training at all. It is only in this way that the evangelist can
become a co-worker to the Pastor and not a Pastor's substitute. It is in the same vein that
Allan (2002:127), discusses the relationship between the church offices with the opinion that
the role of the evangelist is not only to do the activity of evangelism but also to equip the
saints for effective ministry.

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1.7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1.7.1 NATURE OF RESEARCH
The following methods shall be employed by the researcher in order to acquire and deduce
data:
Literature review
Interviews
Primary texts

1.7.2 DATA COLLECTION AND RESEARCH DESIGN

Literature review The researcher will spend considerable amount of time in the
JMTUC library consulting books and the internet will also be made use of.
Interviews A selected number of ministers, evangelists and ordinary members of the
church will be interviewed.
Primary texts Minutes of both the presbytery and the General Assembly and other
important documents of the church will be considered in the research.

1.7.3 DATA ANALYSIS

After data has been collected it shall be processed into useful information. This will be
done through thorough examination and evaluation in an objective manner.

1.7.4 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Plagiarism will be avoided.
The emotions and feelings of all involved in this research shall be handled with care.
Those who wish to be noted as anonymous shall be noted as such.

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CHAPTER 2: WORKING DEFINITIONS

2.1 CHURCH
The church has been understood in so many ways. Some think its a building, others think it a
denomination but in the real essence, the church is more than all that. Mckim (2001:119)
answers the question what is a church? By saying, The church of Jesus Christ is neither a
building nor an organisation; rather it is a people, a special people, a people who see
themselves as standing in relationship with God. In simple words we can put it this way, it is
the fellowship of believers seeking their salvation in Christ washed by his blood and sealed
by the Holy Spirit.

In the same line of thought, Watson (1978:66) picks up two Greek words from the New
Testament that describes the church. The word ekklesia (Matthew 16:18 . . . I will built my
church, and the gates of hades will not overcome it) which refers to those called out and
the word kurike, a word Jesus never used, which means belonging to God. These words
both speak of the coming together of God's people in answer to his call, in order to meet with
God in the company of each other. According to Allan (2002:16), the term ekklesia was
used in the Greek world to refer to a scheduled meeting of the citizens for political reasons.
By the beginning of the first century, the Greek speaking Jewish community used the word
synagogue to refer to their meeting place. However, the New Testament never used the word
ekklesia to refer to a building or a denomination. Throughout the centuries that it gradually
becomes associated with buildings and meeting places. In this research the word church will
retain its original meaning and will refer to the people called to serve the Lord.

The church of Jesus Christ is on one hand invisible. By invisible we refer to those persons
who have actually been regenerated or quickened by the Holy Spirit, God's elect or true
believers. These individuals' hearts are completely invisible to us, but of course they are not
invisible to God and only he knows who is truly regenerate. According to 2 Timothy (2:19)
. . . the Lord knows those who are his . . . On the other hand, it is visible in that it is a body
of believes in Christ here on earth. As observed by Mckim (2001:123), the visible church is
the outward organised church on earth that is apparent and is composed of all who associate
themselves with the church as an institution. Coertzen (1998:1) agrees by saying a church is

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the organisation of these people to whom God has entrusted the keys of the Kingdom of
Heaven. This means the church is also an organisation, institution with structures and offices,
specific orders and discipline.

2.2 OFFICE
The English word office suggests an appointment to a certain position. That is why the
Dictionary Reference defines the word office as a position with duties attached to it, a place
of authority or trust or service especially of a public kind (Sykes 1982:706). But from a
biblical point of view, in the context of 1st Timothy (3:1) if a man desires the office of a
bishop, he desires a good work. The meaning of the word office is work. An office in the
church is an area of responsibility. Coertzen (1998:36) rightly describes these offices as
ministries that Christ gave to the church. The offices of an elder, deacon, pastor and
evangelist forms the ministry of the UPCSA.

Generally, an office is a room or area in which people work. At the same time, this term
denotes a position within an organisation with specific duties attached to it. Therefore, it is a
public position to which someone is appointed by an authoritative institution. Applied to the
office in the church it is a public task to which one is ordained, function or position to which
Jesus Christ, the King of the church calls people. The word office can be used
interchangeably with the word service or ministry. It is understandable that the reformed
fathers preferred to use the word and concept of service. In fact, the word office is related
to the word trade and the original meaning of the word trade is to serve (Sietsma 1985:20).

From the above discussions we can safely conclude that service is the primary and essential
meaning of the word and concept office in the scriptures. It is not about statues or importance
in a particular community but it is all about serving one another in love. This means generally
all Christians holds an office or work in the body of Christ, but special offices in the church
rises from Christ's calling, for he empowered some of his disciples with serving gifts at a high
degree. Grudem (1994:905) defines a church officer as someone who has been publicly
recognised as having the right and responsibility to perform certain functions for the benefit
of the church. This means that many people in the church may have gifts but we do not say
they have an office because they do not need public recognition for their gift to function.

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2.3 SPIRITUAL GIFT
The word spiritual is a very complicated word. It is understood by different people to mean
different things. Without bothering ourselves with those different perspectives, we need to
note that to the majority it carries the connotation of something sacred or ecclesiastical. Since
it points to what is religious by nature, it describes a plane of living higher than the usually is
experienced on a day-to-day basis. Coming back to spiritual gifts, Allan (2002:182) defines
them as supernatural powers or anointing given to Christian believers by the indwelling Holy
Spirit to enable them to extend the ministry of Jesus Christ within the church and into the
world. These kinds of gifts must never be confused with the natural abilities; they are the
supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit and visible signs of the Holy Spirit in the
church. These are gifts which do not come from humans, but from God and the Holy Spirit . .
. is the source of these gifts.

However, when defining spiritual gifts Grudem (1994:1016) states that spiritual gift is any
ability that is empowered by the Holy Spirit and used in any ministry of the church. These
gifts are given to every believer for the purpose of supporting and sustaining the body of
Christ. It is also for the believers to carry out the work of the ministry to the spiritual health
and nourishment of the church. All Christians manifest many of these ministries in limited
ways, but concentration and exceptional ability for a particular one is a gift (Ann 2011:47).

The Greek word that is normally translated spiritual gifts is the word charisma, from which
we get the English word charismatic. This word also has a deeper meaning, which is a
concrete expression of grace. This means God the Holy Spirit graciously bestows his own
presence and power on ordinary people for the service to others. Baxter (2003:29) is of the
opinion that spiritual gifts are the extraordinary power, distinguishing certain Christians and
enabling them to serve the Church of Jesus Christ, the reception of which is due to the power
of divine grace operating in Christians' lives by the Holy Spirit. The point here is that these
gifts are not only spiritual but they are undeserved.

2.4 CHURCH GROWTH

Church growth is much broader and deeper than adding names to the roll book. Kim
(2008:36) supports the idea proposed by the Academy for Church Growth that church growth

9
is the foundations, functions and the soundness of churches in relation to the effective
execution of the order of God demanding us to make disciples of all races. He realises that
church growth is not all about growth in volume. Numbers are important but counting the
numbers does not tell us anything about the spiritual growth of the members in the
congregation. It is about both growth in quantity and growth in quality, which is what exactly
builds the body of Jesus Christ.

Mclntosh (2003:18) suggests that this term in question was coined to acknowledge the results
that could be expected from faithful disciple making. Basically church growth to him refers
to all that is involved in bring men and women who do not have a personal relationship with
Jesus Christ into fellowship with him and responsible church membership. Whichever way
church growth is understood, its biblical foundations must never be lost. Church growth is
not in any sense a business platform created by men to make profit but it springs from the
life-giving nature of God. It is very important to note that in church growth, evangelism is not
only understood as proclamation of the gospel but also as making of disciples. The
significance of church growth in today's context is that the church must constantly expand.
Church growth is the natural result of a healthy church and it occurs when our message is
biblical and our mission is balanced as a church (Warren 1995:51).

2.5 EVANGELISM
Evangelism must never be understood only as a series of meetings. Understanding the bases
of evangelism begins with never moving from the Bible. The word evangel comes from a
Greek word evangelion. This word is composed of two Greek words ev meaning well,
and aggelion meaning news. Therefore, the word evangel means good message.
Evangelism denotes the activity, which brings the good news, which is the gospel (Monsma
1948:13). Cocoris (1984:12) adds that in the New Testament, this word was used seventy-
seven times by the apostle Paul. In the secular Greek world, it simply refers to any good news
but when borrowed into the New Testament, it was used of specific good news, which is the
news of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

10
Cocoris (1984:14) proposed that evangelism is communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ
with the immediate intent of converting the hearer to faith in Christ and with the ultimate
intent of instructing the convert in the Word of God so that s/he can became a mature
believer. Johnson (1987:12) puts it this way, evangelism is that particular task of the church
to communicate the good news of God's love to persons so that they may understand the
message, place their trust in Christ, become loyal members of his church and fulfil his will as
obedient disciples. These definitions can be considered helpful in church growth because
they do not exclude the aspect of discipleship. The New Testament Christian did not just
present the gospel to the people; they presented the gospel of Christ in order to secure a
decision for Christ. Evangelism remains incomplete unless and until the person being
evangelised has made a decision to put his/her faith in Christ. All those who hear the gospel
and reject it still remains unevangelised and must be considered important targets for future
evangelistic efforts (Wager 1979:176).

2.6 EVANGELIST
In the New Testament (Acts 21:8) only one person was called the evangelist that is Philip.
Timothy on the other hand, was only told by Paul to do the work of an evangelist (1 Timothy
4:5). The evangelist is mentioned by Paul as a gift to the church from Christ (Ephesians
4:11). All this is to prove that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted this office and that his disciples
upheld it. The term evangelist is derived from the Greek word euangelistes. This word
means a good messenger or messenger of good. In the Christian context, these are the people
who preach the gospel, who bringing the opportunity of salvation to the unsaved and equally
important who equips the saints for good works (Cocoris 1984:95).

Ann (2011:42) states that an evangelist is one, who is sent in order to announce, teach or
perform anything good. Evangelists are those who preach the gospel, confront and correct
anyone with the truth of Jesus Christ and proclaim the scriptures for the spiritual growth and
maturity of the saints. In the New Testament, they were considered to be an itinerant and
flexible preacher for the very reason that when one door closes God would open another
elsewhere.

11
It is a fact that all Christians are obligated to bear witness to Christ and his good news when
they have an appropriate opportunity, this then means the evangelist is someone with a gift of
evangelistic preaching, of making the gospel particularly plain and relevant to unbelievers, of
helping fearful people to take the plunge of commitment to Christ, of effective personal
witnessing. Lathrop (2008:53) agrees to all this and adds further that this understanding tells
us two things about the evangelist. Firstly, the ministry of the evangelist is largely a speaking
ministry. Secondly the evangelist has a specific message to share, which is the message of
Jesus Christ. Allan (2002:125) points out that those evangelists are like mats that sit on the
front of the church of God, because usually they are the first group of people that the unsaved
meet when they come to church.

2.7 CONCLUSION
Putting all these explanations together, we can safely conclude that the church is a gathering
of believers, who participate in fellowship with one another as they worship God. The church
is also an institution with structures and offices for the smooth running of its activities here
on earth. The offices are, in the context of the church nothing more than areas of services or
ministry. Talking of office as service, God has equipped the believers with spiritual gifts to
enable them to serve the church of Jesus Christ. Spiritual gifts are exceptional abilities for a
particular service or ministry in the church. Church growth is a very important aspect of a
healthy church. This means a healthy church grows not only in numbers but also in spiritual
maturity. It is not possible to talk about numerical growth in the church excluding
evangelism, which is the proclamation of the good news, not just any good news but the good
news of Jesus Christ and also the discipleship of believers. And finally, the evangelist is the
one who proclaims this good news to the unbelievers and also equips the church for the work
of ministry.

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CHAPTER 3: CDE; A HISTORIC BACKGROUND
3.1 A BRIEF HISTORY
The UPCSA is a member of the holy catholic church, under the Lordship of the Lord Jesus
Christ. This Church proudly traces its origin to the Calvinist society and the Free Church of
Scotland, where it was founded by John Knox in 1557. Calvin's teaching of the sovereignty
of God, the priesthood of all believers, and the Presbyterian Church structures helped to
shape the church to what it is today. From Scotland it came to South Africa by Scottish
soldiers in 1806. It was in this period that the first congregation was established. Even when
they did not have a minister they continued in their devotions until 1814 when they were
withdrawn. In 1824 the once more growing numbers of Presbyterians re-established the
congregation and built a church by 1827. Up to this day, the church building still stands as the
Mother church of the Presbyterians in Southern Africa. (http://www.upcsa.org.za/upcsa-ab-
history.html: 22/06/2012).

The church then spread to Zimbabwe and Zambia in the 1800's. Among the first
congregations to be established in Zimbabwe were Bulawayo City Church, Harare City
Church, Gweru Trinity and Mutare St. Columbus. It was from these congregations that the
church started spreading mainly into other major towns of the country. Eventually, the church
established two Presbyteries and a Synod. The Synod was later dissolved and the Presbyteries
were united to form the Presbytery of Zimbabwe. This was done after the Church Extension
Committee sent a commission to the Presbytery of Matabeleland which recommended at the
end of the day, that the two Zimbabwean Presbyteries should unite as they were too few
congregations in Matabeleland to make a strong Presbytery (Papers of the General Assembly
1992).

By 1980 the church had only six black ministers who faced many challenges since the church
had more white congregations than black congregations (Mutimwii 2011:27). Some of the
white congregations with the intention of reaching black people started employing other
black people whom they called Evangelist specifically for that purpose. According to many
elderly people in the church today, this was a general phenomenal in all the missionary

13
churches (Mr Nkwazi: Interviewed 07/08/2012). In the then PCSA (Presbyterian Church of
Southern Africa) the use of these evangelist was very common and these were sent to black
congregations which could not afford to pay a full-time minister (Papers of the General
Assembly 1991).

3.1.1 THE CHALLENGE OF MISSIONARIES

White missionaries headed the interracial synod that constituted the official governing body
of local congregations. Generally in mission churches, missionaries maintained the last word
in all mission stations and schools they worked to build. No one can argue the fact that; they
worked hard to establish these mission stations. But when it comes to reaching the black
people they had to use black people to propagate the gospel because of language and cultural
barriers. It was through these blacks called evangelist that Christianity spread throughout
Zimbabwe and churches were planted. To put it in the words of C.J.M Zvobgo, while the
missionaries brought the gospel to Africa, it was the indigenous Christian evangelist who
brought the gospel to Africans. This can only mean one thing; Africans themselves played a
major role in the evangelisation of Africa. (http://www.wmausa.org/page.aspx?id=163219:
22/07/2012).

According to Wamagatta (2009:179) the missionaries realised that if Africa was to be

evangelised, then the African must do the work himself, as he knows the native, their ways;
their innermost thoughts as well as their language. This is what led to the training of teacher-
evangelists, who were in essence lay preachers, rather than the training of ministers. After
completing their literacy training they were given additional instruction in Biblical studies,
with that they become qualified lay preachers or evangelist. Their work was much of
evangelism, conducting Sunday services, preaching and teaching catechism classes and the
missionaries only went to their stations to administer Sacraments.

The challenge that is still before the church today is that the missionaries only trained
evangelists to read and preach the Bible in their own tongue and nothing more than that. This
meant that evangelists would work as assistants to missionaries, who themselves were fully
trained for their work. This also affected the issue of ordination of these evangelists; and it
took a long time to come about. When it came, the missionaries were actually responding to

14
the changing political situation in the country in the late 1900s. According to Mr Nkwazi
(Interviewed: 07/08/2012) most of the black ministers in missionary churches began their
ministry as evangelists, and political developments forced their ordination in the ministry of
word and sacraments.

This is the atmosphere in which the image of an evangelist that we have in the mainline
churches was moulded. An evangelist is someone who must work under the supervision of
the minister; he must also be trained only in reading and preaching the Bible. In Reformed
circles it takes a minimum of four years to train a minister and it takes only nine weeks,
which are spread in one year, to train an evangelist. Many Reformed Theological Seminaries
do not offer much to evangelist as compared to Evangelical Theological Seminaries.
According to Rev. Chaitikobo (Interviewed: 05/08/2012) who is the current Moderator of the
Presbytery of Zimbabwe, evangelists receive neither enough training nor enough financial
compensation to support their work. Currently, they are being paid a third of the minimum
minister's stipend and the training is insignificant.

3.2 CHURCH DEVELOPMENT EVANGELIST (CDE)

In the UPCSA the model of the evangelist is called Church Development Evangelist (CDE)
and it was born in 1996. The then Church Development Work Group (CDWG) proposed a
new category of ministry which was adopted by the General Assembly in the same year. This
new category was a way of bringing growth to the church, which focused on utilizing the
gifts of the members. They believed that elders have the necessary gifts and leadership skills
to be able to provide pastoral care to new churches and also the developing of the existing
ones. The aim was to create a group of trained people who could fill vacancies in
congregations, either on full-time basis or part-time basis. Even though the CDE fills vacant
congregations, s/he does not have a sit in the Presbytery (Papers of the General Assembly
1996).

A Church Development Evangelist (CDE) is required by the Manual of Faith and order
(16.133) to be first of all an elder. Palmer (2002:18), states that a CDE is an elder, a member
of the Order of Lay Preachers, gifted in evangelistic and church planting ministry, committed
to undergo the required training and appointed by a Presbytery to serve for a defined period

15
of time in a church development project. Their role is to plant new churches, which may also
include developing existing churches. This has potential for significant growth (Manual
16.131). In addition to this a CDE may have other duties in the evangelist's capacity as an
elder and member of the Order of Lay Preachers to administer the Sacraments for a specified
time in a specified area provided that the requirements of the Ministry Committee are
fulfilled (Manual 16.138). It must be noted that the Manual (16.144) states clearly that the
CDE project is not designed to be a stepping stone towards the ordained ministry of Word
and Sacraments. When one applies to be a CDE the Church development Committee
determines what further studies the applicant must take in the area of Church planting and
evangelism. After which the evangelist is appointed to a congregation for a period not more
than three years (Manual 16.135-6).

3.3 THE CRISIS

According to Rev. Mutaurwa (Interviewed: 01/08/2012), who was once a CDE himself and
currently the minister of Highfield Congregation, the birth of CDEs in the UPCSA is
attributed to the issue of lack of ministers in the church, and then the issue of planting new
church also came aboard. People where brought together in South Africa for a conference that
focused on church growth. At that conference, which was attended by Rev. Mutaurwa from
the Presbytery of Zimbabwe, they shared ideas on how the CDE could help the church grow.

When the CDE was started in the denomination, their work was mainly to help the
developing churches to grow to maturity and to plant new churches. This was indeed a noble
idea meant to bring growth to the church. But Rev. Mutaurwa (Interviewed: 01/08/2012) is of
the opinion that sufficient contemplations was not given to the Zimbabwean and Zambian
context where these CDEs will work. He is convinced that some of the challenges the
Presbytery of Zimbabwe is facing regarding CDEs are due to the fact that the Zimbabwean
context was not given enough considerations in the process of creating this category of
ministry. This is why we see so many people applying to be CDEs not because they are called
to be evangelists but only because they want to get into ministry. Rev. Chatikobo
(Interviewed: 05/08/2012), shares a similar position. He thinks this office only attracts people
who hope to be ministers in the church. And yet CDEs where meant to be people who assist
the church in church planting.

16
As a Presbytery, we cannot run away from the fact that evangelist are under supported in
many ways. They are given churches that do not have the financial muscle to carry them
through. Even though they are a necessity in the church they are paid very little. This means
these people must be working elsewhere in order to sustain themselves and their families. But
this only applies in a context where they can be employed elsewhere and earn their living
apart from the church; which is not the Zimbabwean context. Since they know that this office
cannot sustain them financially, they become reluctant in doing their work, which has become
part of the church's problem today (Rev. Chatikobo, Interviewed: 05/08/2012).

3.5 CONCLUSION
Considering what the Manual (16:131) states about the role of the CDE in the church, it is
possible for one to conclude that the focus has been lost somewhere along the way. Today the
focus is on the secondary matter, which is developing existing congregations and not the
primary one; planting churches. And what suffers at the end of the day is the growth of the
church.

Rev. Chatikobo (Interviewed: 05/08/2012) correctly pointed out the importance of an

evangelist to the growth of the church and it must not be over looked. But in the history of the
church not much was invested in this significant office of the evangelist. This is partly
because of the approach that was inherited from the missionaries concerning the image of the
evangelist. From the discussions above one can easily conclude that the missionaries era is
still with us. In our churches today the minister re-presents the missionary who runs the
mission station; that is the church and the CDEs represents the evangelist who is only trained
to read and preach the Bible; doing the work that the minister is not willing to do. As much as
we appreciate what the missionaries did in bringing the gospel to Africa, there is need to re-
look at the heritage they gave us so as to make ourselves more effective in our day and age.

17
CHAPTER 4: CHURCH GROWTH AND EVANGELISM: THEOLOGICAL
CONSIDERATIONS

4.1 CHURCH GROWTH

In the past ages, Christians were very much concerned about church doctrine and theology.
Attention was never paid to church growth until recently. The growth of the church is very
important because it has effects on important things that the church cannot do without such as
membership, attendance, offerings among others. Human and financial resources are
necessary for the church to fulfil its God given role on earth. Missiologists understand that
the living church can experience four kinds of growth, that is, internal, expansion, extension
and bridging growth (Payne 2007:71).

4.1.1 INTERNAL GROWTH

To start with, internal growth is what can be referred to as spiritual growth or spiritual
maturity. This is a point in the life of the church were people begin to share their faith with
non-Christians and studying and applying the scriptures in their own lives, to love God more
deeply worship more intensely pray more fervently, to care for each other more lovingly and
witness more effectively (Wagner 2005:183).

4.1.2 EXTENSION GROWTH

As the church makes new disciples and plant new churches it experiences extension growth.
Payne (2007:77) believes that one of the characteristics of extension growth is church
planting that occurs among people of a similar culture as that of the church planter. Church
planting must be part of today's church. McGavran (1990:283) throws away the argument by
other scholars that the era of church planting is over and that planting churches is not the
chief purpose of missions; adding that this can only tempt the church to play down its plans
for the actual communication of the gospel. Although church extension is the most neglected
type of growth in the church today, it is an efficient way to evangelise the unsaved.

4.1.3 BRIDGING GROWTH

Extension growth deals with people of a similar culture while bridging growth is church
planting among people of a different culture, thus bridging into a radically different culture

18
with the gospel. Bridging growth is planting new churches among other kinds of people who
could not reasonably be expected to be folded into the fellowship of the church or who
simply prefer to worship God in a different language (Wagner 2005:183).

4.1.4 EXPANSION GROWTH

This is the most common kind of church growth. Expansion growth is when a church brings
in new members into its ranks (McGavran & Hunter 1980:43). And it does that in three
different ways, which are Biological, Transfer and Conversion growth.

Firstly Biological growth happens when children from the families in the church are baptised
and come up through the ranks of the church to confirmation, which is the point when they
join the church on confession of faith. Calvin (1816:795) defines baptism as the initiatory
sign by which we are admitted to the fellowship of the church, being in union with Christ we
may be accounted children of God. From this understanding, Hart (2003:46) strongly believes
that baptising infants born to believers is the reliable God given way to the growth of the
church. It is cheap, simple and does not require any strategic thinking.

In this era some churches are exclusively surviving on this kind of growth. Christians should
truly bring up their children in the Lord. Although this biological growth is good it has its
own down side. It is a very slow way of growing a church. It often does not equal the normal
population increase for the nation, for some are lost to the world or through marriage are
sucked into other communities (McGavran 1990:72). Hsu (1997:98) took the advice of
Jerome to the fourth century Christians not to focus on just having children. He argued that
instead of spending time rearing our children, Christians should look for opportunities to
bring non-Christians into the church in this way they produce spiritual offspring. Yes,
biological growth should be encouraged but it should not be the only method by which the
church grows.

The Presbyterian Church is very much a family centred church; it promotes strong family
worship and scripture reading. Much of its growth has been through children born into
Christian families (biological growth). Now the infant baptism statistics show that cultural

19
change has resulted in smaller families with few children and the fewer children are not able
to sustain the rolls of the church even if all of them become part of it.

Secondly Transfer growth, according to McGavran & Hunter (1980:43), happens when a
church member joins other congregation in the same church. People move from city to city
and from town to town. This in itself necessitates transfers. But in real essence it is increasing
one congregation at the expense of the other because such a person does not come to church
as a non-believer; it is just the movement of existing believers from one congregation to
another. If it is in one denomination then that cannot be growth at all because the church is
not expanding in any way.
Lastly, conversion growth happens when previously unsaved people join the church for the
first time, on confession of faith. This is the kind that is even more important than the others
(McGavran & Hunter 1980:43). It is important because it brings those outside the church to
faith in Jesus Christ and are baptised and added to the church. This is why Payne (2007:69) is
convinced that conversion growth results in reaching the world for Christ and further argues
that this is the only growth that is biblical, there is no scriptural evidence for biological and
transfer growth. Biological and transfer growth do not result in reaching the world for Christ.
But conversion growth is the only kind in which the gospel is spread into the world to every
creature. Reading the book of Acts (2:41, 5:14, 9:31), one can clearly see that the church in
Jerusalem grew through conversion growth as convents were added daily to the community.

Historically, Christianity has maintained that Jesus Christ can make a radical change in
human life. This is the essence of the gospel. Evangelism aims at conversion, which results in
salvation. The whole process begins with proclamation and appeal; the response is conversion
by the grace of God to the glory of God. This results in a changed life of discipleship, which
is the desired end. At this point we just need to note that the main means of conversion
growth is preaching (Larsen 1992:24)

4.2 A QUESTION OF QUANTITY AND QUALITY

Hart (2003:41) observed rightly when he said that the proper way of evaluating growth in the
church is not by counting but rather by looking at the level of commitment, fruit of the Spirit
and faithful preaching of the word. On one hand, this observation points to the fact that when

20
we talk about growth, quality of faith is more important than quantity in the church. On the
other hand, MacNair & Meek (1999:1) suggest that in the modern world church growth is
easily identified with increase in numbers of people sitting in the pews and participating in
the programme. Looking at the ministry of Jesus, it becomes hard for us to justify small
numbers in church when Jesus was followed by a great multitude every time; this point to
quantitative growth. It is very important for the UPCSA Presbytery of Zimbabwe to maintain
a balance between the two, qualitative and quantitative growth.

There is need to understand qualitative growth in terms of the kind of disciples a church is
producing. People who are genuinely transformed into the image of Christ, who are grounded
in the word, who using their talents in service and ministry and sharing their faith with others,
these are just few ways of measuring quality. And quantity must also be understood as the
numbers of disciples a church produce (Warren 1995:50).

The question at this point may be, is it possible to have it both ways, to have a well-populated
church and firmly faithful church? Yes, Christ commands us to grow both qualitatively and
quantitatively. McGavran & Hunter (1980 43) discusses ways in which a church can grow
and one way they noted is internal growth. Internal growth is about people learning to pray
more devoutly, becoming more immersed in scriptures and sacraments, more in loving
fellowship with one another and more sensitive and obedient to the will of God. That is
quality. This then must be the basis of all the other growths we can talk about. The book of
Acts makes a point to tell us about numbers. At Pentecost about three thousand were added to
the church (Acts 2:41). Act 4:4 many who heard the message believed, and the numbers of
the men grew to about five thousand. Later on more and more men and women believed in
the Lord and were added to their number (Acts 5:14). In Acts (6:7) . . . The number of the
disciples in Jerusalem multiplied rapidly . . . And still later according to Acts (16:5) so the
churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

With this understanding it is clear that the two are not in opposition of each other and there is
absolutely no room for choosing one over the other. Warren (1995:51) and MacNair (1999:1)
agree that a church should seek both quality and quantity. Focusing on either quality or
quantity is what produces an unhealthy church. As much as the church desires to help people

21
to mature in Christ, it must also desire to reach as many people as it can with the message of
salvation. In fact; it is quality that attracts quantity. According to the opinion of a minister of
a small church in the UPCSA Presbytery of Zimbabwe, who preferred to remain anonymous,
it is better to maintain quality when the church is small. This is what Warren (1995:52 agrees
to, but he further says a church that has no interest in growing in quantity in essence it does
not care for the lost, as long as the lost people are in the world we must care about quantity
as well as quality.

4.3 EVANGELISM; A MISSION PRIORITY

Life on earth holds no greater challenge than the complicated daily demands of choosing our
priorities; what to do first. One thing that must be commended in the UPCSA is that the
church has made evangelism a mission priority. This means that evangelism is perceived as
part and parcel of the church. Evangelism is foundational and fundamental. This is not only
the case in today's church, even the New Testament church prioritised evangelism. Reaching
the unsaved was their priority and evangelism can reach the unsaved. What must not be
overlooked is the fact that prioritising evangelism calls for serious analysing and assessing of
all the aspects that surround evangelism to ensure effectiveness and success.

Cocoris (1894:21), suggests that the reason why we do evangelise or the bases of evangelism
is found in the Gospel according to Matthew 28:18-20, the great commission; the command
of God:

Then Jesus came to them and said All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am
with you always, to the very end of the age.

Considering the foundation of evangelism, it must be interpreted as the chief and utmost
priority in the church and in the lives of all Christians who comprise the church. Evangelism
is not simply one of the many important things we are to do, but it is in fact the first priority

22
in all we do. All else follows and flows from it. But how should the church rank evangelism
first amongst other responsibilities? Larsan (1992:17) observed that the greatest challenge we
have concerning the prioritising of evangelism is that in the mainline churches evangelism
sometimes seems to be swallowed by sacraments and social work.

4.3.1 PRESENCE EVANGELISM

The relationship between evangelism and social well-being is a very complex one. Social
work does not only require the attention of Financial Institutions, Non-Governmental
Organisations (NGO) and the Government but it requires also the attention of the church. The
church is rooted in the community; it is not only present in the urban areas but also in the
remote rural areas, including hostile areas where many Institutions may struggle to reach. It is
therefore the church's role to serve the families and communities in as far as their social
needs are concerned. It is in the same line of thought that Marsh (1997:9) argues that social
work and evangelism must never be separated, the witness of word and the witness of deed.
Often the word of love cannot be heard or understood unless accompanied by deeds of love.
Seeking the salvation of the souls while neglecting the destructive nature of the society they
live in is often equally ineffective.

Presence evangelism is when a person possessed with the attitude and character of Christ
witness the gospel by living an ideal life. It is usually called charity or social action. The
basic reason for the church's involvement in Presence evangelism is contained in the Bible. In
the declaration of Jesus concerning his mission in Luke (4:18, 19), The Spirit of the Lord is
on me, because He has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to
proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the
oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord And also in the parable of the separation of
sheep and goats in Matthew (25:42-44) I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was
thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I
needed cloths and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after
me. This leads us to one conclusion, social work is not an optional matter; we are
commanded to demonstrate our faith in good work. We need not to stop here, social action is
important in as long as it confronts people with the gospel of Christ, since it draws people to
Christ. It must function as forerunners of and adds to mission (Sider 2008:193).

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4.3.2 PROCLAMATION EVANGELISM
Evangelism does not aim to serve political systems or other religions, yet cannot be detached
from such systems. The goal of evangelism is not even the good deeds of providing
education, medical care or feeding programmes. All these are good and also beneficial in
fulfilling the great commission. But if they became an end in themselves then the point has
been missed. The presentation of the gospel with the aim of changing the life of people by the
power of the Holy Spirit and seeing people grounded in the kingdom of God (Abraham
2008:30).

Pointing out the goal of evangelism in this way indicates that the language of evangelism
throughout the Christian tradition has highlighted verbal proclamation over non-verbal
practices. But this has changed in the mainline stream as this emphasis upon proclamation
has been lost. This bereavement has contributed to the characterisation of evangelism as only
social work. Many scholars acknowledge the inadequacy of understanding evangelism as
non-verbal practise (Warner 2007:273).

Certainly, verbal proclamation is the very essence of evangelism. This is not denying social
deeds and its contribution to evangelism. Warner (2007:9) puts it this way, to focus only on
evangelism as verbal proclamation creates too many problems for the church. In fact, it is
neglecting the biblical foundations for a faithful theology and practise. It must be an all-
inclusive description of Jesus' whole work of ministry, which includes complementing
practice. It is in this understanding that the strategy for world evangelism involves both
Christian presence and Christian proclamation. There is need to balance between the two,
activities of proclamation and social deeds. The challenge that the UPCSA Presbytery of
Zimbabwe is facing is that it is naturally becoming absorbed in education, medical work and
other social activities not as much as it does on verbal proclamation of the gospel. Abraham
(2008:32) concludes that balancing the two can not only drive the church to get ahead with
proclamation as the essential task of the church evangelism but will also drive it to welcome
God's merciful justice to roll across creation, society and human history. Therefore,
evangelism is not just the presence but it is verbal proclamations as well.

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Talking of proclamation as the essential task of the church, Newbigin (2008:51) rejects the
idea that actions speaks more louder than words in the life of the church, since it is by
proclamation the church win more people's allegiance to the Christ. Preaching is necessary. In
fact, the pulpit is our ultimate evangelistic opportunity wherever it may be, whether the pulpit
is in the local church, in the rescue mission, in prison or at an evangelistic crusade. But the
current evangelism in-activeness in local churches today can be traced in large part to
deficiency in the pulpit.

As much as the church may evangelise through it works, the evangelist adds words to the
works of the ministry of evangelism. Flynn (2004:67) strongly believes that all explanations
may be given as to how a sinner can become rightly related to God. But announcement of the
Good News of Christ's historical, redemptive death and resurrection will have to be made
verbally, of which this is the work of the evangelist.

4.4 THE EVANGELIST IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

In the next paragraphs, the researcher is going to take a close look at the three passages from
Scripture that refers to the evangelist.

4.4.1 Acts 21:8

Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and we stayed in the house of Philip the
evangelist, one of the seven.

This is the first use of the term evangelist in the New Testament. Paul and his companion
stopped at the house of Philip on the final leg of his third missionary journey. As noted
before, Philip is the only person in the Bible to be called an evangelist. The reason why he
was called an evangelist was mainly to remind us of the ministry of Philip (Acts 8). There his
ministry was of proclaiming the good news to the unsaved in Samaria, to the Ethiopian
eunuch and up to the end of Caesarea.

The ministry of Philip is characterised by miracles. This is evident from the only clearly
identification of his ministry, even though he was not an apostle whose authority was
necessarily attested by miracles. We know that Philip also baptised converts in Samaria as

25
well as the Ethiopian eunuch. From all this we can discern about Philip's ministry in Samaria
and Caesarea that his effects led to the establishment of a new church which Paul was paying
visiting to.

4.4.2 Ephesians 4:11

It was He who gave some to be apostles, and some to be prophets, and some to be
evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers

The second occurrence is found in Ephesians 4. In this chapter, the apostle Paul exhorts his
readers to maintain the unity of the Spirit (vv1-3) because of the reality of their faith: one
Lord, one faith and one baptism (vv4-6). But in verse seven Paul the church that within this
unity, there are necessary variety that ultimately contributes to the proper functioning of the
body. He lists five groups of gifted people who are themselves gifts to the church. One of
which is the evangelist.

The five categories are groups of gifted people; the question that confronts the church is that
should it talk of gifted people like evangelists as well as a corresponding gift of evangelism?
But in this context, Paul speaks specifically only of individuals called evangelists and not a
gift of evangelism. But closely related to this question is the issue of office. The emphasis of
this verse is on gifted men who have a certain function, which, according to v12 is to prepare
God's people for the work of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. As much as
we speak of a group of men named in the New Testament who were specifically chosen by
Christ himself to be apostles; we can also speak the same of evangelists (Cocoris 1984:96).

Evangelicals believe that evangelists are more important than pastors to the work of God. In
the scripture the evangelist is placed before pastors and teachers in importance. This means
that apostles are first in importance as the men whom Christ has given to the church, then
prophets, then comes evangelists. After evangelists comes pastors and last of all teachers
(Rice: www.jesus-is-savour.com 03/07/2012). A Theological analysis shows that in
presenting this list the apostle Paul was not specially giving a hierarchy of importance or
authority. But the ordering can be understood as being very much related to Pauls
understanding of the roles these groups play in the church. It is not necessarily true that one is

26
more important than the other, but that one has precedence over the other in the founding and
building of the church. Rather, one prepares the ground, another plant, and still another water.
Without water nothing happens, despite the preparation the evangelist may have done.
Reformed Presbyterian Traditions rejects the idea of importance. This is evident in its
emphasis on function rather than office. It strongly believes that all offices are equal and
Christ is the Lord of all (Van Wyk 1995:10).

One cannot read Acts 13-28 without recognising that Paul is as much an itinerant evangelist
as Philip had been in his earlier days. This means that evangelists were church planters. He
functions in the general goal the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry as a
church planter from the overall purpose of winning people to Christ and forming them into a
local church.

4.4.3 2 Timothy 4:5

But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work
of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

The apostle Paul uses the term evangelist in his final charge to Timothy. This charge takes the
form of a solemn appeal in verse one, which is followed by nine imperatives; five in verse
two and four in verse five. The eighth imperative is the one that bids Timothy to do the work
of an evangelist.

Timothy is understood to have been in Ephesus functioning as a pastor. This expression do

the work of an evangelist is not actually identifying Timothy as an evangelist. Instead, the
language more probably suggest that Timothy should do the kind of work that is normally
associated with an evangelist, even though he is functioning more in a pastoral role and may
not have been gifted as an
evangelist himself. This is a straightforward command, which implies that Timothy might
have been so consumed with other needs and tasks that he was in danger of not pursuing the
work he probably originally did with Paul on their travels together. So Pauls desire was for
Timothy not to neglect the tasks of proclaiming the gospel of salvation to unbelievers and
forming them into new churches.

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4.5 THE GIFT OF THE EVANGELISM
The subject of gifts was very important in the early church but over the centuries it has been
neglected. When the church at Jerusalem faced the complaint of discrimination in the
administration of daily welfare, they sought out godly and gifted men to handle the issue. The
results were an increase in the ministry of the word and in number of disciples (Acts 6:1-7).
The apostle Paul wrote about gifts in his letters to the Romans, Corinthians and Ephesians. It
is in these letters that we get three lists of gifts that we have in the church. And one of these
gifts is that of the evangelist.

Flynn (2004:29) urges that naturally a person with an office should have the gift
corresponding to that office; otherwise his office would be in name only. Daves (2004:6)
strongly believes that . . . the hindrance to God's ministry today is not sin, as grievous as
this may be, but the lack of ministry operating as a spiritual gift. This means that a divinely
appointed prophet should have the gift of prophecy, a teacher the gift of teaching, an
evangelist the gift of evangelism. Therefore, the church should not give or appoint to office
people who do not possess a gift that correspond to that office. Bearing a certain title brings
expectation for a particular job to be done. It is best for one to know his or her calling so that
when given the office he/she can be comfortable and confident. Otherwise if not called then
one should not go (Hooper 2007:17).

To be a minister of the word in any capacity one must experience a call. The Christian call is
twofold, we are all called to be Christians and to live holy lives and we are called for the
purpose of exercising a particular gift in a particular office. One is general and the other is
specific, and in this paper we are talking about the specific one. To be called is to be elected
and separated by the Holy Spirit for the primary purpose of fulfilling a specific task in the
church; in this case it is evangelism.

A calling is necessary in order to be effective in the work of evangelism. But unfortunately,

others decide to undertake this office without the gift of evangelism. Failure, ineffectiveness
and frustration become the order of the day. The only way to ensure success of evangelism is
to have God called evangelist (Baxter & Baxter 2003:174).

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According to Hooper (2007:16), in a general sense the task of evangelism is for all believers
but the Bible specifically states that he gave some to be evangelists (Ephesians 4:11). All
Christians are to witness and share their faith with others but the evangelist is that person who
not only has the special ability in communicating the Gospel but also the special ability of
equipping the saints for the work evangelism. Cocoris (1984:96), states that what comes
along with these special abilities is the harvest. One could speak on salvation and nothing
would happen but when an evangelist preaches on any topic people would be converted. If he
teaches about evangelism, the saints would be motivated and approach the work of
evangelism enthusiastically.

In this case it will not be an exaggeration to say that the office of the evangelist involves
effectiveness that makes people respond to the claim of Christ. This does not mean every
time the evangelist preaches people respond. S/he shares Christ in the power of the Holy
Spirit and leaves the results to God. But whenever an evangelist ministers faithfully from
time to time there will be yielding affirmative response. Flynn (2004:70) puts it this way, the
gifted evangelist communicate the Gospel with power so that people are brought into the
experience of salvation. And the gift that this evangelist has must be understood as the
special ability that God gives to certain members of the church to present the gospel with
clarity, poise and some degree of success in such a way that

people become responsible members of the body of Christ. The evangelist does not stop at
conversion, but s/he desires to see the convert in continuous growth in the fellowship of the
church. This is why Wagner (2005:177) believes that the gift of the evangelist is the primary
agent for church growth.

4.6 CONCLUSION
The office of the evangelist is different from doing the work of the evangelism. The office of
the evangelist is what you are. Offices are outlets for employment of gift, specialities, spheres
or area in which a gift can be exercised. Therefore, it is possible to change one's office but
one's gift remains the same. Though Paul's gift was to preach the gospel, he was an Apostle to
the gentiles (Acts 21:19, Romans 15:15-26, Galatians 1:16). However, he did not confine his
ministry to the Gentiles but first preached to the Jews then on their rejection to the Gentiles

29
(Acts 18:4-6; 19:8-10). The person who is an evangelist must have the corresponding gift in
order to function effectively in this office. This person needs to pioneer ways of exercising
and developing his or her gift so as to penetrate our society with the gospel.

Although it is impossible to bring out a clear school of thought about the office of the
evangelist in the New Testament in the light of the limited biblical information, the indication
appears to strongly propose that he functioned not only as a travelling preacher but also as a
missionary church planter. This work of evangelizing the lost and forming them into a local
church was their underlining mission. When we talk about forming local churches we need to
understand that, that is the part where discipleship comes in. In Discipleship, the evangelist
will be making his contribution in line with the goal his and other offices in the church, which
is to equip the saint for the work of ministry.

The issues of church growth and evangelism had been neglected in the past. Hence, it is
important for us to go back to these important issues in order to assist the church of today. To
start with, the church must consider both numerical growth and spiritual growth as essential
aspects of its life. Numbers are also important, not just numbers on the church roll but
numbers of those who are saved and baptised. But who are participating fully in the life and
work of the church. It is from
this point that the church must take into account in all the options available for growth. As
much as the church cannot run away from biological and transfer growth, it must put in much
effort on conversion growth. The question here is how many people are being brought to
Christ, developed to maturity and mobilised for ministry. This is the kind of growth that in
real sense brings about growth in quality and in quantity.

What facilitates this qualitative and quantitative growth is evangelism, when it is properly
understood. It must not merely be understood as the proclaiming of the gospel whether or not
something happened, but also the making of disciples for Christ. When evangelism is
properly understood, it can be seen in how the church prioritises its activities and all the
aspect that surrounds it. This includes the office of the evangelist as a minister called to serve
in this area. Even though Bosch (2008:8) is of the idea that in the modern world social

30
involvement should take precedence over evangelism (proclamation). From the discussion
above it is clear that as much as the church is involved in social work it must not neglect
evangelism as proclamation. This is what makes an evangelist important in the whole
equation.

Church growth takes a firm stand that evangelism activities must not stop until the lost person
becomes a disciple. This is why evangelists must not solely be understood as church planters
but can also be essential ministers to the local church. The work of discipling and equipping
the saints is not a one-day job. It is at this point that the ministry of the evangelist and of the
pastor overlaps. The evangelist has particular abilities, not possessed by the pastor, and the
pastor also has particular abilities not possessed by the evangelist, which makes both their
ministries utterly essential in the church.

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CHAPTER 5: DEFINING THE OFFICE OF THE EVANGELIST

5.1 A CALL FOR ACTION

It is quite possible for one to look at the pace at which the church is growing, and then predict
its future. Of course, because of the role the Holy Spirit plays in the life of the church we can
be confident that the Church of Jesus Christ will never die. Even though, one cannot measure
the strength of a church by counting numbers. Numbers reveal something about the church,
small numbers 'may be' symptoms of illness. But its important to realise that large numbers
do not necessarily mean a healthy church, nor do small numbers necessarily signal
ineffectiveness (Marsh 1997:5).

The crisis in the church today is that the gifts listed in Ephesian (4:11) are not operating from
a scriptural and contextual point of view. There is high incidence of failure among the
evangelist in the UPCSA Presbytery of Zimbabwe. As noted above, the church has appointed
over forty evangelists but only half as much are still in the church. This proves the fact that
many evangelist look at this office only as a stepping stone to become pastors and those who
fail to realise this wish abandon the church. This is a call for the church to engage in the
issues critical in its life, such as developmental programmes of outreach and placing heavy
emphasis on church growth and membership recruitment. In all these tasks the evangelist
plays a crucial role. And for this to materialise it is necessary to create a conducive
environmental for growth; i.e. where all members of the body functions well.

5.1.1 ENVIRONMENT FOR GROWTH

The church has been defined as a living organism. All organisms exhibit a system that allows
them to function in a health manner. As it is demonstrated by the human body, there are
numerous life systems that must be functioning well to allow the body to grow. In a similar
way, when the whole body of Christ is functioning well and each separate member works as
it should, the whole body grows (Mclntosh 2003:152). However, Wagner (2005:35) agrees by
further stressing on this point, according to God's design for the body of Christ, every
member must minister with his or her spiritual gift on a regular basis. This shows that the
people of God have been prepared for service.

32
Wagner (2005:162) uses a very helpful analogy of physical reproduction as an example.
Reproduction is nearest to evangelism, in that as much as it adds new members to the human
race; evangelism adds new members to the body of Christ. This makes the evangelist a
primary organ that God has given to the church for this same propose. It is important to note
that neither the pastor nor the evangelist can help the church if the other members of the body
are not also functioning in a healthy manner. In the body of Christ members are dependent
upon one another. None is autonomous. The Apostle Paul in Ephesians (4:16) tells believers
that as they mature in Christ they also realise that each member of the body is vital to the
health and development of every other member (Beaird 2004:95).

5.2 PASTOR AS AN EVANGELIST

Due to the fact that the church's tradition has always emphasised on the role of teaching elder,
ruling elder and deacon, the teaching elder had to take up all the responsibility of evangelism.
Larsen (1992:125) lamented that this must be the reality of the situation, but even fewer
pastors are soul-winners. But the problem is that unless the pastor has the passion and the
burden for evangelism in the church; it is most unlikely anyone else will. This is what has led
the church to talk about the model of pastor-evangelist (Pastor doing the work of the
evangelist). This is not easy because evangelistic calling is a spiritual discipline that a busy
pastor can easily be tempted to neglect.

Many books have been written of the pastors personal and professional roles from an
evangelistic perspective. According to Armstrong (1990:13), evangelism is not one of the
many things that a pastor undertakes but it is the heart of everything that he does. If a pastor
has no concern about evangelism, no interest or no sense of responsibility for sharing the
good-news, the question that must be asked is . . .what is the pastor doing in ministry? This
shows that in doing the work of ministry, there is need to do the work of an evangelist. It is
for this reason that the Apostle Paul wrote to the young Pastor Timothy encouraging him to
do the work of the evangelist (2 Timothy 4:5). Armstrong (1990:13) understands this
statement do the work of the evangelist as acting with evangelistic sensitivity in a given
situation. This means to know when to speak up and when to be silent, when to confront and
when to console, when to proclaim and when to provide, when to exhort and when to explain,
and knowing the appropriate things to say when speaking.

33
5.3 EVANGELIST AS A PASTOR: A NEW MODEL IN UPCSA
5.3.1 THE CARDINAL CONCEPT
Hall and Hannaford (1992:72) state that the position of the elder is the oldest active office
still being used in the church today. In the New Testament, when the apostles planted
churches they would appoint elders to govern the congregations in their absence (Acts 14:23,
Titus 1:5). The Greek word for elder is presbyteros literally meaning an older person, a
wise person and a leader. This concept of elders can be traced from the Old Testament
(Numbers 11:16-17, 24, Genesis 50:7).
The reformed emphasis of the office of elder can be traced back to several early Reformers,
including John Calvin. In developing a system of church governance that is based on biblical
principles, John Calvin concluded that there are two kinds of elders, the teaching elder and
the ruling elder. Together they share power and divided responsibilities as they govern the
church. In the UPCSA a group of elders constitute a session. It is this session which has
virtual oversight of all the spiritual and practical activities of the church (Gray & Tucker
1999:36).

It is from this background that even the CDE is required to be an elder first (Palmer 2002:18).
For all elders are Pastors, and are charged with duties belonging to Christ's prophetic office.
Elders on the other hand are charged with duties belonging to Christ's Kingly office. Even
more, it is essential to understand that elders watch over the purity of the preaching in public
worship and do the pastoral work that is so required of them. As elders they have to comfort
and instruct the members. Since the CDE is an elder this means he or she must carry out the
duties of an elder as stipulated in the Manual of Faith and Order (7.1-14). The concept of
elder-ship is what qualifies the evangelist to do the work of shepherding God's people.

According to the Manual of Faith and Order (7.13, 14) the session is responsible for the
pastoral care of the members of the Congregation, which is exercised by the ministers
(pastors), elders and any other member appointed by the session for the fulfilment of this
responsibility. It is the duty of each elder to keep a list of the persons in their district, visit
them, to encourage the active and challenge the indifferent, and pray for the sick and
generally to promote the spiritual welfare of those under his care. It is very clear that the elder
is also charged with pastoral duties just as well as the minister. In Acts (20:20) the elders of

34
Ephesus were instructed by Paul when he said Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock
of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which
he bought with his own blood.

5.3.2 A NEW MODEL

All the offices in the church have a common reason why they exist: the purpose is for the
equipping of the saints. Beaird (2004:94) strongly believes that the use of the preposition
for denotes the ultimate purpose. Therefore, we understand that these ministries exist for
the ultimate purpose of preparing the body of Christ for service. They are for building the
church until it attains the unity of faith in the knowledge of the Son of God.

The evangelist-pastor in this new model shall maintain the Biblical title Evangelist and carry
the following duties;
As stated by the Manual of Faith and Order (16.1), Ministers (both pastors and
evangelists) are obliged to be faithful in the study of Scripture and prayer, to live holy
lives, to preach the Word, to administer the Sacraments, to care for the people
entrusted to them, to participate in the fellowship and work of the ruling Councils of
the Church, to subject themselves to the authority and discipline of the Church and to
seek its unity and peace.
Working full-time, the evangelist must plant new churches of which he/she may
choose to pastor or move on to plant other churches, and must be doing the work of
evangelism not only for the local congregation but denomination at large.
Co-ordinate and participant in evangelism activities in his congregation and even
beyond. With the mandate to be in charge of or fully participate in the actives of
Church Growth Mission and Evangelism Committee, which is their right-full
department.

5.3.2.1 REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION

Since the Manual of Faith and Order (16.133) requires any evangelist to be an ordained elder,
it makes the evangelist a teaching elder whom God has called into the ministry or office of
evangelism for the purpose of equipping the saints. When it comes to the requirements and

35
admission into this ministry it should be as it is the duty of the Ministry Committee in
accordance with the Manual of Faith and Order (17).

5.3.2.2 THE NEED FOR TRAINING

The evangelist must work not in the capacity of a layperson. This also contributed to the
current situation the Church is facing. The Church needs professional evangelists and they
ought to be trained by the church just as the pastors are. An evangelist ought to be a
specialist. No person ought to go into the office of the evangelist without proper training.
This means the Church must not just consider any kind of training to be sufficient for the
work of an evangelist. The evangelist ought to have the best training that is available, for he
must be a professional in the most fundamental aspect of ministry (Hannan 2005:112). In this
regard, the church should train numerous evangelists and not employ nor encourage untrained
evangelists. By only using professional evangelists the Church might have fewer in service
but they would be better in delivery.

Every theological seminary ought to have a faculty of Evangelism as much as it has a faculty
of Theology. In this department the evangelist must be trained for as long as the pastor is so
that he can be a specialist in his field of work. Lack of this provision in theological
seminaries has created pastors out of evangelists, since an evangelist is not trained in his or
her calling (Hannan 2005:112). In some theological seminary short-term courses are offered
but have failed to raise the standards of the evangelist. If standards of training are raised, the
co-operation between the pastor and the evangelist will be made much easier. They would
have a common ground to work from; this is something missing in the church today. The
evangelist will not only be able to read and preach the Bible but would be a professional as
the pastor is. This would make evangelists more effective in their work and will accelerate
the growth of the church in a tremendous way.

5.4 LAY PREACHERS

If what the researcher has argued for here becomes the model of evangelists, a concern may
be raised about the role of lay preachers in the church. This is because evangelists are
considered to be under the Order of Lay Preachers. What this new model does is to remove
evangelist from the list of lay preachers, this is done by giving them professional training in

36
their line of work. But we must first of all ask the question, what is a lay preacher? A lay
preacher is the designation for preachers who are chosen out of the congregation to the office
of preaching, without theological education and they receive no fixed remuneration.
(http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/L398.html: 10/09/2012).

However, the Manual of Faith and Order (10.74) states that The Order of Lay Preachers
consists of members of the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa in full
communion, who have experienced a call to exercise a spiritual ministry through the conduct
of public worship and the preaching of the Gospel, have submitted themselves to their
Presbytery for appropriate training and, on the completion of their training to the satisfaction
of the Presbytery, have been admitted to the Order.

This is not a new thing; Larsen (1992:58) is convinced that in the early church there were
many lay preachers. No one can argue the reality of inadequate supply of pastoral oversight
for congregations that the Presbytery of Zimbabwe is facing. And this is what has furthered
the employment of lay preachers over the years. Even though using lay preachers have its
own problems due to inadequate training and misinterpretation of doctrines, it is important to
note that this concept springs out of the one of the Presbyterians doctrines, which is the
doctrine of Priesthood of all believers, which have been defended and taught in the Reformed
circles (Papers of the General Assembly 1995). The Church should continue to use the Order
of Lay Preachers as it has the potential to assist in the crisis at hand. This means all the
congregations without a minister should be under lay preachers who are not CDE's but
general gifted members of the Church.

5.5 CONCLUSION
In his letter to the participants of the May Church Development and Planning (CDP)
Conference dated 6th July 2011, the Rev. Christopher Judelsohn pointed out what he
considered as a serious challenge in the UPCSA regarding sustainability in ministry. If we
only use our current model of ministry i.e. full time ordained ministers of Word and
Sacraments, we are going to end up with fewer ministers and fewer 'viable' congregations.
We have to look to other avenues at our disposal such as CDEs and Stated Supply ( A
temporary appointment of a person to conduct public worship, Manual of Faith and Order

37
16.147) to meet the needs of the congregations. It is not the only answer to our problems but
it is a step in the right direction. In this chapter attempts were made to introduce a new
model of ministry in the UPCSA, which is called the evangelist-pastor model, and the title to
be used is 'evangelist.' This model is not necessarily new in the sense of the title, but mainly
in how it is employed in the church.

As much as the pastor-evangelist model is effective, the evangelist-pastor model can also be
effective in the Church. The researcher is very much convinced that every pastor needs to be
able to do the work of an evangelist and every evangelist needs to be able to do the work of
pastors. Since every elder must be able to shepherd the flock of God and every pastor must
witness his or her faith. If we may see the interrelationship of these gifts, that a man is in the
ministry not by his own choice but by the will of the Holy Spirit, and that the work of each is
not contradictory to the work of the rest, rather but complementary then the evangelists are to
be co-workers with the pastor in the field of the Lord and not pastors' substitutes.

The evangelist should carry the same primary purpose that pastors carry according the
Manual of Faith and Order (16:1). In line with their calling, the additional duties shall be to
plant churches and participate in evangelism actives not only in their congregations but also
in the whole Presbytery. To do their work properly they must be highly trained in the field of
evangelism. This will ensure that the church only employs professional evangelists, who
would have a sit in the Presbytery and functions as a co-worker of the pastors. At the same
time, the Church must continue to use lay preachers, as they can help in a situation where
there is a shortage of pastors.

38
CHAPTER 6: GENERAL CONCLUSION
What needs to be underlined here is that the Reformed teaching with regards to Ecclesiastical
office is that those are positions in which Christ continues his official work as Prophet, Priest
and King of the Church. This means Church office-bearers are servants and representatives of
Christ, officials who are appointed by him and receives from him their authority. Christ the
Lord should have servants to execute his will with regards to the Church. Elders are
functionaries of Christ who works out their duties in accordance with his demands. One who
is in an office is one appointed by a superior person with a task to perform, the office bearers
represent the superior person so that they, being equally related to Christ are also equally
related to one another, each having its own sphere of activities and duties.

The fact that duties of the church officers overlap to a certain extent, can be explained by the
unity of those offices, they are one in Christ. According to Matthew (23:8), . . . you have
only one Master and you are all brothers. This means no church should in any way claim
power over another church, no minister over another minister, and no elder over another
elder. Where the positions are considered equal, biblical brotherhood is maintained. Claiming
power over another part must not be tolerated. From this perspective the church denounces
and stands in opposition to the hierarchical system propagated by Episcopalians. The
principle that must be expressed in regards to the offices requires that equality shall be
maintained and that no difference in rank shall be allowed to creep in. Romans (12:3) states
that, For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more
highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with
the measure of faith God has given you.

In 1 Timothy 5:17, Paul refers to the elders when he said The elders who direct the affairs of
the church well are worthy of double honour, especially those whose work is preaching and
teaching. The ministry of the pastor and of the evangelist must spring out of the office of the
elder. The evangelist must be empowered to deal with evangelism issues not only in the
his/her congregation but also in the denomination at large.

39
For the evangelist-pastor to be a very powerful tool in the hands of the Church, the evangelist
must first of all be defined as;
A co-worker of the pastor for the purpose of equipping the saints.
As one called and gifted by the Spirit of God; a gift the church cannot do without.
An elder who is well able to do the work of shepherding the flock of God.
Ministers of the Word and Sacraments who must be highly educated in his line of
work.
Considered a Minister as much as the pastor is.

This model of an evangelist is what can assure the growth of the Church in Zimbabwe. It
gives more room to the gifted people in the field of evangelism to use their gift in a
favourable environment. When the evangelists understands themselves as such, it becomes
the greatest motivational asset they have and their work becomes a joy; frustration, reluctance
and ineffectiveness can be things of the past.

Even though all Christians are called to be witnesses, the Church should maximise the special
gift of the evangelist in every way possible and honour their place in the body of Christ to
ensure growth at a much faster rate.

6.1 CHALLENGES
Rev. Chaitikobo (Interviewed: 05/08/2012) identified the lack of finances as a serious
challenge to the church. Hence, sustaining CDEs has always been a concern. If only mother
branches or main stations had the financial muscle to sustain more than one minister, the
church would not need CDEs. That means growth of the church because even new church,
which cannot afford to support a minister, will be able to have one. This is the case with
congregations such as Sakubva in Mutare, which is being supported by St Columbus as it
moves towards becoming self-sustaining. Since many congregations with CDEs cannot
afford a minister, it will mean they cannot afford this evangelist-pastor also.

40
The great task that is before Reformed theological training institutions, especially those in
Africa is to develop and offer Degree and Masters programmes specifically for the
evangelist-pastor. Most training institutions in Africa offers only programmes in theology,
which were designed for pastors. In some seminaries such as Justo Mwale Theological
University College, short-term courses are offered, which indeed have gone a long way to
assist the evangelist but still more there is need to improve the training offered.

6.2 FUTURE RESEARCH

The scope of this research had several limitations such as research focus, time and space,
which indicates room for future research. The conclusions reached should be taken as final in
the quest of redefining the office of the evangelist. This preliminary study must be taken
further by other researchers in the UPCSA Presbytery of Zimbabwe. There may be some
unanswered questions that will require continuous researcher in order to perfect this essential
office. Amongst them are question such as how this model can be translated into concrete
action, and what does professionalism mean among the evangelists how this new model will
relate with already existing offices and ministries in the church. This researcher calls for more
research that can take into account contextual aspects so as to expand our current
understanding of the office of the evangelist.

41
BIBLIOGRAPHY

LITERATURE

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Van Wyk, 1995. The Historical developments of the offices according to the Presbyterian
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PRIMARY TEXT
Reports: Papers of the UPCSA General Assembly 1991.
Reports: Papers of the UPCSA General Assembly 1992.
Reports: Papers of the UPCSA General Assembly 2010.
Minutes: Papers, Proceedings and decisions of the UPCSA Executive Commission 2007.
Manual of Faith and Order of The Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. 2010.
Johannesburg: UPCSA.
Letter: Rev Christopher Judelsohn: 6th July 2011.

INTERNET SOURCES
http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/ddd_chc82/theology/Church_polity.html

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http://www.wmausa.org/page.aspx?id=163219: 22/07/2012.

http://www.upcsa.org.za/upcsa-ab-history.html 22/06/2012.

Rice JR. http://www.jesus-is savior.com/Books,%20Tracts%20&%20Preaching/Printed

%20Books/Dr%20John%20Rice/Revival/revival-chap_1.htm: 03/07/2012.

http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/L398.html: 10/09/2012.

ORAL INTERVIEWS
Rev. Chaitikobo. Interviewed: 05/08/2012, Current moderator of the Presbytery of Zimbabwe
and Director of Christian Care Zimbabwe.

Rev. Mutaurwa. Interviewed: 01/08/2012, Minister in change of UPCSA Highfield

Congregation.

Mr Nkwazi. Interviewed: 07/08/2012, Elder Mutare, Sakubva.

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