What is Evangelism? A Definition

Many people use the word evangelism, but few agree on what it means. As a church leader, you’ve likely heard many definitions—some inspiring, others confusing.

Let’s bring clarity.

Evangelism is more than a church program. It’s a lifestyle of sharing Christ with others, built on authentic relationships and genuine conversations.

Defining Evangelism from Experience

If you gathered one hundred Christians in a room and asked, “What is evangelism?” you’d likely hear one hundred different answers.

Some definitions are so broad they include anything that might help a church grow. Others are so narrow they focus only on a memorized script that must be delivered word-for-word. Most fall somewhere in between.

When I lead workshops or classes, I often start with this very question: “What is evangelism?”

The responses always remind me how diverse our perspectives can be. Participants will call out phrases like:

• Sharing my faith
• Getting people to come to church
• Building a home as a mission project
• After-school tutoring
• Hosting the homeless for a night

Each answer reveals how people connect evangelism to their personal experience. My role in that moment is to help them see how all these pieces relate to the biblical heart of evangelism—communicating the good news of Jesus in both word and deed.

Two Memorable Definitions of Evangelism from Workshops

1. Evangelism as Brand Loyalty

At one of my personal evangelism seminars, a friendly elder from a local Presbyterian church stopped me in the hallway prior to the start it.

She said,

Chris, I’m so excited that you’re here today. I’m so excited to learn more about evangelism. Our Session (which is the Presbyterian Church’s governing body) has been studying evangelism for six months.

After such an exhaustive study, I wondered how they might define evangelism. I asked, “What did you decide evangelism is?”

Her answer

Finding the Presbyterians in my neighborhood.

I can imagine their potential door-to-door campaign – “Are you Presbyterian or something else?”

It was a sincere answer—but it revealed how easily evangelism can get reduced to brand loyalty rather than sharing Christ.

2. Evangelism as “Being the Best Brand”

In another workshop, I asked a church leadership team for their definition of evangelism.

Their answer was:

“We want to be the best Presbyterian church in the city so that we can keep the Presbyterians church visitors who come to see us.”

Their heart was in the right place—they cared about people and wanted to grow—but their focus was on church competition, not gospel communication.

Coaching Connection

These kinds of answers are more common than you might think. They show how good intentions can drift toward promoting our church instead of proclaiming our Savior.

In the next section, let’s look at what Scripture and church history actually mean by evangelism, so we can recover a definition that inspires both passion and action.

Evangelism – the “E-Word”

Not every conversation about evangelism is lighthearted.

Years ago, I was standing in the lunch line at the seminary cafeteria, talking with a classmate about themes from our evangelism course. A student from another class overheard us and jumped in with a grin:

“Are you talking about the E-word?” In our class, we were talking about evangelism and its connections to American Imperialism.”

For that student, evangelism had become a word loaded with cultural baggage. It was a practice associated with power, politics, and pressure, rather than good news and grace.

That short exchange reminded me how easily the message of Christ can be misunderstood or misrepresented. It’s no wonder some Christians hesitate to bring up evangelism at all.

Coaching Reflection

You may have felt that tension too. For some, evangelism feels like an outdated program or an uncomfortable sales pitch. For others, it’s been misused or misunderstood.

But if we strip away the misunderstandings, we’ll find that evangelism, when biblically defined, is rooted in joy, love, humility, and hope.

Let’s take a closer look at what evangelism means, so you can lead with confidence and teach it clearly to others.

A Conversation on Defining Evangelism

So what is personal evangelism?

Evangelism is more than telling your testimony of faith.

It’s more than explaining a set of beliefs or persuading someone to agree.

Yet the question remains: can we give a definition that captures more than proclaiming and persuading?

A Story from My Early Ministry

In the early years of my ministry as a Presbyterian pastor, I had the privilege of chairing our Presbytery’s Evangelism Committee.

Like many committees, ours often began by asking, “What exactly is evangelism?” Every year, new members rotated on and off, bringing fresh perspectives from their own backgrounds, training, and theology.

So, each new group had to rediscover its answer to the same question. And honestly, that was a good thing. It forced us to think deeply, listen carefully, and look for common ground.

This evangelism committee makeup changes every year with new members coming on and members rotating off every few years.

How We Searched for a Definition

We started by collecting ideas. I searched both my library and the internet and found a wide range of definitions.

Some were so broad they included anything that helped a church grow.

Others were so narrow they reduced evangelism to reciting three memorized points to a stranger.

Most fell somewhere in between.

To get our team thinking, we used a simple brainstorming exercise. Each member wrote one idea per sticky note and placed it on the wall. We grouped the notes into themes and categories.

Before long, we were in deep conversation. We had healthy discussions about meaning, motivation, and method. Those conversations were often more valuable than the final definition we adopted. They revealed how much personal experience and theology shape how each of us understands evangelism.

In the end, our committee agreed to use a working definition from the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). It gave us common language for our work, even if we each carried our own stories and nuances.

The Definition of Evangelism We Used:

As a Presbyterian pastor, I appreciate that the denomination I served (I transferred to another denomination since) has given us an excellent and thoughtful definition of evangelism, adopted by the 202nd General Assembly in 1990:

Joyfully sharing the good news of the sovereign love of God, and calling people to repentance, to personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, to active membership in the church, and to obedient service in the world.

First, it honors our theological roots. Appealing to the voice of the General Assembly gave our committee both a shared authority and a common foundation.

Second, it’s theologically rich. This definition captures both the emotion and the action of sharing our faith. It emphasizes the content of the gospel—the sovereign love of God—and the response that evangelism invites.

Third, it describes evangelism as more than a single moment or prayer. Evangelism calls people toward a journey of faith that leads to church membership and faithful service in the world.

In one short paragraph, this definition connects joy, proclamation, discipleship, and mission. It paints evangelism not as pressure, but as participation in God’s loving invitation to the world.

Let’s take a closer look at each part of this definition.

Joyfully Sharing

Do you have a faith worth sharing?

Think about something that excites you. When you discover something good, aren’t you naturally propelled to share it with others?

Good news cannot stay silent. One of my teachers used to say, “Good news travels faster.”

I am enthusiastic about Starbucks coffee. People who know me know that it’s almost my second office. I meet people there. I drink their coffee at home. I post coffee memes on social media. When the conversation turns to coffee, Starbucks usually finds its way into the story. I even bought a green Starbucks apron off eBay to wear while cooking dinner at home.

We all talk about what excites us.

When it comes to our faith, remember that faith is not a product to be sold. I’m not selling Jesus. My analogy isn’t about marketing, it’s about enthusiasm.

I’m excited about my faith because of my encounter with Jesus. My walk with God has had smooth seasons, ups and downs, and rough sailing.

But through it all, I’ve discovered more and more God’s faithfulness to never let me go.

God

• pursued me,
• found me,
• awakened me,
• is transforming me,
• and renewing me.

That’s all His initiative and grace. The more I relish and delight in the grace of God, I find awakening in me a contagious joy and a deep thankfulness that propels me to share. I want other people to know about God’s sovereign love.

I have a faith worth sharing. It’s about God’s pursuit of me and my continued discovery of the depths of his love for me. It’s not about me, but all about Him.

This is where the joyfully part comes in.

I’m eager to share what God has done for me in Christ. I’m not compelled out of guilt to share, but willing to share because it’s such good news.

I don’t evangelize because I have to, but because I want to. It overflows from the heart.

When our hearts delight in God’s grace, joy becomes the most natural motivation for sharing His love.

Sharing the Good News

As I travel and speak, I discover that people define “sharing the good news” in very different ways.

For some, evangelism begins with conversation.

For others, evangelism begins with deeds.

Which comes first?

Evangelism as Conversation

For many of us, sharing the good news begins with words. Our faith must often be described as well as defended.

We explain what we believe. Jesus died for sins to pay the price for sins.

We explain how we are separated from God by sin and that Jesus was God’s provision for solving that.

We explain how God calls us to repentance, to faith in Christ, etc.

All of this is explained through conversations, sermons, books, events, etc.

This message is shared in many ways: personal conversations, sermons, books, events, and even social media. There’s real content to communicate.

I’ve written on about scripts that people use and various models of evangelism. These tools remind us that evangelism includes words and is the intentional communication of the gospel message.

Evangelism as Deeds

For others, “sharing the good news” immediately brings to mind actions. A popular saying, often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, captures this impulse:

“Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.”

Read More: Did St. Francis Get it Wrong?

For example, during a health outreach our church did for its neighborhood, one unchurched person commented,

“I don’t like to listen to sermons, today I saw one.”

Our service to the community was interpreted as we wanted – a tangible demonstration of the love of Christ that we have for our neighborhood.

It’s a witness to the world through actions.

Yet that witness didn’t happen by accident. Before we began, I gathered the volunteers and reminded them why we were serving: because God first loved us, and we want to share that love with others.

When our actions flow from the gospel and point back to Christ, they become powerful expressions of the good news.

When Action Alone Falls Short

In an Evangelism Committee discussion, we got into a debate over whether sending church teams to build a Habitat for Humanity house or taking our week’s turn providing overnight housing for the town’s homeless ministry counts as evangelism.

I get into this at: Is Community Service really Evangelism?

Servant evangelism focuses on actions. Many churches have social outreach programs in their local areas, but often they find that it does not significantly increase church attendance or new members.

My take: good works demonstrate our faith, but by themselves, they are not evangelism. Without a clear explanation of God’s love behind our actions, our good deeds look no different from what any civic group or social agency might do.

Actions can open doors, but conversation completes the witness.

Good works demonstrate our faith.  But those good works need an explanation.

Without any overt explanation that our actions are propelled by God’s love for whom we are serving, what makes our good deeds any different than what a social service agency provides, or what good corporate citizens provide?

Actions can be a good support or point of contact for evangelistic conversations.

Both Word and Deed

For me, this is never an either/or proposition. Both are necessary forms of sharing. Deeds are love demonstrated, but a further explanation of the gospel remains necessary.

Giving food to the hungry, tutoring underprivileged kids, or providing free medical care are all good deeds. They demonstrate love.

But beyond the demonstration comes the explanation of why we serve: because Christ first loved us.

The Good News of the Sovereign Love Of God

Let’s now focus on a starting point on what we share

The good news is more than that fact. At the heart of evangelimsm, it’s a wonderful amazement at the sovereign Love of God.

God’s sovereign love

• pursues us before we ever know Him.
• awakens awareness of our need for the salvation he provides.
• provides the very grace to our brokeness and enables us to receive that offer and
• continues to pursue and sustain us as we walk on the path of discipleship.

Sovereign over the process as well

Evangelism is rarely a single moment. Evangelism is a process that occurs over time. It’s the sovereignty of God that gives me comfort in the fact that I’m just one part of God’s pursuit.

Every conversation I have is one step in God’s larger pursuit of a person. Sometimes I plant a seed. Sometimes I water what someone else has planted. And occasionally, I’m present when someone decides to follow Christ.

Whether it’s a brief encounter with a stranger on the street, or a coffee chat with a long-term friend, any conversation prompted by the Holy Spirit is one conversation in the process of God’s continuing work.

That perspective keeps me grounded. I don’t have to rush the process or feel guilty when someone doesn’t respond right away.

Freed by God’s Sovereignty

Some evangelism methods want to do all three phases (plant, water, and harvest) all at one time. Guilt-driven methodologies make the evangelist feel responsible for lack of response, a mistake in the script, or even lack of a complete presentation.

But God’s sovereignty frees us from that pressure.

• It’s God’s sovereignty that
• draws people to faith,
• awakens their spirit, and
• helps one to respond to the offer of grace.

Our task is simply to be faithful participants in the proclamation. The outcome rests in His hands.

A Fourfold Invitation

Joyfully sharing the good news of the sovereign love of God,
and calling people

• to repentance,
• to personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord,
• to active membership in the church, and
• to obedient service in the world.

There is a fourfold invitation described in this evangelism definition: We call people to

1. to repentance
2. to personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord
3. to active membership in the church
4. to obedient service in the world.

Most evangelism models I’ve encountered focus mainly on the first two. Evangelists and missionaries hit the streets with their tracts, acts of compassion, drama teams, go door to door, to the parks, and then record “decisions for Christ” on their papers somewhere and send their supporters the good news.

Read More: Life Change is the Church’s Work

Sometimes, a name or phone number is collected with the idea that it’ll be given to a local pastor and hopefully, there will be some integration into a local church. I don’t know if anyone has ever done a count of those that never got connected to a church.

I’ve been around long enough and done this long enough to see that such methods focus so much on the decision instead of a more holistic approach of integrating a person into the fellowship of a church and renewing them to serve the world.

Beyond the Initial Decision

I’ve been guilty of focusing on decisions without integration into a local church in the past. Experience taught me that evangelism disconnected from the local church rarely produces lasting growth.

Now, I prefer to work with or through a local congregation. Church-based evangelistic efforts create a pathway for new believers to become part of a worshiping community, grow in faith, and discover their calling to serve others.

Calling for repentance and a decision to accept Christ is part of the process of evangelism. Thus begins the disciple-making process, and continues with getting connected to a local church for service to the world.

Let’s not forget that as we do our evangelism.

Active Membership and Obedient Service

In Presbyterian language, “active membership” comes from our form of government, but the concept reaches beyond denomination. It means becoming an involved, growing part of a local fellowship—a believer who both receives ministry and participates in it.

The final phrase, “obedient service in the world,” reminds us that evangelism does not end when someone joins a church. It continues as believers live out their faith daily, representing Christ in workplaces, families, and communities.

When evangelism includes all four invitations—repentance, faith, church life, and service—it reflects the full scope of the gospel. It’s not just about making converts but forming disciples who live out God’s mission in the world.

From Definition to Discernment

Whenever we talk about evangelism, it’s easy for the conversation to drift toward activities that feel evangelistic but don’t quite reach the destination.

Our Presbyterian definition reminds us that evangelism calls people to repentance, faith, church life, and service. Yet many good and necessary ministries stop short of that full picture.

To keep our focus clear, it helps to name what evangelism is not. Doing so doesn’t diminish those other ministries—it honors them for what they contribute while recognizing they are not, by themselves, evangelism.

What Evangelism is Not

Mark Dever has an interesting piece in Christianity Today called “What Evangelism Isn’t.”  It is adapted from his book The Gospel and Personal Evangelism. He outlines several helpful distinctions. He notes that evangelism is not:

What Evangelism Is Not:

• Imposition
• Personal testimony
• Social action and public involvement (“They commend the gospel, but they share it with no one.”)
• Apologetics
• The results of evangelism

To his list, I would add

• Church Marketing (advertisements, web page, direct mail, etc).
• Church Visitor Hospitality.

Each of these items (maybe with the exception of Imposition) can support the work of evangelism, but individually, they fall short of the destination:

calling people to repentance, to personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, to active membership in the church and obedient service in the world.

As Dever wisely writes, “We need to stop mistaking other Christian activities for the spreading of the gospel.“

A Closer Look at Imposition

I would nuance one of Dever’s assertions: Imposition.

It’s important to understand that the message you are sharing is not merely an opinion but a fact. That’s why sharing the gospel can’t be called an imposition, any more than a pilot can impose his belief on all his passengers that the runway is here and not there.

It’s true that the gospel is not simply a personal opinion. We proclaim facts, not private preferences. In that sense, sharing the gospel isn’t an imposition—any more than a pilot “imposes” his belief that the runway is located in one direction rather than another.

However, evangelism always involves two people: a speaker and a listener. The listener’s willingness to engage sets the boundary.

If someone doesn’t want to hear what we’re sharing and we keep talking, it becomes an imposition.

The message may be true, but respect for the listener matters. Evangelistic conversation should never ignore consent or pressure someone into hearing more than they wish.

Authentic evangelism listens as well as speaks. It honors the other person’s freedom, trusts the Spirit’s timing, and relies on God’s sovereignty rather than our persistence.

Other Definitions of Evangelism

When we are talking about “evangelism,” “conversion,” or even “gospel,” we need to know what we mean by those terms.

In nearly thirty years of teaching, writing, and leading conversations about evangelism, I’ve learned that the same words can carry very different meanings. Two people may use the word evangelism in the same sentence but be describing entirely different things.

These differences often come from theological background, denominational tradition, or personal experience. Some see evangelism as a process of relationship and witness over time. Others define it as a moment of decision or proclamation.

To show the breadth of these perspectives, I’ve gathered a variety of definitions that have influenced me or captured an important nuance. Each one sheds light on a different facet of the diamond we call evangelism.

Definitions of Evangelism:

Lusanne Covenant: Proclamation of the historical biblical Christ as Savior and Lord with a view to persuade others to come to him personally and so be reconciled unto God.

Dr. Temple: To present Christ Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit that people shall come to put their trust in God

Dr. J.I. Packer: Evangelism is just preaching the gospel. . . . the work of communication in which Christians become God’s mouthpiece to sinners and summoning for conversion.

David Hester: Evangelism, in Reformed tradition, is the church’s work of proclaiming the gospel in word and deed, inviting persons to participate in the grace of God and to join in the mutual care and public ministry of the community of God’s covenant people…unfortunately, evangelism has, so to speak, fallen among thieves in the church where it has been ‘beaten and robbed’ by an unfortunate constricting of its meaning to either a fundamentalist theology, a revivalist style of preaching, or a congregational campaign for new members.” (How Shall We Witness?: Faithful Evangelism in a Reformed Tradition?)

American Baptist Churches USA: Evangelism is the joyous witness of the people of God to God’s redeeming love, which urges repentance and reconciliation to God and each other through faith in Jesus Christ–who lived, died, and was raised from the dead. Through renewal with Jesus, believers are empowered by the Holy Spirit and incorporated into the church for worship, fellowship, nurture, and engagement as disciples in God’s mission of evangelization and liberation within society and creation, signifying the Kingdom that is present and yet to come. (Official definition of evangelism, adopted by American Baptist Churches USA in 1984).

Evangelism Connections (expired website) lists a bunch of phrases regarding evangelism.

– sharing the “Good News” of Jesus Christ.

– bringing to people the love of God.

– telling the good news, being the good news, and doing the good news.

– making disciples for Christ.

– the good news of Jesus Christ.

– the sharing and joyous witness of the people of God.

– the primary mission of the body of Christ, the church.

– proclaiming the “Good News” of Christ, crucified and risen.

– a spiritual journey of formation and transformation.

– the joyous witness of the people of God to God’s redeeming love.

– joyfully sharing the good news of the sovereign love of God.

– leading persons to receive and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

-helping people discover their faith in Christ.

-Sharing Christian hope and hospitality.

– the peculiar task of the Church to communicate the good news of God’s love through Jesus Christ.

From the Episcopal Church General Convention:

Evangelism is “the presentation of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in such ways that persons may be led to believe in him as Saviour, and follow Him as Lord with the fellowship of His Church.”

From a Brethern article <link lost>:

Evangelism, then, is the specific, articulate presentation of the message that Christ’s death upon the cross propitiates (turns away) God’s wrath which abides upon man in his unregenerate state (Romans 3:25; John 3:36). Evangelism is the presenting of Jesus Christ, so that men will accept Him as their Savior from the guilt and power of sin, and declare Him Lord as they seek to follow Him in their daily lives.

From the Lausanne Covenant (1974) (cited at Believe).

“To evangelize is to spread the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures, and that as the reigning Lord he now offers the forgiveness of sins and the liberating gift of the Spirit to all who repent and believe. Our Christian presence in the world is indispensable to evangelism, and so is that kind of dialogue whose purpose is to listen sensitively in order to understand. But evangelism itself is the proclamation of the historical, biblical Christ as Saviour and Lord, with a view to persuading people to come to him personally and so be reconciled to God. In issuing the gospel invitation we have no liberty to conceal the cost of discipleship. Jesus still calls all who would follow him to deny themselves, take up their cross, and identify themselves with his new community. The results of evangelism include obedience to Christ, incorporation into his church and responsible service in the world.”

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Lead Your Own Discussion on Evangelism

Leading a group discussion on evangelism can feel daunting because the topic covers so much ground.

When I first began gathering teams to talk about evangelism, I discovered quickly that everyone brought a slightly different definition, shaped by background, theology, and experience.

To get started, I created an evangelism mind map to visualize the many aspects of this topic—proclamation, discipleship, hospitality, outreach, and more. That exercise helped me see how broad the field really is and how important it is to guide the conversation intentionally.

If you are

• gathering a new evangelism team,
• launching an outreach initiative in your church, or
• simply leading a small group discussion on evangelism

these discussion questions can help you begin.

Discussion Questions – What is evangelism?

• How would you describe or define evangelism?
• How do you think evangelism should be done?
• How do you do evangelism in your life now?
• In your journey to faith in Christ, how did evangelism happen in your life?
• What is the role of the congregation in evangelism?
• What is the role of the pastor in evangelism?
• What elements must make up your evangelism definition?

What I Learned from the Group Discussion

The opening question generated lots of answers that felt like cliches or rote answers — quick bursts of answers from years of hearing it from the pulpit.

• Preaching the Word.
• Sharing the Good News.
• Sharing your testimony.
• Giving the reason for your faith.

It may seem like a no-brainer question, but this question reveals assumptions that people bring to the discussion on evangelism.

As a facilitator, my role was to push a little—gently—to uncover those underlying assumptions:

For example,

• What’s the good news?  What makes it good?
• If evangelism is preaching, can laypeople do it too??
• What are the key elements of the gospel that you want to share?
• Personally, how do you share?

As we got into the group evangelism discussion, it became clear that on a surface level, these 8 people had great answers, but underneath that surface, I saw

• Different approaches to evangelism.
• Different experiences.
• Different theological understandings.

Avoiding Conversational Drift

Most opening discussions on the nature of evangelism, if unchecked at this point, tend to drift into colorful theological debates. For example,

• Do people respond to God’s grace, or do they make a decision to respond?
• What is the value or lack of value over the “sinners’ prayer?”
• Do people have to fully understand their sins first, or can they start following Jesus and learn about sin later?
• Can people follow first and understand later?
• Can people follow Jesus before even having a completely biblical worldview?
• What do people have to understand before following Jesus?
• Can conversions be “false?”

Other times, it may drift into areas of practice and styles:

• Rush to present the gospel to as many people as possible.
• Take the time to build relationships of influence with people.
• Invite people to church
• Go to the mission field.

While those are valuable questions, the purpose of this kind of discussion isn’t to settle every debate. It’s to surface assumptions and create shared understanding within your team.

By asking thoughtful questions, you help participants move beyond rote answers toward genuine reflection. That’s where growth begins.

Originally published in 2007. Updated and expanded in 2019 and 2025 with new stories, examples, and coaching tools.