Which Biblical Evangelist Are You?

Written by City Bible Forum, Australia 

At City Bible Forum, we get that living as a Christian in the workplace is hard. You want to live as a genuine follower of Jesus in all of life. You want to be His representative in a world that is crying out for certainty and meaning and purpose. We help Christians by creating spaces to share their faith and equip them with the skills to do it. 

You have a great friend you see every day at work or at school; your friendship happens online and offline, and you do a lot of things together.

This friendship is important to you—so important that you start thinking about sharing Jesus with them because you’d like them to know the Good News.

But you’re struggling to share your faith with your friend. You wish you were more like your pastor who has a way of directing every conversation towards Jesus, or your friend who confidently shares their faith with the people they meet. Scripture says you’re to “preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15), but you feel like it just isn’t your thing. 

You may think that the Bible may not have much to say about how you can share your faith, but you may be surprised to find that it’s more helpful than you think. 

Believe it or not, there is more than one type of evangelist, and we don’t all have to be like our pastor or friend when it comes to sharing the gospel. 

Have a read of the profiles of these three Biblical evangelists—Timothy, Archippus, Paul—and you might find one that you relate to the most! 

Timothy—The Hesitant Evangelist 

Timothy was a young leader and from Paul’s letters to him, we see that he was a bit of a hesitant evangelist, and Paul had to keep encouraging and reminding him to be confident (1 Tim 1:2-4 & 18-19, 4:11).

Likewise, you know evangelism is important, but you hesitate because you feel unprepared or unsure about how people will respond. Perhaps you aren’t sure if you know your Bible well enough or feel scared that people will ask you questions you struggle to answer. 

If that sounds like you, you’re Timothy. You can always start small in your evangelising journey, maybe with a friend or two, and over time, you’ll gain the confidence needed to tell more of your friends about Jesus. 

Archippus—The Busy Evangelist 

There isn’t much in the Bible about who Archippus is, but we get a hint that he might be like us when Paul told him to “complete the work you have received in the Lord” (Colossians 4:17). Some scholars take this to mean that Archippus may have had trouble finishing what he started. 

Between the full days and busy nights and the need to rest and relax, you aren’t sure where you are going to fit in the opportunities to talk about God. Or if your friend is interested in the Bible, you aren’t sure how you will make the time to discuss it with them. Maybe you’ve started the conversation, and you know you need to follow it up, but busyness got in the way.

If you want to start having conversations about God, but your life feels too packed, and you might be a bit busy and distracted, you’re Archippus. 

Being Archippus doesn’t mean you’ll always be too busy to tell your friends about the gospel—you can carve out tiny pockets of time to talk about Jesus. 

Apostle Paul—The Enthusiast

The Apostle Paul is all over the New Testament. Paul seemed never to struggle for words when he wanted to talk about Jesus and His work on the cross. Yet he also had to overcome some difficulties to become the bold evangelist we see in the pages of the Bible. 

You don’t always know the answer, but you’re open to learning it. If you’re an enthusiastic sharer of the Bible and enjoy discussions with people about their spiritual beliefs, you’re a bit like Paul. If you can relate to the Apostle Paul, you’re an enthusiast.

Your enthusiasm and knowledge could also be used to help your other friends, who may be too shy or too busy; perhaps you can suggest tips on how they can speak to others about Jesus. 

Which of the three evangelists resonates the most with you? 

No matter which evangelist you relate to, we can all learn to have better spiritual conversations and grow in our communication skills with the right support and encouragement. 

To see which Biblical evangelist you are, head on to City Bible Forum’s Dive Deeper website to do their Evangelism Quiz. At the end of the quiz, you will be matched with resources fitted to your evangelistic personality that’ll equip you with the tools you need to share the gospel with your friends!

Also Read:

5 Truths For When You’re Afraid of Sharing the Gospel Sharing our faith often feels scary. Whilst many of us would love to be the kind of Christian who introduces other people to Jesus, we can sometimes get stuck in a vicious cycle.

The above is adapted from City Bible Forum’s Dive Deeper campaign, running all of September. The Dive Deeper campaign encourages the everyday person to go into a deeper conversation with their friends about God.