Category:Evangelist

E*van"gel*ist, n. Etym: [F. évangéliste, L. evangelista, fr. Gr.

See the four Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

Defn: A bringer of the glad tidings of God and His doctrines. Specially: (a) A missionary preacher sent forth to prepare the way for a resident pastor; an itinerant missionary preacher. (b) A writer of one of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) (With the definite article); as, the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. (c) A traveling preacher whose efforts are chiefly directed to arouse to immediate repentance. The Apostles, so far as they evangelized, might claim the title though there were many evangelists who were not Apostles. Plumptre.

---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary.

Evangelist - A "publisher of glad tidings;" a missionary preacher of the gospel (Ephesians 4:11). This title is applied to Philip (Acts 21:8), who appears to have gone from city to city preaching the word (Acts 8:4, Acts 8:40). Judging from the case of Philip, evangelists had neither the authority of an apostle, nor the gift of prophecy, nor the responsibility of pastoral supervision over a portion of the flock. They were itinerant preachers, having it as their special function to carry the Gospel to places where it was previously unknown. The writers of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are known as the Evangelists.