Who is qualified to tell other people about Jesus? Acts 8:4 (NIVUK) says that persecuted Christians 'preached' the Word wherever they went. Their faith in Jesus, and the witness of their transformed lives qualified them to 'preach'.
But, say some, surely 'preaching' can only be done by those who are trained, ordained, missionaries, or evangelists. Perhaps that is a relief to many who fall into none of those categories!
But is it right? Has there been a professionalisation of evangelism that is not Biblical?
Certainly, it is good to be clear about the truth when we share it with others. Ephesians 4:11-13 says that the work of gifted people in the church is to encourage and equip 'the saints' (that is 'ordinary Christians') to share God's truth.
However, the words translated as 'preach' and 'preaching' in the Bible do not have professional meanings.
Although it may be easier to leave the business of sharing the gospel to 'professionals' (people who are paid to do it), that is not what the Bible says.
Two of the Greek words we translate as 'preach', are kerusso and kataggello which mean to 'publicly proclaim' ... and that is what pastors, evangelists, street preachers, broadcasters, YouTubers and bloggers do - paid or unpaid.
Another word, often in the phrase - 'preach the gospel' - is euangelizo, and the word translated as 'gospel' is euangelion. Looking at these two Greek words, we soon notice that they come from the same root - the noun and verb of 'good news'.
So, to 'preach the gospel' is really to 'let out the good news about the good news'. Or, simply, 'to good news the good news!' This is an ordinary function of normal human communication - to tell other people the good things that have happened to us. So, anybody who has welcomed the good news of salvation, can share it with joy.
That is why the Early Church grew so rapidly - believers, whose lives were transformed by Jesus - shared what they knew and experienced about Him, even though they were theologically unqualified. That is also why the church in China under persecution grew infinitely more and faster without the missionaries, than when they were there.
The same is true now in Iran. Good news is highly infectious. If people are excited about Jesus, they will excite others with the same truth that has captured their hearts.
95% of pastors in the world do not have theological training, like most of our overseas partners. They are not professionals but they have welcomed the good news about Jesus and want to pass it on to others.
BeaconLight's role is to help them, and to pray for them. Even the Apostle Paul asked for prayer - "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel" Ephesians 6:19.
Please join us in that prayer and in financial support ... and remember that we must not leave 'good-newsing the good news' to professionals! Let us be role models to other believers and practise good-newsing the good news, wherever we are, too.