LESSON THREE
THE EVANGELIST'S QUALIFICATIONS

•	The evangelist is a specialist in the field of soul winning. 
•	It is true that every Christian should be a soul winner. 
•	However, the evangelist has been given a special ministry of soul winning. 
•	Therefore in this lesson we are considering the qualifications necessary for the successful soul-winner, the evangelist who is devoting his full time to this tremendous ministry. 
•	There are many qualifications that the evangelist should possess. Listed here are some of them.
•	HE SHOULD HAVE A LOVE FOR SOULS:
•	"For the love of Christ constraineth us" (II Corinthians 5:14).
•	There is no more powerful force in winning souls than that of love. Salvation is a heart matter and sinners are won to Christ through the emotions of the heart. 
•	Everyone wants to be loved and will respond to love.
•	It is the love for the souls that constrains and motivates the true evangelist. 
•	If he is preaching for any other reason, his hearers soon detect it and his ministry becomes unfruitful.
•	HE MUST HAVE A CONCERN FOR SOULS:
•	This is very similar to having a love for souls but it takes us a step further. 
•	It embraces the thought of being burdened for and having a compassion for souls.
•	A burden for souls is absolutely essential in order to become a soul winner. 
•	Never will one become a successful winner of souls if he does not carry a heavy burden for the lost.
•	The lack of a burden for souls may be due in part to the following reasons:
•	There is no conviction of what hell is really like.
•	There is no conviction that an unsaved soul is utterly lost.
•	There is a lack of understanding of the value of a human soul.
•	There is no conviction that we are our brother's keepers.
•	Concern and burden are necessary. Preaching and singing may fail but concern will not fail when it goes hand in hand with prayer.
•	HE MUST BE A MAN OF VISION:
•	"Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18).
•	Vision dominates and greatly controls our lives. 
•	The results of wrong vision are serious. 
•	Examples of this can be seen in the lives of Eve, Lot's wife, Achan and David. 
•	The result in each case was sin and shame.
•	On the other hand we can see in the story of the Good Samaritan that proper vision motivated the Good Samaritan to go to the man in the ditch and minister to him.
•	Jesus also reveals to us this truth when He saw the multitude of sheep scatered without a shepherd. 
•	He was moved with compassion. 
•	On one occasion He looked down upon Jerusalem and wept over that city which was rejecting Him. 
•	Let us remember our Lord's example. 
•	He saw, then He had compassion; He looked, then He wept.
•	Thus it is with the evangelist, a man of vision.
•	HE MUST BE A MAN OF PRAYER:
•	"As soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children" (Isaiah 66:8).
•	Souls are born into the kingdom as the result of travailing prayer. 
•	God has ordained that only through a praying ministry would souls be won.
•	Prayer moves the hand of God. 
•	However, prayer not does necessarily change God in any
•	respect for it is continually God's will and desire that men and women be saved. 
•	The greatest result of prayer is revealed in the evangelist himself. Through prayer the evangelist's heart is softened and mellowed, is set afire with the love for souls and is anointed with the unction and anointing of the Holy Spirit. 
•	Prayer brings about the recognition of the evangelist's utter
•	dependency upon the work of the Holy Spirit if souls are to be saved.
•	HE MUST BE A DEDICATED MAN:
•	"And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord" (Acts 9:10).
•	Sometimes we wonder why one man succeeds at the great work of soul winning while another man with greater ability and more talent fails. 
•	The writer is convinced that consecration and dedication is what makes the difference.
•	Great soul-winners have always been men and women who have been fully available to the service of God. 
•	We see this quality brought out in Ananias when he said, "I am here, Lord." 
•	This is the quality that made the Apostle Paul a great soul-winner. 
•	On the road to Damascus he cried out, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" He meant this with all of his heart and this desire to know the will of God completely controlled his life. 
•	The motto of his life may be expressed by, "As much as in me is, I am ready" (Romans 1:15).
•	This is the type of dedication that the evangelist must have if he is to be a successful soul-winner.
•	HE MUST BE A MAN OF ADAPTABILITY:
•	Scriptural Reference:
•	"I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (I Corinthians 9:22).
•	In order to win souls the evangelist must be able to adapt himself in all conditions of life. 
•	Since the next lesson deals with this essential quality of the evangelist, we make shall no further comments here.
•	HE MUST BE A MAN OF GREAT PATIENCE: Scriptural Reference:
•	"Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it" (James 5:7).
•	One of the greatest qualities of the evangelist is that of patience. 
•	The Lord has this quality and refers to Himself as the husbandman. 
•	This is an excellent example of how patience is needed in soul winning. The farmer ploughs, tills the soil, sows the seed, and waits until the harvest. 
•	This takes great patience and perseverance. There are many things, which cannot be hurried but calls for great patience. 
•	This certainly is true in the ministry of soul winning.
•	The evangelist must be a person who is not easily discouraged. 
•	He must be a man of unwavering purpose who will steadfastly persevere until he sees the soul born into the Kingdom.
•	HE MUST POSSESS A GREAT KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORD: 
•	"A workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Timothy 2:15).
•	The Word of God is the tool that the evangelist uses to win men and women to Jesus Christ. 
•	God's Word is the source of faith and it also is the Seed that must be sown in hearts. 
•	The soul-winner must have the Word on his finger tips where he can freely turn backward and forward at will to turn to the Scriptures which are needed.
•	Knowledge of the Scriptures is needed to 
•	Show the sinner his need of a Savior; 
•	Show the sinner the plan of salvation; 
•	Deal with individual difficulties.
•	HE MUST BE A MAN OF WISDOM:
•	"He that winneth souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30).
•	The soulwinner must be a student of human nature. 
•	He must understand how to talk to people and to communicate. 
•	He cannot win a soul until he first is able to make the proper approach. He must be diplomatic and have great tact. 
•	Here as elsewhere he may look to the Lord to help him. 
•	"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God" (James 1:5).
•	HE MUST BE A MAN OF UNCTION:
•	The evangelist may possess all the other qualities but without Holy Ghost anointing he will still be unable to win souls. 
•	It takes the Holy Spirit to give life.
•	"The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life" (II Corinthians 3:6).
•	Without unction a man's ministry will be barren and lifeless.

LESSON THREE
SELF HELP TEST

A. State the TEN qualifications of an evangelist given in this study.

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10. 

B. What does each of the following Scriptures teach you regarding the evangelist's qualifications?

1. Proverbs 11:30

2. II Timothy 2:15

3. Isaiah 66:8

4. James 5:7