WesleyGospel Ministries

Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre;
but patient, not a brawler, not covetous.
–1 Timothy 3:3 (KJV)–

Do the work of an evangelist,
make full proof of thy ministry.
–2 Timothy 4:5 (KJV)–

Ye shall receive power,
after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:
and ye shall be witnesses unto me.
–Acts 1:8 (KJV)–

He spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus,
and disputed against the Grecians:
but they went about to slay him.
–Acts 9:29 (KJV)–

When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
–Ezekiel 33:8 (KJV)–

O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known;
in wrath remember mercy.
–Habakkuk 3:2 (KJV)–

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Harald Lindstrom, Wesley and Sanctification (Zondervan, 1989).

John Wesley, Standard Sermons, vols. 1-2 (Francis Asbury Press, 1955).

Adam Clarke, Christian Theology (Schmul, 1967).

Charles G. Finney, So Great Salvation (Kregel Publications, 1975).

—. The Guilt of Sin (Kregel Publications, 1975).

—. True and False Repentance (Kregel Publications, 1975).

—. God’s Love for a Sinning World (Kregel Publications, 1975).

—. Victory Over the World (Kregel Publications, 1975).

—. True Saints (Kregel Publications, 1975).

—. True Submission (Kregel Publications, 1975).

P. C. Nelson, Bible Doctrines (Gospel Publishing House, 1948).

Myer Pearlman, Knowing the Doctrines of the Bible (GPH, 1937).

R. Hollis Gause, Living in the Spirit (Pathway Press, 1980).

Charles Carter, ed. A Contemporary Wesleyan Theology, 2 vols (Zondervan, 1983).

French Arrington, Christian Doctrine, 3 vols (Pathway Press, 1992).

E. S. Williams, Systematic Theology, 3 vols (Gospel Publishing House, 1953).

Dr. John R. Rice, The Evangelist (Sword of the Lord, 1968).

—. Hell: What the Bible Says About It (Sword of the Lord, 1945).

Gary Wilkerson, David Wilkerson (Zondervan, 2014).

Mack Tomlinson, In Light of Eternity (Granted Ministries Press, 2019).

D. R. McDonnell, A Different Gospel (Hendrickson, 1994).

If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
–1 John 1:9 (ESV)–

Confess your sins to one another
and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
–James 5:16 (ESV)–

—

Albert Outler, ed. John Wesley (Oxford University Press, 1964), pp. 80-82.

J. M. Cohen, trans. The Life of Saint Teresa by Herself (Penguin, 1988).

St. Peter of Alcantara, Treatise on Prayer and Meditation (TAN Books, 2010).

Mack Tomlinson, In Light of Eternity (Granted Ministries Press, 2019).

The answer to this extremely important question has come to me as a slow, slow burn. Like a firework wick that’s a couple hundred feet long, a firework which is so long that it would take decades to end, and adding to that, rain and water snuffing out the burn so that it has to be restarted.

If we’re to define just what a classical Pentecostal evangelist should look like, then we’d be referring to Wesleyan preachers of justification and sanctification, Bible holiness, and hellfire preaching in the tradition of Wesley and Finney. But also such an evangelist has a post-gospel sermon time of prayer for the sick with the laying on of hands. Smith Wigglesworth has often been regarded as the model of this. As time went on, Oral Roberts took the place of Wigglesworth as the model Pentecostal evangelist. But Roberts shifted his focus in the 1960s towards the new message called the prosperity gospel. Justification and Sanctification were tossed aside as the Southern Baptist evangelist Billy Graham was seen to bear the burden of the salvation message alone. But not all Pentecostal preachers agreed with the prosperity gospel, Word of Faith, positive confession direction that Roberts took the Pentecostal churches. David Wilkerson and Steve Hill represented the old guard of Pentecostal evangelists who understood the “full gospel” to include a sermon outlined by repentance, faith in the blood, justification, sanctification, baptism in the Holy Spirit with tongues, and divine healing. As of the writing of this article, the Assemblies of God no longer provides licenses to itinerant evangelists! I have this on the word of an AG credentials employee by email. Apparently the church growth movement has made AG leaders feel like the church has no need for licensed and credentialed evangelists anymore.

Church of God (Cleveland) seems to license evangelists though, after a 6 month membership and tithing period under a Church of God pastor, but even then the preference seems to be to use the license to be a pastor. Which is concerning, because the role of an evangelist is strictly gospel centered, whereas the traditional role of a pastor is more about spiritual formation, expository preaching, visitation, catechism, and biblical counseling. In other words, today’s vague “call to preach” is reinterpreted by most to be a call to pastoral ministry, where practically every chapter of the Bible is meant to be explained and taught. The history of Israel and the authorship of Bible books. The role of the gospel preaching evangelist who travels around from church to church…there’s no direction for this guy. He’ll just be directed to go into youth ministry, get frustrated, and quit the ministry.

It seems that Bill Wiese is the closest to a traditional Pentecostal evangelist today, and I think he does a great job. And what do we have in this case? A non-denominational evangelistic ministry, with book publishing, bookings, a website, and last but not least a YouTube subscriber following. And maybe Rumble for the really gritty stuff. I look at Joe Schimmel (Good Fight Ministries) as another example. I think Michael Miller, especially (Remnant Radio); and Shane Winnings (Promise Keepers) would also fall into this category. Going through the AG or COG and waiting for some pastor to approve of you, give you an opportunity to preach, commission you, and send you out…if you think all that’s gonna happen right there at your home church, you’re just setting yourself up for what Ray Comfort has called evangelical frustration. The Pentecostal evangelistic ministry has by and large become a do-it-yourself (DIY) activity, or a sort of entrepreneurial ministry endeavor, in my point of view.

Dr. John R. Rice, The Evangelist (Sword of the Lord, 1968).

Gary Wilkerson, David Wilkerson (Zondervan, 2014).

Mack Tomlinson, In Light of Eternity (Granted Ministries Press, 2019).

Stanley Frodsham, Smith Wigglesworth: Apostle of Faith (GPH, 1948).