Evangelist Billy Ingram

Ministry

The Gospel still works & God is still reviving!

THE EVANGELIST

Many confuse the evangelist to be simply an itinerate preacher. However, nothing could be further from the truth. One’s preaching schedule does not dictate what they are per se but rather the gift that God has given them. For example, while a woman may hold the title of “pastor”, this does not make them a scriptural pastor. Likewise, according to Ephesians 4:11-12, one can easily recognize both the validity and value of the evangelist in conjunction with the pastor and teacher. In this passage, the leadership gifts to the church are enumerated as those given by God for edification in contrast to those given for revelation. The question here is "which of these gifts is temporary and which is permanent?" The safe rule to follow is that gifts used for revelation or authentication of the new message is temporary. Gifts used for edification are permanent gifts. The apostles and prophets are described in Eph. 2:20 as foundational gifts thus being temporary for the purpose of authentication and no longer needed today.

The evangelist, pastor and teacher are permanent gifts designed by God Himself for the very stated purpose of edifying the church. According to this passage, the evangelist (euongelistos) is a gifting, as legitimate, as the gift of the pastor by God’s design. According to Eph. 4:12, the evangelist, like the pastor is given to the church for the very purpose of equipping (perfecting) and unify the local congregation.

REVIVAL

Multitudes of Christians seemingly know only of a salvation that delivers from the penalty of sin, yet unaware of the experience and reality of a present tense salvation that delivers from the power of sin. This is one of the reasons we need revival. Revival is not a program or something we do. Revival is a Person we are to depend upon. Revival is Jesus! The message of Revival is the need of the hour.

It has been our privilege to watch the Spirit revive churches week after week and then to hear of the ongoing abundant life of Christ accessed long after the meeting has concluded. We must have a restoration back to normal Christian living in order to function as the New Testament Baptist church designed and desired by Christ. The Church stands in need of returning to the “not I but Christ life” in order that His indwelling life might live through us as channels of revival. It is time for Baptists to get serious about revival.

When we talk of revival, we are talking about that which is tantamount to the Gospel. While the Gospel is the “good news” to the sinner, Revival, is the “good news” to the saint! Revival by definition is a bringing back to life. This matter of coming back to life is very simply, the Christian coming back to what the Bible teaches to be normal Christianity. Vance Havner gave the sense of the Scriptures on this subject when he said, “What we call revival is simply New Testament Christianity, the saints getting back to normal.”

THE CHURCH

Perhaps, while some evangelists may view the local church as less than important there is no getting around the fact that the New Testament local, visible church; established by Christ during His earthly ministry is the paramount venue through which He has chosen to operate. Christ died for the local church and resides as the head. The mission and mandates of Scripture is to be carried out through the local church comprised of Spirit-filled believers. Many evangelists minister in Bible colleges and Christian camps, however, these ministries are not substitutes for the local church but rather subsidiaries to the local church. Wherever a college or camp has failed to uphold and support the sanctity and integrity of the local church these secondary institutions have failed.

BELIEFS: Evangelist by gifting (enabling). Unashamedly Baptist by theology. King James by conviction. Anti-Calvinism because of Christ.

PREACHING: Click Here to view a sermon
preached at the Global Independent Baptist Fellowship
National Meeting at Cornerstone Baptist Church
Phoenix AZ, Feb. 18, 2009.

Perhaps your church is ready for God to do even more than He's already doing and ready to allow Him to reach out to the lost of your community and to revive the saved through a revival meeting. I would be pleased to correspond with you or talk with you about a meeting. Through prayer, we could determine the Lord's leading in this.