Lay people are the evangelists

I just read something that was very profound. Guess what, it was in the Bible. I was reading a statement by Henry Blackaby that guided me to Acts chapter 8. Verse 1 says that after Stephen was killed, persecution arose and forced all Christians to scatter... "all except the apostles". In verse 4, it says that "Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word." Now, who went about preaching the word? "Those who had been scattered", which was everyone "except the apostles". What does this mean? It means that we "lay people" are the ones that should be going everywhere preaching the word, just like the early church did. It wasn't the church leaders that were doing that - no, they were devoting themselves to praying and teaching of the word (6:4). It was the normal, everyday people who were scattered about, preaching the word.

In chapter 11 verse 19 it says, "So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone." Again, these same people are referred to again as being evangelists, not the leaders of the church. It says "those who were scattered". Let's review - who were they that were scattered? Not Peter, not Paul, not James, not any of the apostles. It was lay people.

Think about Stephen himself, the one who got all this started in the first place. Who was he? At first glance, you might assume he was a preacher, or a leader in the church, because of his prominence and the fact that the religious leaders wanted to kill him. Who was he? He was a waiter (6:1-5). A waiter!! He served food! Why was this waiter stoned to death? What sort of fuss was he making? "And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people" (6:8). Verse 10 says he was "speaking" with "wisdom and the Spirit", so much so that the religious folk could not stump him (a la Jesus with the Pharisees).

Point: We, as lay people, have as much a sacred job as our spiritual shepherds do. We have just as much a privilege to share the gospel as any one does. We can't sit back and heave the job of preaching the gospel to our preachers. We must go out and do it ourselves, and then come back and be taught by our pastors. Let this be a Biblical precedent that we follow:

According to Acts chapter 6 (Stephen), chapter 8 and 11 (Christians who were scattered), lay people are the evangelists.