Evangelism

Evangelism is the preaching of the gospel or the practice of giving information about a particular doctrine or set of beliefs to others with the intention of converting others to the Christian faith.

This term is not restricted to any particular Christian tradition, and should not be confused with Evangelicalism, a common term for a wide range of "Evangelical" Protestant churches and groups.

Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are in their home communities or living as missionaries in the field, although some Christian traditions refer to such people as missionaries in either case. Some Christian traditions consider evangelists to be in a leadership position; they may be found preaching to large meetings or in governance roles.

Christian groups who actively encourage evangelism are sometimes known as evangelistic or evangelist. The scriptures do not use the word evangelism, but evangelist is used in (the translations of) Acts 21:8, Ephesians 4:11, and 2 Timothy 4:5.

Ray Comfort

Ray Comfort (born December 5, 1949) is a New Zealand-born Christian minister and evangelist. Comfort started Living Waters Publications and The Way of the Master in Bellflower, California, and has written a number of books.

Early life

Comfort was born December 5, 1949, in New Zealand to a Jewish mother and a father whom he has described as "a Gentile [who] was open to the things of God". According to Comfort's autobiography, his parents put "Methodist" on his birth certificate because his mother feared the possibility of "another Hitler", but he was given no religious instruction as a child. Comfort identifies himself as Jewish. According to Comfort, he was in the top class of his high school in Christchurch, where he attained a School Certificate, the standard certificate given out at the age of 15 (Year 11). He did not pursue higher education.

Career

In 1989, he accepted an invitation to join the pastoral staff at the non-denominational Calvary Chapel in Southern California.

The Way of the Master ministry

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie (born December 10, 1952) is an American clergyman who serves as the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California and Harvest Orange County in Irvine, California. He is also an author.

Ministry

Laurie, who was born in Long Beach, California, became a Christian in 1970 at Newport Harbor High School under the ministry of evangelist Lonnie Frisbee. At the age of 19, under the ministry of Calvary Chapel Pastor Chuck Smith, he was given the opportunity to lead a Bible study of 30 people. The church that formed from this group, Harvest Christian Fellowship, has grown to become one of the largest churches in the United States. In 2013, Harvest Christian Fellowship celebrated its 40th anniversary. The church has another dedicated campus in Irvine as well as three satellite campuses (Woodcrest, Eastvale, and South Corona—all in California) with a congregation of some 15,000 people, and also houses more than 80 ministries.

Laurie holds two honorary doctorates from Biola University and Azusa Pacific University. He serves on the board of directors for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association In 2013, Laurie served as the Honorary Chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force.