John The Baptist: The Evangelist's Evangelist

… The word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.  And he came into the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins….

So, he began saying to the crowds, who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath that is to come?  Therefore, bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children in Abraham.  Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what shall we do?”

And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and he who has food is to do likewise.”

And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”

And he said, to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.”

Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?”  And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”

Luke 3:3, 7-14

When we think about revival meetings, we think about some old preacher beating the pulpit and yelling, “You are going to hell.” 

John the Baptist was this kind of evangelist.  He did not sugar coat the message; he called the people vipers.  But the heart of his message was that God was merciful to those who turned from sin to Him, and that God would change their hearts and lives.  Then he offered counseled those who asked what they should do next. 

That’s the kind of evangelists we should be:  Leading people to Christ and then helping them to begin serving Christ.