Some years ago, I came across an interesting trend in the corporate world, especially among technology companies. Companies were hiring people to promote their brand or products and referring to them as “evangelists.” I grew up in church, and until then, I had never heard anyone other than a traveling preacher referred to as an “evangelist.” You can imagine my shock when that label was applied to someone selling something like photo editing software.

Our English word “evangelize” is a transliteration of a Greek word that means “to bring good news, to announce glad tidings.” In the book of Acts, the word “preach” is often a translation of this word. Because of the Bible, “evangelizing” came to be associated almost exclusively with sharing the good news of the Gospel.

But it would seem that the world is now trying to retake the term for their own purposes, because the world has figured out something that some Christians seem to have overlooked. If you have good news to share, you should share it with others. Don’t keep it to yourself. The corporate world does this to turn a profit and grow its businesses. We should do it to glorify God and save people from death in hell.

What the world needs is a message that will benefit them eternally. They need the gospel. The gospel is not just good news; it is the best news, because it is the news of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection for our sin. When a person believes the gospel, they are saved from their sin and given eternal life. It is up to those of us who have the good news of the gospel to evangelize the lost, sharing that good news with the world.