The Itinerant Evangelist
Itinerant evangelists are elders or licensed ministers who are authorized by the church to promote revivals and to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ abroad in the land. They are devoted to traveling and preaching the gospel as their full-time ministry. The Church of the Nazarene recognizes three levels of itinerant evangelism ministers: registered evangelist, commissioned evangelist, and tenured evangelist.
A registered evangelist is an elder, or a licensed minister, who has indicated a desire to pursue evangelism as his or her primary ministry. A full-time evangelist is defined as holding 30 meetings per year (A meeting includes a Sunday. For those whose expertise is in Vacation Bible Schools, one week, Monday thru Friday, constitutes a meeting). Such registration shall be for one year. Renewal by subsequent district assemblies shall be granted on both the quality and quantity of work in evangelism in the year prior to the assembly.
A commissioned evangelist is an elder who has met all the requirements of a registered evangelist for two full years (30 meetings a year for two years). The commission is for one year and must be renewed by subsequent district assemblies for one who continues to meet the requirements.
A tenured evangelist is an elder who has met all the requirements of a commissioned evangelist for four full and consecutive years immediately prior to application for tenured evangelist status. He or she has been recommended by the District Ministerial Credentials Board and approved by the Committee on the Interests of the God-Called Evangelist and the Board of General Superintendents. This role designation shall continue until such time as the evangelist no longer meets the requirements of a commissioned evangelist, or until he or she is granted retired status.
Guidelines and procedures for certification of evangelists’ roles are in The Sourcebook for Ministerial Development.
The Song Evangelist
A song evangelist is a member of the Church of the Nazarene whose intention is to devote the major portion of his or her time to the ministry of evangelism through music. A song evangelist who has a ministerial credential and who gives full time to evangelism as his or her primary assignment, and who does not sustain a retired relationship with the church or any of its departments or institutions, shall be an assigned minister.
Guidelines and procedures for certification of song evangelists’ roles are in The Sourcebook for Ministerial Development.