Several years before he got to Rome, Paul wrote to the church there that he was eager to come evangelize them (Romans 1:15). The specific intention behind his desire is somewhat obscured in most translations, which say something like he was eager “to proclaim” the gospel: that could sound like he had in mind what we might think of as ordinary preaching. Yet the Greek is quite clear: εὐαγγελίζω, to evangelize.

This is especially interesting given that Paul recognized that these believers in Rome were genuinely people of faith. They were the beloved of God (1:7); indeed, he noted that their faith was proclaimed all over the world (1:8). He looked forward to a ministry among them where “we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine” (1:12) – that is, he expected that his ministry would provide blessing and spiritual motivation for them, and he likewise expected that their ministry would provide blessing and spiritual motivation for him.

So we need to pause for a moment and wonder what it meant, when Paul wrote to these committed Christians, expressing his desire “to evangelize you” (1:15). We generally think of evangelism as the task of the saved who speak to the lost, to encourage them to get saved. And indeed, many of us have experienced a personal hesitation from this: thinking of evangelism that way sets us up with a sense of awkwardness, because we don’t want to act like we think we are better than others. We know we’re not any better than them: but we fear that we will look like we think we are. That fear often motivates us to steer clear of evangelism.

But Paul’s sense of the word evangelize included the opportunity to “share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you ” (1:11) just as much as it included the opportunity to “reap some harvest” (1:13) among them. That’s an important combination. It means he didn’t have to suppose he was somehow more acceptable to God than they were. There is great freedom in that: we can simply be glad to talk to anyone about Jesus and the difference he makes, eager to evangelize them by sharing a spiritual gift to strengthen them.

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We pray that you would give us eagerness to evangelize, O Lord: fill us with a spiritual longing to proclaim the gospel everywhere. Speak your word through us, to impart gifts and to establish people in the faith: give us the courage and perseverance we need, to be your messengers in this needy world.