Allow me to indulge my love of history and give a little background on this term. The word “evangelist” is a Greek word, which finds it origin before the time of Christ. Greece was occupied by Persia, who enslaved, brutalized and held them captive. But Greece fought back and won a decisive victory against their enemy at Marathon. In light of this victory, the Greek conquerors sent out “evangelists” to proclaim “good news” to the people that victory was won, and they were free from their oppressors. These evangelists carried this message across the empire and let the people know that their enemy was defeated.
I just get chills writing those words because this is how Jesus described His mission and ministry:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4:18-19
As Christ followers, we share in His mission to proclaim His victory and our freedom. This mission is the heartbeat and the mission of RGM. We have the great joy of taking the good news that Jesus, our Victor, has defeated our enemy, and we are set free!
Recently, RGM traveled to charming Charleston, South Carolina to host our evangelistic event, Girls’ Night Out at the College of Charleston. If you’ve never been to this city, let me just say it is BUCKET LIST worthy. The food, the architecture, the shopping, the history…it is a fabulous girlfriends getaway or family vacation. Charleston is the epitome of southern hospitality and the low country food is hard to beat.
Our very first agenda item (even before shrimp & grits) when arriving in Charleston was prayer. We firmly believe that we cannot carry out the will of God without the power of God. He moves when we pray. I’m convinced that it is prayer that softens hearts so they can respond to the Gospel and see Jesus. Therefore, we make it priority number one to gather to pray over each campus and ask God to move.
For this evangelistic event, we partnered with Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ). Our team met on campus the day before the event to pray for the students and for God to do something special at the College of Charleston.
Friends, God hears and moves when we pray!
We were told that Christian gatherings at this university are typically small and to not expect a large crowd, so when over 250 women filled the auditorium we knew Jesus answered our prayers. We were thrilled to see the theater filled, and they were eager and responsive to the good news.
That night I felt burdened for these women to know the freedom we have in Jesus—liberty from sin, but also from to insecurity, eating disorders, addictions, and self-hatred. As the Greek evangelist of old, I had the privilege of proclaiming that our enemy is defeated!
Celebrate with us that 84 women prayed to begin a relationship with Jesus at the College of Charleston! These young women are breathing the sweet air of grace and finding true love for the first time. Jesus wins!
As a way to celebrate, we found ourselves late night at the most adorable bistro ironically called Amen Street. How perfect is that? We sat in the cutest little booth and rejoiced that women discovered freedom in Jesus that night. AMEN!
So… should you ever find yourself in Charleston, South Carolina, I highly recommend the Fried Green Tomato appetizer at Amen Street. They are, as we say in Texas, “slap your momma good!”
-Marian Jordan Ellis
Photography by Caitlin Colcolough + Janine Mikell