Franklin Graham and Frank Shelton
By Shannon Baker, BCM/D National Correspondent
WALDORF, Md.—You know the names: D.L. Moody, Jonathan Edwards, Billy Graham. Just the mere mention of their names conjures up images of huge crowds, giant awakenings, huge movements of God.
“But you don’t have to do a citywide crusade. You don’t have to rent stadiums. You don’t need $1,000 or 10,000 people for an evangelist to work,” shares Frank Shelton, an itinerant evangelist who left a lucrative career in Washington, D.C., to serve in ministry full-time.
“An evangelist loves to help pastors do the ‘work of an evangelist’ (reference to 2 Timothy 4:5) in a local church, big or small.”
Shelton, who was recently tapped as International Evangelism Chairman for Lay Witnesses For Christ International at the 2012 Olympics in London, travels all over the world to share the gospel, but he is quick to say that he loves the local church.
In his ministry career, he has served in Maryland as minister of evangelism at Dunkirk Church and as pastor of First Baptist of Accokeek. And he has gone on to share his testimony on world-wide TV networks, such as Trinity Broadcasting Network, Daystar, TCT, and Fox News.
He also has shared the stage with many well-known Christians, such as Josh McDowell, Jeremy Camp, Audio Adrenaline, Tony Nolan, Tony Evans, David Edwards and so many more.
Though Shelton travels an average of 200 days out of each year, he is considered a full-time evangelist for the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware.
He is also a member of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists (COSBE), an organization that has noted that churches who welcome evangelists as speakers tend to have higher baptism ratios than those who do not.
“I am afraid that a lot of churches have not unwrapped the gift [of an evangelist],” Shelton shared, noting that a fresh face at church can draw new people. “Evangelists are still important today. There are still souls that need to be won.”
Shelton is known for sharing humor, celebrity impressions and powerful life stories that “Exalt the Savior, Encourage the Saints and Evangelize the Sinner.”
He’d welcome the opportunity to provide pulpit supply, lead revivals or be the special speaker at an upcoming event.
“God has called me to make a difference,” he said. To learn more about Shelton, visit frankshelton.com.