A Reader’s Guide to Gareth Evans

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 TIMOTHY 2:15

Evans is easy to read and, for Ochorus readers, easy to find. All five of his books are shared free in the Ochorus library with his permission, and eleven of his sermons, transcribed from recordings, are there by his permission too. He writes as he speaks: plainly, warmly, with many stories, and with the instincts of a schoolteacher who wants to be understood. His books are short, and none requires a theological education.

Begin here

He Holds My Tomorrows. His book on faith, and the natural place to start. It clears away common misunderstandings, sets out the three kinds of faith he finds in Scripture, and then walks through the people of Hebrews 11 as examples of God’s leading. Chapters three to seven of this volume draw chiefly on it. In the Ochorus library.

The Key in My Hand. His best-known book, on the covenant of the Upper Room, the body of Christ, offence, the wounded soul, and healing through forgiveness and release. Read it slowly, and alongside the cautions in chapter fourteen of this volume. If it opens old wounds, find someone to walk with you. In the Ochorus library.

For the whole story

Stepping Stones. His autobiography, from the Welsh valleys through classrooms, pastorates and the Mercy Ship to his later ministry, told as a series of stepping stones laid by God. It is also a book about guidance, and chapter eight of this volume draws on it. It is the only book-length account of his life; the Ochorus author page carries a shorter biography. In the Ochorus library.

For those who serve

Soar Like the Eagle. On why so many believers never fly, and how burden, gifting, ministry and anointing belong together. Much of it is addressed to pastors and elders, with practical counsel on releasing people into ministry. The basis of chapter fifteen of this volume. In the Ochorus library.

Feasting at the Table. A short study of Ephesians, drawn from lectures at a Bible school summer school: Paul’s prayers, the riches of being in Christ, the body and the building, the Christian walk and standing firm. The basis of chapter ten of this volume, and a good companion to reading Ephesians itself. In the Ochorus library.

His sermons

The sermons on Ochorus are transcriptions of spoken messages, preached over some twenty years, and they have the directness and repetition of the pulpit. Faith is the best companion to his book on the subject. Abiding in Christ, The Glory of His Inheritance, Burdens and Gifts and Caleb: A Different Spirit are short and pastoral. Broken Before the Throne and Four Reasons We Need Revival in North America carry his longing for revival, and the three messages Guard the Truth, Guard the Gift and Guard the Fire, preached as a series in his late eighties, are perhaps the best single introduction to the man. Mary of Bethany is a brief meditation. Evans maintains his own website as well, where further devotional writing can be found.

Approach with care

Nothing he has written is dangerous, but a few emphases need the balance supplied in this volume: the sharpness of his distinctions between faith, hope and belief (chapter three); his reading of the baptism in the Spirit (chapter eleven); his linking of some sickness with broken relationships (chapter twelve); his reading of Mary of Bethany’s grief (chapter thirteen); and his interpretation of binding, loosing and releasing (chapter fourteen). Read these with the Bible open.

Three counsels for reading him

Read him for the stories, and then ask what the story teaches. Evans is at his best when a single incident, a stammering young man, a prayer meeting, a closed door, illuminates a principle of Scripture. The story will stay with you; make sure the principle does too.

Read him with the Bible open. He constantly sends his readers to the text, and his books are full of references to look up. Do so.

And read him as he would want to be read: with a view to obeying. He has little interest in readers who enjoy his teaching and do nothing with it. Take one thing from each chapter and act on it.

The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. PROVERBS 4:18