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I have a question about how to write the following:

1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus are commonly known as the "pastoral epistles" because they're allegedly written to pastors. However, the recipients were evangelists (2 Timothy 4:5), which are distinct from pastors (Ephesians 4:11). Therefore, they could more accurately be called the [BLANK] epistles.

The [BLANK] is the adjectival form of evangelist, but I don't know what that would be. What's the adjective for evangelist as used here? Thanks!

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    They could be evangelic or evangelical epistles, since the adjective describes the epistles and not their readers.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Jan 29, 2020 at 19:33
  • Whether or not Timothy is being addressed as an evangelist here, or being asked to double / fill in, evangelising, while there is a lack of ('fivefold ministry') evangelists and he has to fulfil the role of pastor / teacher, is moot. But certainly the term 'pastoral' is more appropriate than 'evangelistic' here, as the letters discuss primarily issues of Christian living, doctrine and church leadership. The 'evangelical epistles' are usually considered to be Romans, I and IICorinthians, and Galatians.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jan 29, 2020 at 19:58
  • (because they address the Good News). See The Strategic Grasp Of The Bible By J. Sidlow Baxter.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jan 29, 2020 at 20:03
  • @Edwin Ashworth Though the emphasis of this forum is grammatical, not discussing the merit of the example paragraph I cited, can you cite a passage from 2 Timothy that seems more pastoral than evangelistic?
    – The Editor
    Commented Jan 30, 2020 at 22:35

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What about evangelistic:

  • pertaining to evangelists or to preachers of the gospel

  • evangelical

(Dictionary.com)

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  • That's what I was looking for! I'll go with "evangelistic."
    – The Editor
    Commented Jan 29, 2020 at 19:50
  • I'd prefer evangelist or evangelical over evangelistic, which sounds cynical.
    – aparente001
    Commented Jan 30, 2020 at 8:27

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