One aspect of this is the chronological appearances of these ministries within a given geographic or demographic area. Once an apostle opens up the area, prophets then appear to support the Apostles' doctrine to give direction to the new disciples' assemblies.
Once a sufficient number of disciples have been trained, elders are appointed, or recognized, to shephard, or pastor the flock. All the elders are pastors, and not a board that rubber stamps the actions of a single leader.
Of course, other people in the given area still need to hear the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus. So, comes the need for evangelists. I am not a Greek scholar, but I have looked into the meaning of evangelist. The English word is taken directly from the Greek word. The best I can determine is that an evangelist is a Good Newser, someone who is full of good news, and not just a travelling preacher.
The new disciples need a foundation of sound doctrines. The elders may not be able to explain the truth of Scripture to every new disciple, possibly because of the number of new disciples.
This might have been the pattern of the early disciples of Christ.
This chronological view might also apply the list of gifts at the end of 1 Cor. 12.
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