APOSTOLIC & PROPHETIC CHURCH FOUNDING
May is Missions Month
· Our ultimate goal, of course is total penetration of our community, giving everyone a chance to hear God's Message.
Hey brothers and sisters in Christ,
This is your friendly neighborhood servant, Ricardo Butler aka ReAsOn DiSciPLe the MiC Evangelist. And I am here to bring to you or shall I say pitch to you (I hope you catch) the evangelistic goals for the month of October. I pray that everything is well with you all and that God is prospering you in spirit, soul, and body. Amen!
M.I.C Assembly Hip Hop & Internet Church Network
The M.I.C. Vision
It is our vision to reconcile the HIP HOP CULTURE to God through Christ bringing them into GOD'S KINGDOM as MEMBERS of His family, developing them up to Christ-like MATURITY, training them for their MINISTRY to GOD'S CHURCH then sending them out on their life MISSION in the world, thus MAGNIFYING God's name in the process, RESULTING IN HEALTHY GROWTH.
It is our vision of a place where those who have been hurt, rejected, and confused by the existing religious systems can receive love, liberty, acceptance, encouragement, and support.
It is our vision of sharing God's Message of His COMING Kingdom through hip hop to those who have been hurt, rejected, and confused by the existing religious/church systems. The biggest influence on our children is what they see on TV and hear on the radio. Through God in our music they can receive love, liberty, acceptance, and encouragement.
It is our vision of building from scratch the already corrupted music scene on a new foundation which challenges all genres of the hip hop culture to step up to a level of real artistic lyricism and poetic skills that it will draw the mainstream, underground, reggae, R&B, reggaeton, up north, dirty south (crunk music), holy hip hop, etc, from the beef between themselves by seeing music from a new perspective and not the deception. And to be positive role models in the Lord for the future generations to come.
It is our vision of a place where local talents, not yet in the music industry, can network in music and create more sound ways to penetrate the society via Hip Hop/Rap Music, Rhythm & Praise Music, Speaking Engagements, Conferences, Seminars (Which includes Q & A's about using Hip Hop as a ministry), Concerts (Which includes opening(s) for other artists, Benefit Concerts, Street Outreaches, etc), Youth Event (Which includes Back 2 School Events), Festivals, Radio Shows, Video Shows, Feeding the homeless, Tours, & Prison/Jail/Juvenile Ministry, etc.
It is our vision of Jesus Christ raising up apostles who will restore the Church to the Headship of Christ and teach the one blueprint (the New Covenant) that will bring the Church back under Christ's care through true apostles, true prophets, true teachers, true evangelists, true pastors, true elders, true bishops, and true deacons all of whom will work together to train, prophecy, exhort, and comfort the saints in the authority and grace God gives to each of these offices, that the Church may walk in Truth, the Unity of faith and sincere love.
It is our vision of Christ restoring the knowledge of the New Covenant priesthood of the Believer, which is inclusive to all genders, and is not partial to one’s educational background, financial status, family pedigree or race where believers are able to own their faith, manage their spiritual growth, please God perfectly through inward fruit bearing, and experience His divine power for a rich, fulfilling, transforming, intimate and vibrant relationship with the Father.
It is our vision of restoring the house church (churches at home where people are at home: in ordinary houses) rather than the church building as a Way of living kingdom Life where, the people of God: sharing their lives in the power of the Holy Spirit, have “meatings,” that is, they eat when they meet; they often do not even hesitate to sell private property and share material and spiritual blessings, teach each other in real-life situations how to obey God’s word—dialogue--and not professor-style, pray and prophesy with each other, baptize, ‘lose their face’ and their ego by confessing their sins, regaining a new corporate identity by experiencing love, acceptance and forgiveness.
It is our vision of setting up in every house church a recording studio, run by and fully operated by its members. All this will be designed to minister to the total person--spiritually, emotionally, physically, intellectually, and socially--in a peaceful, inspiring setting.
It is our vision of planting at least one new house church and/or ministry every year starting in Orlando, then all over Florida, the all over the United States, and then all over the rest of the world.
IMPORTANT THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
[What Kind of Church Would WE Be?]
Our number one greatest goal for this church is, which is not listed above, is that we want to reach the unchurched, not transfer Christians from other churches to M.I.C. Assembly. Paul says in Romans 15:20-21,
"Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, NOT WHERE CHRIST WAS NAMED, lest I should build upon another man's foundation: but as it is written [in Isaiah 52:15], 'To whom He was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.'" (King James Version).
"Yea, making it my aim so to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build upon another man's foundation; but, as it is written, They shall see, to whom no tidings of Him came, And they who have not heard shall understand." (American Standard Version).
"So I endeavored earnestly to preach only where the name of Christ was NOT YET KNOWN, in order not to build on the foundation of someone else, but as it is written, 'Those who have never been told of Him will see, and those who never heard will understand.'" (Modern Language Bible).
"My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else. I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says, 'Those who have never been told about Him will see, and those who have never heard of Him will understand." (New Living Translation).
"Looking back over what has been accomplished and what I observed, I must say I am most pleased--in the context of Jesus, I'd even say proud, but only in that context. I have no interest in giving you a chatty account of my adventures, only the wondrously powerful and transformingly present words and deeds of Christ in me that triggered a believing response among the outsiders [non-believers]. In such ways I have trailblazed a preaching of the Message of Jesus all the way from Jerusalem far into northwestern Greece. THIS HAS ALL BEEN PIONEER WORK, BRINGING THE MESSAGE ONLY TO THOSE PLACES WHERE JESUS WAS NOT YET KNOWN AND WORSHIPED. My text has always been, 'Those who were never told of Him--they'll see Him! Those who've never heard of Him--they'll get the Message!" (Romans 15:17-21, The Message).
In addition, there are at least hundreds of Bible-teaching churches in Orlando alone. I quickly concluded that most (if not all) of the Christians in Orlando were already happily involved in a good church or at least have plenty of options. I don't want to be known as "sheep stealer."
I decided that:
We will make no effort at all to attract Christians from other churches to M.I.C. Assembly.
We will not even borrow workers from other area churches to start M.I.C. Assembly.
Since I felt called to reach non-believers, I determined to begin with non-believers, rather than with a core of committed Christians. (This is not the way all books on church starting said to do it, but I feel certain that it is what God is calling us to do).
Our focus will be limited to reaching the unchurched, non-believers only for Christ, people who for one reason or another do not attend any existing churches.
We will not encourage other believers to transfer their membership from other churches to M.I.C. Assembly; in fact I will openly discourage it and say, "If you are coming to this church from another church you need to understand up front that this church was not designed for you. If you are transferring from another church you are welcomed here only if you are willing to serve and minister. If all you intend to do is attend services, we'd rather save your seat from someone who is a non-believer. There are plenty of good Bible-teaching churches in this area that we can recommend to you." This position may sound harsh, but I believe we are following the example of Jesus. He defined His ministry target by saying,
"They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Mark 2:17).
"And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better." (Luke 5:37-39).
At M.I.C. Assembly we will continually need to remind ourselves of this statement. It will help us stay true to the original focus of our church: to bring the unchurched, irreligious people of our community to Christ.
I stand before you today and state in confident assurance that these dreams will become reality. Why because they are inspired by God!
This Church/Ministry is designed to use everyday ordinary people like you to get up, get out, and use your spiritual gifts and natural born talents to:
[1] Glorify God (WORSHIP GOD WITH ALL YOU ARE AND WITH WHAT YOU GOT IN SPIRIT & TRUTH)
Every church needs to grow stronger through worship.
Worship helps you focus on God. It prepares you spiritually and emotionally for the week ahead.
Led by Pastors (Ezekiel 34:23 & John 10:16).
[2] Become part of God's family (LOVE CHRISTIANS AND OTHER CHURCHES IN DEED & TRUTH)
Every church needs to grow warmer through fellowship.
Fellowship helps you face life's problems by providing the support and encouragement of other Christians.
Led by Teachers (Acts. 13:1 & 1st Corinthians 12:28).
[3] Be more like Christ (GROW IN GRACE AND KNOWLEDGE OF GOD & CHRIST)
Every church needs to grow deeper through discipleship.
Discipleship helps you fortify your faith by learning the truth of God's Word and applying biblical principles to your lifestyle.
Led by Prophets (2nd Kings 2:7 & 1st Corinthians 14:29-32).
[4] Edify the Church (SERVE & BUILD UP THE CHURCH WITH MY GIFTS/TALENTS/RESOURCES)
Every church needs to grow broader through ministry.
Ministry helps you find and develop your talents and use them in serving others.
Led by Apostles (Galatians 2:8, Acts 14:14, Acts 15:22, Mark 6:7).
[5] Reach the World (MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS STARTING AT HOME)
Every church needs to grow larger through evangelism.
Evangelism helps you fulfill your mission of reaching your friends and family for Christ.
Led by Evangelists (Acts 6:1-8).
These last two purposes are as a collective whole lead by the 5 Fold Equipping Ministers so training for it is optional:
[6] Wrestle against the rulers of darkness (PUT BACK EVIL WITH PRAYER AND THE (s)WORD OF GOD)
Every church needs to grow militant through spiritual warfare.
Spiritual Warfare helps you overcome evil with good and "take back land" from Satan
[7] Lead God's creation (LEAD BY EXAMPLE AND WATCHOVER THE SOULS OF MEN)
Every church needs to grow in influence through leadership.
Leadership helps you guide God's people in the church and the prodigal sons and daughters in the world
The Scripture on which will guide M.I.C. Assembly's staff in planning and working together are these spiritual principles that are based on Galatians 5:22-23, which speaks of the "fruit" of the Spirit rather than the "fruits" of the Spirit:
"The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE" as manifested in "joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance."
For M.I.C. Assembly's Staff ...
joy is love's strength (Neh. 8:10);
peace is love's security (Phil. 4:6-7, Col. 3:15);
long-suffering is love's patience (Eph. 4:1-3);
gentleness is love's conduct (2 Cor. 10:1-2);
goodness is love's character (Eph. 5:9);
faith is love's confidence (Heb. 1:1, 6);
meekness is love's humility (Gal. 6:1-2);
temperance is love's victory (1 Cor. 9:24-27).
Every staff member, without exception, should be committed without reservation to faithfully practicing these spiritual guidelines.
THE 5 PURPOSES IN JESUS' MINISTRY AND THE EARLY CHURCH
Becoming a God-driven, Christ-driven, SPIRIT-driven, NEW Testament-driven, KINGDOM OF GOD-driven, NEW COVENANT-driven church takes TIME -- it doesn't happen all at once, or even six months. It may even take M.I.C. Assembly SEVERAL YEARS to make the transition. If we want M.I.C. Assembly to become Christ-driven/mic-spitten, then by the grace of God given to me and all who will be in servant-leadership has to lead it through four critical phases:
First, we must DEFINE our purposes.
Next, we must COMMUNICATE those purposes to EVERYONE in M.I.C. Assembly -- on a regular basis.
Third, we must ORGANIZE M.I.C. Assembly around those purposes.
Finally, we must APPLY those purposes to every part of M.I.C. Assembly.
If you examine the earthly ministry of Jesus, it is apparent that He included all five of these elements in His work. Jesus realized that every person is at a different level of spirituality. Jesus made a comment in a conversation He had with a spiritual seeker. He said:
"Thou art not far from the kingdom of God." (Mark 12:34).
Not far? I take that to mean Jesus recognized degrees of spiritual understanding and commitment, even among non-believers. You can see this when He was teaching about the kingdom of God by parables.
"And with many such parables spake He the Word unto them, AS THEY WERE ABLE TO HEAR IT." (Mark 4:33).
Jesus' ministry included ministering to the Community, feeding the Crowd, gathering a Congregation, challenging the Committed, and discipling the Core. All five tasks are evident in the Gospels. We need to follow His example! Jesus began at the level of commitment of each person he met. Often He would capture their interest and create a desire to know more. Then, as people would continue to follow Him, Jesus would slowly, gently define more clearly the kingdom of God and ask for a deeper commitment to it. But He did this only when the followers had reached the previous stage. This wasn't watering down the Gospel. He was just creating interest.
As that group of earlier followers grew into a crowd, Jesus began slowly to turn up the heat. Jesus took into account that people have different cultural backgrounds, understanding, and levels of spiritual commitment. He knew that it doesn't work to use the same approach with all people. It is a simple strategy that acknowledges we minister to people at different levels of commitment. People are not all alike: They have different needs, interests, and spiritual problems, depending on where they are in their spiritual journey. We must not confuse what we (as Christians) do with the community and the crowd with what we do with the core. Each group requires a different approach. A crowd is not a church -- but a crowd can be turned into a church.
The apostle Paul not only fulfilled these purposed in his ministry, he also explains in Ephesians 4:1-16. But the clearest example of all five purposed is the first church at Jerusalem described in Acts 2:1-47.
"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine [deeper through discipleship] and fellowship [warmer through fellowship], and in breaking of bread [warmer through fellowship], and in prayers [stronger through worship]. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles [broader through ministry]. And all that believed were together [warmer through fellowship], and had all things common [warmer through fellowship]; and sold their possessions and goods [broader through ministry], and parted them to all men, as every man had need [larger through evangelism]. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple [warmer through fellowship], and breaking bread from house to house [warmer through fellowship], did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart [warmer through fellowship], praising God [stronger through worship], and having favor with all the people [larger through evangelism]. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." (Acts 2:42-47).
Purpose: Worship
Task: Exalt
Acts 2:42-47: "And they continued steadfastly in ... breaking of bread, and in prayers ... continuing daily with one accord ... praising God"
Objective: Magnify
Purpose: Fellowship
Task: Encourage
Acts 2:42-47: "And they continued ... fellowship ... And all that believed were together ... continuing daily with one accord in the temple, \ and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart"
Objective: Membership
Purpose: Discipleship
Task: Edify
Acts 2:42-47: "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine ... continuing daily with one accord"
Objective: Maturity
Purpose: Serve
Task: Equip
Acts 2:42-47: "And they continued ... And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord"
Objective: Ministry
Purpose: Outreach
Task: Evangelism
Acts 2:42-47: "And they, continuing daily with one accord ... Having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved"
Objective: Mission
In Acts 2:42-47, these five facets of growth are described in the first church at Jerusalem. The first Christians taught each other, they fellowshipped together, they worshipped, they ministered, and they evangelized. As a result, verse 47 says, "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." Note a couple of things about this verse. First, God added the growth (His part) when the church did its part (fulfilled the five purposes). Second the growth was daily, which means, at a minimum, this healthy church had 365 conversions a year! What if this was the evangelistic standard every church had to meet in order to call itself a healthy "New Testament/Covenant" Church? How many churches do you think would qualify?
Today our purposes are unchanged: The church exists to edify, encourage, exalt, equip, and evangelize. While each church will differ in how these tasks are accomplished, there should be no disagreement about what we are called to do.
Here are five key words to summarize Christ's five purposes for His church.
Magnify: We celebrate God's presence in worship
Mission: We communicate God's Word through evangelism
Membership: We incorporate God's family into our fellowship
Maturity: We educate God's people through discipleship
Ministry: We demonstrate God's love through service
These key words, representing our five purposes, have been incorporated into our foundational mission statement, which reads as follows.
"My purpose with this Message is to reconcile the HIP HOP CULTURE to God through Christ bringing them into GOD'S KINGDOM as MEMBERS of His family, developing them up to Christ-like MATURITY, training them for their MINISTRY in and to GOD'S CHURCH then sending them out on their life MISSION as God's LEADERS in the world, to OVERCOME evil in all its forms with good, thus MAGNIFY God's name in the process, RESULTING IN HEALTHY GROWTH."
Our process for implementing the purposes of God involves four steps:
1. We bring people in as members,
2. We build them up to maturity,
3. We train them for ministry,
4. And we send them out on their mission,
5. Thus, Magnifying the LORD in the process.
That's it! This is our total focus at M.I.C. Assembly. We don't do anything else. Everything Jesus commanded us in the New Testament falls into one of these 5 categories.
MY CHURCH FAMILY GIVES ME
God's purpose to live for (mission)
God's people to live with (membership)
God's principles to live by (maturity)
God's profession to live out (ministry)
God's power to live on (magnify)
CALENDAR ON PURPOSE
We will designate two months of each year to give special emphasis to each purpose. Then give each purpose team (composed of the 5 Fold staff-ministers of volunteers) the assignment of emphasizing that purpose church-wide during those months.
For example, January and June will be Magnification months--two months that emphasize personal and corporate worship.
February and July will be Membership months. These months will be good months to put a special emphasis on recruiting attenders to become new members. We can plan a number of church-wide fellowship events like picnics, concerts, and festivals.
March and August will be Maturity months. During a month-long emphasis on spiritual maturity we can read through the New Testament as a congregation, memorize a Bible verse together each week, or hold a Bible conference or a church-wide Bible study.
April and September will be Ministry months. During these months we will hold a ministry fair to recruit people for ministry. The apostle could preach a series on ministry. People could be encouraged to join a service group.
May and October will be Mission months, with activities like personal evangelism training, a missions conference, and special hands-on mission projects.
By committing two months a year to each of the five purposes we will be left with two free months--in this example November and December, which are already busy with Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Let's not fool ourselves. If we don't schedule God's purposes on our calendars, they won't get emphasized.
We use the cycles of commitment as our strategy for assimilating people into the life of the church.
Begin by moving the unchurched from the community to your crowd (for worship).
Then move them from the crowd into the congregation (for fellowship).
Next, move them from your congregation into the committed (for discipleship),
And from the committed into the core (for ministry).
Finally, move the core back out into the community (for evangelism).
This process fulfills all five purposes for the church.
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
I fill that most churches focus on the building too much. Too soon and too small. The shoe must never tell the foot hoe big it can grow. I do not want to ever own a building for this church. A building or lack of a building should never be allowed to become a barrier to a wave of growth. people are far more important than property.
Our sanity and survival is depended on first and foremost God's grace and His increase, second, upon developing a workable process to turn seekers into saints, turn consumers into contributors, turn members into ministers, and turn an audience into an army. Believe me it will be an incredibly difficult task to lead people from self-centered consumerism to being servant-hearted disciples of the Lord. This is not a task for the fainthearted music ministers or those who don't like to get their religious robes wrinkled. But it is what Christ commissioned us to do and should be the driving force behind all that will happen at M.I.C. Assembly. And remember what Solomon said,
"If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done." (Ecclesiastes 11:4).
So let's get it done with Christ!
SOME ENCOURAGEMENTS
It takes more than dedication to lead a church to grow; it takes skill. There is a verse in Ecclesiastes that says...
"If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill [Gk: 'wisdom (in a good sense):--skillful, wisdom'] will bring success." (Ecclesiastes 10:10, New International Version).
Notice that God says skill, not just dedication, will bring success. If I have wood to chop, I'll do a better job by sharpening my ax first. The point is, work smarter, not harder. Take the time to learn the skills you need in ministry. You'll save time in the long run and be far more successful. Sharpen your ministry ax by searching the Scriptures for principles to apply, reading books, listening to tapes, CDs or DVDs, and by observing working models. You're never wasting time when you're sharpening your ax. Skill brings success.
The reason the apostle Paul was so effective in planting and developing churches was because he was skilled at it. He admits this is 1st Corinthians:
"According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise [practical skilled, expert] masterbuilder." (1st Corinthians 3:10).
Paul was an expert at building churches and Christians in the Lord. He was not a haphazard builder who did shoddy work. Not only was he dedicated to his task, he was skilled at using the right tools. Paul said...
"This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you're familiar with the part I was given in God's plan for INCLUDING EVERYBODY. I got the inside story on this from God Himself, as I just wrote you in brief. As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for yourselves into the MYSTERY [SECRET] of Christ. NONE OF OUR ANCESTORS UNDERSTOOD THIS. ONLY IN OUR TIME HAS IT [the Mystery of Christ-SALVATION FOR ALL HUMANITY] BEEN MADE CLEAR BY GOD'S SPIRIT THROUGH HIS HOLY APOSTLES AND PROPHETS [Apostles and prophets are the two foundational ministries in the body of Christ. I have great respect for dedicated evangelists, pastors and teachers. The bible singles out apostles and prophets as the two ministries which, anchored to Jesus the Chief Cornerstone, under gird the Lord’s Church. All Christians are entitled to be built on this apostolic and prophetic foundation. And yet the modern day church calls most ministers by the term 'pastor' and shies away from 'apostles' and 'prophets' like a horse avoiding a rattlesnake! Man’s prejudices, fears, or misinterpretations have deprived the Lord’s Church of the two foundational ministries—apostles and prophets—that He Himself placed on earth. The Church today, wherever it denies these two ministries, is improperly structured.] OF THIS NEW ORDER. THE MYSTERY IS that people [THAT WOULD BE THE NON-BELIEVER] WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD OF GOD and those [THAT WOULD BE THE BELIEVER] WHO HAVE HEARD OF HIM ALL THEIR LIVES [but never understood this mystery, ver. 5] (what I've been called outsiders and insiders) STAND ON THE SAME GROUND [Jesus is that ground or foundation] before God. They get the SAME HELP, SAME PROMISES IN CHRIST JESUS. The Message is accessible and WELCOMING TO EVERYONE [to the saint and sinner, just and unjust, godly and ungodly, believer and non-believer], across the board. THIS IS MY LIFE WORK: HELPING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND AND RESPOND TO THIS MESSAGE. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, GOD HANDLING ALL THE DETAILS. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's Way, I WAS THE LEAST QUALIFIED OF ANY OF THE AVAILABLE CHRISTIANS. God saw to it THAT I WAS EQUIPPED, but you can be sure that it HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH MY NATURAL ABILITIES. And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head ..." (Ephesians 3:1-9, The Message).
We too must learn to use the right Tool (Christ) in building a church.
"Therefore whosoever HEARETH THESE SAYINGS [teachings, doctrine] OF MINE, AND DOETH THEM, I will liken him unto a WISE man ['a wise masterbuilder'], which BUILT [Gk: 'To be a house-builder, i.e. construct, build (up), edify'] his house [God's church-house-temple] upon a ROCK ['The household of God; and are built upon THE FOUNDATION (ROCK) of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Corner Stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord (IN THE SPIRIT).' (Eph. 2:19-21)]: and the rain descended, and the floods [ungodly people and their views] came, and the winds [demonic spirits with their false doctrines] blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock ['upon THE FOUNDATION (ROCK) of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Corner Stone']." (Matthew 7:24-25).
"Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST" (1 Cor. 10:1-4).
And contrary to popular Christian tradition, Jesus did NOT say that He would build His church upon Peter.
"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter [Greek, petros, a piece of detached stone or rock], and upon THIS ROCK [Greek, petra {a different kind of rock}, a mass of rock that cannot be moved as in Matt. 7:24 and 27:60, which is distinct from petros which is a smaller detached rock that can be moved] will I built [Gk: 'To be a house-builder, i.e. construct or (figuratively) confirm:--build (up), builder (up), (be in) building (up), edify, embolden'] MY CHURCH; and the gates of the unseen [hades] shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18).
Jesus named Simon, "Cephas" (Peter is the Greek translation of Cephas which is Chaldee):
"And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, He said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone" (John 1:42),
that is, a smaller detached stone or rock in contrast to Himself Who is a huge unmovable mass of foundational BEDROCK. See Luke 6:48.
"He [the wise who hears and does Christ's Words] is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a Rock [Christ]: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, AND COULD NOT SHAKE IT: FOR IT WAS FOUNDED UPON A ROCK [CHRIST]."
The Church of the Living God is build upon CHRIST, not Peter! And so it is upon this SPIRITUAL, unmovable, foundational, bedrock of Jesus Christ that we are to be built into a new spiritual creation.
Psalm 127:1 declares,
“Except the Lord [that would be Jesus] build [Heb: 'To build, begin to build, obtain children, make, repair, set, set up'] the house [the church], they [that's us] labor in vain that build it.”
"For this Man [that would be Jesus] was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He [Jesus] who hath builded [Gk: 'To prepare thoroughly (properly by external equipment); implication to construct, create:--build, make, ordain, prepare'] the house hath more honor than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but HE THAT BUILT ALL THINGS IS GOD. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as A SERVANT [slave], for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ as A SON over His own house; whose house ARE WE, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." (Hebrews 3:3-6).
"For he [Abraham] looked for a city which hath foundations ['upon THE FOUNDATION (ROCK) of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Corner Stone'], whose builder [Gk: 'founder (Creator):--builder, craftsman'] and maker [Gk: 'A worker for the people, i.e. mechanic (spoken of the Creator):--Maker'] IS GOD." (Hebrews 11:10).
"Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy THIS TEMPLE, and in three days I will raise it up [Gk: '(through the idea of collecting one’s faculties); to waken, i.e. rouse (literal from sleep, from sitting or from lying, from disease, from death; or figurative from obscurity, from inactivity, from ruins, from nonexistence):—awake, lift (up), raise (again, up), rear up, (a-) rise (again, up), stand, take up']. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But He [SPIRITUALLY, FIGURATIVELY, in a PARABLE] spake of THE TEMPLE ['Know ye not that YE ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?' (1 Cor. 3:16)] of His BODY ['Christ is the head of THE CHURCH: and He is the saviour of THE BODY.' (Eph. 5:23)]." (John 2:19-21).
"For we know that if our earthly house [Gk: 'CARNAL FLESH, abode for the SPIRIT'] of this tabernacle [Gk: 'human body (as the abode of the spirit):--Tabernacle, weak tent'] were dissolved, we have a building [Gk: 'Architecture, i.e. (concretely) a structure; figuratively confirmation:--building, edify, edification, edifying, STRONG TEMPLE'] of God, an house [Gk: 'SPIRITUAL BODY, abode for GOD'S SPIRIT'] NOT MADE WITH HANDS [but made by the SPIRIT], eternal [EONIAN, AGE-ABIDING] in the heavens [THE REALM OF SPIRITS]. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house [Gk: 'SPIRITUAL BODY, abode for GOD'S SPIRIT'] which is from heaven: if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle [Gk: 'human body (as the abode of the spirit):--Tabernacle, weak tent, CARNAL FLESH'] do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought [Gk: 'To work fully, i.e. accomplish; implication to finish, fashion:--perform, work out'] us for the selfsame thing IS GOD, who also hath given unto us the earnest [Gk: 'A pledge, i.e. part of the purchase-money or property given in advance as security for the rest:--earnest, DOWN PAYMENT'] OF THE SPIRIT." (2nd Corinthians 5:1-5).
"But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more PERFECT tabernacle [Gk: 'A tent or cloth hut (literal or figurative):--habitation, tabernacle, SPIRITUAL BODY'], NOT MADE WITH HANDS [but made by the SPIRIT], that is to say, not of this building [Gk: 'Original formation, creation, CARNAL FLESH']." (Hebrews 9:11).
"And he carried me away IN THE SPIRIT to a great and high mountain [MT. ZION], and showed me that great city, the HOLY [HEAVELY, SPIRITUAL] JERUSALEM [THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD, THE BODY OF CHRIST], DESCENDING OUT OF HEAVEN FROM GOD [COMING DOWN TO EARTH], having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious [THAT WOULD BE JESUS], even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: on the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had TWELVE FOUNDATIONS, and in them THE NAMES OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF THE LAMB [Jesus]." (Revelation 21:10-14).
And remember God always uses imperfect people in imperfect situations to accomplish His will. So learn this important lesson: WHEREVER GOD GUIDES, HE ALWAYS PROVIDES. Whatever He calls us to do; He will enable and equip us to do. God is FAITHFUL! HE KEEPS HIS OWN PROMISES!
"Being confident of this very thing, that He [He who? You? Nope! GOD] which hath begun a good work in you [He, GOD] will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).
"For it is God [who? ‘GOD’] which works in you both TO WILL and TO DO of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13).
"Faithful is He [God] that calleth you, Who also will DO IT." (1st Thessalonians 5:24).
Ministry of the Apostle
Courtesy of Kingdom Watcher @ http://kingwatch.co.nz/kingwatch.htm
Apostleship
An apostle is an elder who is sent out to establish a new church. The Greek word “apostlos” literally means "one who is sent". It is applied to a messenger who is sent on a mission. In the New Testament, it is used to describe a person who is sent out to establish a new church.
This is what happened in the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1-3). In that church there were prophets and teachers. While they were at prayer, the Holy Spirit told them to set aside Paul and Barnabas to be apostles.
Paul and Barnabas then went through Asia Minor establishing new churches. This is the ministry of the apostle. Once they had been sent out Luke referred to Paul and Barnabas as apostles (Acts 14:14).
When a couple of Christians have grown to a point where they can take on an eldership role, some of the existing elders will be sent out to start a new church. The pastor-teachers sent out are called apostles. Sometimes the prophet accompanying them is also called an apostle.
The Greek word for apostle is used frequently in the New Testament, but we do not notice. The problem for us is that the noun is translated “apostle”, but the verb is translated as “sent”. When we see the word “sent” in the New Testament, we should think “apostle”. We would then realise that the experience being “apostled” was very common.
The New Testament provides a number of principles relevant to the process of sending out apostles.
1. Go with the Spirit When starting a new church, apostles will normally move into the next neighbourhood or village. Often they will go to a place where someone has just been converted (Acts 16:11-15). They will go where the Spirit is moving, so hearing God’s voice will be important in knowing where to go. In warfare, establishing a new beachhead is much harder than pushing out from controlled territory. The same applies in the spiritual dimension. Advancing from an area where a spiritual stronghold has been established is more likely to be successful.
2. Send the Best The best people should be sent out. Paul and Barnabas were key leaders in the church at Antioch, so they were sent out as apostles. This is the most important principle (see Marks of an Apostle). Most new works fail, because the best leader stays behind and an inexperienced person is sent out to start something new. Starting a new church is harder than keeping a good church going, so only people who have proved that they are skilled in caring for a church should be assigned to this task. The best elders should be at the cutting edge in the new church.
In the early days of the church the apostles all stayed in Jerusalem. This may have been nice for them, but it was holding back the growth of the church. God had to send persecution to get them to move out into the world. It was among those who fled to Antioch that they next major advance of the church took place (Acts 8:1-8; 11:19-21). The Lord may have to send a similar time of testing in New Zealand to get those who are called to be apostles to move out.
3. Send Teams Apostles should never be sent out alone. Even a mature Christian like Paul took others with him for support and spiritual protection. Sending a person or couple out alone to start a new church is like sending soldiers armed with sticks to fight against tanks. We should not be surprised that so many are destroyed in these circumstances.
4. Send a Prophet An apostle should be accompanied by a prophet. Barnabas (Acts 4:36) and Silas (Acts 15:32) were prophets who accompanied Paul. When Paul and Barnabas had a disagreement, Paul was not prepared to go out till he had found another prophet (Silas) to go with him.
The most experienced prophet should be sent out with the apostle, because starting the new church is the most demanding task. Good prophetic insight must be part of the church from the beginning, so it will be built on a foundation of righteousness and holiness. Every new work must be based on a clear vision. Many new works flounder, because they have inadequate or confused vision. The apostle and the prophet complement each other. This is why a church is said to be “built on the foundation of apostles and prophets” (Eph 2:20).
5. Send an Evangelist. The apostolic team should also include someone with an evangelistic gifting. This will ensure that the new church grows quickly. Timothy (2 Tim 4:5) and Mark (he wrote a gospel) were evangelists with Paul.
6. Send Balanced Teams. The apostle will provide the zeal and boldness to get the team moving out of their comfort zone. He will use his pastoral skills to draw a group of believers together and build then into a unit. The prophet will impart clear vision into the new church. He will encourage the apostle and watch over the church to see that it is built according to God’s plan. A building with a faulty foundation will not be able to stand, and will eventually collapse. The evangelist will teach the new believers to share the gospel.
7. Send a United Team. There must strong unity in the apostolic team. Just after the apostolic team has been sent out is the time when it is most vulnerable. There must be no unresolved issues that could cause division between them. The will have developed these strong relationships with each other by working together in the church from which they are sent.
The elders sent out as apostles will function as the elders of the new church. They will submit to each like the elders of other churches. This will provide protection from sin and the attacks of Satan. If they have not proved they can work together in the sending church, they should not be expected to work together in a new environment.
8. Replicate their Ministries. Before leaving, the apostles will appoint new elders to take over their responsibilities in the sending church. The new elders will step up easily, because they have learned their ministries, while being supervised by the departing elders. Replication of ministries is an essential part of this process. If the new elders have been trained by their predecessors, the sending church will carry on with very little disruption. There will be an existing role into which they can step. All that a new elder must be able to do is disciple six to ten Christians.
All that elders have to do is be able to disciple six to ten Christians, making certain that one grows sufficiently to be able to take their place when they move on. (They also have to be able to get on with the other elders, but if they cannot do this, they should not be elders.)
Paul was frustrated when Mark deserted him at Pamphylia and did not continue in the apostolic work (Acts 15:38), because he wanted to replicate his ministry in Mark, Paul had to start all over again with Timothy.
9. Send Soon. An apostolic team can be sent out as soon as other people in the church are ready to take over their leadership role. Once each member of the apostolic team has replicated their ministry in one person, they should be sent on to start a new church. The sooner this happens, the better. Once a church grows beyond a certain size, its leaders become indispensable and it will be too hard to replace the elders who are sent out. It is more likely to get institutionalised.
A sending church will be an exciting place with no room for complacency. If the apostles are sent out, the remaining members will have an opportunity to grow into leadership. Potential leaders will be constantly stepping up into the roles of those who have left.
Many problems in the modern church come because people get bored and then restless. If a church is continually sending out apostles there will always be a good challenge for the remaining members.
10. Send Ordinary People. Most apostles will be ordinary people. In fact, many of the apostles in the New Testament were such ordinary people (Barnabas, Andronicus, Junia), that we know very little about them. When we stop looking for the spectacular, we will find many people who are called to be apostles. If there is rapid growth in the number of churches, there will always be lots of opportunities for ordinary people to exercise this ministry.
These will not be super apostles. Many elders can become apostles. The biggest problem today is that our understanding of apostleship is too grandiose. We have made the pastor into something really big, so an apostle must be greater still. We will not recognise an apostle unless he is like Paul or Peter. We will not accept a prophet unless he compares to Elijah. When we think of an evangelist, we think of Billy Graham.
Not every pastor will become an apostle. Some will prefer to stay where they are and work with those who are crushed and broken. That is just as valid a ministry as being sent out as an apostle. Balanced churches need both ministries.
God wants us to get away from dependency on big ministries. In the Old Testament times only a few people had the anointing of the Spirit. God’s people had to depend on a few great heroes. The purpose of Pentecost was to pour the Holy Spirit out onto all believers. This means that every believer can have a ministry. We need a church structure that allows every member to develop into a ministry. Rather than having a few heroes, God would prefer to have millions of small ministries anointed with his Spirit.
11. Repeat the Process. The new church will grow quickly. The evangelist in the team will ensure there are plenty of new converts. The apostle will ensure they grow quickly and will train some of the new converts to be pastor-teachers. Once the new church has grown a little, the more mature of the new converts will be appointed as elders.
The Apostolic Way
Jesus gave very clear instructions about the way that an apostolic team should do its work (Luke 10). These are probably the most ignored words in the entire New Testament.
New Neighbourhood
When they are sent out into a new area, Christians should seek God to find the right neighbourhood.
"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go." (Luke 10:1).
Jesus appointed the seventy-two and sent (literally apostled) them out. They went everywhere he was going to go. Now that Jesus has gone and the Holy Spirit has come, apostles should go where the Holy Spirit is about to go. Being in Jerusalem is pointless, if the Holy Spirit is moving in Antioch.
Some neighbourhoods and nations are spiritually tougher than others. Jesus said,
"When you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near'." (Luke 10:10,11).
Apostles should not waste their efforts where they are not welcome. They should move on and find a place where the Holy Spirit is moving. Antioch is a good example of such a place, but apostles initially missed out on the opportunity (Acts 11:20-24).
Person of Peace
When they move to the chosen location, the apostles should try to establish contact with an influential person or “person of peace” in that place. Jesus commanded the seventy-two to stay in one home and not go from house to house.
"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them,… When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you." (Luke 10:1-2, 5-6).
He had said something very similar when he sent out the twelve.
"Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you." (Matt 10:11-13).
The Holy Spirit will lead the apostles to a “worthy person” or “person of peace”. This is someone who is open to the gospel and who has contact and influence with other people in the area. Sometimes that person might be a Christian with a burden for their neighbourhood. The new Church will usually meet in the house of the person of peace.
Paul often went to the local synagogue to identify the worthy person. This was how he and Barnabas started a Church in the house of Lydia.
One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. When she and the members of her household were baptised, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us (Acts 16:14,15).
Lydia was the person of peace and influence and the first convert in Philippi. Paul and Barnabas established a church in her house.
Sometimes the person of peace or influence will be a town official or key business person. Publius, the chief official of Malta welcomed Paul into his home (Acts 28:7). Lydia was a successful businesswoman. In Paphos, the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God (Acts 13:6,7). Winning a person in authority for Christ will open the whole neighbourhood or village up to the gospel.
The fact that he is a person of peace may be a sign that the forces of evil are not strong in that locality. This will make it an ideal place to establish a spiritual stronghold.
Stay in a House
In most cultures, the apostles would go and live in the house of the person of peace. Jesus said,
"Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house." (Luke 10:7).
Jesus had said the same thing to the twelve when He sent them out.
"Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town." (Luke 9:4).
Paul and Barnabas went to stay with Lydia. Paul went to stay with Publius. Ideally an apostolic team would accept customary offers of hospitality and stay in the house of the person of peace.
In western cultures, staying with the person of peace or influence might be too intrusive. The apostle should rent or buy a house as close as possible to the person of influence, but they would still have their meetings in the home of the person of peace.
If the rest of the apostolic team are single, they could stay with the apostle in his house. If they are married, they should find houses close by.
The apostolic team will focus their chosen locality. They will build a spiritual stronghold and form a Christian community, in which they share and care for each other. This will be a tremendous witness to the people who live around them.
Healing the Sick
Once contact has been established with the person of peace, the apostles should look for opportunities to heal the sick. Jesus said,
"When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you'." (Luke 10:8-9).
An apostle has authority to heal the sick, so someone should be healed, when the apostolic team moves into the new neighbourhood. The healing will often crack the neighbourhood open.
At Malta, Paul prayed for Publius’s sick father and he was healed (Acts 28:8-10). The whole island came and were healed (many would have been saved). The proconsul in Paphos believed the Gospel, when he saw a sorcerer struck blind by the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:8-12).
When people in the neighbourhood hear about the healing, they will be curious. Many others will come wanting to be healed. The apostles will take the opportunity to share the gospel and pray for them.
In most cultures, a crowd will gather. The apostle or the evangelist will preach the gospel and pray for the sick. God will confirm their preaching with signs and wonders (Mark 16:20). Jesus regularly used this method.
The apostolic team will disciple the new Christians, teaching them to live in obedience to Jesus. They will mold them together into a Church, based in the home of the person of peace. The new Church will become a community in which the life of Christ is visibly demonstrated. As households are converted, they will be drawn into this community. Seen from this perspective, becoming a Christian is becoming part of a Christian community.
Starting with the End in Mind
Apostles will start the new Church with the end in mind. The first priority of the apostolic team will be to get to the stage where they can appoint a team of elders from within the new Church to take over its leadership. Most of their energy will go into those whom they expect to become elders. The apostolic team will intensively disciple them and start to replicate their ministries in them. They will focus on developing a team containing the full range of ministries.
People with influence are important because they are likely to become leaders in the new Church. A person of peace is less likely to have a lot of personal problems that need to be sorted out before they can grow into leadership. A person with both influence and a peaceful spirit should have potential to become an elder.
The ideal is for the apostle to live with the person of peace. This would increase the intensity of their discipleship. They would see everything the apostle does and be able to join in all the apostle’s activities. Having an apostle, and perhaps a prophet, living in their house will also provide a high level of spiritual protection. These benefits will help the person of peace grow very fast.
The apostolic team will not be concerned about gathering a large number of new converts. They will be busy with those who have leadership potential, so they will not have time to disciple a large number of new converts. They will not want a lot of new converts until some of the first batch of local Christians is ready to disciple them.
A work is ‘unfinished” until local elders have been appointed (Tit 1:5). When a local eldership team is in place, it will be easier to bring people into the Church.
Apostles will not be interested in church buildings. Their focus will be on growing to the point where they are able to send out apostles again, so they will not waste time and resources on buildings. Sending out apostles and starting new Churches is more important than a place to meet. The members of the apostolic team will usually rent their houses, as they will want to be free to move on when the time is right.
Summary of the Apostolic Way
Go where the Holy Spirit is moving
Seek the person of peace
Get established in a house
Heal the sick
Preach the gospel
Make disciples
Establish a Church
Train elders
Go out again.
Effective Strategy
Jesus spelt out a very clear strategy, but implementing it will require a radical change in the mindset of the church. For a long time the goal has been to get people to come to the church to hear the gospel. The problem with this approach is that in many cultures, most non-Christians will not come into a church service.
Jesus never said we should get people to come; he always said the church should go to where the people are (Matt 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8). The advantage of the New Testament way outlined here is that the Church goes to where the people live. They will see real hard-core Christianity being lived out in their living room or in the house next door.
Neighbourhood View
A neighbourhood view of the process described above looks like this. Christian A moves into A Street. He is an elder with a pastoral gifting. He knew that P was a person of influence, so he rented the house next door to him. His friends R and E move into the same neighbourhood at the same time. R is quite prophetic and E has an evangelistic calling. They had served together as elders in the church that had sent them, so they trusted each other and understood each other’s gifting.
When P’s crippled daughter was healed, he and all his family decided to follow Jesus. Everyone in A Street saw the dramatic change in both P and his daughter. When they asked what had happened, he blurted out the entire story with the gospel sprinkled in between. Those living in the blue houses chose to become Christians. A watched over them to ensure that none got side tracked. He also worked hard on building relationships between them.
The faith stirred up following the healing of P’s daughter led to a couple of other people at the other end of the street being healed. E shared the gospel to many others living in the street, and some came to believe. He took responsibility for those living in the houses shaded in green and built relationships with them. R focussed on those living on his side of the street.
New Church
Within a few months, a new church had come into existence. Their activities are centred on P’s house.
A year later, the church has grown even further and was starting to expand into D Street. When a sick person living in D Street was healed, the interest in the gospel spread quickly.
New Elders
Something else was happening as the church was expanding. A, E and R made sure that every new Christians was discipled into the Christian life. E looked after the green household and R looked after the red ones. P grew to maturity quickly, so was able to move into the role of an elder. He took over responsibility for the people in the blue houses. They had all got off to a good start and P knew them well, so the transition was not that hard. A was able to focus his attention on some of the new families in the turquoise houses out towards D Street.
The couple in the green house labelled B had also grown fast, so they were soon being acknowledged as elders too. They took over responsibility for the people in the green houses, so E could focus on the people in the orange houses. They had come to the Lord more recently, so they needed closer oversight. The church in A Street that started with three elders now has five (A, E, R, B, B).
The church is now led by four or five elders, each with a different gifting, but submitting to each other to ensure unity. Each elder would provide oversight for about five or six families. If all the families overseen by these elders lived close to each other in a local neighbourhood, they could function as a community.
Apostled Again
Apostles get restless when things settle into normality. A year later, A is looking for a new challenge, so he moved his family to a house in B Street. Across the corner is a Christian family (P), who are friends with some of the Christians in A Street. P believes that many of the people in their neighbourhood are interested in the gospel, so A agreed to give him a hand to get things started. A had replicated his ministry in the couple in the Turquoise house labelled B. They were able to take responsibility for oversight of the Christians around them.
E rented his house to a family of new Christians who needed strong emotional support. He knew that the church in A Street would support this family. The couple in the orange house labelled E were acknowledged as being mature enough to act as elders, so they took responsibility for watching over the people living in the other orange houses. The original E had replicated his ministry in them. The church in A Street still had five elders in residence. Most of the Christians were doing well, so they did not need much pastoral help anyway.
Most of the Christian living in A Street carried on as normal. They will already have good relationships with the new elders, so they will be unaffected by the departure of the apostles. Their relationships with other friends in the church can continue to grow and develop. Those sent out will often return to their sending church for fellowship and encouragement, so the bonds will not be broken.
E moved down to B Street into a rented house over the road from A and close to P. R chose not to move out with A and E, but he committed to providing prophetic oversight over their new ministry in B Street. He was able to do that from a distance, because he had really good relationships with the apostolic team of A and E.
Within a few months several people in the B Street neighbourhood had become Christians in the lighter green, blue and red houses. Someone that P new well had been healed of cancer by prayer, so everyone who knew them had to sit up and take notice.
Restoring Communities
Christians will have an important role in restoring real community to in the places where we live. Every church should be attached to a particular locality. Ideally, there should be one church at each location and each location should have one church, functioning as the heart of a local community.
An effective church has started in the A Street neighbourhood, but something else that is important has happened. The members of the church know each other and trust each other. They have established good relationships with the people in the white houses that live around them. Each group of families has at least one person with some leadership skills that are available for service in the wider community. Because the families that belong to this church live close to each other in a local neighbourhood, they can function as a community.
The three Ds are people who have become deacons. The Christians in A Street will commit to providing social assistance to anyone in their neighbourhood who faces poverty, whether or not they are Christian. One couple in the Orange group chose to follow Jesus after they received help during a period of unemployment.
Times of Distress
We may be going into a time of trouble, distress and judgement. The world is getting increasingly violent and unstable. Christians should be prepared for troubled times. To cope with the disorderly world that is emerging, Christians will need to get together in locality-based churches to provide support and protection for their communities.
If society were to collapse into chaos, W would have an monitor people coming into A street and call for help to deal with undesirables. If the situation got really bad, some of the people might move in with friends in A Street for a while to obtain protection. This may be the best of protection against theft or looting during a time of disruption.
Elders will establish relationships with other churches to share in support. Churches in the country will give food to give to churches in the cities.
Churches in the city will distribute surplus food to people in need.
Churches in the city with surplus wealth will supply others with needs.
When social disintegrates, state power will fall apart. Social welfare system will collapse and justice will fail. Christian churches will be needed to fill the gap.
The Wider Church View
Looking from the church perspective, we have something like the following diagram. Each Christian in A Street is overseen by a Christian elder. The three Bs are pastoral, R is prophetic, and E is evangelistic.
These five elders had strong relationships with each other. They draw all their people together in one body to be a church. Many of these people new each other well already. They elders work together to strengthen these relationships, so it looks like this.
The relationships between these people are as important as the people. They look something like this.
When the Apostles move out from A Street onto B Street, the churches look like the following.
The new church will grow quickly. There is an evangelist in the team, so there will be plenty of new converts. There is a very experienced pastor/teacher so they will grow quickly. The apostle will train one of the new converts to be a pastor/teacher. Once the new church has grown a little, that person will be appointed to a pastoral role.
Because the new church starts with a balanced apostolic team, it will grow very fast.
The Path of an Apostle
The path of an apostle can be described in another way. Each little pentagon signifies a church with a balanced ministry.
The original church that has sent out an apostolic team is signified by the blue pentagon. In this example the first church has sent an apostle who has started a new church.
Once the new church reaches maturity, new elders are appointed and the apostolic team moves out again to start another church. The apostle replicates his church and replicates his ministry and then moves on to repeat the process. The arrowheads represent new churches.
The first church has also trained up some new elders and sent out another apostolic team. (The most experienced will be sent out).
Several years later the original apostle has started a third church. The first church he planted has sent out another apostolic team. The original church has now sent out three apostolic teams
A few years later, 6 new churches have been started as apostles have been commissioned and sent out. In each case, it is the best people who are sent out.
Multiplication
A few years later there are twenty-five churches. Multiplication is a very powerful principal as it produced exponential growth.
The Cutting Edge
The apostles represented by the purple dots have all started three new churches. The first apostle (red dot) has planted four. The important thing to note is that the best people are at the cutting edge. However, I am not just talking about seven people. Each dot represents an apostolic team, so there are at least 20 top people at the cutting edge. Moreover, there is a range of different ministries between them. This provides real protection and strength for the church as a whole. The strongest are on the battlefront with the world, where the going is the toughest. That is why the apostles are referred to as pillars of the church (Galatians 2:9). They are on the edge of the church holding it up.
Authority
Apostles exercise authority looking back.
The elders in each of the churches marked in yellow have a link with the first apostle. They will be either his spiritual children or spiritual grand children. Therefore they will respect him and acknowledge his authority. They were once submitted to him when he was an elder and they were new Christians, so they will still respect him, though they have become elders.
The authority of an apostle comes out of relationship. Paul demonstrated this type of authority in his letters. He was able to give direction to the churches because he had a relationship with them. He was the apostle who had established their church.
This authority is completely different from the worldly pyramid model. It does not depend on legal power or position. In contrast, the authority of a bishop comes with appointment to a position in a legal organization
We should note that the The Twelve Apostles of Jesus were not a select group, with a special role; they were just the first of many apostles who were sent out to start new churches.
Celebration
Every now and then one of the churches in a cluster will organize a celebration. All the Churches in that area will get together to praise and worship God. They will meeting in a public place (Acts 3:1). Some of the apostles may minister to them.
Mission
Some apostles will be sent out to other countries as missionaries. The same principles will apply when apostles go to another country.
1. The best people should be given the toughest tasks. Those sent into other cultures should be the best apostles.
2. Apostles should never be sent into a different culture alone. Sending an individual or couple into a different culture, puts them at tremendous spiritual risk.
3. An apostle should be sent out in a team that includes at least one past, one prophet and one evangelist. Otherwise the church in the new country will be unbalanced.
4. The apostolic team should have proved that they can plant a church in their own culture. Paul and Barnabas were only sent out after they had proved themselves in Antioch. To often missionaries first real experience of ministry is in a strange culture. This makes the task incredibly hard.
5. The apostolic team should have proved that they can work together in their own culture, before being sent to a different culture. Often missionaries from a number of different churches in different countries, who have never met, are put together in a mission field and expected to work together. They have to learn to work together, before they can minister effectively together. Sometimes they don't manage to learn to work together.
An apostolic team sent to another country should concentrate on establishing a church in a particular locality. Once they have trained up elders to take over, they should be sent out to start another church in a new area. They will start the process of multiplication described above. At some stage, they will take indigenous Christians with them to teach them how to be apostles. Very soon some of the indigenous Christian's should also be being sent out as apostles. Eventually, the indigenous church will be multiplying independently of the missionary apostles.
Financial Support
Locality-based apostles will be moving frequently, so they will find it difficult to hold down permanent employment. They will receive their financial support in three different ways. The common factor is strong relationships.
Local Finances
Financial Support for Local Apostles
Locality-based apostles will be moving frequently, so they will find it difficult to hold down permanent employment. They will receive their financial support in three different ways. The common factor is strong relationships.
1. Take No Purse
When Jesus apostled the twelve and the seventy, they took no purse.
"Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep." (Matt 10:9-10).
These apostles were not to take money from a central purse. Jesus specifically told them not to take a wallet. Instead, they were to rely on the hospitality of the people in the town or village they were going to visit.
"Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave." (Matt 10:11).
These Christians would bring healing to the people in the town. This would create tremendous good will. They would stay with the person of peace until the work in that village was complete. Being dependent on the person of peace made the apostle vulnerable, but it had a huge advantage. The person of peace would be discipled quickly, because the apostle’s life would be transparent to them.
2. Tent Making
The Take No Purse approach would work in traditional cultures where providing hospitality is a normal part of life. It would not work in our Western culture, so apostles would need a different means of support. One option is tent making. Paul used this option in Corinth.
"After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth … and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath." (Acts 18:1,3,4).
Paul stayed with the tentmakers with similar skills. This gave him credibility while witnessing to them, while allowing him to be independent financially.
In the Western world where part-time work can produce a good income, this will be the most common form of financing. Paul was quite staunch about people working for their living where they could.
"We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this.. in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow…we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge …. to settle down and earn the bread they eat." (2 Thes 3:7-12).
In a world whether many religious leaders have fleeced their flock, this is an example that we need. Modern apostles should look at using their skills to earn their living by seeking part-time work.
Some apostles will encourage the development of neighbourhood businesses. This will provide financial support for other apostles and people in need. These businesses will come into their own when globalization collapses in the future. They will be able to produce things that can no longer be imported. Some will be family businesses.
3. Pay It Forward
When an apostolic team is sent out to plant a new church, the church that sends them out will often provide financial support. Because this apostolic team will have established the sending church for free, they will pay it forward by supporting their apostles on their next venture. When Paul was in Thessalonica, the church in Philippi provided support for him.
"You sent me aid again and again when I was in need." (Phil 4:16).
The key to this support is person-to person relationships. Paul had lived in Philippi as an apostle. He had an excellent relationship with them. They could put something back into his ministry by providing him with financial support. Modern apostles will often receive help from the people they have discipled in churches where the previously exercised their ministry.
Giving to apostles must be voluntary. Apostles cannot enforce giving by the church that has sent them out. They do not have authority to require financial support from their sending churches. The sending church will support the apostles they send, because they love them and are committed to the apostolic task.
Relationships
In the New Testament Model, money flows through relationships, not institutions. Person-to-person giving feeds on trust. Deacons will have a key role in building relationships between those in need and those who can give.
If churches go back to meeting in believer’s homes, the overhead costs involved in planting a new Church very low. All that will be needed is a team of apostles and a home in which to meet. Often they will meet in the home of the first person converted, so there will be almost no expenses at all.
Centralized Finances
A serious problem with modern apostolic ministries is lack of money. Many apostles feel that their activities are restrained by lack of resources. The apostle at the centre, who is governing a region and training church planters, needs lots of money.
One solution is to establish regional finance programmes. Because these ministries function at a trans-local level, they need trans-local funding. A region finance pool is a possible solution, but it does not deal with the problem.
Problems with Centralised Finances
There are several reasons why centralisation of finances is a danger practice.
1. Persecution
Centralisation is dangerous during periods of persecution. If the government gets serious about stopping the church, it could cripple hundreds by arresting the people in charge of the money. If necessary, it could freeze the bank accounts, or clean them out. Decentralised finances are safer.
2. Dangerous Power
Any process that gives power to a few people is dangerous. If these people fall into pride or deception, they can do a lot of harm. Trouble crept into the church through money during its very early days. The practice emerged of disciples laying donations of money at the apostle’s feet (Acts 4:35). This practice was contrary to Jesus’ teaching.
"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets … to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret." (Matt 6:1-4).
Making donations to the apostles in public contradicted this command. It also led to pride and deception. The worst case was Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:11-11). The pride that came into the church through the practice of giving in public caused this couple to lie to the Apostles to make a good impression.
"Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet." (Acts 5:1-5).
This type of incident would not occur if the church depended on decentralised giving at a person-to-person level, as described in Acts 2:45.
"Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." (Acts 2:45).
Bulk centralised finance is vulnerable to spiritual attack. Small scale person to person giving is safer.
3. Waiting on Tables
The Jerusalem disciples apostles received guidance that they should keep out of the finance business.
"In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food." (Acts 6:1).
This problem is inevitable when the distribution of finances is centralised. The people responsible for distribution simply cannot understand all needs and assess them correctly. Some people will end up getting more than they need, while others miss out. This happens with many modern Christian foundations. Those with good connections tend to get plentiful finance, but some really good people miss out on funding.
The solution to the apostle’s problem was to appoint deacons to take care of the money. Under the guidance of the Spirit, they identified seven men to be deacons. The ministry of the deacon is an important ministry that needs to be restored in the modern church.
This experience changed the apostles approach to their ministry.
"We will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word." (Acts 6:4).
They committed to focussing on prayer and preaching. There is no mention of handling finance. This change is confirmed in their other statement.
"It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables." (Acts 6:2).
The apostles decided that it would be wrong for them to wait on tables. The Greek expression for “waiting on tables” is “diakonein trapezais”. The word “trapezais” means table, so one meaning of the expression is serving food. However, the word “trapezais” is also used in the gospels for the money changers’ tables (Matt 21:12, John 2:15) and the counter of a bank (Luke 19:23). This suggests that the apostles were not just resolving to stop serving food. They were also saying it would be wrong for them to manage the collection of money.
4. Corinthian Collection
Paul in his letter to the Corinthians was consistent with this approach.
"Now concerning the collection for the saints … On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come." (1 Cor 16:1-2).
He did not want to be involved in organising a collection. Instead he urged each person to lay up some money each week, so that the money would be ready when Paul arrived in Corinth. There was no compulsion and each person was free to decide how much they would give. The text above implies that there was no central collection, but that each person would put aside their own store (The Greek text literally means “lay beside himself”).
Paul focussed on organising of the delivery of the funds to Jerusalem. He was able to do this because he had good relationships with the Corinthians and the leaders of the church in Jerusalem.
"And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem. But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me." (1 Cor 16:3-4).
Paul did not want to handle the money himself. His preference was to provide a referral letters for the Corinthians, who would deliver the money. He offered to accompany them, if that would be helpful, but he did not want to get involved in controlling money. This confirms that apostles should not be handling money.
Money flows through relationship between churches. Apostles have extensive relationships, so they will support the flow of giving between communities. Paul had a relationship with both the leaders in Jerusalem and the church in Asia Minor, so he could facilitate the flow of support from one church to another.
5. No Authority
The ministry of an apostle is relational, not positional. Once the apostle has moved on, they can influence the leaders left behind, because they nurtured and mentored them, and then released into ministry. Apostles, though they do have governmental authority, they use relational influence as servants as Christ directed.
Apostles do not have the authority to decide how much money will be given to another church. The decision about how much should be given to Jerusalem was decided by the individual givers in the church in Asia Minor.
"The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea." (Acts 11:29).
Paul had no authority to tell the Corinthians how much to give. The size of the fund was decided when the people who gave the money tagged it for that purpose.
An apostle does not have authority to allocate money to particular needs. Paul could draw Jerusalem’s need to the attention of the Corinthians and facilitate the giving, but he did not control any funds that he could just allocate to Jerusalem.
Paul received financial support from several of the churches which he had helped the Holy Spirit to establish, but this was always voluntary. He was always gave thanks for their generosity, but he never instructed them to give him money for his support. Paul knew that an apostle did have the right to be supported but they forfeit that demand of money from a church he had helped to plant.
Paul was careful not to usurp authority that did not belong to him.. If he had asked for money for his support, many people in these churches would gladly obey him, because they loved and respected him. Paul wanted the elders in the new churches to grow in confidence, so he refused to undermine them, by imposing his authority on the Christians under their oversight.
Better solution
Centralized financing does not work. This is not surprising, because the core problem is not financial, but with the modern implementation of the apostolic ministry. The solution to the funding problems to push the fivefold ministries down to the local level, where they can be supported locally.
· Our ultimate goal, of course is total penetration of our community, giving everyone a chance to hear God's Message.
Hey brothers and sisters in Christ,
This is your friendly neighborhood servant, Ricardo Butler aka ReAsOn DiSciPLe the MiC Evangelist. And I am here to bring to you or shall I say pitch to you (I hope you catch) the evangelistic goals for the month of October. I pray that everything is well with you all and that God is prospering you in spirit, soul, and body. Amen!
M.I.C Assembly Hip Hop & Internet Church Network
The M.I.C. Vision
It is our vision to reconcile the HIP HOP CULTURE to God through Christ bringing them into GOD'S KINGDOM as MEMBERS of His family, developing them up to Christ-like MATURITY, training them for their MINISTRY to GOD'S CHURCH then sending them out on their life MISSION in the world, thus MAGNIFYING God's name in the process, RESULTING IN HEALTHY GROWTH.
It is our vision of a place where those who have been hurt, rejected, and confused by the existing religious systems can receive love, liberty, acceptance, encouragement, and support.
It is our vision of sharing God's Message of His COMING Kingdom through hip hop to those who have been hurt, rejected, and confused by the existing religious/church systems. The biggest influence on our children is what they see on TV and hear on the radio. Through God in our music they can receive love, liberty, acceptance, and encouragement.
It is our vision of building from scratch the already corrupted music scene on a new foundation which challenges all genres of the hip hop culture to step up to a level of real artistic lyricism and poetic skills that it will draw the mainstream, underground, reggae, R&B, reggaeton, up north, dirty south (crunk music), holy hip hop, etc, from the beef between themselves by seeing music from a new perspective and not the deception. And to be positive role models in the Lord for the future generations to come.
It is our vision of a place where local talents, not yet in the music industry, can network in music and create more sound ways to penetrate the society via Hip Hop/Rap Music, Rhythm & Praise Music, Speaking Engagements, Conferences, Seminars (Which includes Q & A's about using Hip Hop as a ministry), Concerts (Which includes opening(s) for other artists, Benefit Concerts, Street Outreaches, etc), Youth Event (Which includes Back 2 School Events), Festivals, Radio Shows, Video Shows, Feeding the homeless, Tours, & Prison/Jail/Juvenile Ministry, etc.
It is our vision of Jesus Christ raising up apostles who will restore the Church to the Headship of Christ and teach the one blueprint (the New Covenant) that will bring the Church back under Christ's care through true apostles, true prophets, true teachers, true evangelists, true pastors, true elders, true bishops, and true deacons all of whom will work together to train, prophecy, exhort, and comfort the saints in the authority and grace God gives to each of these offices, that the Church may walk in Truth, the Unity of faith and sincere love.
It is our vision of Christ restoring the knowledge of the New Covenant priesthood of the Believer, which is inclusive to all genders, and is not partial to one’s educational background, financial status, family pedigree or race where believers are able to own their faith, manage their spiritual growth, please God perfectly through inward fruit bearing, and experience His divine power for a rich, fulfilling, transforming, intimate and vibrant relationship with the Father.
It is our vision of restoring the house church (churches at home where people are at home: in ordinary houses) rather than the church building as a Way of living kingdom Life where, the people of God: sharing their lives in the power of the Holy Spirit, have “meatings,” that is, they eat when they meet; they often do not even hesitate to sell private property and share material and spiritual blessings, teach each other in real-life situations how to obey God’s word—dialogue--and not professor-style, pray and prophesy with each other, baptize, ‘lose their face’ and their ego by confessing their sins, regaining a new corporate identity by experiencing love, acceptance and forgiveness.
It is our vision of setting up in every house church a recording studio, run by and fully operated by its members. All this will be designed to minister to the total person--spiritually, emotionally, physically, intellectually, and socially--in a peaceful, inspiring setting.
It is our vision of planting at least one new house church and/or ministry every year starting in Orlando, then all over Florida, the all over the United States, and then all over the rest of the world.
IMPORTANT THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
[What Kind of Church Would WE Be?]
Our number one greatest goal for this church is, which is not listed above, is that we want to reach the unchurched, not transfer Christians from other churches to M.I.C. Assembly. Paul says in Romans 15:20-21,
"Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, NOT WHERE CHRIST WAS NAMED, lest I should build upon another man's foundation: but as it is written [in Isaiah 52:15], 'To whom He was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.'" (King James Version).
"Yea, making it my aim so to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build upon another man's foundation; but, as it is written, They shall see, to whom no tidings of Him came, And they who have not heard shall understand." (American Standard Version).
"So I endeavored earnestly to preach only where the name of Christ was NOT YET KNOWN, in order not to build on the foundation of someone else, but as it is written, 'Those who have never been told of Him will see, and those who never heard will understand.'" (Modern Language Bible).
"My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else. I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says, 'Those who have never been told about Him will see, and those who have never heard of Him will understand." (New Living Translation).
"Looking back over what has been accomplished and what I observed, I must say I am most pleased--in the context of Jesus, I'd even say proud, but only in that context. I have no interest in giving you a chatty account of my adventures, only the wondrously powerful and transformingly present words and deeds of Christ in me that triggered a believing response among the outsiders [non-believers]. In such ways I have trailblazed a preaching of the Message of Jesus all the way from Jerusalem far into northwestern Greece. THIS HAS ALL BEEN PIONEER WORK, BRINGING THE MESSAGE ONLY TO THOSE PLACES WHERE JESUS WAS NOT YET KNOWN AND WORSHIPED. My text has always been, 'Those who were never told of Him--they'll see Him! Those who've never heard of Him--they'll get the Message!" (Romans 15:17-21, The Message).
In addition, there are at least hundreds of Bible-teaching churches in Orlando alone. I quickly concluded that most (if not all) of the Christians in Orlando were already happily involved in a good church or at least have plenty of options. I don't want to be known as "sheep stealer."
I decided that:
We will make no effort at all to attract Christians from other churches to M.I.C. Assembly.
We will not even borrow workers from other area churches to start M.I.C. Assembly.
Since I felt called to reach non-believers, I determined to begin with non-believers, rather than with a core of committed Christians. (This is not the way all books on church starting said to do it, but I feel certain that it is what God is calling us to do).
Our focus will be limited to reaching the unchurched, non-believers only for Christ, people who for one reason or another do not attend any existing churches.
We will not encourage other believers to transfer their membership from other churches to M.I.C. Assembly; in fact I will openly discourage it and say, "If you are coming to this church from another church you need to understand up front that this church was not designed for you. If you are transferring from another church you are welcomed here only if you are willing to serve and minister. If all you intend to do is attend services, we'd rather save your seat from someone who is a non-believer. There are plenty of good Bible-teaching churches in this area that we can recommend to you." This position may sound harsh, but I believe we are following the example of Jesus. He defined His ministry target by saying,
"They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Mark 2:17).
"And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better." (Luke 5:37-39).
At M.I.C. Assembly we will continually need to remind ourselves of this statement. It will help us stay true to the original focus of our church: to bring the unchurched, irreligious people of our community to Christ.
I stand before you today and state in confident assurance that these dreams will become reality. Why because they are inspired by God!
This Church/Ministry is designed to use everyday ordinary people like you to get up, get out, and use your spiritual gifts and natural born talents to:
[1] Glorify God (WORSHIP GOD WITH ALL YOU ARE AND WITH WHAT YOU GOT IN SPIRIT & TRUTH)
Every church needs to grow stronger through worship.
Worship helps you focus on God. It prepares you spiritually and emotionally for the week ahead.
Led by Pastors (Ezekiel 34:23 & John 10:16).
[2] Become part of God's family (LOVE CHRISTIANS AND OTHER CHURCHES IN DEED & TRUTH)
Every church needs to grow warmer through fellowship.
Fellowship helps you face life's problems by providing the support and encouragement of other Christians.
Led by Teachers (Acts. 13:1 & 1st Corinthians 12:28).
[3] Be more like Christ (GROW IN GRACE AND KNOWLEDGE OF GOD & CHRIST)
Every church needs to grow deeper through discipleship.
Discipleship helps you fortify your faith by learning the truth of God's Word and applying biblical principles to your lifestyle.
Led by Prophets (2nd Kings 2:7 & 1st Corinthians 14:29-32).
[4] Edify the Church (SERVE & BUILD UP THE CHURCH WITH MY GIFTS/TALENTS/RESOURCES)
Every church needs to grow broader through ministry.
Ministry helps you find and develop your talents and use them in serving others.
Led by Apostles (Galatians 2:8, Acts 14:14, Acts 15:22, Mark 6:7).
[5] Reach the World (MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS STARTING AT HOME)
Every church needs to grow larger through evangelism.
Evangelism helps you fulfill your mission of reaching your friends and family for Christ.
Led by Evangelists (Acts 6:1-8).
These last two purposes are as a collective whole lead by the 5 Fold Equipping Ministers so training for it is optional:
[6] Wrestle against the rulers of darkness (PUT BACK EVIL WITH PRAYER AND THE (s)WORD OF GOD)
Every church needs to grow militant through spiritual warfare.
Spiritual Warfare helps you overcome evil with good and "take back land" from Satan
[7] Lead God's creation (LEAD BY EXAMPLE AND WATCHOVER THE SOULS OF MEN)
Every church needs to grow in influence through leadership.
Leadership helps you guide God's people in the church and the prodigal sons and daughters in the world
The Scripture on which will guide M.I.C. Assembly's staff in planning and working together are these spiritual principles that are based on Galatians 5:22-23, which speaks of the "fruit" of the Spirit rather than the "fruits" of the Spirit:
"The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE" as manifested in "joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance."
For M.I.C. Assembly's Staff ...
joy is love's strength (Neh. 8:10);
peace is love's security (Phil. 4:6-7, Col. 3:15);
long-suffering is love's patience (Eph. 4:1-3);
gentleness is love's conduct (2 Cor. 10:1-2);
goodness is love's character (Eph. 5:9);
faith is love's confidence (Heb. 1:1, 6);
meekness is love's humility (Gal. 6:1-2);
temperance is love's victory (1 Cor. 9:24-27).
Every staff member, without exception, should be committed without reservation to faithfully practicing these spiritual guidelines.
THE 5 PURPOSES IN JESUS' MINISTRY AND THE EARLY CHURCH
Becoming a God-driven, Christ-driven, SPIRIT-driven, NEW Testament-driven, KINGDOM OF GOD-driven, NEW COVENANT-driven church takes TIME -- it doesn't happen all at once, or even six months. It may even take M.I.C. Assembly SEVERAL YEARS to make the transition. If we want M.I.C. Assembly to become Christ-driven/mic-spitten, then by the grace of God given to me and all who will be in servant-leadership has to lead it through four critical phases:
First, we must DEFINE our purposes.
Next, we must COMMUNICATE those purposes to EVERYONE in M.I.C. Assembly -- on a regular basis.
Third, we must ORGANIZE M.I.C. Assembly around those purposes.
Finally, we must APPLY those purposes to every part of M.I.C. Assembly.
If you examine the earthly ministry of Jesus, it is apparent that He included all five of these elements in His work. Jesus realized that every person is at a different level of spirituality. Jesus made a comment in a conversation He had with a spiritual seeker. He said:
"Thou art not far from the kingdom of God." (Mark 12:34).
Not far? I take that to mean Jesus recognized degrees of spiritual understanding and commitment, even among non-believers. You can see this when He was teaching about the kingdom of God by parables.
"And with many such parables spake He the Word unto them, AS THEY WERE ABLE TO HEAR IT." (Mark 4:33).
Jesus' ministry included ministering to the Community, feeding the Crowd, gathering a Congregation, challenging the Committed, and discipling the Core. All five tasks are evident in the Gospels. We need to follow His example! Jesus began at the level of commitment of each person he met. Often He would capture their interest and create a desire to know more. Then, as people would continue to follow Him, Jesus would slowly, gently define more clearly the kingdom of God and ask for a deeper commitment to it. But He did this only when the followers had reached the previous stage. This wasn't watering down the Gospel. He was just creating interest.
As that group of earlier followers grew into a crowd, Jesus began slowly to turn up the heat. Jesus took into account that people have different cultural backgrounds, understanding, and levels of spiritual commitment. He knew that it doesn't work to use the same approach with all people. It is a simple strategy that acknowledges we minister to people at different levels of commitment. People are not all alike: They have different needs, interests, and spiritual problems, depending on where they are in their spiritual journey. We must not confuse what we (as Christians) do with the community and the crowd with what we do with the core. Each group requires a different approach. A crowd is not a church -- but a crowd can be turned into a church.
The apostle Paul not only fulfilled these purposed in his ministry, he also explains in Ephesians 4:1-16. But the clearest example of all five purposed is the first church at Jerusalem described in Acts 2:1-47.
"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine [deeper through discipleship] and fellowship [warmer through fellowship], and in breaking of bread [warmer through fellowship], and in prayers [stronger through worship]. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles [broader through ministry]. And all that believed were together [warmer through fellowship], and had all things common [warmer through fellowship]; and sold their possessions and goods [broader through ministry], and parted them to all men, as every man had need [larger through evangelism]. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple [warmer through fellowship], and breaking bread from house to house [warmer through fellowship], did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart [warmer through fellowship], praising God [stronger through worship], and having favor with all the people [larger through evangelism]. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." (Acts 2:42-47).
Purpose: Worship
Task: Exalt
Acts 2:42-47: "And they continued steadfastly in ... breaking of bread, and in prayers ... continuing daily with one accord ... praising God"
Objective: Magnify
Purpose: Fellowship
Task: Encourage
Acts 2:42-47: "And they continued ... fellowship ... And all that believed were together ... continuing daily with one accord in the temple, \ and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart"
Objective: Membership
Purpose: Discipleship
Task: Edify
Acts 2:42-47: "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine ... continuing daily with one accord"
Objective: Maturity
Purpose: Serve
Task: Equip
Acts 2:42-47: "And they continued ... And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord"
Objective: Ministry
Purpose: Outreach
Task: Evangelism
Acts 2:42-47: "And they, continuing daily with one accord ... Having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved"
Objective: Mission
In Acts 2:42-47, these five facets of growth are described in the first church at Jerusalem. The first Christians taught each other, they fellowshipped together, they worshipped, they ministered, and they evangelized. As a result, verse 47 says, "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." Note a couple of things about this verse. First, God added the growth (His part) when the church did its part (fulfilled the five purposes). Second the growth was daily, which means, at a minimum, this healthy church had 365 conversions a year! What if this was the evangelistic standard every church had to meet in order to call itself a healthy "New Testament/Covenant" Church? How many churches do you think would qualify?
Today our purposes are unchanged: The church exists to edify, encourage, exalt, equip, and evangelize. While each church will differ in how these tasks are accomplished, there should be no disagreement about what we are called to do.
Here are five key words to summarize Christ's five purposes for His church.
Magnify: We celebrate God's presence in worship
Mission: We communicate God's Word through evangelism
Membership: We incorporate God's family into our fellowship
Maturity: We educate God's people through discipleship
Ministry: We demonstrate God's love through service
These key words, representing our five purposes, have been incorporated into our foundational mission statement, which reads as follows.
"My purpose with this Message is to reconcile the HIP HOP CULTURE to God through Christ bringing them into GOD'S KINGDOM as MEMBERS of His family, developing them up to Christ-like MATURITY, training them for their MINISTRY in and to GOD'S CHURCH then sending them out on their life MISSION as God's LEADERS in the world, to OVERCOME evil in all its forms with good, thus MAGNIFY God's name in the process, RESULTING IN HEALTHY GROWTH."
Our process for implementing the purposes of God involves four steps:
1. We bring people in as members,
2. We build them up to maturity,
3. We train them for ministry,
4. And we send them out on their mission,
5. Thus, Magnifying the LORD in the process.
That's it! This is our total focus at M.I.C. Assembly. We don't do anything else. Everything Jesus commanded us in the New Testament falls into one of these 5 categories.
MY CHURCH FAMILY GIVES ME
God's purpose to live for (mission)
God's people to live with (membership)
God's principles to live by (maturity)
God's profession to live out (ministry)
God's power to live on (magnify)
CALENDAR ON PURPOSE
We will designate two months of each year to give special emphasis to each purpose. Then give each purpose team (composed of the 5 Fold staff-ministers of volunteers) the assignment of emphasizing that purpose church-wide during those months.
For example, January and June will be Magnification months--two months that emphasize personal and corporate worship.
February and July will be Membership months. These months will be good months to put a special emphasis on recruiting attenders to become new members. We can plan a number of church-wide fellowship events like picnics, concerts, and festivals.
March and August will be Maturity months. During a month-long emphasis on spiritual maturity we can read through the New Testament as a congregation, memorize a Bible verse together each week, or hold a Bible conference or a church-wide Bible study.
April and September will be Ministry months. During these months we will hold a ministry fair to recruit people for ministry. The apostle could preach a series on ministry. People could be encouraged to join a service group.
May and October will be Mission months, with activities like personal evangelism training, a missions conference, and special hands-on mission projects.
By committing two months a year to each of the five purposes we will be left with two free months--in this example November and December, which are already busy with Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Let's not fool ourselves. If we don't schedule God's purposes on our calendars, they won't get emphasized.
We use the cycles of commitment as our strategy for assimilating people into the life of the church.
Begin by moving the unchurched from the community to your crowd (for worship).
Then move them from the crowd into the congregation (for fellowship).
Next, move them from your congregation into the committed (for discipleship),
And from the committed into the core (for ministry).
Finally, move the core back out into the community (for evangelism).
This process fulfills all five purposes for the church.
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
I fill that most churches focus on the building too much. Too soon and too small. The shoe must never tell the foot hoe big it can grow. I do not want to ever own a building for this church. A building or lack of a building should never be allowed to become a barrier to a wave of growth. people are far more important than property.
Our sanity and survival is depended on first and foremost God's grace and His increase, second, upon developing a workable process to turn seekers into saints, turn consumers into contributors, turn members into ministers, and turn an audience into an army. Believe me it will be an incredibly difficult task to lead people from self-centered consumerism to being servant-hearted disciples of the Lord. This is not a task for the fainthearted music ministers or those who don't like to get their religious robes wrinkled. But it is what Christ commissioned us to do and should be the driving force behind all that will happen at M.I.C. Assembly. And remember what Solomon said,
"If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done." (Ecclesiastes 11:4).
So let's get it done with Christ!
SOME ENCOURAGEMENTS
It takes more than dedication to lead a church to grow; it takes skill. There is a verse in Ecclesiastes that says...
"If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill [Gk: 'wisdom (in a good sense):--skillful, wisdom'] will bring success." (Ecclesiastes 10:10, New International Version).
Notice that God says skill, not just dedication, will bring success. If I have wood to chop, I'll do a better job by sharpening my ax first. The point is, work smarter, not harder. Take the time to learn the skills you need in ministry. You'll save time in the long run and be far more successful. Sharpen your ministry ax by searching the Scriptures for principles to apply, reading books, listening to tapes, CDs or DVDs, and by observing working models. You're never wasting time when you're sharpening your ax. Skill brings success.
The reason the apostle Paul was so effective in planting and developing churches was because he was skilled at it. He admits this is 1st Corinthians:
"According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise [practical skilled, expert] masterbuilder." (1st Corinthians 3:10).
Paul was an expert at building churches and Christians in the Lord. He was not a haphazard builder who did shoddy work. Not only was he dedicated to his task, he was skilled at using the right tools. Paul said...
"This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you're familiar with the part I was given in God's plan for INCLUDING EVERYBODY. I got the inside story on this from God Himself, as I just wrote you in brief. As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for yourselves into the MYSTERY [SECRET] of Christ. NONE OF OUR ANCESTORS UNDERSTOOD THIS. ONLY IN OUR TIME HAS IT [the Mystery of Christ-SALVATION FOR ALL HUMANITY] BEEN MADE CLEAR BY GOD'S SPIRIT THROUGH HIS HOLY APOSTLES AND PROPHETS [Apostles and prophets are the two foundational ministries in the body of Christ. I have great respect for dedicated evangelists, pastors and teachers. The bible singles out apostles and prophets as the two ministries which, anchored to Jesus the Chief Cornerstone, under gird the Lord’s Church. All Christians are entitled to be built on this apostolic and prophetic foundation. And yet the modern day church calls most ministers by the term 'pastor' and shies away from 'apostles' and 'prophets' like a horse avoiding a rattlesnake! Man’s prejudices, fears, or misinterpretations have deprived the Lord’s Church of the two foundational ministries—apostles and prophets—that He Himself placed on earth. The Church today, wherever it denies these two ministries, is improperly structured.] OF THIS NEW ORDER. THE MYSTERY IS that people [THAT WOULD BE THE NON-BELIEVER] WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD OF GOD and those [THAT WOULD BE THE BELIEVER] WHO HAVE HEARD OF HIM ALL THEIR LIVES [but never understood this mystery, ver. 5] (what I've been called outsiders and insiders) STAND ON THE SAME GROUND [Jesus is that ground or foundation] before God. They get the SAME HELP, SAME PROMISES IN CHRIST JESUS. The Message is accessible and WELCOMING TO EVERYONE [to the saint and sinner, just and unjust, godly and ungodly, believer and non-believer], across the board. THIS IS MY LIFE WORK: HELPING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND AND RESPOND TO THIS MESSAGE. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, GOD HANDLING ALL THE DETAILS. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's Way, I WAS THE LEAST QUALIFIED OF ANY OF THE AVAILABLE CHRISTIANS. God saw to it THAT I WAS EQUIPPED, but you can be sure that it HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH MY NATURAL ABILITIES. And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head ..." (Ephesians 3:1-9, The Message).
We too must learn to use the right Tool (Christ) in building a church.
"Therefore whosoever HEARETH THESE SAYINGS [teachings, doctrine] OF MINE, AND DOETH THEM, I will liken him unto a WISE man ['a wise masterbuilder'], which BUILT [Gk: 'To be a house-builder, i.e. construct, build (up), edify'] his house [God's church-house-temple] upon a ROCK ['The household of God; and are built upon THE FOUNDATION (ROCK) of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Corner Stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord (IN THE SPIRIT).' (Eph. 2:19-21)]: and the rain descended, and the floods [ungodly people and their views] came, and the winds [demonic spirits with their false doctrines] blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock ['upon THE FOUNDATION (ROCK) of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Corner Stone']." (Matthew 7:24-25).
"Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST" (1 Cor. 10:1-4).
And contrary to popular Christian tradition, Jesus did NOT say that He would build His church upon Peter.
"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter [Greek, petros, a piece of detached stone or rock], and upon THIS ROCK [Greek, petra {a different kind of rock}, a mass of rock that cannot be moved as in Matt. 7:24 and 27:60, which is distinct from petros which is a smaller detached rock that can be moved] will I built [Gk: 'To be a house-builder, i.e. construct or (figuratively) confirm:--build (up), builder (up), (be in) building (up), edify, embolden'] MY CHURCH; and the gates of the unseen [hades] shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18).
Jesus named Simon, "Cephas" (Peter is the Greek translation of Cephas which is Chaldee):
"And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, He said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone" (John 1:42),
that is, a smaller detached stone or rock in contrast to Himself Who is a huge unmovable mass of foundational BEDROCK. See Luke 6:48.
"He [the wise who hears and does Christ's Words] is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a Rock [Christ]: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, AND COULD NOT SHAKE IT: FOR IT WAS FOUNDED UPON A ROCK [CHRIST]."
The Church of the Living God is build upon CHRIST, not Peter! And so it is upon this SPIRITUAL, unmovable, foundational, bedrock of Jesus Christ that we are to be built into a new spiritual creation.
Psalm 127:1 declares,
“Except the Lord [that would be Jesus] build [Heb: 'To build, begin to build, obtain children, make, repair, set, set up'] the house [the church], they [that's us] labor in vain that build it.”
"For this Man [that would be Jesus] was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He [Jesus] who hath builded [Gk: 'To prepare thoroughly (properly by external equipment); implication to construct, create:--build, make, ordain, prepare'] the house hath more honor than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but HE THAT BUILT ALL THINGS IS GOD. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as A SERVANT [slave], for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ as A SON over His own house; whose house ARE WE, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." (Hebrews 3:3-6).
"For he [Abraham] looked for a city which hath foundations ['upon THE FOUNDATION (ROCK) of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Corner Stone'], whose builder [Gk: 'founder (Creator):--builder, craftsman'] and maker [Gk: 'A worker for the people, i.e. mechanic (spoken of the Creator):--Maker'] IS GOD." (Hebrews 11:10).
"Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy THIS TEMPLE, and in three days I will raise it up [Gk: '(through the idea of collecting one’s faculties); to waken, i.e. rouse (literal from sleep, from sitting or from lying, from disease, from death; or figurative from obscurity, from inactivity, from ruins, from nonexistence):—awake, lift (up), raise (again, up), rear up, (a-) rise (again, up), stand, take up']. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But He [SPIRITUALLY, FIGURATIVELY, in a PARABLE] spake of THE TEMPLE ['Know ye not that YE ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?' (1 Cor. 3:16)] of His BODY ['Christ is the head of THE CHURCH: and He is the saviour of THE BODY.' (Eph. 5:23)]." (John 2:19-21).
"For we know that if our earthly house [Gk: 'CARNAL FLESH, abode for the SPIRIT'] of this tabernacle [Gk: 'human body (as the abode of the spirit):--Tabernacle, weak tent'] were dissolved, we have a building [Gk: 'Architecture, i.e. (concretely) a structure; figuratively confirmation:--building, edify, edification, edifying, STRONG TEMPLE'] of God, an house [Gk: 'SPIRITUAL BODY, abode for GOD'S SPIRIT'] NOT MADE WITH HANDS [but made by the SPIRIT], eternal [EONIAN, AGE-ABIDING] in the heavens [THE REALM OF SPIRITS]. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house [Gk: 'SPIRITUAL BODY, abode for GOD'S SPIRIT'] which is from heaven: if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle [Gk: 'human body (as the abode of the spirit):--Tabernacle, weak tent, CARNAL FLESH'] do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought [Gk: 'To work fully, i.e. accomplish; implication to finish, fashion:--perform, work out'] us for the selfsame thing IS GOD, who also hath given unto us the earnest [Gk: 'A pledge, i.e. part of the purchase-money or property given in advance as security for the rest:--earnest, DOWN PAYMENT'] OF THE SPIRIT." (2nd Corinthians 5:1-5).
"But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more PERFECT tabernacle [Gk: 'A tent or cloth hut (literal or figurative):--habitation, tabernacle, SPIRITUAL BODY'], NOT MADE WITH HANDS [but made by the SPIRIT], that is to say, not of this building [Gk: 'Original formation, creation, CARNAL FLESH']." (Hebrews 9:11).
"And he carried me away IN THE SPIRIT to a great and high mountain [MT. ZION], and showed me that great city, the HOLY [HEAVELY, SPIRITUAL] JERUSALEM [THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD, THE BODY OF CHRIST], DESCENDING OUT OF HEAVEN FROM GOD [COMING DOWN TO EARTH], having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious [THAT WOULD BE JESUS], even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: on the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had TWELVE FOUNDATIONS, and in them THE NAMES OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF THE LAMB [Jesus]." (Revelation 21:10-14).
And remember God always uses imperfect people in imperfect situations to accomplish His will. So learn this important lesson: WHEREVER GOD GUIDES, HE ALWAYS PROVIDES. Whatever He calls us to do; He will enable and equip us to do. God is FAITHFUL! HE KEEPS HIS OWN PROMISES!
"Being confident of this very thing, that He [He who? You? Nope! GOD] which hath begun a good work in you [He, GOD] will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).
"For it is God [who? ‘GOD’] which works in you both TO WILL and TO DO of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13).
"Faithful is He [God] that calleth you, Who also will DO IT." (1st Thessalonians 5:24).
Ministry of the Apostle
Courtesy of Kingdom Watcher @ http://kingwatch.co.nz/kingwatch.htm
Apostleship
An apostle is an elder who is sent out to establish a new church. The Greek word “apostlos” literally means "one who is sent". It is applied to a messenger who is sent on a mission. In the New Testament, it is used to describe a person who is sent out to establish a new church.
This is what happened in the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1-3). In that church there were prophets and teachers. While they were at prayer, the Holy Spirit told them to set aside Paul and Barnabas to be apostles.
Paul and Barnabas then went through Asia Minor establishing new churches. This is the ministry of the apostle. Once they had been sent out Luke referred to Paul and Barnabas as apostles (Acts 14:14).
When a couple of Christians have grown to a point where they can take on an eldership role, some of the existing elders will be sent out to start a new church. The pastor-teachers sent out are called apostles. Sometimes the prophet accompanying them is also called an apostle.
The Greek word for apostle is used frequently in the New Testament, but we do not notice. The problem for us is that the noun is translated “apostle”, but the verb is translated as “sent”. When we see the word “sent” in the New Testament, we should think “apostle”. We would then realise that the experience being “apostled” was very common.
The New Testament provides a number of principles relevant to the process of sending out apostles.
1. Go with the Spirit When starting a new church, apostles will normally move into the next neighbourhood or village. Often they will go to a place where someone has just been converted (Acts 16:11-15). They will go where the Spirit is moving, so hearing God’s voice will be important in knowing where to go. In warfare, establishing a new beachhead is much harder than pushing out from controlled territory. The same applies in the spiritual dimension. Advancing from an area where a spiritual stronghold has been established is more likely to be successful.
2. Send the Best The best people should be sent out. Paul and Barnabas were key leaders in the church at Antioch, so they were sent out as apostles. This is the most important principle (see Marks of an Apostle). Most new works fail, because the best leader stays behind and an inexperienced person is sent out to start something new. Starting a new church is harder than keeping a good church going, so only people who have proved that they are skilled in caring for a church should be assigned to this task. The best elders should be at the cutting edge in the new church.
In the early days of the church the apostles all stayed in Jerusalem. This may have been nice for them, but it was holding back the growth of the church. God had to send persecution to get them to move out into the world. It was among those who fled to Antioch that they next major advance of the church took place (Acts 8:1-8; 11:19-21). The Lord may have to send a similar time of testing in New Zealand to get those who are called to be apostles to move out.
3. Send Teams Apostles should never be sent out alone. Even a mature Christian like Paul took others with him for support and spiritual protection. Sending a person or couple out alone to start a new church is like sending soldiers armed with sticks to fight against tanks. We should not be surprised that so many are destroyed in these circumstances.
4. Send a Prophet An apostle should be accompanied by a prophet. Barnabas (Acts 4:36) and Silas (Acts 15:32) were prophets who accompanied Paul. When Paul and Barnabas had a disagreement, Paul was not prepared to go out till he had found another prophet (Silas) to go with him.
The most experienced prophet should be sent out with the apostle, because starting the new church is the most demanding task. Good prophetic insight must be part of the church from the beginning, so it will be built on a foundation of righteousness and holiness. Every new work must be based on a clear vision. Many new works flounder, because they have inadequate or confused vision. The apostle and the prophet complement each other. This is why a church is said to be “built on the foundation of apostles and prophets” (Eph 2:20).
5. Send an Evangelist. The apostolic team should also include someone with an evangelistic gifting. This will ensure that the new church grows quickly. Timothy (2 Tim 4:5) and Mark (he wrote a gospel) were evangelists with Paul.
6. Send Balanced Teams. The apostle will provide the zeal and boldness to get the team moving out of their comfort zone. He will use his pastoral skills to draw a group of believers together and build then into a unit. The prophet will impart clear vision into the new church. He will encourage the apostle and watch over the church to see that it is built according to God’s plan. A building with a faulty foundation will not be able to stand, and will eventually collapse. The evangelist will teach the new believers to share the gospel.
7. Send a United Team. There must strong unity in the apostolic team. Just after the apostolic team has been sent out is the time when it is most vulnerable. There must be no unresolved issues that could cause division between them. The will have developed these strong relationships with each other by working together in the church from which they are sent.
The elders sent out as apostles will function as the elders of the new church. They will submit to each like the elders of other churches. This will provide protection from sin and the attacks of Satan. If they have not proved they can work together in the sending church, they should not be expected to work together in a new environment.
8. Replicate their Ministries. Before leaving, the apostles will appoint new elders to take over their responsibilities in the sending church. The new elders will step up easily, because they have learned their ministries, while being supervised by the departing elders. Replication of ministries is an essential part of this process. If the new elders have been trained by their predecessors, the sending church will carry on with very little disruption. There will be an existing role into which they can step. All that a new elder must be able to do is disciple six to ten Christians.
All that elders have to do is be able to disciple six to ten Christians, making certain that one grows sufficiently to be able to take their place when they move on. (They also have to be able to get on with the other elders, but if they cannot do this, they should not be elders.)
Paul was frustrated when Mark deserted him at Pamphylia and did not continue in the apostolic work (Acts 15:38), because he wanted to replicate his ministry in Mark, Paul had to start all over again with Timothy.
9. Send Soon. An apostolic team can be sent out as soon as other people in the church are ready to take over their leadership role. Once each member of the apostolic team has replicated their ministry in one person, they should be sent on to start a new church. The sooner this happens, the better. Once a church grows beyond a certain size, its leaders become indispensable and it will be too hard to replace the elders who are sent out. It is more likely to get institutionalised.
A sending church will be an exciting place with no room for complacency. If the apostles are sent out, the remaining members will have an opportunity to grow into leadership. Potential leaders will be constantly stepping up into the roles of those who have left.
Many problems in the modern church come because people get bored and then restless. If a church is continually sending out apostles there will always be a good challenge for the remaining members.
10. Send Ordinary People. Most apostles will be ordinary people. In fact, many of the apostles in the New Testament were such ordinary people (Barnabas, Andronicus, Junia), that we know very little about them. When we stop looking for the spectacular, we will find many people who are called to be apostles. If there is rapid growth in the number of churches, there will always be lots of opportunities for ordinary people to exercise this ministry.
These will not be super apostles. Many elders can become apostles. The biggest problem today is that our understanding of apostleship is too grandiose. We have made the pastor into something really big, so an apostle must be greater still. We will not recognise an apostle unless he is like Paul or Peter. We will not accept a prophet unless he compares to Elijah. When we think of an evangelist, we think of Billy Graham.
Not every pastor will become an apostle. Some will prefer to stay where they are and work with those who are crushed and broken. That is just as valid a ministry as being sent out as an apostle. Balanced churches need both ministries.
God wants us to get away from dependency on big ministries. In the Old Testament times only a few people had the anointing of the Spirit. God’s people had to depend on a few great heroes. The purpose of Pentecost was to pour the Holy Spirit out onto all believers. This means that every believer can have a ministry. We need a church structure that allows every member to develop into a ministry. Rather than having a few heroes, God would prefer to have millions of small ministries anointed with his Spirit.
11. Repeat the Process. The new church will grow quickly. The evangelist in the team will ensure there are plenty of new converts. The apostle will ensure they grow quickly and will train some of the new converts to be pastor-teachers. Once the new church has grown a little, the more mature of the new converts will be appointed as elders.
The Apostolic Way
Jesus gave very clear instructions about the way that an apostolic team should do its work (Luke 10). These are probably the most ignored words in the entire New Testament.
New Neighbourhood
When they are sent out into a new area, Christians should seek God to find the right neighbourhood.
"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go." (Luke 10:1).
Jesus appointed the seventy-two and sent (literally apostled) them out. They went everywhere he was going to go. Now that Jesus has gone and the Holy Spirit has come, apostles should go where the Holy Spirit is about to go. Being in Jerusalem is pointless, if the Holy Spirit is moving in Antioch.
Some neighbourhoods and nations are spiritually tougher than others. Jesus said,
"When you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near'." (Luke 10:10,11).
Apostles should not waste their efforts where they are not welcome. They should move on and find a place where the Holy Spirit is moving. Antioch is a good example of such a place, but apostles initially missed out on the opportunity (Acts 11:20-24).
Person of Peace
When they move to the chosen location, the apostles should try to establish contact with an influential person or “person of peace” in that place. Jesus commanded the seventy-two to stay in one home and not go from house to house.
"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them,… When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you." (Luke 10:1-2, 5-6).
He had said something very similar when he sent out the twelve.
"Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you." (Matt 10:11-13).
The Holy Spirit will lead the apostles to a “worthy person” or “person of peace”. This is someone who is open to the gospel and who has contact and influence with other people in the area. Sometimes that person might be a Christian with a burden for their neighbourhood. The new Church will usually meet in the house of the person of peace.
Paul often went to the local synagogue to identify the worthy person. This was how he and Barnabas started a Church in the house of Lydia.
One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. When she and the members of her household were baptised, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us (Acts 16:14,15).
Lydia was the person of peace and influence and the first convert in Philippi. Paul and Barnabas established a church in her house.
Sometimes the person of peace or influence will be a town official or key business person. Publius, the chief official of Malta welcomed Paul into his home (Acts 28:7). Lydia was a successful businesswoman. In Paphos, the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God (Acts 13:6,7). Winning a person in authority for Christ will open the whole neighbourhood or village up to the gospel.
The fact that he is a person of peace may be a sign that the forces of evil are not strong in that locality. This will make it an ideal place to establish a spiritual stronghold.
Stay in a House
In most cultures, the apostles would go and live in the house of the person of peace. Jesus said,
"Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house." (Luke 10:7).
Jesus had said the same thing to the twelve when He sent them out.
"Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town." (Luke 9:4).
Paul and Barnabas went to stay with Lydia. Paul went to stay with Publius. Ideally an apostolic team would accept customary offers of hospitality and stay in the house of the person of peace.
In western cultures, staying with the person of peace or influence might be too intrusive. The apostle should rent or buy a house as close as possible to the person of influence, but they would still have their meetings in the home of the person of peace.
If the rest of the apostolic team are single, they could stay with the apostle in his house. If they are married, they should find houses close by.
The apostolic team will focus their chosen locality. They will build a spiritual stronghold and form a Christian community, in which they share and care for each other. This will be a tremendous witness to the people who live around them.
Healing the Sick
Once contact has been established with the person of peace, the apostles should look for opportunities to heal the sick. Jesus said,
"When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you'." (Luke 10:8-9).
An apostle has authority to heal the sick, so someone should be healed, when the apostolic team moves into the new neighbourhood. The healing will often crack the neighbourhood open.
At Malta, Paul prayed for Publius’s sick father and he was healed (Acts 28:8-10). The whole island came and were healed (many would have been saved). The proconsul in Paphos believed the Gospel, when he saw a sorcerer struck blind by the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:8-12).
When people in the neighbourhood hear about the healing, they will be curious. Many others will come wanting to be healed. The apostles will take the opportunity to share the gospel and pray for them.
In most cultures, a crowd will gather. The apostle or the evangelist will preach the gospel and pray for the sick. God will confirm their preaching with signs and wonders (Mark 16:20). Jesus regularly used this method.
The apostolic team will disciple the new Christians, teaching them to live in obedience to Jesus. They will mold them together into a Church, based in the home of the person of peace. The new Church will become a community in which the life of Christ is visibly demonstrated. As households are converted, they will be drawn into this community. Seen from this perspective, becoming a Christian is becoming part of a Christian community.
Starting with the End in Mind
Apostles will start the new Church with the end in mind. The first priority of the apostolic team will be to get to the stage where they can appoint a team of elders from within the new Church to take over its leadership. Most of their energy will go into those whom they expect to become elders. The apostolic team will intensively disciple them and start to replicate their ministries in them. They will focus on developing a team containing the full range of ministries.
People with influence are important because they are likely to become leaders in the new Church. A person of peace is less likely to have a lot of personal problems that need to be sorted out before they can grow into leadership. A person with both influence and a peaceful spirit should have potential to become an elder.
The ideal is for the apostle to live with the person of peace. This would increase the intensity of their discipleship. They would see everything the apostle does and be able to join in all the apostle’s activities. Having an apostle, and perhaps a prophet, living in their house will also provide a high level of spiritual protection. These benefits will help the person of peace grow very fast.
The apostolic team will not be concerned about gathering a large number of new converts. They will be busy with those who have leadership potential, so they will not have time to disciple a large number of new converts. They will not want a lot of new converts until some of the first batch of local Christians is ready to disciple them.
A work is ‘unfinished” until local elders have been appointed (Tit 1:5). When a local eldership team is in place, it will be easier to bring people into the Church.
Apostles will not be interested in church buildings. Their focus will be on growing to the point where they are able to send out apostles again, so they will not waste time and resources on buildings. Sending out apostles and starting new Churches is more important than a place to meet. The members of the apostolic team will usually rent their houses, as they will want to be free to move on when the time is right.
Summary of the Apostolic Way
Go where the Holy Spirit is moving
Seek the person of peace
Get established in a house
Heal the sick
Preach the gospel
Make disciples
Establish a Church
Train elders
Go out again.
Effective Strategy
Jesus spelt out a very clear strategy, but implementing it will require a radical change in the mindset of the church. For a long time the goal has been to get people to come to the church to hear the gospel. The problem with this approach is that in many cultures, most non-Christians will not come into a church service.
Jesus never said we should get people to come; he always said the church should go to where the people are (Matt 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8). The advantage of the New Testament way outlined here is that the Church goes to where the people live. They will see real hard-core Christianity being lived out in their living room or in the house next door.
Neighbourhood View
A neighbourhood view of the process described above looks like this. Christian A moves into A Street. He is an elder with a pastoral gifting. He knew that P was a person of influence, so he rented the house next door to him. His friends R and E move into the same neighbourhood at the same time. R is quite prophetic and E has an evangelistic calling. They had served together as elders in the church that had sent them, so they trusted each other and understood each other’s gifting.
When P’s crippled daughter was healed, he and all his family decided to follow Jesus. Everyone in A Street saw the dramatic change in both P and his daughter. When they asked what had happened, he blurted out the entire story with the gospel sprinkled in between. Those living in the blue houses chose to become Christians. A watched over them to ensure that none got side tracked. He also worked hard on building relationships between them.
The faith stirred up following the healing of P’s daughter led to a couple of other people at the other end of the street being healed. E shared the gospel to many others living in the street, and some came to believe. He took responsibility for those living in the houses shaded in green and built relationships with them. R focussed on those living on his side of the street.
New Church
Within a few months, a new church had come into existence. Their activities are centred on P’s house.
A year later, the church has grown even further and was starting to expand into D Street. When a sick person living in D Street was healed, the interest in the gospel spread quickly.
New Elders
Something else was happening as the church was expanding. A, E and R made sure that every new Christians was discipled into the Christian life. E looked after the green household and R looked after the red ones. P grew to maturity quickly, so was able to move into the role of an elder. He took over responsibility for the people in the blue houses. They had all got off to a good start and P knew them well, so the transition was not that hard. A was able to focus his attention on some of the new families in the turquoise houses out towards D Street.
The couple in the green house labelled B had also grown fast, so they were soon being acknowledged as elders too. They took over responsibility for the people in the green houses, so E could focus on the people in the orange houses. They had come to the Lord more recently, so they needed closer oversight. The church in A Street that started with three elders now has five (A, E, R, B, B).
The church is now led by four or five elders, each with a different gifting, but submitting to each other to ensure unity. Each elder would provide oversight for about five or six families. If all the families overseen by these elders lived close to each other in a local neighbourhood, they could function as a community.
Apostled Again
Apostles get restless when things settle into normality. A year later, A is looking for a new challenge, so he moved his family to a house in B Street. Across the corner is a Christian family (P), who are friends with some of the Christians in A Street. P believes that many of the people in their neighbourhood are interested in the gospel, so A agreed to give him a hand to get things started. A had replicated his ministry in the couple in the Turquoise house labelled B. They were able to take responsibility for oversight of the Christians around them.
E rented his house to a family of new Christians who needed strong emotional support. He knew that the church in A Street would support this family. The couple in the orange house labelled E were acknowledged as being mature enough to act as elders, so they took responsibility for watching over the people living in the other orange houses. The original E had replicated his ministry in them. The church in A Street still had five elders in residence. Most of the Christians were doing well, so they did not need much pastoral help anyway.
Most of the Christian living in A Street carried on as normal. They will already have good relationships with the new elders, so they will be unaffected by the departure of the apostles. Their relationships with other friends in the church can continue to grow and develop. Those sent out will often return to their sending church for fellowship and encouragement, so the bonds will not be broken.
E moved down to B Street into a rented house over the road from A and close to P. R chose not to move out with A and E, but he committed to providing prophetic oversight over their new ministry in B Street. He was able to do that from a distance, because he had really good relationships with the apostolic team of A and E.
Within a few months several people in the B Street neighbourhood had become Christians in the lighter green, blue and red houses. Someone that P new well had been healed of cancer by prayer, so everyone who knew them had to sit up and take notice.
Restoring Communities
Christians will have an important role in restoring real community to in the places where we live. Every church should be attached to a particular locality. Ideally, there should be one church at each location and each location should have one church, functioning as the heart of a local community.
An effective church has started in the A Street neighbourhood, but something else that is important has happened. The members of the church know each other and trust each other. They have established good relationships with the people in the white houses that live around them. Each group of families has at least one person with some leadership skills that are available for service in the wider community. Because the families that belong to this church live close to each other in a local neighbourhood, they can function as a community.
The three Ds are people who have become deacons. The Christians in A Street will commit to providing social assistance to anyone in their neighbourhood who faces poverty, whether or not they are Christian. One couple in the Orange group chose to follow Jesus after they received help during a period of unemployment.
Times of Distress
We may be going into a time of trouble, distress and judgement. The world is getting increasingly violent and unstable. Christians should be prepared for troubled times. To cope with the disorderly world that is emerging, Christians will need to get together in locality-based churches to provide support and protection for their communities.
If society were to collapse into chaos, W would have an monitor people coming into A street and call for help to deal with undesirables. If the situation got really bad, some of the people might move in with friends in A Street for a while to obtain protection. This may be the best of protection against theft or looting during a time of disruption.
Elders will establish relationships with other churches to share in support. Churches in the country will give food to give to churches in the cities.
Churches in the city will distribute surplus food to people in need.
Churches in the city with surplus wealth will supply others with needs.
When social disintegrates, state power will fall apart. Social welfare system will collapse and justice will fail. Christian churches will be needed to fill the gap.
The Wider Church View
Looking from the church perspective, we have something like the following diagram. Each Christian in A Street is overseen by a Christian elder. The three Bs are pastoral, R is prophetic, and E is evangelistic.
These five elders had strong relationships with each other. They draw all their people together in one body to be a church. Many of these people new each other well already. They elders work together to strengthen these relationships, so it looks like this.
The relationships between these people are as important as the people. They look something like this.
When the Apostles move out from A Street onto B Street, the churches look like the following.
The new church will grow quickly. There is an evangelist in the team, so there will be plenty of new converts. There is a very experienced pastor/teacher so they will grow quickly. The apostle will train one of the new converts to be a pastor/teacher. Once the new church has grown a little, that person will be appointed to a pastoral role.
Because the new church starts with a balanced apostolic team, it will grow very fast.
The Path of an Apostle
The path of an apostle can be described in another way. Each little pentagon signifies a church with a balanced ministry.
The original church that has sent out an apostolic team is signified by the blue pentagon. In this example the first church has sent an apostle who has started a new church.
Once the new church reaches maturity, new elders are appointed and the apostolic team moves out again to start another church. The apostle replicates his church and replicates his ministry and then moves on to repeat the process. The arrowheads represent new churches.
The first church has also trained up some new elders and sent out another apostolic team. (The most experienced will be sent out).
Several years later the original apostle has started a third church. The first church he planted has sent out another apostolic team. The original church has now sent out three apostolic teams
A few years later, 6 new churches have been started as apostles have been commissioned and sent out. In each case, it is the best people who are sent out.
Multiplication
A few years later there are twenty-five churches. Multiplication is a very powerful principal as it produced exponential growth.
The Cutting Edge
The apostles represented by the purple dots have all started three new churches. The first apostle (red dot) has planted four. The important thing to note is that the best people are at the cutting edge. However, I am not just talking about seven people. Each dot represents an apostolic team, so there are at least 20 top people at the cutting edge. Moreover, there is a range of different ministries between them. This provides real protection and strength for the church as a whole. The strongest are on the battlefront with the world, where the going is the toughest. That is why the apostles are referred to as pillars of the church (Galatians 2:9). They are on the edge of the church holding it up.
Authority
Apostles exercise authority looking back.
The elders in each of the churches marked in yellow have a link with the first apostle. They will be either his spiritual children or spiritual grand children. Therefore they will respect him and acknowledge his authority. They were once submitted to him when he was an elder and they were new Christians, so they will still respect him, though they have become elders.
The authority of an apostle comes out of relationship. Paul demonstrated this type of authority in his letters. He was able to give direction to the churches because he had a relationship with them. He was the apostle who had established their church.
This authority is completely different from the worldly pyramid model. It does not depend on legal power or position. In contrast, the authority of a bishop comes with appointment to a position in a legal organization
We should note that the The Twelve Apostles of Jesus were not a select group, with a special role; they were just the first of many apostles who were sent out to start new churches.
Celebration
Every now and then one of the churches in a cluster will organize a celebration. All the Churches in that area will get together to praise and worship God. They will meeting in a public place (Acts 3:1). Some of the apostles may minister to them.
Mission
Some apostles will be sent out to other countries as missionaries. The same principles will apply when apostles go to another country.
1. The best people should be given the toughest tasks. Those sent into other cultures should be the best apostles.
2. Apostles should never be sent into a different culture alone. Sending an individual or couple into a different culture, puts them at tremendous spiritual risk.
3. An apostle should be sent out in a team that includes at least one past, one prophet and one evangelist. Otherwise the church in the new country will be unbalanced.
4. The apostolic team should have proved that they can plant a church in their own culture. Paul and Barnabas were only sent out after they had proved themselves in Antioch. To often missionaries first real experience of ministry is in a strange culture. This makes the task incredibly hard.
5. The apostolic team should have proved that they can work together in their own culture, before being sent to a different culture. Often missionaries from a number of different churches in different countries, who have never met, are put together in a mission field and expected to work together. They have to learn to work together, before they can minister effectively together. Sometimes they don't manage to learn to work together.
An apostolic team sent to another country should concentrate on establishing a church in a particular locality. Once they have trained up elders to take over, they should be sent out to start another church in a new area. They will start the process of multiplication described above. At some stage, they will take indigenous Christians with them to teach them how to be apostles. Very soon some of the indigenous Christian's should also be being sent out as apostles. Eventually, the indigenous church will be multiplying independently of the missionary apostles.
Financial Support
Locality-based apostles will be moving frequently, so they will find it difficult to hold down permanent employment. They will receive their financial support in three different ways. The common factor is strong relationships.
Local Finances
Financial Support for Local Apostles
Locality-based apostles will be moving frequently, so they will find it difficult to hold down permanent employment. They will receive their financial support in three different ways. The common factor is strong relationships.
1. Take No Purse
When Jesus apostled the twelve and the seventy, they took no purse.
"Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep." (Matt 10:9-10).
These apostles were not to take money from a central purse. Jesus specifically told them not to take a wallet. Instead, they were to rely on the hospitality of the people in the town or village they were going to visit.
"Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave." (Matt 10:11).
These Christians would bring healing to the people in the town. This would create tremendous good will. They would stay with the person of peace until the work in that village was complete. Being dependent on the person of peace made the apostle vulnerable, but it had a huge advantage. The person of peace would be discipled quickly, because the apostle’s life would be transparent to them.
2. Tent Making
The Take No Purse approach would work in traditional cultures where providing hospitality is a normal part of life. It would not work in our Western culture, so apostles would need a different means of support. One option is tent making. Paul used this option in Corinth.
"After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth … and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath." (Acts 18:1,3,4).
Paul stayed with the tentmakers with similar skills. This gave him credibility while witnessing to them, while allowing him to be independent financially.
In the Western world where part-time work can produce a good income, this will be the most common form of financing. Paul was quite staunch about people working for their living where they could.
"We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this.. in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow…we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge …. to settle down and earn the bread they eat." (2 Thes 3:7-12).
In a world whether many religious leaders have fleeced their flock, this is an example that we need. Modern apostles should look at using their skills to earn their living by seeking part-time work.
Some apostles will encourage the development of neighbourhood businesses. This will provide financial support for other apostles and people in need. These businesses will come into their own when globalization collapses in the future. They will be able to produce things that can no longer be imported. Some will be family businesses.
3. Pay It Forward
When an apostolic team is sent out to plant a new church, the church that sends them out will often provide financial support. Because this apostolic team will have established the sending church for free, they will pay it forward by supporting their apostles on their next venture. When Paul was in Thessalonica, the church in Philippi provided support for him.
"You sent me aid again and again when I was in need." (Phil 4:16).
The key to this support is person-to person relationships. Paul had lived in Philippi as an apostle. He had an excellent relationship with them. They could put something back into his ministry by providing him with financial support. Modern apostles will often receive help from the people they have discipled in churches where the previously exercised their ministry.
Giving to apostles must be voluntary. Apostles cannot enforce giving by the church that has sent them out. They do not have authority to require financial support from their sending churches. The sending church will support the apostles they send, because they love them and are committed to the apostolic task.
Relationships
In the New Testament Model, money flows through relationships, not institutions. Person-to-person giving feeds on trust. Deacons will have a key role in building relationships between those in need and those who can give.
If churches go back to meeting in believer’s homes, the overhead costs involved in planting a new Church very low. All that will be needed is a team of apostles and a home in which to meet. Often they will meet in the home of the first person converted, so there will be almost no expenses at all.
Centralized Finances
A serious problem with modern apostolic ministries is lack of money. Many apostles feel that their activities are restrained by lack of resources. The apostle at the centre, who is governing a region and training church planters, needs lots of money.
One solution is to establish regional finance programmes. Because these ministries function at a trans-local level, they need trans-local funding. A region finance pool is a possible solution, but it does not deal with the problem.
Problems with Centralised Finances
There are several reasons why centralisation of finances is a danger practice.
1. Persecution
Centralisation is dangerous during periods of persecution. If the government gets serious about stopping the church, it could cripple hundreds by arresting the people in charge of the money. If necessary, it could freeze the bank accounts, or clean them out. Decentralised finances are safer.
2. Dangerous Power
Any process that gives power to a few people is dangerous. If these people fall into pride or deception, they can do a lot of harm. Trouble crept into the church through money during its very early days. The practice emerged of disciples laying donations of money at the apostle’s feet (Acts 4:35). This practice was contrary to Jesus’ teaching.
"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets … to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret." (Matt 6:1-4).
Making donations to the apostles in public contradicted this command. It also led to pride and deception. The worst case was Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:11-11). The pride that came into the church through the practice of giving in public caused this couple to lie to the Apostles to make a good impression.
"Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet." (Acts 5:1-5).
This type of incident would not occur if the church depended on decentralised giving at a person-to-person level, as described in Acts 2:45.
"Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." (Acts 2:45).
Bulk centralised finance is vulnerable to spiritual attack. Small scale person to person giving is safer.
3. Waiting on Tables
The Jerusalem disciples apostles received guidance that they should keep out of the finance business.
"In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food." (Acts 6:1).
This problem is inevitable when the distribution of finances is centralised. The people responsible for distribution simply cannot understand all needs and assess them correctly. Some people will end up getting more than they need, while others miss out. This happens with many modern Christian foundations. Those with good connections tend to get plentiful finance, but some really good people miss out on funding.
The solution to the apostle’s problem was to appoint deacons to take care of the money. Under the guidance of the Spirit, they identified seven men to be deacons. The ministry of the deacon is an important ministry that needs to be restored in the modern church.
This experience changed the apostles approach to their ministry.
"We will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word." (Acts 6:4).
They committed to focussing on prayer and preaching. There is no mention of handling finance. This change is confirmed in their other statement.
"It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables." (Acts 6:2).
The apostles decided that it would be wrong for them to wait on tables. The Greek expression for “waiting on tables” is “diakonein trapezais”. The word “trapezais” means table, so one meaning of the expression is serving food. However, the word “trapezais” is also used in the gospels for the money changers’ tables (Matt 21:12, John 2:15) and the counter of a bank (Luke 19:23). This suggests that the apostles were not just resolving to stop serving food. They were also saying it would be wrong for them to manage the collection of money.
4. Corinthian Collection
Paul in his letter to the Corinthians was consistent with this approach.
"Now concerning the collection for the saints … On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come." (1 Cor 16:1-2).
He did not want to be involved in organising a collection. Instead he urged each person to lay up some money each week, so that the money would be ready when Paul arrived in Corinth. There was no compulsion and each person was free to decide how much they would give. The text above implies that there was no central collection, but that each person would put aside their own store (The Greek text literally means “lay beside himself”).
Paul focussed on organising of the delivery of the funds to Jerusalem. He was able to do this because he had good relationships with the Corinthians and the leaders of the church in Jerusalem.
"And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem. But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me." (1 Cor 16:3-4).
Paul did not want to handle the money himself. His preference was to provide a referral letters for the Corinthians, who would deliver the money. He offered to accompany them, if that would be helpful, but he did not want to get involved in controlling money. This confirms that apostles should not be handling money.
Money flows through relationship between churches. Apostles have extensive relationships, so they will support the flow of giving between communities. Paul had a relationship with both the leaders in Jerusalem and the church in Asia Minor, so he could facilitate the flow of support from one church to another.
5. No Authority
The ministry of an apostle is relational, not positional. Once the apostle has moved on, they can influence the leaders left behind, because they nurtured and mentored them, and then released into ministry. Apostles, though they do have governmental authority, they use relational influence as servants as Christ directed.
Apostles do not have the authority to decide how much money will be given to another church. The decision about how much should be given to Jerusalem was decided by the individual givers in the church in Asia Minor.
"The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea." (Acts 11:29).
Paul had no authority to tell the Corinthians how much to give. The size of the fund was decided when the people who gave the money tagged it for that purpose.
An apostle does not have authority to allocate money to particular needs. Paul could draw Jerusalem’s need to the attention of the Corinthians and facilitate the giving, but he did not control any funds that he could just allocate to Jerusalem.
Paul received financial support from several of the churches which he had helped the Holy Spirit to establish, but this was always voluntary. He was always gave thanks for their generosity, but he never instructed them to give him money for his support. Paul knew that an apostle did have the right to be supported but they forfeit that demand of money from a church he had helped to plant.
Paul was careful not to usurp authority that did not belong to him.. If he had asked for money for his support, many people in these churches would gladly obey him, because they loved and respected him. Paul wanted the elders in the new churches to grow in confidence, so he refused to undermine them, by imposing his authority on the Christians under their oversight.
Better solution
Centralized financing does not work. This is not surprising, because the core problem is not financial, but with the modern implementation of the apostolic ministry. The solution to the funding problems to push the fivefold ministries down to the local level, where they can be supported locally.
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