APOSTOLIC TRANSITIONS
Restructuring and Strategies
by Jonas Clark
While we are renewing our minds, let us also renew our
mission-mindedness with apostolic transitioning strategies.
The apostolic reformation is posing many challenges to the Body
of Christ. One of the most significant is the structural change
that is necessary within the local church. Those structural
changes tear down the one-man-only paradigm to build up every
believer for the work of the ministry.
We know that five-fold ascension gifts of apostle, prophet,
evangelist, pastor and teacher are called to equip believers for
the work of ministry and the building of the Body of Christ
(Ephesians 4:12). But how many leaders are actually doing this
Word? A relative few, it seems, on the grand scale.
Many local church leaders tell me they feel they are still doing
most of the work of the ministry themselves. Others tell me
their congregants just don’t want to do anything except get
blessed, despite the set man’s best efforts to launch them into
the harvest fields. Still others are down right confused over
the whole issue and how to address the Apostle Paul’s
instruction.
WHAT IS THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY?
It seems as though we are so used to “having church” that we
have drifted far away from “being the Church.” If you ask 20
different people what the work of the ministry is I suspect that
you would get 20 different answers. What is the work of the
ministry? In understanding what the work of the ministry is it
can be helpful to understand what the work of the ministry is
not.
Let me say this, the work of the ministry is not listening to a
preacher on Sunday morning. The set man’s responsibility is to
do more than just preach. He is also called to train and
activate disciples into ministry; that which God has called them
to do within the structure of the local church. There comes a
day when it’s no longer just about meeting the personal needs of
a disciple. As believer’s mature in Christ it becomes about
getting them equipped to help meet someone else’s needs.
Scripture is replete with our mandate, once referred to in yarns
past as the Great Commission. Jesus said, “Go out into the
highways and hedges and compel them to come in that my house may
be filled” (Luke 14:23). The word “compel” is the Greek word
anagkazo. That’s where we get our English word nag, which means
to be persistently annoying. I know there are large segments of
the Body of Christ that are ready for Jesus to return today. But
do you think that God’s house is full enough yet?
Learn more about apostolic
structure in
THE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY TRANSITION KIT
Once again, the responsibility of God’s leadership is not just to
bless His people only but also to equip them for active works of
ministry. The work of ministry is more than teaching a Sunday school
class or vacuuming the carpet between services. It also involves
teaching, training and organizing various ways to get people
actively involved in ministry “outside” the local church, i.e.
evangelism and discipleship. I can’t stress this enough. I don’t think most of us
have any clue how to do this. We can draw a person into a church
building so the pastor can lead him to the Lord but we have real
trouble organizing effective outreaches.
 Let me ask you this. How many times have you seen a large church on
Christian television that grew to thousands seemingly overnight? Did
you also hear the leader give his testimony of how God’s blessing
caused it to grow so quickly? Maybe so. Yet I wonder if we did a
poll how many of those people would tell us they transferred to that
large church from some other congregation?
If we don’t change our ministry structures to be more outwardly
focused (sent-ones) we will lose the battle for the lost souls of
mankind. It doesn’t take a prophet to discern that without lost
souls there can never be true church growth. Somebody has to do it.
If not you, then who? We can’t just create the best show in town and
keep deceiving ourselves in thinking that we are doing something
great for God. We must make the apostolic transition.
CHANGING MINISTRY STRUCTURES
So how do we do it? I’m glad you asked. First, recognize your
responsibility to disciple believers “and” equip them for active
ministry both inside and outside the local church. Then, make some
solid organizational changes. Take a hard look at your church and
ask yourself some serious questions. Do you really have anything
structured for all those people in your church to get involved in
the work of the ministry?
What about building some outreach teams? Perhaps you can have church
on the streets, in the hood, or the town center. Pray for the Holy
Spirit to give you ideas. Don’t just try to copy what the church
down the street has done successfully. Seek a strategy that fits
your church’s personality. What about calling for an all church fast
and prayer meeting for some prophetic strategies?
Recently I spoke with a leader who was praying for a way to
transition his church more into the apostolic equip-and-send
structure. The Lord showed him a trailer park with over 300 trailers
full of Hispanic residents near his rural church. He estimated that
there were over 1,000 people living there. He organized an outreach
team, taught, trained, prayed and led them out into the area.
The outreach team erected a tent, held a barbeque and played some
great music. The music drew the people and it gave the outreach team
opportunity to preach, sing and fellowship with people they didn’t
know the day before. The next Sunday they had their first Hispanic
family come to the church. Did you know that there are over 40
million Hispanic people in America now? I suspect in the years to
come that the Hispanic churches will be some of the largest churches
in the world.
For churches that are wondering how to grow, perhaps going after the
lost and the unchurched is the only strategy you haven’t tried yet.
Instead of trying to “draw” people to the building – go out and get
them. Take the Kingdom of God to them. Yes, it’s a lot more work but
you will see the fruit. What you’ll find in doing this is that
people want to be involved in ministry. They just don’t know how. It
is the responsibility of every leader to put people to work.
Blessing people only is not scriptural.
Let’s get real for a moment. If all we are doing is using apostolic
buzzwords without an attempt to equip people for active ministry we
are failing miserably. This movement is more than a passing fad. It
is a reformation led by the Holy Spirit. Let’s make the transition.
Get those teams developed. Organize those outreaches. Don’t forget
the lost in your territory and the nations of the world. If you are
a leader then you have a responsibility to lead the way. You can do
it!
God bless you. Your partner,
© by Jonas Clark
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