The Five-Fold Ministry: God’s Blueprint for a Mature Church
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; (Ephesians 4:11-14)
Dr. Kenneth E. Hagin taught us to pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be in operation in the church. I was praying along these lines a couple of years back and the Lord spoke to me. He said, “If you are going to have the gifts of the Spirit in operation as you are requesting, you must add something else to your prayer.” I asked, “Lord what do I need to add to my prayer?” He said, “You must pray for the five ministry gifts in Ephesians 4:11, to take their place and be in full manifestation, in the church world. The apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher are equipped with certain gifts of the Spirit to qualify them to stand in those offices. You will not have the fullness of the gifts of the Spirit until they take their place.”
No Christian, church or ministry will develop fully without the influence of all five ministry gifts. If they can, the Bible isn’t true. Each office carries unique gifts and responsibilities:
- Apostles are pioneers, sent forth to establish churches and ministries.
- Prophets bring divine revelation and guidance to the body of Christ.
- Evangelists are anointed to preach the gospel and draw people to salvation.
- Pastors nurture and shepherd the local congregation.
- Teachers help believers understand the Word of God with clarity.
These roles are not merely titles but ordained by God and are vital functions equipped with spiritual gifts to fulfill His plan.
Playing The Title Game
It has been a trend in the church world for decades for people to take titles and try to be something they are not. It is because of this that the church world has failed to call ministry gifts what they really are. I have been guilty of that myself in times past.
We can call someone a pastor, teacher or maybe an evangelist, but we don’t dare recognize an apostle or prophet or call them that. We think fire might fall on us and kill us or something because we would actually be believing the Bible. Somehow that just doesn’t make spiritual sense.
The devil doesn’t want the five ministry offices accepted and recognized because we might grow up and blast him out of the church. The devil has played havoc in the church because of this. Calling yourself a title does not make you that. The title identifies the office so people can receive from that ministry gift.
Dangerous Trends In Ministry Today
There is another trend in the church world today that is dangerous because Satan is behind it. Ministers are trying to move into offices they were never called to and it gets things out of order in the church world. Some attend bible school and decide they are called to the five fold ministry because they went to school. Traveling ministers find out it is not glamorous on the road all the time and want to pastor. I know from experience. Some pastors have had a measure of success speaking outside their church and begin to think they are an apostle to the world and want to leave and go on the road.
We must stay in our calling. We must also understand that the ministry offices and the ministry gifts have not passed away. They are for the church today. If we will not accept that, then we will not accept the Lord’s best. And the devil will have his way in our lives to some degree.
If we are to mature and be who God has called us to be, individually and as the body of Christ, we need the ministry gifts. It is God’s plan for the church. Always stay with what the Lord says. God is with us!
