Five-Fold Ministry Part 2: Key Truths to Unlocking the Five-Fold Ministries

This series on the five-fold ministry is based off my handwritten notes, which I took as I attended a church conference on this topic in Mar 2024.

Introduction:

Key truths:

The purpose of the five-fold ministries is for equipping and building:

Everyone in the church must be equipped and trained to serve in where God has placed us (e.g; homemaker, student, marketplace), is our effective ministry not just in church
Everyone doing five-fold ministry can be busy equipping, but they must also focus on building the church so it can grow in strength and the fullness of Christ
That we may have unity, and there be no divisions in church, e.g; fighting over small / petty things

Our calling releases us in our anointing:

Eph 4:1-7: Walk in a manner worthy of your calling with which you have been called with all humility, long-suffering and love
When you walk in your calling, you experience God’s anointing more than before
Our general calling: Evangelise, yield to God, and have an intimate relationship with Him
Our called ministry comprises: a) grace given according to measure of Christ gift (Eph 4:11, Rom 12:6) which He desired us to serve in, b) the positioning of God in our lives: don’t compare with others, but walk in the anointing that flows with God
The appointment of our ministries / lives, goes beyond our official title, to function in the area God has called us
When we walk in our calling, we flow in the anointing, and carry spiritual authority in our leadership
We also need to grow in: our character, maturity, skills, knowledge / understanding, ministry effectiveness: grow in the ministry function
Thus we should be walking in the function instead of being focussed on what our office is
Lest we end up pursuing a title or appointment
And indeed it’s not who we say we are, but whom God has appointed us to be
At the end all titles won’t matter, as we are servants of God: Well done good and faithful servant
Understanding terminologies: a) office: the appointment into one of the five-fold ministry, b) function: expression of ministry we fulfil: God’s call in our lives

We must operate in all the five-fold ministries to effectively equip and build:

For most of us, our calling is in our local church
Let’s remain faithful operating in our church, and God will bless and increase our impact
All five-fold ministries are needed in our church, and in our lives too
For instance, Moses fulfilled all the roles within five-fold ministries, in Exo 3 of the burning bush

The five ministries and their roles elaborated:

Apostolic:

Prophetic:

Carrying hear of God, renewing first love in people towards Him
Releasing God’s ‘rhema’ word: a word for the season of their lives they are in
Bringing godly alignment
Establishing and facilitating prophetic anointing in the church / atmosphere
Please refer to Prophetic series, for a more in-depth discussion of this ministry, and how to navigate the prophetic

Evangelist / revivalist:

Pastoral:

Teaching:

Wrong mindset: Don’t dichotomise, e.g; I’m only a prophet, I can’t teach

Understanding our function allows us to bring importation to our ministry:

Impartation: Deposit of God’s power / presence, and facilitate God’s supernatural work in a person / group of people
Impartation flows when we minister from our anointing and authority
Impartation makes a difference from merely discharging our tasks / responsibilities, but to impacting lives, and healing through the spiritual realm

Conclusion:

To unlock five-fold ministries in our church, we need to first start operating / walking in them
They are like our five fingers: 1) thumb: apostles, start church, 2) index: prophetic, pointing God’s direction, 3) middle: evangelist, longest finger reaching out to many / lost, 4) ring: pastors, love for the people, 5) last: teachers, commonly forgotten, but important

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