Reason #7 Avoiding Apostolic Ministry

One of the first things Jesus did in starting his earthly ministry was to gather some disciples and train them to be apostles. There “status” changed from disciples to apostles when he sent them into apostolic ministry. We see this transition in Matt. 10:1-5:

1He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. 2These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon …5These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions…

There are a number of important lessons that we can gather from this passage. First, apostolic ministry (combined with prophetic intelligence) is the foundation of Kingdom ministry. That is the way Jesus designed it. And that is what he modeled. The early Church understood this. Paul wrote to the Ephesians 2:19-29:

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

Second, being a group of disciples isn’t enough. To engage in ministry which establishes the Kingdom we need to participate in apostolic behavior. We find a synopsis of what Jesus taught the twelve in Matt. 10:5-16; Mk 6:7-13 and Lk 9:1-6. Lest we think that this is only for the twelve, Jesus himself taught 72 “others” in Lk. 10. They are the same instructions given to the twelve, with a bit more detail.

This same pattern can be seen in Jesus ministry (for example the woman at the well in Jn. 4), the subsequent ministry of the apostles in Acts (for example the story of Cornelius in Acts 10) and in Paul’s ministry. This is standard operating procedure for Kingdom establishing ministry. To see these ideas and patterns developed more, you can read my book The Jesus Virus when it comes out.

Finally, to be an apostle one needs to be sent by Jesus. A group, church, denomination or agency can’t send them; unless instructed specifically by the Spirit of Jesus (see Acts 13:1-3).

This kind of ministry is almost non-existent in the Western Church…and we are not making any headway in our own societies with establishing the Kingdom. Why? Because we aren’t doing it Jesus’ way; we are doing it our ways. The thing that disturbs me most, though, is that even in simple church circles we really aren’t practicing apostolic ministry patterns. Instead we fall back to the patterns which have evolved over the millennia in Christendom. I am speaking of the difference between attractional ministry and apostolic ministry, which is missional to the core. However, it is missional in a very specific way, following Jesus’ patterns in Matthew, Mark and Luke, not just missional in concept.

What I see, in simple church circles in the West, is starting with a core of Christians and trying to attract new converts to themselves (if they even bother to do that). This is the Christendom pattern. I expressed some of my reservations about this in a post on July 1, Starting on the Wrong Foot. I’m not against people who are already Christians gathering in a simple church, as long as they don’t become self focused and end up avoiding apostolic ministry. To do so is to be disobedient to the commands of the King.

What do I suggest an already established church or network do, if they find themselves in attractional, or worse, self focused mode? I suggest repentance, then seeking the Lord of the Harvest as to what to do next? Take the church in Antioch as your model (Acts 13:1-3). Ask Jesus who he is setting apart to send as apostles. Then do whatever else he indicates so that those people can be effective. That may be training, financial support, even sending them to another area where apostolic ministry is actually happening, so they can learn by doing, just like Jesus taught his disciples.

For more posts on the practicalities of simple church planting, read all of the post in this series Why Simple Churches Don’t Work as well as: Four Keys to Church Planting, Building on the Right Foundation, Starting on the Wrong Foot, and Ministry with Jesus as Lord.

  • Why do you think we avoid apostolic ministry?
  • Do you think someone can learn to be an apostle by reading a couple of books?
  • What do you think apostolic training should entail?
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