The Five-Fold Ministry

The Christians in Ephesus had no clue as to what a church should be. Paul therefore instructed them how to set up the leadership of a New Testament church.

The first office of apostle has been largely terminated by most churches today but it is someone who preaches the Gospel, plants churches and oversees them until they come of age and are able to govern themselves. The second office of prophet is someone who will exhort, teach, rebuke, foretell the future and is sorely needed for today’s biblically illiterate church. The third office of evangelist is more common but most Christians don’t understand that every member of the body of Christ should be one.

Sadly, these three offices are vacant, sorely abused and/or misunderstood in churches today and it is important to remember that God’s work needs to be done His way or the effort will be in vain. So if the body of Christ wants to successfully impact the world, the offices set up by God need to be in operation.