Ministry Gifts

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11).

The “five-fold” ministry gifts listed in this verse are placed in the body of Christ by Jesus in order to equip the saints for the work of ministry and to build us up spiritually.

I believe that the local church should be a place where believers are matured so that they can fulfill God’s purpose for their life and impact their world for Jesus. Each of the ministry gifts plays a part in that maturing.

Apostles are “sent ones” as the Greek Word for apostle reads. New Testament apostles have signs and wonders following their ministries and are used to establish churches. Many missionaries serve as modern day apostles.

Prophets have the revelation gifts of the Spirit in operation in their ministry and have a supernatural edge on them. The word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, or the discerning of spirits function in varied combinations in their ministries.

Evangelists are anointed to bring the lost to God and to stir the saints to evangelize.

Pastors shepherd the flock of God and tend to the spiritual needs of the body of Christ in a fatherly way.

Teachers help the body of Christ grow into mature sons and daughters of God by equipping them with the Word.

Today, Bruce McDonald will minister at Victory Fellowship. He founded Regions Beyond International over 17 years ago and is responsible for hundreds of churches being established in the former Soviet Union, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Bruce is a modern day apostle and has a passion for the un-reached worldwide. I had the privilege of traveling with Bruce and minister with him in Siberia, India, Bangladesh, and Africa. Bruce will leave a necessary deposit in our church family today.

As much as I enjoy preaching and teaching the Word of God, I do not believe that I have the only Word that our church family needs. We need to hear from all the ministry gifts. If we’re going to grow into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, then we must receive from all the ministry gifts that God places in the family of God. That’s the main reason we have guest speakers at Victory Fellowship. We need the whole counsel of God, and that means hearing from a variety of giftings that Jesus has prepared for us.

Let’s keep ourselves humble and open before the Father and receive all that He has fro us through the ministry gifts Jesus placed in the church.