Equipping church ministries

What are church ministries?

Church ministries are gifts that the Lord Jesus has given to His church. Romans 12:6 states:

"Having then gifts that vary according to the grace that is given to us."

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says:

"When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." (NIV) Ephesians 4: 7-8

It is important to understand that each one of us, each believer in Christ, has been given a gift, a ministry according to the grace of God. Each believer has a burning desire to serve the Lord and be useful in the church. But how do you find out which ministry you have been called to or given? How do you identify your ministry? Once identified how do you use it? How do you function in it? 

Equipping church ministries is crucial in these end times. This is why AMW Ministries is dedicated to this.

Equipping church ministries starts by identifying those ministries and gifts in believers first. How can you equip those ministries, how can you equip the saints for the work of ministry without first knowing what those ministries are?

But it is not enough to just identify ministries and calling in people and then put them “on the shelf” so to speak. You can teach someone the best skills that this world has to offer, but unless they are put in a place or a position where they can actually use and apply such skills, they will be ineffective. If you just give them pews to sit on then you will be wasting valuable resources! Therefore, the next step is to help believers find their place in the church and set them in place to function in their calling and gift. This is what AMW ministries will do for you as you join us.

Equipping two levels of church ministries

There are two levels of ministries in the church: the body ministries and the leadership or fivefold ministries.

Body ministries can be found in Roman 12: 4-8 and include:

• Prophecy

• Servanthood

• Teaching

• Exhortation and encouragement

•  Giving to others and meeting their needs

• Ruling or taking charge or leading others

• Compassion and mercy and taking care of people

As soon as a person is born again these ministries begin to take place and the believer starts to immediately function and operate in them. Every believer in the body of Christ has a ministry and it starts with body ministries.

Leadership or fivefold ministries can be found in Ephesians 4:11 and are:

• Apostles (build the church upon Jesus-Christ who is our foundation)

• Prophets (make Christ real to God’s people)

• Teachers (conform the Body to Christ)

• Evangelists (inspire the Body to win the world for Christ)

• Pastors (nurture the Body as Christ the good shepherd)

These are higher-level ministries. They are the governing body of the church.

Why is equipping church ministries important?

Why is equipping the ministries of church so important?

Ephesians 4: 16 says:

"From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." (NIV)

The body builds itself up in love. How? As each part does its work. For each part of the body to do its work, for each believer to do the work, they need to be equipped and trained as seen in Ephesians 4: 11-12:

"11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (NKJV)

Three important stages are illustrated here:

Equipping the saints - transforming each saint, each believer into a mighty warrior i.e. an Adullam Mighty Warrior (AMW)

The Adullam Mighty warrior does the work of ministry in the church

As a result of the work of ministry, the body of Christ is built up as expressed in Ephesians 2: 21-22

“ 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,

22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."

These three stages are needed to build the new church or the end times church.

The rising of Adullam Mighty Warriors (AMWs)

We liken each believer that is equipped, each saint that is trained, to an Adullam Mighty Warrior because the mandate of this ministry is similar to the mandate of King David in cave of Adullam. While David was in the cave the Lord sent him men and women who were distressed, in debt and discontented to be trained and equipped. As a result they rose up to become the mighty men of David. Together they delivered the Israelites from all their enemies and built a kingdom according to God’s own heart.

Like the mighty men of David, Adullam Mighty Warriors will go forth to set others free and train them to become AMWs also. They will take everything that they have received and give it to others. They will train them, equip them, pour everything into them and add them to the team. They will equip and train every believer to become a war expert in God’s Army. They will be filled with the word and the power of God and will be transformed into generals into God’s Army. Every believer will be an expert in handling the scriptures. Every believer will be able to go out and minister the power and the anointing of God. As a result the kingdom of darkness will be shaken and turned upside down. AMWs will be true overcomers and help others to overcome. This is what will make the end times church, the new church, so different and so glorious.

Building the New Church or End Times Church

The end result of the equipping of church ministries is to build the end times church or the new church. But what is the new church? What will it look like?

The new church is the church that Jesus is coming to take unto Himself. Many who are involved in end times Bible prophecy are looking at secondary signs of the coming of the Lord. They are missing the primary sign for His coming. Why is Jesus coming back? Paul gives us the answer in Ephesians 5:25-27

"25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish".

Jesus is coming back for His church, a glorious church, the beautiful bride of Christ. Speaking about her John said,

“ Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. " Revelations 21: 2

This is the church that we are called to build and prepare. What will she look like? The new church will be glorious and powerful. She will be spotless, without wrinkle, without blemish. She will be beautiful a true bride adorned for her groom – Jesus Christ. She will be deeply in love with the lover of her soul. She will become the light and the salt of the world to give it hope. She will be a bright city set on the hill and her light will draw many to her, just as moths are attracted to light.

In the new church every believer will be anointed with power, every group in the new church will be in revival, and revival power will be available to every group and everywhere. It will be a church where every believer will be filled with the word of God. It is a church where every part of the body knows and recognises the other parts. A church where each part of the body intricately relates to the other parts of the body so to function as a living organism.

It will be different from today’s church, which has become a head, and is paralysed from the neck down! It is only the leaders who seem to have the monopoly of the work of ministry. The other parts have been prevented from functioning, and as a result have become paralysed and unable to function. Most of its members don’t even know their ministry or calling.

But the new church, or end times church, will be different! In the new church each of the fivefold ministries will be in place leading the church and every member knowing and finding their place within that church. Together they will make up a living body, the Body of Christ.

In the new church:

• Apostles will build the church upon Jesus-Christ who is our foundation

• Prophets will make Christ real to God’s people

• Teachers will conform the Body to Christ

• Pastors will nurture the Body as Christ the good shepherd

• Evangelists will inspire the Body to win the world for Christ

Members not called to the fivefold ministry will function in at least one of the body ministries:

• Prophecy

• Servanthood

• Teaching

• Exhortation and encouragement

• Giving to others and meeting their needs

• Ruling or taking charge or leading others

• Compassion and mercy and taking care of people

Jesus-Christ will be the head of this new church. As a result the end times church will rise up to become the Mighty Warrior that she is called to be. She will become a deadly weapon against the kingdom of darkness.

And “The kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever” Amen Come Lord Jesus!"

But it all starts by equipping church ministries; it all starts by equipping the saints and setting them in place. It all starts by helping each member of the body find their place and teach them how to function. They will only function efficiently if each is in the right place.

Two thousands years ago, the Lord Jesus started the church by choosing twelve men, equipping them and training them. Those twelve men (the fivefold ministry – the leadership) and a hundred and eight others (members - body ministries) started the New Testament church, the early church, as the Holy Spirit fell on them the day of Pentecost. A mighty move of God started and conquered even the mighty Roman Empire.

We cannot succeed by following another pattern. As we follow the same pattern, we too will experience the next move of God, the New Move in these end times. This is why AMWM is committed to equipping church ministries.