Articles

Training and Equipping for the Work of Ministry
By Jacquie Tyre

Training & Equipping for the Work of Ministry
Aligned, Connected and Empowered to Go into all the World
By: Jacquie Tyre

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:11-16

God is indeed stirring a new move of His Holy Spirit in the world today, and it is one where He is pressing in for His intended purposes through all His disciples to be fulfilled. The days of only a few select individuals doing the work of ministry, and only (or primarily) within the walls of "the church" are over. The message of Gospel of the Kingdom declares that "in Christ" we are a kingdom, and priests unto God" (see Rev 1:6). We have all been called to be His ministers to carry the Gospel of the Kingdom into all the earth - not just bringing the message of salvation, but bringing the culture of the Kingdom of God to bear upon society in tangible ways that will cause people to want to know Christ.

The role of the "apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers" is to "equip' disciples so that they can effectively bring Christ's Kingdom into their spheres of authority and influence. The word "equip or equipping" is katartismos and means "complete furnishing, equipping". It is from the word, katartizō, which gives a lot more depth to help us understand what it means to equip. Katartizō is to render, as in to fit, to make sound, to complete; to mend (what has been broken or rent), to repair; to equip, put in order, arrange, adjust, prepare; or ethically: to strengthen, perfect, complete, make one what he ought to be. Furthermore, one of the two root words is artios which refers to "complete or perfect, having reference apparently to "special aptitude for given uses.""

Another aspect of equipping is to be properly aligned. The idea is that of a setting a broken bone, or adjusting joints that misaligned so that they are properly fit together in order to function well. If you have ever broken a bone, had your back go out, or dislocated a shoulder, you know just how important it is to have things brought back into alignment!

When bones are broken or joints are out of place, the results are pain and lack of ability to do what is desired, and sometimes even the basic duties of life are impossible to perform. Once the bone or joint is set into proper place, and has time to complete the healing process, strength and ability to function are restored.

Likewise, as the Body of Christ, we have been suffering from joints being out of alignment and even some broken bones that are in desperate need of being set. In many ways, we have been suffering in pain and dysfunction.  But God is moving among us to bring about healing, restoration, and strengthening of His Body through shifting our mindsets, practices, and paradigms of ministry from being pulpit-centered to the equipping and empowering of all the saints to do the work of ministry. 

Practically, for each of us, one of the keys to being thoroughly equipped is to comprehend what purpose or assignment God has designed that we are to fulfill.  If we don't rightly understand our assignment and how it fits, or aligns, with the rest of the Body, we will have difficulty coming into the place of functioning at maximum potential.  God has given everyone gifts according to His good pleasure and assignments according to the working of His will.  And, He has set the solitary in families (Ps 68:7) and has made us as members one of another, all with different functions (Rom 12:4-5), for the good of all.  We were not created to operate in isolation, but in alignment - in connectivity - in concert with each other, celebrating and encouraging one another on to love and good deeds (Heb 10:24).  

As we come increasingly into alignment with God's purposes and with one another, the prayer of Jesus in John 17 that we would be one will begin to be answered in tangible and effective ways.  Being "one" is not as much about being in absolute agreement on all points of doctrine or theology as it is about being "members of the body, though (we) are many, are one body" (I Cor 12:12).  As Ephesians 4:16 says, that when this happens, every joint supplies and every part does its part, it causes growth of the whole in love. 

Whether you, as a part of the Body, are assigned primarily to work in business, government, education, arts & entertainment, media, family, or the church, what you supply is vital to the growth and advancement of Christ's Kingdom.  God is calling us to see Christ's Body, not just assembled one or two days a week for corporate worship and proclamation of His Word, but as assembled - fit and knit together - and sent forth thoroughly equipped into the world as ambassadors of Christ to bring the blessings of Christ in tangible, practical ways into all of culture.  When we do this in love, people will want to know the God we serve and many will be ushered into the Kingdom. 

Prayer Points:
  • Pray for apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to rise up with integrity of heart and purpose to fulfill the assignment of the Lord in "equipping the saints for the work of ministry" in their work, at home, and in the local assembly according to the ways they have been gifted and called by the Lord
  • Pray for all believers to find their place of alignment and assignment within the Body of Christ and to pursue the training needed to fulfill their God-given purpose of taking the Gospel of the Kingdom into the world 
  • Pray for a shift in the thinking of the believers in our region from being gathering-focused to sending-focused, from church-centric to Kingdom-advancing, from ministry "in the 4-walls" to ministry "outside the walls" to advance Christ's Kingdom 
  • Pray for believers to develop language to communicate Kingdom principles and truths in non-religious terminology to transform culture by righteousness, truth, justice, and wisdom with excellence in all areas of society. 
  • Pray for the Body of Christ in our city, state, region and nation to come together as One Body, in relational collaboration and effective functioning to advance Christ's Kingdom in all arenas of culture 
  • Pray for Awakening in our day to cause the Church to rise with increased love, passion, authority and power by the Holy Spirit, and for Reformation in our lifetime that will reveal Christ's Kingdom come and His Will done on earth as it is in heaven. 


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