“He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.” - Eph 4:11-16
From the beginning Victory Churches has sought to build on a foundation of fivefold ministries. Jesus Himself was the embodiment of the fivefold ministry. But when he ascended, He divided His ministry on the earth into five segments and delegated them to these five ministry gifts to equip, empower, and mobilize the church to do His will and His works on the earth. The 120 in the upper room in Acts 2 were not all apostles or fivefold ministry gifts, but all were apostolic people – people who would go were they were sent, stay were they were put, and do what they could until they got fresh orders from Heaven.
The church was designed to be an apostolic company. (1 Cor 12:28) “God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets…” The word ‘first’ is the Greek word 'protos’ where we get our word prototype from, which means ‘first in order’. It is the primary anointing in the church. (Eph 2:19-22) “…The church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets...” One reason for the success of the Victory Movement is that my gift is apostolic, and my wife’s is prophetic.
We came to believe that when you release the whole five-fold, you release the whole church to reach the whole world! These ministry gifts are still critically necessary for the church today!
- Apostles – look forward at growth possibilities
- Prophets – look inward at spiritual conditions
- Evangelists – look outward at the harvest
- Pastors – look over the condition of the flock
- Teachers – look after all the details
These gifts are intended to complement, not compete with one another! (Acts 11: 25) “Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul”. Barnabus understood his own limitations, so he looked for someone who had what he lacked.
How do you know what your gifting is? In Luke 6:44 Jesus said, “For every tree is known by its own fruit.” As long as a tree is healthy and in a suitable climate, it will produce fruit naturally and effortlessly. In other words, you are not an apostle or prophet simply because you want to be one! God gives these gifts to the body of Christ as He wills, and we identify them based on the kind of fruit they consistently produce.
Victory Is A Fivefold Movement
- A Strong Commitment to the Word of God keeps the movement well-grounded.
- A High Priority on Covenant relationships keeps the movement together.
- An Emphasis on Visionary Purpose keeps it moving forward.
- The Effective Working Together of the Fivefold ministry keeps us fruitful - constantly producing new leaders and new churches.
God sends apostolic leaders, they release apostolic people into the harvest, and all operate in a degree of apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, pastoral, and teaching anointing.
Great grace and great power came upon them all!
Dr. George Hill,
Founder and President of Victory Churches International
www.victoryint.org