05 Dec Relationships Within the Five-Fold

2 minute read

By Bryan Koch, Assistant Superintendent

As pastors and leaders of churches, God has called each of us into the ministry. But the direction that calling takes is different for each individual based on the giftings that He has given you. There are the manifestational gifts found in 1 Corinthians 12 and the ministry gifts found in Romans 12. There are also the motivational, or five-fold, gifts found in Ephesians 4: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.

Most people have a primary and secondary gifting. My primary gifting is pastor/teacher, and I lean towards apostolic as secondary. This means that I lean into teaching the Word of God, giving practical takeaways, writing bottom lines and helping people understand what the Bible says. But I also invest in seeing God’s Kingdom expand. What about you? Maybe your primary gifting is pastor and you lean more toward evangelist or prophet.

Christ gave all of these giftings to work together to equip His people and build up the church. This means that no one person can do it all on his or her own! When you know your own giftings, you can then find others who have different gifts and work cooperatively to be most effective.

One way we have done that at GT Church is by having an evangelist on our team. We support
Greg Hubbard’s ministry financially, and he helps to equip our people to be more evangelistic.
He preaches at GT throughout the year while bringing strong altar calls, leading missions trips and holding refresh services. Another way that we’ve done this in the past is through supporting those with an apostolic gift by having a missionary house – a place for missionaries to stay while
on furlough.

Maybe your church isn’t able to do either of those things, but it’s important for you to determine what you can do. While it’s true that sometimes you will be called on to do the work of a gifting that may not be your strength, it’s important to seek out individuals with those giftings and allow them to be used.

Imagine what God can do when all of the gifts are being used in ministry.

If you have questions about what this could look like for your church,

I’d be happy to talk with you. Please feel free to call me at 610-678-0266.