A Supernatural SWAT Team ( Five-Fold Ministers)

Team - Apostles, Prophets, Evangelist, Pastors, and Teachers...

I sat on the platform with the other ministry team members. Beads of sweat from the hot Haitian night trickled down my forehead as I stared out at the faces of the worshippers. Some were church members, others pastors, and still others had heard the loud music and curiously wandered in from the street. Glancing to my right and left at the other members of the team, I wondered what was about to happen.

We had no plan. We had no order of service. We each had messages God had placed on our hearts, but we didn’t know when - or even if - we would be sharing them. But the unique blend of gifts on the ministry team was about to unlock the power of Heaven in the room.

In the spring of last year, I had the opportunity to accompany Mike Brewer and a team of other leaders to Haiti for a series of meetings in churches. Most days we kept an intense schedule of at least two services in different churches.

Entirely by God’s design, the team was a full representation of the five-fold ministry gifts: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. These gifts, Paul teaches in Ephesians 4:12, were given “to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” This means that one gift, or two gifts, or even four gifts in isolation cannot build the body of Christ effectively. All five gifts are important if the church is going to be fully built up.

This was the first time I had ever been a part of a strategically-aligned, Heaven-designed spiritual SWAT team. The order of service would vary widely. Mike Brewer opened, as he had the existing relationships. We would then work together as a team to hear what God was saying for that congregation, and release it as we felt led.