„So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.“
– Ephesians 4:11-13

Here the apostle Paul describes the five basic offices for building the church of Jesus and thus the kingdom of God – apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. According to Paul, their main job is not the service itself, BUT training all Christians for service according to their gifts and calling. In this way the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher multiplies his ministry and his sphere of influence in many ways.

The teachers of the ISOM Bible School are men and women of God with long experience who work full-time with the body Serve Christ in these five offices. The vision of the ISOM Bible School is to help pastors and leaders do their job – to train the Saints for the work of ministry. Churches need the comprehensive teaching of all five offices to grow healthily. Most churches do not have all of these leaders as mature teachers and trainers, especially at the beginning. This is exactly where the ISOM Bible School offers an answer and solution.

According to Paul, the goal of the training is to create a unity in faith in the church. We have seen this in innumerable places, that the teaching of the ISOM Bible School creates this spiritual unity in churches. A second goal is to grow into the full maturity of the character of Christ and the lifestyle of a believable Christian who knows his gifts and uses them in the service of others and therefore produces much fruit. That is why the name of the Bible School is “International School of Ministry“, which reflects the Heart of Jesus for our development, that we develop the heart and the lifestyle of servants. Jesus himself is our greatest role model as a servant.

In the ISOM Bible School we have a multitude of experienced apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers who have brought forth much fruit through their ministry. Below, I share the definitions of the five office gifts from C. Peter Wagner (1930-2016), who was a leading community building expert and my professor and mentor at the Fuller Theological Seminary in California. In his book “Discovering your Spiritual Gifts” he names 28 biblical gifts. The book also includes a gift test and is highly recommended. It is available in our shop.

Apostles

The gift of the apostle is the special ability God gives certain members of the body of Christ to exercise divinely bestowed authority to establish the basic government of the kingdom of God for some area of ​​influence or service in the church. An apostle hears of the Holy Spirit and puts things in order for the health, growth, maturation, and mission of the church (see Luke 6:12-13; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 2:20; 4:11-13).

Addition from me: In the history of Christianity, apostles are pioneers and founders who always have a healthy foundation of doctrine for one created a new movement, new churches or a new generation of Christians. Apostles therefore usually have a strong teaching ability.

TIP: A good book on this is by Loren Cunningham “The Book That Transforms Nations”

In 32 chapters he names apostolic leaders from all generations who have changed their nation.

Prophets

The gift of prophecy is the special ability that God gives certain members of the body of Christ to receive a direct message from God to His people and to pass it on through a divinely anointed utterance (see Luke 7:26; Acts 15:32; 21, 9-11; Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:10+28; Ephesians 4:11-13).

Addition from me: The prophetic ministry is taught in the semesters and in the modules. Paul says in Ephesians 2:19-20: “You are …built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone”

Evangelists

The gift of the evangelist is the special ability God gives certain members of the body of Christ to communicate the gospel to unbelievers in such a way that men and women become disciples of Jesus and responsible members of the body of Christ (see Acts 8:5-6, 26-40; 14:21; 21:8; Ephesians 4:11-13; 2 Timothy 4:5).

Addition from me: Here we have the courses from Reinhard Bonnke, Ray Comfort and T.L. Osborn. But the anointing of evangelism is also taught through a variety of other courses.

Pastors

The gift of the pastor is the special ability God gives certain members of the body of Christ to take long-term, personal responsibility for the spiritual well-being of a group of believers (see John 10:1-18; Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; 1 Peter 5:1-13). The term “pastor” is commonly used to describe the leader of a ward. However, many who lead churches may have very different dominant gifts instead of the pastor’s gift (for example, leadership or teaching).

Addition from me:Many experienced pastors who have successfully founded churches and led churches for many years teach in the ISOM Bible School.

Teachers

The gift of teaching is the special ability God gives certain members of the body of Christ to communicate important information for the health and service of the body and its members in such a way that others can learn (see Acts 18:24-28; 20:20-21; Romans 12:7; 1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11-13).

Addition from me: All teachers at the ISOM Bible School have a strong teaching gift through which the anointing and revelation of God and His Word are imparted to the students. With good teachers, we learn to teach others well if we have this gift. This transfer of the gift of teaching happens through the teachers and courses of the ISOM Bible School.

Conclusion

IIf God has called you to one of the offices of Ephesians 4:11, then you will benefit greatly in the long term from the teaching of all five offices and service gifts. Every Christian, regardless of the gifts or calling, needs the input and holistic training from called men and women of God who are experienced and serve in these five offices.

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