Equipping and Releasing

As we get into the subject matter of the actual seminar let’s just take a moment to examine Scripture and think through why there needs to be in-depth teaching on the five fold ministry as well as other gifts in the body of Christ.

“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.”
– Ephesians 4:11-13

God has given some to be Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers.  God has given them until we all come into the unity of the faith, so the Prophet and the Apostle will be with us for a while yet.  Some churches traditionally have taught that Prophets and Apostles are no longer with us, however church tradition is not Scripture.  The Scripture is clear.  They are here until we all come into the unity of the faith, and until we all come into the knowledge of the Son of God.  The Five Fold Ministry has been given to us to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.  It is the job of the Five Fold to equip every believer (all of us) to minister to the masses.

Each person in the church is very different from the next.  One is gifted in administration and the next can’t even keep their house clean.  One is gifted in hospitality and the next one can’t cook.  One is a wonderful speaker and the next shivers at the very thought.  One is prophetic and another is very analytical focusing on the details of history with a fine toothed comb.  Yet God loves uniqueness.  God cherishes each part of the body and every member and cares for the church as His own Bride.  How fascinating!

In a family there can be several positions; Mother, Father, children, hired help, extended family and so on.  Each one is important.  In each of those people is a different personality.  One is spontaneous and generally optimistic, dressing in bright colors and moving about in a flurry.  Another may be quiet, and thoughtful, and careful in their planning, and really liking time alone.  A third member may be demanding and hard driving and continually overworking.  Each personality in the family may respond differently to a given situation.

In a church family we also have different personalities that can grate on each other’s nerves if we don’t understand them.  Besides personality differences, gender differences, and love languages there are also unique lines of thought based on gift mixes. Evangelists think differently than pastors, and apostles will inevitably lead a church in a completely different manner than a teacher.
In this seminar in depth teaching is done on each of the five fold ministry as well as the other gifts of administration, helps, worshippers, intercessors, hospitality, service workers, techies and more.

Each participant is taken through a questionnaire that also establishes what their gift mix is and what the next steps are to move into the fullness of that.  Each person is shown the value they have as a member of the body of Christ and they are encouraged in their faith as a result.

Some of the subject matter of this seminar includes:

1. The Five Fold gifts as well as other gift mixes
2. Behaviors that destroy teamwork and behaviors that encourage teamwork
3. How to love the body of Christ
4. Intimacy with Holy Spirit and why that is important
5. Uplifting the Pastor and working within his or her vision
6. Living under authority and operating in loyalty to the local church
7. How and why we need to support the local church financially

This seminar can be done in 3 to 5 sessions depending on time availability and how deep you would like to go.  It can be done in a weekend seminar or even over a week long event such as a camp experience.

Pastor Kerry George generally does these seminars herself as equipping the body of Christ is her greatest passion in serving Christ.  Typically she asks that her travel and accommodation costs are covered and that love offerings are received during some of the meetings, but not necessarily all.  She will also bring books, CD’s and training materials for purchase.  Many of those materials are specifically selected for the equipping of the saints to do the work of the ministry.

To contact Pastor Kerry call 403-818-6467 or email her at juicyfruitchristianit”at”msn.com

For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.  For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.  For in fact the body is not one member but many.  1 Corinthians 12:12-14