2 Words in 1

 

Raising Up Apostolic Communities

Apostolic communities are currently being re-established in a season where God is calling His true Church together to once more to become His apostolic (Spirit-Life-filled) body on earth.

People from everywhere across the land are being gathered who are passionate for God and who desires to become apostolic (Spirit driven and directed to accomplish God’s mission in the earth) in their worship, their conduct and their lives.

There is a great need and hunger for the “real” and for the experience of becoming a living and active member of the Life of Christ in His authentic Church.

People are generally tired of experiencing the external wonder-encounters of the Holy Spirit — They search for something more, deeper, far more glorious and significant!

They no longer simply want to fall down to the ground — they want to know Christ and come to know the One Who is causing them to fall to the ground!

There is a great hunger for intimacy and for Truth. These two ingredients are the the essentials for a great spiritual recipe!

How does an Apostolic Community function?

• It is a community expressing the Life of Jesus Christ through His Living Presence being expressed by His Holy Spirit.
• It is a community caring for another and expressing the heart of the Father towards each another in all things.
• It is a community where Christ is lived and through whom His Life flows in the lives of ordinary people (a community of believers) who have been equipped, prepared and readied for their service by apostolic teaching (Spirit driven and missionary orientated teaching, equipping them to fulfill their creation and life-purpose), imparting Christ’s Life in them to flow through them.

They are taught to become God’s mirrors on earth as His creation will and purpose is expressed through them to bring Him glory.

Some will have their purpose in various avenues as the Spirit leads. Others in healing the sick, casting out demons, leading others to salvation, to teach, preach, prophecy, bring Revelation from the Throne and encourage each other to continue in the deeper ways of the Spirit.

They will know how to transition between seasons as the Spirit may lead them to do.

How is an Apostolic Community raised?

• Through intense apostolic discipleship schooling (Learning Christ in Living Word and in Spirit).
• By the impartation of the Life of Christ (not merely learning about Him).
• Through small groups gathering together in fellowship where they experience the Holy Spirit intimately and personally.

An apostolic community (Ekklesia — or true functioning body United in the Spirit of Christ) may arise through various avenues such as evangelism, outreach ministries, personal care and counselling or through a hunger within the hearts of a community.

The nature of such a community is however to gather together in small numbers, even if it may be a company great in number.

Apostolic teaching is for impartation, not for preaching. If preached to large numbers it will cause an uproar and a great stirring and response among the crowd who hears it, but with little effect in transforming them into what they have heard.

Apostolic teaching caters to the individual, because it deals with imparting truths through personal experience and disciples (imparts Christ) into those who seek to know a deeper life with Christ.

Apostolic communities should therefore consist of groups small in number that gets together corporately from time to time.

Thereby to ensure that people are not lost in the crowd but individually ministered to, to grow and develop as a result of the Fellowship and teaching they receive.

There may be a multitude of small fellowships in one city that make up one large assembly when they do come together for a time of celebration.

In their small groups they grow and also get to work in the Kingdom by being equipped to reach and minister to others with the end goal of establishing and caring for a new group for which they again will take responsibility and equip and train to become effective in their service to The LORD.

This is the reverse practise that is followed by many religious institutions of the day, where a large congregation gathers together for teaching and is broken into smaller groups for fellowship.

In an apostolic community, intense teaching and growth is experienced in small groups, with a time of celebration and fellowship that follows from time to time, where all gather together corporately as a body.

The principle of personal growth and development has always been “breaking bread from house to house.”

Evangelism and outreaches led of the Spirit will result in multitudes being reached, as well as individual ministry to those Father draws to Himself.

An apostolic Ekklesia is always a missionary body.

---

The Remnant

There is a remnant being raised.

A Church who will be trained in the apostolic way. A people serious about their God, in whom He will reveal Himself and through whom His Kingdom at this time will be built.

Are you a part of His Ekklesia?

Ekklesia:- meaning: Those whom God has called unto Himself or drawn out to Himself to be reunited with their creation purpose. To be rejoined through Jesus Christ to become the dream He predestined and dreamed them to be, before the earth was formed and to become the living embodiment of that dream in being MANIFESTED as such in the earth.

 

~ Johann van der Hoven

---

Johann van der Hoven has been in service of The LORD since 1991 and has hosted numerous mass revival meetings in South Africa and abroad and is a published author. He is the visionary of Fellowship of the Believers, host to “Eagle Food” Apostolic & Prophetic Seminars, and currently pioneers “Deeper Life” Revival School International, from South Africa where he resides. For more info visit www.sonsofsovereignty.com

Back to Top