What Is Apostolic Ministry, Really?

It’s not about titles. It’s about building Heaven on Earth.

🚫 Busting the Buzzword

In today’s church world, the words “apostle” and “apostolic” gets tossed around like a trendy label or a status symbol. But the apostolic ministry isn’t about ego, control, or elite status. It’s not about a vibe, it’s about function. It’s about laying foundations, equipping the saints, and advancing the Kingdom on Earth with Heaven’s blueprint, not man’s brand. We see this clash of how churches and ministries brand themselves for themselves and not for the Kingdom advancement. Now I’m not saying not to build a brand, but if the brand isn’t Christ-centered, we've got a problem.

There are a lot of self-appointed “apostles” out there who frankly, do not function in the gifting at all. Now, I have no issue with the title; I am an apostle, but I didn’t just decide one day, “I’m going to be an apostle.” I was already active in ministry for many years before I had a supernatural, face-to-face encounter with Jesus while overseas on mission in the Dominican Republic, the encounter not only caught me off guard, but was so outside of my previous encounters with Christ that I wrestled with it for weeks before Jesus confirmed with me what He was calling me to: “You're my apostle and I am sending you out, to re-Christ the Church.”

In some of my past ministry endeavors, I have helped plant and establish churches, equip the Church for ministry and I have been sent out on mission domestically and internationally, but this was different and weighty. Over the years, I had received several prophetic words concerning this gift on my life, I've had them confirmed and reaffirmed but that face-to-face encounter I had in the Dominican Republic changed everything.

Jesus commissioned me, gave me the blueprints, and said, “I AM sending you,” and He's given me specific instructions on how He wants me to build His Church. It’s a great honor and one that I do not take lightly.

I’m sure I’ll share more on that supernatural encounter later on in another blog post, but for now, let's focus on the topic at hand.

🧱 What Apostolic Ministry Actually Is:

1️⃣ - 📩 It’s Being Sent, Not Self-Appointed.

The word apostle means “sent one.” Apostolic ministry starts with being sent by Jesus, not signing up for a cool title or boasting in your own abilities, but in His. Apostles don’t just plant or lead churches—they carry a pioneering spirit to launch movements, break ground, take territory back from the enemy, and they’re culture shifters.

Something I want to clarify, so there is no confusion, is that you don’t have to be an apostle to be apostolic; there’s the gift and there’s the function. It’s like operating prophetically but not being called as a prophet. The gift of the apostle is the vehicle that delivers the “goods”, so to speak, so that the Church is equipped to use those goods in ministry. Being apostolic is having a missional mindset to establish the Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven everywhere you go.

When Jesus sends out an apostle (often with an apostolic team), its not just about preaching a good message, its about a mission, its about being an ambassador on behalf of the King to release His royal decrees and execute them where they are sent, shifting the culture of the world that’s influenced by the kingdom of darkness and transforming it to reflect the Kingdom of God, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

📖 John 20:21 – “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

2️⃣ - 🏗️ It Lays Foundation, Not Control.

Apostolic leaders don’t build on top of others—they dig deep and lay solid, Christ-centered foundations for others to stand on. They don’t micromanage or manipulate. They serve, build, and make room for the Body to function fully. They operate as servant-leaders.

I have been preaching this message, and encouraging the Church from the start of my ministry when I gave my life to Jesus almost 20 years ago: “My goal is to put myself ‘out of a job,’ if you can do it better than me, then I’ve done my job. I want my ceiling to become your floor.”

I don’t just say that, I believe it, and I live it! I want others to succeed in following Christ, in becoming like Him, and reflecting Him in their lives. Like a proud father, I see many of my brothers and sisters in Christ as my spiritual sons and daughters, and I wholeheartedly want them to outdo me in ministry.

📖 1 Corinthians 3:10 – “As a wise master builder I have laid the foundation...”

3️⃣ - 🛠️ It Equips, Not Entertains.

Apostolic ministry doesn’t revolve around the stage; it’s about training, equipping, and activating the saints for the work of ministry, with Christ as the focal point in all they do, the foundation of their faith and true identity found in Him. It decentralizes ministry from a “select few, special people,” and it empowers the whole church to walk in purpose, authority, intimacy, and identity as sons and daughters of God.

Everyone who is a follower of Christ, and I mean everyone, has been called to the ministry of reconciliation ( 2 Corinthians 5:18-20). Everyone has skin in the game, but in modern Church culture we’ve exchanged the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry for the entertainment of the saints, and put the spotlight on one leader in the church to do it all, sometimes on purpose and at other times because of the “cultural norm” we’ve allowed in the Church.

The absence of the apostolic ministry and the gift of the apostle in the Church isn’t hard to see, but is often ignored. Too many Christians are comfortable with their Sunday service, and to challenge that disrupts their comfort and routine; furthermore, it's perceived as a "threat" to insecure church leaders who are focused on their own spotlight, church attendance, metrics, and offerings. The apostolic (and the prophetic) ministry is sometimes viewed as “hostile” to some because of the challenge it issues, disrupting church culture in order to establish Kingdom culture.

The greatest threat to the Church and the call of Christ isn’t the devil, the anti-christ, or even false religions; it’s lukewarm Christians who’d rather conform to consumerist churchianity rather than the image of Jesus.

📖 Ephesians 4:11–12 – “...He gave some to be apostles...for the equipping of the saints...”

4️⃣ - ⚡ It’s Reformational, Not Traditional.

Apostles don’t protect broken systems; they challenge them. They carry Heaven’s blueprint and confront the status quo when it keeps people bound. They don’t just plant churches, they reform cultures.

Something interesting to note is that the word apostle is actually a secular term coined by the Greeks, the term was later adopted by the Romans and further developed in meaning, particularly within the context of the early Christian church.

(I highly recommend you read or watch Rick Renner’s teaching on the subject, if you’d like to take a deeper look. Here is a link to one of his teachings.)

But in a nutshell, an apostolos (apostle) was a governmental agent, a personal representative, emissary, messenger, agent, diplomat, or ambassador on behalf of the one who sent them. Often sent with a team, they would go into unfamiliar territories and begin to establish the culture of their kingdom in the area, from their foods, customs, clothing, and language, they shifted the present culture into one that reflected their homeland to expand the territory and reach of the Kingdom that had sent them.

📖 Acts 17:6 – “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.”

🌱 The Real Fruit of Apostolic Ministry

It’s not hype, it’s transformation. When real apostolic ministry shows up:

👶 Orphan spirits transform into the reality of their identity in Christ as sons of daughters of God.

💪 Churches are trained and equipped to do the work of the ministry not just in their local areas, but worldwide.

🌍 Regions, territories, and cultures are shifted and transformed to reflect the culture of the Kingdom.

✨ And Heaven becomes visible on Earth, through the Church, not just pulpit ministers.

It’s not about being glamorous, it’s about His Glory.

🤔 Reflection Question:

Are you building platforms for yourself… or building upon the foundation of Christ?