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 THE
PENTAGON
The 5 Fold Ministry
The aim of the pentagon is to release lay members of the
church into their ministries. It is based on the ministries
written about in Ephesians 4: 7-13.
The context of this passage suggests that this is about the
whole body of the Church, not just leaders. We would recognise
these five ministries (see above) as the basic roles of Christians
in the Church, and would suggest that although as Christians
mature they are called to operate for periods of time (phases)
in all of these, each person has a base ministry, which is
one of these five (see Eph 4: 7). Thus, someone might be a
pastor as their base ministry, although at the moment they
are in an evangelistic phase. People will tend to return to
their base ministry to recover and gain energy after a phase
of operating in one of the others.
Our understanding of the five ministries are (briefly):
Apostles are those who are 'sent out'. This ministry
consists of starting new things and making a breakthrough
into new areas. Someone with an apostolic ministry might start
new clusters or small groups, set up teams for various ministries,
or help existing groups to grow.
 Prophets
are those who 'foretell' and 'tell forth'. They have a ministry
of speaking (or acting) out God's word for the current times,
in accordance with scripture, for the encouragement of the
Church. They are often called to spend quite a lot of time
alone with God.
Evangelists are those who bring the good news. They
are more likely to operate on the fringes of the church than
those with other ministries. They are primarily called to
share the Gospel with those who have not heard it.
Pastors are those who are called to care for and watch
over others. This can include encouraging and helping others,
and also confrontation if necessary. This is a ministry which
holds the Church together as family.
Teachers are those who hold out the truth. They have
a ministry of guiding and correcting others, as well as helping
them to obtain the freedom which arises from Biblical truths
being outworked in their lives.
We would recognise that in each of these areas of ministry,
Jesus is the prime example which we are called to follow.
He is the one sent out from heaven, the greatest of the prophets,
the good news, the good shepherd and the greatest teacher.
Gifts and Ministries
We would also recognise that in addition to the ministries
of each member, there are a number of gifts identified in
the New Testament, particularly in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians
12, but also elsewhere. We see these as additional tools of
God's kingdom, given to his people as needed. Members are
encouraged to identify the gifts which they use most often,
and to desire and ask for the gifts which they do not.
The Pentagon Audio tape:
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