A Biblical Way of Commissioning Ministers

The Scripture reveals many biblical ways of doing the right things in the contemporary Local Church, one of which is the commissioning of ministers or sending out of missionaries.

The sending out of apostles from the Local Church at Antioch gives us a pattern of how the present Local Church should follow. Antioch was the first Local Church - "The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch" (Acts 11:26). My opinion is, if the first Local Church did the right thing in commissioning ministers why must the contemporary Church seeks to change anything or tries to improve it?

Read the first 4 verses of Acts 13 carefully:

"Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, 'Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them'. Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus".

Pleas take note of the following observations:

1. The sending out of missionaries from the Local Church is the duty of the Holy Spirit. God uses anointed bible believing, God-fearing and Spirit baptised christians to fulfill this important task. Pastor and leaders who fail to be led by the Holy Spirit and are not sensitive to the Voice of the Holy Spirit are therefore not capable of commissioning any minister or sending out missionary effectively.

2. In the Church at Antioch there were five men with two definite spiritual ministries - Prophet and Teacher of the Word. Notice that Paul (Saul) and Barnabas had the ministries of Prophet and Teacher. They were called apostles only after they were sent out by the Holy Spirit. "Apostle" means just this - the one sent forth. Similarly a disciple of Jesus Christ is called a missionary only after he is sent out to do mission work. Apostle, missionary and other ministers of the Lord's work are job descriptions and not titles.

3. The Church leaders in the Local congregation at Antioch not only prayed, but they also fasted. Furthermore, they did not merely fast privately as individuals, but they fasted together in a prayer group (meaning they ministered to the Lord together). Read Joel 1:14 and Joel 2:15. Ministering to the Lord involves worshipping and fellowshipping with the Lord and fellowshipping with one another in a prayer group.

4. The reward they received was that the Holy Spirit spoke to them directly. I believe the way they heard the voice of the Holy Spirit was through the gift of prophecy or by the gifts of tongues and interpretation of tongues and rhema words.

5. Notice the exact words used by the Holy Spirit. This is very important.

"Separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them" (Acts 13:2, NKJV, emphasis added).

The verb phrase "I have called them" is in the perfect tense. This indicates that God had already spoken privately and individually to paul and Barnabas about the work that He wanted them to do before He spoke publicly concerning them and their work to all the leaders of the Church.

The spiritual principle is: "The Holy Spirit always reveal His calling to the individual christian before He makes known His calling for this individual to the Church". The Church merely serves to confirm the callings of those who are called.

6. The Church a Antioch did not immediately send Paul and Barnabas off on their God-appointed mission. First the leaders set aside further time for fasting and prayer. This was the second time they had fasted and prayed together.

"Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away" (Acts 13:3).

The last thing needs to be done is to commission them (who are the called) by the laying of hands of the leaders of the Church.

I think the reason they did this is obvious. Through their first period of praying and fasting together they received the supernatural revelation of God's plan - His will and purpose - for the apostles. In their second period of prayer and fasting they united together to claim on behalf of Paul and Barnabas the divine grace and power which they would need for the accomplishment of God's plan.

In my opinion, if the contemporary Local Church fail to follow this God ordained method, they are essentially trying to send out missionaries not so much of accomplishing God's plan but man's plan. Very often they make their own plan known to God and ask for His blessings without seeking the involvement of the Holy Spirit. If that is the case, then the purpose of their praying together is merely to ask God to give His "rubber stamp" of approval.

Did the Antioch Church accomplish God's will and purpose?

The following verses of Scripture clearly describe the outcome of the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas into which they had entered by the direction of the Holy Spirit, with prayer and fasting, and with the ordinance of laying on of hands of the elders.

"From there they sailed (back) to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed. And when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened thd door of faith to the Gentiles" (Acts 14:26,27, emphasis added).

Take note of the following:

1. Paul and Barnabas had completed their God-given work. This means that they successfully accomplished their work, without omissions or failure. Someone had said, "God's callings are God's enablings". In other words, when God calls a man to a special task, He also makes available to that man all the means and the spiritual grace required for the complete and successful accomplishment of that task.

2. "God had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles" is the evidance that Paul and Barnabas did not beat against closed door. Wherever they went they found that God had gone before them to open the doors and prepare the hearts of the Gentiles to receive Christ.

I believe that is what effective mission work is about. All the success boils down to the power of united prayer and fasting of those who sent them.