Planting Churches among the City's Poor - Volume 1

348 • P LANTING C HURCHES AMONG THE C ITY ’ S P OOR : V OLUME 1

3. As a creator of community, however, the apostolic church plant team leader seeks to help each member identify their gifts, discover their burdens, and utilize their resources to contribute to the planting of a healthy assembly of disciples . Eph. 4.11-16 (ESV) – And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Rom. 12.4-8 (ESV) – For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in propor tion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

In a real sense, a church plant team member is playing the role of an apostle!

The designation of the Twelve as “the apostles,” which occurs only here in Mark’s Gospel, has specific reference to the mission they have just undertaken. In this context the term is descriptive of the disciple’s function rather than an official title and could be rendered ‘missionaries.’ It was in consequence of their mission of preaching and exorcism in Galilee that the Twelve were designated ‘apostles,’ i.e., those who had been sent forth and empowered by Jesus.

~ William L. Lane. “The Gospel of Mark.” The New International Commentary on the New Testament . Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1974. p. 224.