The New Apostolic Reformation is a movement in Protestant
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
that grew out of the Pentecostal and
Charismatic movementThe term Charismatic Movement describes the adoption of certain beliefs typical of those held by Pentecostal Christians by those within the historic denominations...
s, that asserts that
GodGod is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
is restoring the lost offices of church governance, namely the offices of
ProphetIn religion, a prophet is a person who has been contacted by, or has encountered, the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other humans...
and
ApostleIn Christianity, apostles were missionaries among the leaders in the Early Church and, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, Jesus Christ himself. The term was also used, especially by the Gospel of Luke, for "the Twelve," Jesus' inner circle of disciples...
.
General beliefs
The New Apostolic Reformation started from
PentecostalPentecostalism is a renewal movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit which is evidenced by speaking in tongues. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, a Greek term describing the Jewish Feast of...
and
CharismaticThe term Charismatic Movement describes the adoption of certain beliefs typical of those held by Pentecostal Christians by those within the historic denominations...
origins, and thus includes belief in the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit within a believer; the performance of
miracleA miracle is a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature, such that can be attempted to be explained by divine intervention, and is sometimes associated with a miracle worker. Many folktales, religious texts, and people claim various events they refer to as "miraculous". People in different...
s (such as
healingHealing is the act or process of curing or of restoring to health. Assessed physically, healing is the process by which the cells in the body regenerate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or necrotic area....
),
prophecyA prophecy is the message that has been communicated to a prophet which the prophet then communicates to others. In general, this message can involve divine inspiration, revelation, or interpretation. More specifically, it may be a professed psychic prediction. Confusion often exists between the...
and the revelation of
ChristJesus of Nazareth —also known as Jesus Christ or occasionally Jesus the Christ—is the central figure of Christianity. Within most Christian denominations...
within a believer.
Although the movement regards the
ChurchChristian Church and church Christian Church and church Christian Church and church (Greek kyriakon, "thing belonging to the Lord"; also ekklesia (Latinized as ecclesia, "assembly") are used to denote both a Christian association of people and a place of worship. In the phenomenological sense there...
as the true body of saved believers, as most evangelical protestants do, it maintains the need for Church offices and submission to Church leaders. These leaders are ordained by God, given power and authority by God to lead by serving, as described in the biblical letter of the apostle
PaulPaul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, Paul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, Paul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, ...
to the Ephesians. As such, they believe in the 5-fold offices of the Church first popularized in Charismatic groups; of which the prophet and apostle has been absent from the Church for the last 2000 years, and are now being restored. See
Five-Fold MinistryFivefold Ministry is a Christian belief that the five gifts referred to in the Bible in the Ephesians chapter four verse eleven, are current today...
.
Many apostolic churches are at their heart missionary churches. (Apostolos Gk: Sent ones) This reformation seeks to reform the church on a global scale beginning first with the local church which is then networked to other apostolic churches relating to one another as one body and submitted to Christ who is believed to be the head of the church.
The apostolic ministry is not concerned with membership numbers but rather with a process they refer to as
the formation of Christ within its members. As such, apostolic churches tend to be small, consisting of dedicated believers who all function and carry weight in the church, working together toward the commission and vision of the local church.
External links
Books by Peter Wagner
- Churchquake : The Explosive Dynamics of the New Apostolic Revolution ISBN 0-8307-1918-0
- The New Apostolic Churches ISBN 0-8307-2136-3