Apostle (Greek: Apostolos), is the New Testament name given to Jesus’ twelve Disciples (It also came to include church leaders not included in the original group). Each was chosen by Christ Himself and were so profoundly affected by the Master and His ministry that they each immediately answered the call to follow Him – leaving their former life behind (Math 4:18-22, Mark 1:16-20, Luke 5:9-11).

Not only did Jesus choose each one, but He gave them the ability to heal sickness and disease (See Math 10:1, Luke 9:1-2, Acts 3:1-8, Acts 28:8-9). They were also empowered by the Holy Spirit to:

• Preach and teach the gospel with great power, which was greatly amplified after the Day of Pentecost recorded in Acts Chapter Two.
• Record much of the New Testament (John 14: 25-26, 1 Corinthians 2:13).

Founding and nurturing the new Christian Church became their primary task after Christ’s ascension.

The Apostle Paul writing in Ephesians 4:10-13 provides the newly formed church with instruction for establishing Church leadership order – commonly referred to as the Five Fold Ministry:

He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some 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 fulness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:10-13