The Fivefold Ministry: Gifts, Not Programs. Many churches today use the phrase “fivefold ministry” to describe the list of gifts Paul gives in Ephesians 4:11: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Whole programs have been built around this idea, sometimes even marketed as if the Christian life could be managed through leadership formulas. Yet this misses Paul’s intent.

To be a Christian is to be a disciple. Anything less is not biblical. Yet in today’s culture of casual belief and shallow faith, many have divorced the idea of belief from obedience.