Two apostolic teams?

By Rich Ellwood, Advance Team leader

Apostolic Teams

Those in business speak of ‘thinking outside the box’. Politicians talk of the ‘Westminster bubble’. Fans of the noble game of cricket refer to the fielder standing at silly-mid-off or the bowler bowling a googly. Whatever the walk of life, we all use certain forms of language which might make great sense to some, but leave others bewildered.

One such term which in our Salt & Light family of churches could fall into this category is the word ‘apostolic’. We understand much by this word, but, put simply, we use it to describe leaders and churches who think big and lead in a way that is expansive, generous and faith-filled, looking to influence way beyond their own surroundings.

“Leaders and churches who think big and lead in a way that is expansive, generous and faith-filled, looking to influence way beyond their own surroundings.”

The church we meet in the city of Antioch in the book of Acts adds to our understanding of what it means to be an ‘apostolic church’. We find there, a church that trained and equipped its members, sent off workers to other nations and had a variety of leadership gifts as it became a hub of mission and pioneer work for a whole region.

We want our family of churches to be led in a way which reflects this ‘apostolic heart’ we see in the Early Church. To this end, we have recently set up two apostolic teams across our network to lead us - a Vision Team and a Church Oversight Team.

Vision Team

As the name suggests, this team is charged with seeking God for fresh vision and direction for our Salt & Light Advance family as well as carrying and communicating the heart and values of the network. We very much want our family of churches to be led by vision before administration, prophetic direction rather than management. This team will pray together, seek God for the next steps for the next season of our family and have a strong presence in our corporate gatherings.

Church Oversight Team

We want each local church to be well cared for and provoked to further mission and pioneering and our church leaders to be held to account and encouraged. This team is responsible for ensuring these are all happening whilst providing sharp, effective, servant-hearted oversight of each congregation.

To ensure this works well, for each church in Advance, we expect to identify a leader beyond the local church or, in some cases, a defined support team, helping each church thrive.

Two teams, working together 

These two teams will work closely together with cross-over of team members and each team informing the other. We want both teams to be characterised by faith, humility, a strong sense of teamwork and relational care for one another and for our wider family.

A variety of gifts are represented on each team, both of which are led by Rich & Anna Ellwood. As we enter a fresh season as a family of churches, we pray these teams would reflect the apostolic culture we see in the Early Church and serve us well, helping us walk into all God has for us.