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The Apostolic-Prophetic movement (AP movement) is a US-based Christian movement founded in the early 2000s. It is a network of non-denominational alliances of independent churches and ministries.
The AP movement is rooted in the Charismatic movement, and is active in the Charismatic, Pentecostal, Third-Wave and Prophetic groups. The movement believes in restoring elements of what it calls the five-fold ministry, based on Ephesians 4:11-13. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers are considered legitimate offices of the church and are seen as prayer warriors, responsible for ushering in the return of Jesus and the Kingdom of God through prayer. [1] According to one source, the coalition is active across the US and about 40 other countries, and includes several hundred members, international training centers, and communication networks.
The movement has grown out of the Christian Charismatic movement and emphasizes the concept of the Holy Spirit. It is wide and varied, although many churches follow the Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, and Athanasian Creed. [2] Some individual churches only hold to the Nicene Creed and have parted with what they call "historical Christianity".
The movement emphasizes the importance of Christians going into spiritual warfare at three levels, described as the ground level, person-to-person actions such as praying for each other's personal needs, the occult level, dealing with "demonic forces" released through occult activities, and the strategic or cosmic level, which involves "bind[ing] and bring[ing] down spiritual principalities and powers that rule over governments." [3] The strategic level makes use of "spiritual mapping" to engage in spiritual warfare against "territorial spirits". [4]
The stated purpose of the AP movement is to restore the ministries of prophets and apostles to the church. They believe the restoration of the five ministry offices will fulfill the purpose for which they were given: the equipping and perfecting of the saints in Christ's image and ministry. Prophets and apostles are believed to be preparing church members for the day of the manifestation of the Kingdom of God and to give testimony to every nation. [5] [6]
The movement is not an organization and does not have formal membership. [7]
Around the time of the Second Great Awakening, leaders like Joseph Smith introduced the concept of the restoration of living prophets and apostles to guide religious movements in the US. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in particular grew substantially over the next century, and its members recognized many prophets and apostles over that time. Much later,[ specify ] the modern movement quickly spread among evangelicals through the use of early mass-marketing techniques by megachurches and religious corporations. Early 20th-century movement leaders were Paul Cain and Bill Hamon. Hamon introduced the idea of a coming prophetic movement and was instrumental in establishing prophets of that movement, especially in the form of the Elijah company of prophets, and activating and training Christians in prophetic ministry. John Eckhardt and C. Peter Wagner were prominent figures in pioneering and propagating the movement. After the apostles began to propagate, many of them appeared throughout the US and other countries. [8]
The majority of ministers and members of the movement came from former Charismatic movement churches. The ministry took the form of Bible preaching and prophesying. Hundreds of prophets went to other countries and prophesied to national leaders. Hector Torres claims that the apostles manifested signs and wonders, and that the saints were taught divine healing and the working of miracles. The local and global apostolic order was established based on the five-fold ministry concept. Church planting was done and people began to work for "the unity of the Church, the restoration of all things, and the promotion of the Kingdom of God." [9]
Hamon and Wagner worked together in propagating the movement. Hamon had the original vision for the restoration of apostles and Wagner acted as a theologian who began to write and designated the types of apostles and their functions. Their movement was called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and grew at a rate of nine million people per year.
Wagner, former professor of Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary of World Mission, founder of Global Harvest Ministries and presiding apostle and founder of the International Coalition of Apostles, and co-founder of World Prayer Center, played a pivotal role as the leading apostle of the movement from the 1980s to the 2000s. [10]
According to believers, the five-fold ministry was initially restored and applied to religious centers, whereby ministers were seen to emerge to equip and raise up devout believers in God. The movement is now[ when? ] working on becoming more prevalent across various parts of society, under the Seven Mountain Mandate. The seven parts which the name refers to, and which the movement wishes to claim for God are religion, family, education, government, media, arts and entertainment, and business.
The movement's goal is to have more devoted Christians working effectively across society. Speaking on Patricia King's Extreme Prophetic TV broadcast, Lance Wallnau said: "the Seven Mountains are almost a template for spiritual warfare because the church so frequently does not have a language for how it goes about taking territory." [11]
In Bill Hamon's 2010 book Prophetic Scriptures Yet to Be Fulfilled, he describes the transformation of the seven mountains of culture, and how every nation will become either a sheep or a goat nation. In the end, the restoration of all things spoken of by the apostles and prophets will supposedly release Jesus to return and set up His domain over all the earth, as written in the Book of Acts, chapter three.
In essence, the movement is attempting to restore the church to the same power, energy, and fullness of faith as the Early Church. As more teachers, prophets, and apostles are trained, the movement is planning on establishing apostolic centers in various cities, as training centers for equipping and motivating believers to be ready for ministry and the works of transformation across the seven mountains of society. These centers are not pastoral churches or denominational institutions, but are regarded by the movement as being part of a marketplace ministry that is led and governed by local ministers. The goal is to achieve change in cities and nations, verified by standard social scientific measuring equipment and independent professional sociologists, as stated by Wagner in his book, The Church in the Workplace.
Some of those who shaped the current AP movement were based in Kansas City, Missouri and became known as the Kansas City Prophets. They originated in the late 1980s and early 1990s at Kansas City Fellowship (KCF) whose influence eventually became international. It was overseen by KCF's Pastor Mike Bickle. Included in the list of prophets were Bob Jones, Paul Cain, Bill Hamon, Larry Randolph, James Goll, Jill Austin, and John Paul Jackson. [12] [13] John Wimber provided some oversight from the Vineyard Movement during the first few years. Cain had participated in the Healing Revival initiated by William Branham during the 1950s. The prophets except Bickle have left Kansas City but continue to be active in ministry throughout North America. Some Said It Thundered was written and published in 1991, during what is considered to be the height of their movement. A later book, A Life and Legacy of Pat Bickle and a History of the Kansas City Prophets also contains notes on their history.
The Apostolic Roundtable was a society of 25 apostles convened by Wagner that included Karl A. Barden, Bob L. Beckett, W. Rice Brookes, Emanuele Cannistraci, Gregory Dickow, Michael P. Fletcher, Chuck Pierce, Ché Ahn, Harold Caballeros, Naomi Dowdy, John Eckhardt, Bill Hamon, Jim Hodges, John P. Kelly, Lawrence Kennedy, Lawrence Khong, David Kwang-Shin Kim, Larry H. Kreider, Alan Langstaff, Roberts Liardon, Dexter Low, Mel Mullen, Alistair Petrie, and Eddie Villanueva. [14] [15]
As many churches and individuals in the movement do not follow the three ecumenical creeds, they are seen as having moved away from mainstream Christianity. Baptist theologian Dr. Roger Olson writes, [16]
...the closer I looked at the NARM [New Apostolic Reformation movement] the less convinced I was that it is a cohesive movement at all. It seems more like a kind of umbrella term for a loose collection of independent ministries that have a few common interests... I have examined the web sites of several independent evangelists who claim to represent that affinity... So far none of them seem blatantly heretical. Eccentric, non-mainline, a bit fanatical, maybe.
Wagner provided key differences between the NAR and traditional Protestantism in his article The New Apostolic Reformation Is Not a Cult. [17] He noted that those participating in the movement believe the Apostles' Creed and adhere to orthodox Christian doctrine.
Within the movement, the word apostle is used in multiple senses. In one sense, an apostle is an evangelist and bishop, called and sent by Christ to have the spiritual authority, character, gifts, and abilities to successfully reach and establish people in the Kingdom's truth and order, especially through founding and overseeing local churches, [18] according to David Cannistraci, author of two books on the movement and the lead pastor of Gateway City Church in San Jose, California. [19]
In another sense, an apostle is a church planter: "the apostolic gift leaves churches in its wake." It is characterized by a "paternal bond between apostles and pastors." [20]
Apostolic networks are non-denominational alliances of independent churches and ministries. [21] Apostolic networks are among the fastest growing movements in the modern Christian world. [22]
In July 1982, while guest speakers at Emanuele Cannistraci's church, Evangel Christian Fellowship, Bishop John Gimenez (founder of Rock Church and Washington for Jesus), Charles Green, [23] and Mel Davis, along with Cannistraci, conceived the idea to form the Network of Christian Ministries (the Network), [24] which was a major apostolic network formally established in 1984 in Washington D.C. [25] [26] By 1989, most of the national leaders of the charismatic movement had joined the Network. [27]
The Network was founded by Cannistraci, Gimenez, Green, Davis, Paul Paino, Thomas Reid, David Schoch, Dick Iverson, Bob Weiner, and John Meares. [28] [29] Other prominent ministers on the board of governors included Kenneth Copeland, Charles Simpson, Ken Sumrall, Charles Blair, [30] and Roderick Caesar, Sr. [31] [28]
The twelve national leaders and apostles, called the Apostolic Presbytery, were from all parts of the full gospel charismatic movement and were representatives of the movement. [32] The twelve apostles included Cannistraci, Green, Paino, Caesar, Iverson, Simpson, Sumrall, Dick Benjamin, John Hagee, John Casteel, and Houston Miles. The leaders met as a larger congress of elders and board of governors "to address issues confronting the church and society." [26] The apostles were recognized as national leaders that were truly representative of the myriad of Christian fellowships across the country. [32]
The Network started a national movement that united leaders from diverse fellowships, denominations, and ministries across the nation. [33] Thousands of ministers across the US were invited to be part of the Network, whose purpose was to unify and strengthen the Church. Its constitution also included the power to establish churches, missions, schools, colleges, and hospitals, to train chaplains for government and military service, and to set up an affiliated political action committee. [28] The Network spread internationally as ministers in other countries joined it. [34]
At the 1989 convention in Anaheim, there was a collective appeal from younger ministers for mentorship to pass on the elders' "reservoir of knowledge", "giftings", and "legacy" to the "next generation of world changers". The Network ultimately disbanded as it was unable to adapt to the appeal for mentorship. [27]
A spiritual gift or charism is an extraordinary power given by the Holy Spirit. These are believed by followers to be supernatural graces that individual Christians need to fulfill the mission of the Church. In the narrowest sense, it is a theological term for the extraordinary graces given to individual Christians for the good of others and is distinguished from the graces given for personal sanctification, such as the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit and the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or preternatural knowledge, for example of future events. They can be revealed to the prophet in various ways depending on the religion and the story, such as visions, divination, or direct interaction with divine beings in physical form. Stories of prophetic deeds sometimes receive considerable attention and some have been known to survive for centuries through oral tradition or as religious texts.
Restorationism, also known as Restitutionism or Christian primitivism, is a religious perspective according to which the early beliefs and practices of the followers of Jesus were lost or adulterated after his death and required "restoration". It is a view that often "seeks to correct faults or deficiencies by appealing to the primitive church as normative model".
Spiritual warfare is the Christian concept of fighting against the work of preternatural evil forces. It is based on the biblical belief in evil spirits, or demons, that are said to intervene in human affairs in various ways. Although spiritual warfare is a prominent feature of neo-charismatic churches, various other Christian denominations and groups have also adopted practices rooted in the concepts of spiritual warfare, with Christian demonology often playing a key role in these practices and beliefs, or had older traditions of such a concept unrelated to the neo-charismatic movement, such as the exorcistic prayers of the Catholic Church and the various Eastern Orthodox churches.
The Association of Vineyard Churches, also known as the Vineyard Movement, is an international neocharismatic evangelical Christian association of churches.
The Catholic Apostolic Church (CAC), also known as the Irvingian Church or Irvingite Church, is a denomination in the Restorationist branch of Christianity. It originated in Scotland around 1831 and later spread to Germany and the United States. The tradition to which the Catholic Apostolic Church belongs is sometimes referred to as Irvingism or the Irvingian movement after Edward Irving (1792–1834), a clergyman of the Church of Scotland credited with organising the movement.
The Latter Rain, also known as the New Order or the New Order of the Latter Rain, was a post–World War II movement within Pentecostal Christianity which remains controversial. The movement saw itself as a continuation of the restorationism of early pentecostalism. The movement began with major revivals between 1948 and 1952 and became established as a large semi-organized movement by 1952. It continued into the 1960s. The movement had a profound impact on subsequent movements as its participants dispersed throughout the broader charismatic and pentecostal movements beginning in the 1960s.
New Covenant Ministries International (NCMI) is an international Neo-charismatic Christian church network founded by Dudley Daniel in South Africa in the early 1980s, currently led by Tyrone Daniel, and active in about 100 countries. NCMI defines itself as a trans-local ministry team which helps pastors/elders build their local churches and equip Christian believers. Independent commentators tend to describe NCMI as not just this team of leaders, but the network of all affiliated churches who partner to the NCMI team, and say it has some characteristics of a denomination. Unlike most denominations, individual churches affiliated with NCMI retain their autonomy and are not required to sign a common constitution or statement of beliefs.
Signs and wonders refers to experiences that are perceived to be miraculous as being normative in the modern Christian experience, and is a phrase associated with groups that are a part of modern charismatic movements and Pentecostalism. This phrase is seen multiple times throughout the Bible to describe the activities of the early church, and is historically recorded as continuing, at least in practice, since the time of Christ. The phrase is primarily derived from Old and New Testament references and is now used in the Christian and mainstream press and in scholarly religious discourse to communicate a strong emphasis on recognizing perceived manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the contemporary lives of Christian believers. It also communicates a focus on the expectation that divine action would be experienced in the individual and corporate life of the modern Christian church, and a further insistence that followers actively seek the "gifts of the Spirit".
The Neo-charismaticmovement is a movement within evangelical Protestant Christianity that is composed of a diverse range of independent churches and organizations that emphasize the current availability of gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and faith healing. The Neo-charismatic movement is considered to be the "third wave" of the Charismatic Christian tradition which began with Pentecostalism, and was furthered by the Charismatic movement. As a result of the growth of postdenominational and independent charismatic groups, Neo-charismatics are now believed to be more numerous than the first and second wave categories. As of 2002, some 19,000 denominations or groups, with approximately 295 million individual adherents, were identified as Neo-charismatic.
Michael Leroy Bickle is an American evangelical leader who was the founder of the International House of Prayer (IHOPKC). Once the leader of IHOPKC, Bickle oversaw several ministries and a Bible school. Bickle has written a number of books and served as the pastor of multiple churches.
The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a theological belief and movement that combines elements of Pentacostalism, evangelicism and the Seven Mountain Mandate to advocate for spiritual warfare to bring about Christian dominion over all aspects of society, and end or weaken the separation of church and state. NAR leaders often call themselves apostles and prophets. Long a fringe movement of the American Christian right, its prominence and power have increased since the 2016 election of Donald Trump as US president. Theology professor André Gagné, author of a 2024 book on the movement, has characterized it as "inherently political" and said it threatens to "subvert democracy." Many notable Republican politicians and activists have aligned with it.
The British New Church Movement (BNCM) is a neocharismatic evangelical Christian movement. Its origin is associated with the Charismatic Movement of the 1960s, although it both predates it and has an agenda that goes beyond it. It was originally known as the "house church movement", although this name is no longer relevant as few congregations meet in houses. Gerald Coates, one of the early leaders, coined the name New Churches as an alternative. It is also restorationist in character, seeking to restore the church to its 1st century equivalent. While the Charismatic Movement focused on the transformation of individuals, the BNCM focused also on the nature of the church. For the BNCM since 1970, this has focused on the renewal of the fivefold ministries, particularly apostles, which for others might resemble a charismatically ordained and functioning episcopate.
The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially The General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States founded in 1914 during a meeting of Pentecostal ministers at Hot Springs, Arkansas, who came from a variety of independent churches and networks of churches. The Assemblies of God is a Finished Work Pentecostal denomination and is the U.S. branch of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the world's largest Pentecostal body. With a constituency of 2,928,143 in 2022, the Assemblies of God was the ninth largest Christian denomination and the second largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States.
Cessationism versus continuationism involves a Christian theological dispute as to whether spiritual gifts remain available to the church, or whether their operation ceased with the Apostolic Age of the church. The cessationist doctrine arose in the Reformed theology: initially in response to claims of Roman Catholic miracles. Modern discussions focus more on the use of spiritual gifts in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, though this emphasis has been taught in traditions that arose earlier, such as Methodism.
Charles Peter Wagner was an American missionary, writer, teacher and founder of several Christian organizations. In his earlier years, Wagner was known as a key leader of the Church Growth Movement and later for his writings on spiritual warfare.
An apostle, in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (apóstolos), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (apostéllein), "to send off". The purpose of such sending off is usually to convey a message, and thus "messenger" is a common alternative translation; other common translations include "ambassador" and "envoy". The term in Ancient Greek also has other related meanings.
While both rhema and logos are translated into the English word, in the original Greek there was a substantial distinction. The use of the term rhema has special significance in some Christian groups, especially those advocating the Five-Fold Ministry that God gave of five gifts or callings to some people. Christians denominations that advocate the Five-Fold Ministry include Charismatic Christianity, the Pentecostal Movement, the Apostolic-Prophetic Movement and the Word of Faith Movement.
Independent Network Charismatic (INC) Christianity is a movement within evangelical charismatic Christianity which is focused on the authority of charismatic apostles and seeks the wholesale transformation of society. The term was first used in 2017 by sociologists Brad Christerson and Richard Flory in their book The Rise of Network Christianity: How Independent Leaders are Changing the Religious Landscape to describe the rapid growth of a form of Protestant Christianity from 1970 to 2010, and has since been adopted by other commentators. The movement is distinguished from other forms of Christianity by its use of network governance, based on networks of charismatic apostles, rather than more traditional church structures and hierarchies. These networks are sustained by the use of new communications technologies such as social media, which both facilitates communication between leaders in the network and enables leaders to build a following which is not tied to a geographical area. It is characterised by belief in and encouragement of the use of the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, along with a focus on the transformation of society according to Christian values through prayer and by Christians reaching positions of leadership in the areas of business, government, media, arts and entertainment, education, family, and religion. INC Christianity tends to be politically conservative and, in the US, associated with support for Republican politicians.
Charles D. (Chuck) Pierce is the founder and current president of Glory of Zion International Ministries. He is most known for his prophecies, including a successful prophecy that Donald Trump would be elected to the US presidency and a failed prophecy that Donald Trump would be reelected in 2020.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Network of Christian Ministries. File #843701. Non-Profit Corporation. Domestic.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Networks are loose associations of leaders and ministers of independent charismatic churches [...] for the purpose of fellowship, mutual encouragement, the sharing of information, insights, and ideas [...] Major examples are: [...] Network of Christian Ministries, Emanuele Cannistraci, John Gimenez, Charles Green [...] In 1988, the Network of Christian Ministries began [...] recognizing apostolic fathers, high-profile leaders [...] who sit together as one board of governors [...] annually as a 'Congress of Elders' to address issues confronting the church and society.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)[...] handing this problem off to national leaders [...] The Network of Christian Ministries has agreed to mediate [...] men with national ministries [...] national leaders [...] Apostolic Presbyters of the Network of Christian Ministries [...] These twelve men [...] represent all streams of the full/gospel Charismatic ministry of our nation [...] integrity [...] truly apostles [...] represent the nation.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)The challenge and hope of a new network of associated churches and ministries continues to grow as letters and applications come in response to our recent Charisma Magazine advertisement.
[A]t the International Summit [...] my mentor [...] Emanuele Cannistraci [...] spent most of the time travelling the world [...] strengthening pastors [...] ministered to our church and to our leaders many times [...] after our mission imploded [...] Pastor C [...] treated us like [...] his own staff. He mentored us - teaching us by example, how to do ministry with integrity, how to do life with joy, and how to do family with no regrets [...] all the lessons we learned [...] annual[ly] travelling with them to the Philippine provinces to do ministry, their impartation [...] was transformational [...] at 84 years old he still circles the globe preaching the gospel and mentoring next generation leaders.