Apostolic | Release the A.P.E.

Church Planting: Are You Starting In The Wrong Place?

8 responses
June 1, 2014

View IVCF Central Region Scouting 2012 in a full screen map

By Jon Hietbrink

We are starting in the wrong place.

Most of our ministry priorities are built on an assumption that we should focus on what exists and grow what we’ve got. We invest in leaders, engage more people, and whole field construct our network, all in an attempt to build Kingdom influence in the communities we’re trying to reach. The paradigm looks something like this.

It’s a simple enough proposition and has often borne significant fruit; the problem is that it’s wrong.

The Crocodile Who Didn’t Like Water

2 responses
May 19, 2014

By Beau Crosetto

I was reading this new book with my kids and I couldn’t stop laughing as I saw the similarities to this “crocodile” and APE leaders.

SPOLIER ALERT: for those who plan to read this on your next vacation 🙂

3 Ways to Overcome Your Anxiety About Jesus at Work

no responses
May 13, 2014

Can’t seem to find the words at work? Let Anthony encourage you.

This is a guest post by Anthony Moore. He is the Director of Business Development at a San Diego Company. He is also a graduate of San Diego State University and was very involved in the InterVarsity ministry I led there for several years. I am so proud of how he is stepping out at work – I had to have him share!

[you may also like “How to Start a Ministry at Work“]

I worked for a small marketing startup right after I graduated from college. It was difficult.

I worked alongside about 15 guys, and after my first week or so, I had decided that there really wasn’t any room for talk about “Jesus” in the midst of these 20-something-years-old guys whose main hobbies included getting blacked-out drunk and picking up girls at bars.

After a year of nearly nonexistent discussions about God at work, I was told that I was being let go – company restructuring. I felt defeated on every level – like I had missed my chance for Jesus. Again.

Wind Opens Doors

one response
May 7, 2014

By Beau Crosetto

Yesterday after a full day of meetings I stopped by the beach to do a walk and prayer time. The wind was blowing incredibly hard for Southern California – it was hard to walk and ocean water was spraying up onto the walkway.

As I was walking, I heard God say to me, “Beau, I am so much more powerful than the strongest wind.”

It caught me off guard and I began to think about the Holy Spirit as wind.

Exponential: Let’s Connect & Free Webcast

no responses
April 29, 2014

I am heading to Exponential as we speak and wanted to let you know I will be there and would love to connect if you are there as well. Love meeting people and saying hi, so tweet me or Facebook me if you want to say hi!

Im part of a panel discussion with James Choung and Shawn Young at 1pm on Wednesday where we will be talking about witness and mission.
Thursday at 8:45am I will be leading a seminar on turning casual conversations into eternal encounters.

Also, if you can’t make it, they are live webcasting for free. Check it out.

Book Review: Church Zero

one response
April 14, 2014

By Dr. Mark Convoy

The Church of Jesus Christ sports a 2000 year history, punctuated by breakthroughs, set-backs, catastrophes, and new beginnings. Peyton Jones’s book, “Church Zero” is nothing less than a cry for a hard-boot, restart of the modern evangelical leadership structure. Imagine the gall of an upstart Southern California church planter, calling for nothing less than the restructuring of the modern common highly centralized evangelical church leadership model. Then imagine the possibility that he may be right.

4 Lessons Learned on the Missional Journey

4 responses
April 13, 2014

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By Laura Hairston

About 4 years ago, my husband, Ryan and I heard the term ‘missional’ for the first time. For us, it was a completely new concept learning to live as missionaries in the places God had already placed us. Also, hearing of the 60% who would never walk through the doors of the church on our best Sunday where we were on staff. And, hey, I grew up a southern Baptist girl in Texas – all of this rocked my world, as I am sure you can imagine.

So, we made a huge paradigm shift and life change.

How to Use Five-Fold Ministry in Your Church

one response
April 6, 2014

Today at the Vineyard Underground (a church that I help lead with a team of other people) we talked about the five-fold ministry in Ephesians 4 and how to identify with one or more of the callings. You can find the documents I used below.

The Five-Fold Symphony: How the Gifts Work Together

6 responses
March 31, 2014

By Jon Hietbrink

God gives us gifts to play a symphony, not a solo.

Every significant discussion of spiritual gifts^[1] in the New Testament is situated in the context of a complex system—we are “one body with many parts” designed to operate in symbiotic harmony with one another. The problem is that the way we’re taught to understand and express our spiritual giftedness can often be a very individualized and siloed experience—we’re taught to understand our personal gifts, but we’re left to wonder how those gifts actually work together in the way God intended.

Love Not Angst: What is Fueling the Change You Bring?

6 responses
March 25, 2014

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By Jon Hietbrink

As A.P.E. leaders, a key part of our gifting is the ability to see things shift and be catalysts for change. By God’s grace, we’ve been equipped with the capacity to imagine new possibilities and lead others into new realities, BUT it’s critically important that we take stock of what’s fueling the change we bring.