For 21 days, Daniel sought the Lord with prayer and fasting but heaven was silent. Finally, the archangel Gabriel came to him. The angel was so powerful that Daniel was overwhelmed by his presence. Daniel fell to the ground and could not stand up. He could not talk and he felt like he could not breath. Gabriel spoke but Daniel had lost every ounce of strength and was unable to interact. Then Gabriel placed his hand on him and immediately he received strength so that he could stand and speak. Gabriel told him that 21 days earlier heaven heard his request. He was sent with the answer to Daniel’s prayer but on the way he was attacked by a demon archangel named The Prince of Persia. Gabriel could not defeat the Prince of Persia so Michael the archangel came to assist him. Together they overcame The Prince of Persia. Then, Gabriel was able to break through and appear before Daniel. If a powerful archangel like Gabriel needed Michael to help him fight his battle, then, it is likely that we also need powerful coworkers . Dynamic teams are required when the spiritual warfare becomes intense. Some leaders cannot break through because they lack such a team. (See Daniel chapter 10)
Synergism
Synergism is a Biblical theme. Webster dictionary says, “Synergism is the interaction of 2 or more agents that produce a combined effort that is greater than the sum of their separate parts.” The Bible teaches this principle. It tells us that one can put a thousand to flight and two can put ten thousand to flight, if God is with them. (See Duet. 32:30)
Michael and Gabriel had synergism. They were so powerful together. I wish that prophets, apostles and evangelists would envision themselves as powerful ministers like these archangels. If you are anointed you will bring God’s power with you wherever you go. You can change the atmosphere because of who you are in Christ. If you have a powerful ministry partner you will have Holy Spirit synergism. This is the pattern of New Testament ministry. Jesus sent His disciples out, two by two. Perhaps we need to reconsider how we do missions. We should ask Jesus to send us teams.
Apostolic Partnership
From the onset of the New Covenant church, ministers functioned as teams. On the day of Pentecost, 120 disciples were praying and waiting together for the promise of the Father. They received the Holy Spirit and went out on the streets. They were an amazing team. They were a force to be reckoned with. Then, Peter preached to the crowd. He did not speak as a rouge independent. Scripture tell us that Peter stood up with the eleven. Three thousand souls came to Christ that day. The New Testament revival was launched by powerful partners filled with the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 3:1 we see Peter partnering with John as they go to pray at the temple. On the way, they heal a crippled man. After that, the miracles of the apostles only increase.
Only Philip ministered without a partner and even he called for Peter and John to come from Jerusalem after he had evangelized Samaria. Philip discovered that by himself, he did not have everything that the people needed. After Samaria, God led him to the Ethiopian eunuch in the desert. Then, he went up the coastal towns until he reached Caesarea. From that point on, Philip ministered with others.
In Acts 13 we find 5 prophets and teachers who were ministering unto the Lord as a team. During their time of prayer, the Holy Spirit spoke and launched Saul and Barnabas to their first missionary journey. The 3 other men on the team were Simon, Lucius, and Manaen.
Just like with Jesus, here again, two were sent out together. Saul and Barnabas took other ministers with them and left for Cyprus. Their missionary journeys were powerful. They saw souls saved, churches planted and revivals break-out in different places. They experienced apostolic synergism as they partnered together with different apostles and other five-fold ministry leaders. When we look at Paul’s journeys, we discover at least 27 team members traveled with him at one time or another. It is interesting to note that 5 of the ministers on the apostolic teams were women. Women were also included, along with the male disciples, on the ministry journeys of Jesus. Ladies travelled with Jesus and participated as part of His team. These ladies also helped support Jesus financially. See Luke 8:1-3.
Not Always Smooth
The early ministry teams did not always function smoothly. When Saul and Barnabas left Antioch on their first journey, they took John Mark with them as a helper. He was the cousin of Barnabas, the son of Mary in whose house the prayer meeting was being held when Peter was released from Jail by the angel. John Mark was part of the church and had history with the disciples, but he was young and still in training. See Acts 12:12, 23 / 13:5. The team travelled to several ports but upon arriving at Pamphylia, John Mark quit and went home. Later, when it was time to go on their 2nd missionary journey, Barnabas wanted to take John Mark. Paul refused and an argument followed that was so intense that Paul and Barnabas parted company and went on separate missionary journeys. Instead of Barnabas, Paul chose Silas. See Acts 13:13 / 15:36-40.
It is challenging to work together with other leaders. The more gifted the ministers, the more difficult it is to work together, but gifted ministers are needed. Each is convinced of God’s direction and wants to be faithful. Humility is needed to work together and ministry fathers are needed to unify leaders. When Jesus led His team, division was minimized because Jesus is the everlasting Father. See Isa. 9:6.
A local church also needs a strong team. It is not a one man show. The leaders of the Jerusalem church preached daily and gave oversight to the local church as a strong united team. See Acts 4, 5, 6, 13 and 15.
Fatherhood in God’s Government
Paul was successful with his travelling team because he was a father. Titus, Timothy, Apollos, Phoebe, Aquila and Priscilla, Euodia and Syntyche are just a few of the leaders who revered Paul and added great strength to his team. Even with Paul’s leadership gift, he could not always hold things together.
The mandate of the Church will only be completed with anointed 5-fold ministry teams that work together in unity. Today, the church is disjointed and strong leaders are alienated from one another because we lack the fathers that can draw the leaders together. Only proven fathers who have Godly authority can facilitate apostolic synergism.
A day is coming when strong apostolic fathers will emerge and be received by the church family. Then apostles, evangelists, prophets, pastors and teachers will work together with an amazing level of Holy Spirit authority. Then we will see apostolic synergism and when the church walks under their leadership it will rise as a mighty army.
Pray for Apostolic Synergism
In the past, many apostles and prophets have failed to fulfill their calling. Please pray that the Lord will equip and strengthen a new generation of 5-fold ministers. Let’s pray that teachers will teach the revelation of God’s government to the church. And finally, let’s pray for apostolic synergism so that Holy Spirit teams will turn the world up-side-down for Christ.
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