APEST For the People of God

A Six-week Exploration for Groups

by Alan Hirsch and Tim Catchim

For far too long now the church has tried to extend the logic and impact of Jesus’ ministry on its own terms. And yet there is clear guidance from Scripture itself as to how the church can be the fulness of Christ in the world.

A vital part of the answer to a renewed ministry in the church, one capable of matching the challenges we face, is found in Eph.4:1-16. Here we find the Apostle Paul's teaching on the abiding significance of the Ephesians 4 vocations of apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd and teacher in the church that Jesus intended.

The Permanent Revolution Playbook is a six week exploration into Ephesians 4 with special emphasis on how APEST functions in groups and teams. Whether you are currently in a group, church plant or are at the beginning phases of starting one, this Playbook has been especially deisgned to help a group develop their potential for ministry and leadership. 

Specifically, The Permanent Revolution Playbook is designed to bring:

Greater Awareness to the Biblical foundations for the five-fold ministry vocations of Ephesians 4, with an emphasis on clear and practical definitions for each gifting. 

Deeper Appreciation for how each gifting uniquely contributes to the growth and maturity of the church as missional movement. 

Clearer Assessment of both individual and group APEST ministry profiles and processes for identifying key areas for individual and group development. 

Closer Alignment for negotiating the tensions between unity and diversity, with implications for equipping and empowering others for ministry and leadership. 

Every time the explicit teaching of the text has been is taken seriously and properly integrated into the life of God’s people, history has been in the making.

This playbook (developed from the award winning The Permanent Revolution) is designed to introduce the disciple to his or her own, Jesus-given, vocational profile. This is important for all of God’s people, because discovering your ministry will give you a direct clue to your distinctive contribution in the world and within the Church.

Click HERE to view a sample of the Intro and Week 1.

*If you’ve used any of Missio’s Primers, you might be wondering what the difference is between a Primer and a Playbook. It’s simple; the Playbooks are not just designed to be used in a community context, but individually, with a team, in any discipleship group, or with a community. We’ve replaced the community day (5) with a synergy day to provide the most flexibility to fit your context. We’ve also designed these to be digitally delivered and formatted to work as an eBook.