Kingsfield movement structure
Being a movement & Kingsfield Structure
We are a multiplying movement of churches who bring the kingdom of Jesus Christ to relevant reality where we live and everywhere we go.
Kingsfield is a multiplying movement. What does that mean?
Think of aspen trees. Aspen groves develop by means of underground (and unseen!) ramets, such that a whole hillside of aspens can be actually one organism.
Similarly, we envision that as life in Christ emerges in one place, we will then seek/allow life to spread organically, perhaps unseen for a time, and anticipate new visible life to appear in another place. Each new community of Christ followers will be connected to another, and to the others.
Perhaps a better image for this movement would be the familiar periwinkle plant, which grows as groundcover in many Ontario gardens. For the Ukrainians this robust plant with pretty purple flowers symbolizes eternity. And periwinkle, as gardeners who know this flourishing herb can testify, spreads widely and is difficult to remove or tame once planted. What a fitting picture of the Church! Eternal. Beautiful. Hardy. Unstoppable.
Kingsfield Leadership Structure
According to Ephesians 4:11-12, God "gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints ..." To whom did He give these leaders? The Church! We understand this to mean then, that in order to reach unity, maturity and the fullness of Christ (see the rest of Eph. 4), the Church needs the ministry of all five gifts, all five leaders. Our intent is to encourage, to release and to empower these five leadership gifts to lead; not just the broader Church, but also the local churches in Kingsfield.
To understand how the five leadership gifts relate in Kingsfield, and to help us convey how we are beginning to understand ourselves as a movement, a missional organism, let us use a cellular diagram:
Interpretation:
1. Church cells - The local church/ecclesia/fellowship
The heart of the missonal movement is the local church cell, relating relevantly to its community and world. If each church cell is healthy the body as a whole will be healthy. Everything else in the movement is designed for and defined by its relationship and responsibility to this most simple and powerful of units - fellowships of "called-out-ones" who are on mission with God in their communities and the world.
The measure of fruitfulness (biblical "success") will be the bearing of the Apostolic message/gospel before the world, the presence of righteousness and justice, evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in the lives, homes, and relationships of believers, worship understood as the whole of life given to God, and multiply-ability (willingness to "give birth" and forms that assist this).
The church cells call out elders (#2 in diagram) to give spiritual oversight and parenting and receive the gifts of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (#3 in diagram) for the sake of maturing into healthy body life. Ministry within and through the church cells is the task of all believers and not the responsibility of paid "staff." The church cells, therefore, participate together in sharing what is needed (eg. prayer, people resources, finances, etc.) for the health of the organism. If the cells do not share this responsibility the organism moves toward death.
2. Church Cell Leadership - Elders
Each church calls out mature believers who are charged with the task of spiritual oversight and parenting of the cell. They are the primary "pulse-takers" of the health of church they serve and are the primary link between the cell (#1 in diagram) and the epidermis (#3 in diagram) and communicate what is needed for maturity and multiply-ability. While the church cell is the true heart of the organic missional movement, the church cell leadership bears primary responsibility to ensure those cells are healthy, rooted, and maturing.
3. Leadership Epidermis - Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers
The "skin" of the movement that defines, manages, protects and guides the networked organism into Truth, meaning and purpose. Their primary posture is to serve. This team of leaders made up of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (APEPT) grounds mission, ministry, and maturity (corporate, relational, individual) biblically and contextually. This epidermis expands and adjusts with the growth of the movement, but keeps it together as a "body," ensuring that health, maturity and fruitfulness are maintained.
These leaders, who are the primary supported servants ("staff") of the movement, relate to each church with their unique gift mix. The epidermis leaders are accountable to the elders (#2 in diagram) of each church and relate to the churches on various levels and in various ways and places for the purpose of equipping and maturing God's people (Eph.4) for relevant and multiplying Kingdom ministry in their contexts.
4. Body Relationships - An organ in one body
Healthy organisms reproduce. The movement as a whole, then, embraces the opportunity to build relationships with and foster the growth of other missionally-minded communities. We are simply one organ in the one body of Christ and, therefore, have something of value to contribute to and receive from the wider Church.
Where we have gifts to share beyond our own church we release the APEPT to tell our story and share their gifts to foster healthy, biblical, and missional reproductive multiply-ability in other communities of God's people - with whom we are one in Christ.
For Leadership Structure within Zurich Mennonite Church, click here.
Other churches in Kingsfield are led by Elders, and various leaders in ministry areas according to their calling and giftedness. Go to the Home page navigation bar for other churches, their mission and ministry, and their leadership.
For more on the Kingsfield staff, elders, and the 'APEPT' team, see Kingsfield Leadership.
For more on who Kingsfield is and the values we share, see Who we are> How.