THE CHURCH MAY BE
VIEWED IN TWO WAYS

The Bible speaks of the church in two ways:

1. The church universal.
2. The church local.

For example, in I Cor. 12:28 the Bible says:

"And God hath set some in the church (singular), first apostles, secondly, prophets, thirdly, teachers ..." (1 Cor. 12:28)

However, in the Revelation the Bible says,

"Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches (plural) which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea." (Rev. 1:11)

And again, in I Cor. 14:23 we read,

"... the whole church assembled together ..." (I Cor. 14:23)

In the first instance (I Cor. 12:28), the Bible is speaking of the church universal, and in the second instance (Revelation I:11 and I Corinthians 14:23), the Bible is referencing the church local.

NOTE: When speaking of the church universal, the Bible is referencing all those believers of every race, ethnicity, nationality, culture, locality, language, and civilization - and even those who have died and are now with the Lord. When speaking of the church local, the Bible is referencing those believers who "assemble together" because they are physically able to do so - that is to say, they live in proximity to one another as in the case referenced above in I Cor. 14:23.

THE PLACE OF MINISTRIES
IN THE WORK OF THE CHURCH

Insofar as the "work of the church" pertains to a specific locality where there is a "basic church community," the "work is the responsibility of the local church; but when one speaks of the "work of the church" in its universal application, the "work" is the responsibility of the various ministries God has ordained for that purpose. This work as it pertains to the church universal is primarily a work of:

1. COORDINATION between and among the churches.
2. EVANGELISM as it pertains to new geographical areas.

The evidence of "ministry work" in the early church is clear enough to see: For example, those who "teamed up" with Paul constituted an "association of workers" - what we today would call a "ministry" [for example, Timothy (Paul's most trusted "lieutenant") Demas, Crescens, Titus, Luke (the "beloved physician" who was also the author of the "Gospel of Luke"), Tychicus, Aristarchus, Epaphras, Marcus, and many more besides]; then there were those who "teamed up" with Peter; and after Barnabas left Paul's ministry, there were those who teamed up with him; then there was Apollos and his team of workers (1 Cor. 1:12) and so forth and so on. All this clearly demonstrates that there were "teams of workers" who were "consecrated" to the "WORK" - a "work" that transcended the work of the "local churches"

In administration, the "work" (meaning "ministries") and the church are very much different. For one thing, the ministries are under the control of ONE person (for example, Paul, Peter, Barnabas (after he left Paul), Apollos, etc., while the church is administered by a PLURAL leadership called "elders" - and it's important to note in this connection that the "work" is not controlled by the elders, and the elders do not control the "work." They are separate in function and administration, although there is coordination between the two.

FUNCTIONS OF THE CHURCH AS OPPOSED
TO THE MINISTRIES OF THE CHURCH

We are in the habit today to speak of the "ministries of the church," meaning the different functions of a local church - for example, the "Children's Ministry," the ministry of evangelism as it pertains to the local church, the "Young People's Ministry," the "Married Couple's Ministry," and so forth and so on. BUT THESE ARE NOT MINISTRIES (WORKS) IN THE BIBLICAL SENSE OF THE WORD. They are "functions of the local church," and as such under the ultimate control of the church elders.

Ministries - in the Biblical sense of the word - are EXTRA-TERRITORIAL in nature. Their work transcends specific localities. The authority of church elders does not - indeed, cannot - transcend the locality in which the church is established. On the other hand, the authority of a ministry head does not - indeed, cannot - inject itself into the functioning of a local church. Ministries can COORDINATE with local churches, and churches can COORDINATE with ministries; but neither can CONTROL the other.

THE HOLY SPIRIT DIRECTS THE
"WORK" (MEANING THE MINISTRY)

Now, insofar as Paul's initial calling to the WORK (i.e., to the ministry to which God had placed him over), that "calling" came as a DIRECT command of the Holy Spirit, and it occurred in this way:

"Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul FOR THE WORK to which I have called them. Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. So, being SENT OUT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus ... and they also had John with them." (Acts 13:1-5) 

NOTE:  This is the same John Mark who was the author of the Gospel of Mark; it was he who was at the center of the friction that developed between Paul and Barnabas and that led to their eventual separation; it should be noted that John eventually came back to Paul as a "profitable servant" in Paul's ministry. Barnabas never did.

Now note carefully what happened here: First, it wasn't necessarily the elders at Antioch that separated out Paul for the ministry to which the Lord had called him, but the HOLY SPIRIT Himself. Simeon, Lucius and Manaen - who are not even listed as church elders, but instead are designated as "teachers" and "prophets" - merely CONFIRMED what the HOLY SPIRIT had done. THE THOUGHT THAT A CHURCH CAN ESTABLISH A MINISTRY AND CONTROL THAT MINISTRY BEYOND THE CONFINES OF THE LOCALITY IT IS IN, IS ENTIRELY UNBIBLICAL; NOT ONLY THAT, THE THOUGHT THAT ONE CHURCH CAN CONTROL ANOTHER CHURCH THROUGH THE "AGENCY" OF A "WORK" IT SUPPOSEDLY HAS ESTABLISHED IS EQUALLY UNBIBLICAL.

APPOINTING ELDERS IN THE CHURCHES

The Bible says concerning Paul's "Ministry Team:"

"And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,

"Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

"And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

"And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.

"And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia ..." (Acts 14:21-25)

What had happened here was this: Paul's team had been preaching the Gospel for some time, and in so doing had established a number of churches; as they began their journey home, they passed through the regions in which they had established churches (mostly small "house-churches") and "ordained" elders in them. The word "ordained" (GK. - ginomai) means to "point out;" and then they "commended" these newly "pointed out" elders to the Lord. OBVIOUSLY, THE "WORKERS" APPOINT THE ELDERS IN THE CHURCHES THEY HAVE ESTABLISHED AND/OR "CONFIRM" THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY ACTING AS ELDERS IN THESE CHURCHES. But that's as far as their (the "workers") authority goes; once that is done, the church is - so to speak - on its own insofar as its local authority is concerned. Again, the "workers" exercise no authority in the churches, and the elders exercise no authority over the "workers."  That doesn't mean that these particular churches and ministries no longer have anything to do with one another; it simply means that their relationship is one of COORDINATION.