The Radical Church Reset: How to Transition to an APEST Leadership Model Without Starting World War III
Adopt the "Great Team" Model of Ephesians 4 and Start Seeing Disciple Multiplication
Front Note: To read a full series on how to disciple each of these roles and see disciple-making multiplication start to take root in your ministry, click HERE.
This question might hurt a little.
But Hey! “No Pain, No Gain,” right 💪 ?
📈 How many of your staff meetings feel like you’re running a religious corporation instead of equipping the body of Christ for mission?
😫 How many Sundays do you attend church services each year, with 10% of the members doing 90% of the ministry?
👨🏻💼Has your church seen multiplication of disciples down 3 generations or more, or does everyone depend on the senior leader(s) to make disciples?
🎯 Yeah. Those landed, didn’t they?
Here’s the brutal truth: Your church leadership is probably structured like a business team, not like a band of biblical equipping co-laborers. You’ve got a Senior Pastor (CEO), a Worship Pastor (Creative Director), a Youth Pastor (Youth Department Manager), maybe a Care Pastor (HR), and if you’re lucky, an Outreach Pastor who’s basically your sales guy.
And none of that → NONE OF IT → reflects what one of my mentors, Greg Getz, calls “The Great Team.” Greg refers to Ephesians 4:11 as the “leadership strategy God gave us to advance the Kingdom of God on planet Earth.” And if we fail to embrace the model that scripture gives us, we will not have a chance at getting the results that God intends.
Is this article helpful? Support my work with a small tip. 👆
You’ve heard of ➠
The Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20)
The Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40)
The Great (Golden) Rule (Matthew 7:12)
But, how many times have you heard teaching or training about “The Great Team”?
The five-fold ministry isn’t a new idea. It’s not some trendy church growth hack. It’s literally in Scripture:
Apostle (grk - apostolos or “sent one”)
Prophet (grk - prophetes or “one who speaks forth”)
Evangelist (grk - euangelistes or “one who brings good news”)
Shepherd (grk - poimēn or “one who tends sheep”)
Teacher (grk - didaskalos or “an instructor or master of a skill”)
But somewhere along the way, we traded this divine design for a model that looks more like General Motors than the Book of Acts.
So how do you fix it without getting fired, losing your elders, or splitting the church?
Buckle up. This is going to get real!
The Problem: We’ve Idolized the Senior Pastor
Let’s call it what it is: The American church has created a rock-star pastor culture that Jesus never endorsed. This shift in leadership culture also sets up the Sr. Pastor for performance and standards that Jesus never meant for them to carry.
It’s not fair to them or us!
We’ve put one person—usually a gifted Teacher or Shepherd—in charge of everything. We’ve asked them to cast vision (Apostle’s job), call out sin (Prophet’s job), reach the lost (Evangelist’s job), care for people (Shepherd’s job), AND teach the Word (Teacher’s job).
That’s not leadership.
That’s pastoral malpractice.
And when that pastor burns out, falls into sin, or just quits because they can’t do it all?
💥 The church implodes 💥
The five-fold ministry isn’t about eliminating the senior pastor role. It’s about distributing the load and unleashing the gifts God has already placed in your church.
But here’s the kicker:
Your church staff and your elders don’t know this.
So how do you lead them into APEST without a mutiny?
The 10 Challenges (And How to Navigate Them Without Blowing Up Your Church)
Challenge #1: “This sounds like you’re trying to control the pastor.”
🛑 The Fear:
People think you’re trying to dismantle pastoral authority or create some kind of leadership-by-committee chaos.
🔥 The Truth:
You’re not removing the pastor. You’re empowering the team. The senior pastor doesn’t disappear, they become one equal member of a powerful disciple-mulitplying team!
✔︎ How to Overcome It:
Frame it as multiplication, not subtraction. “We’re not replacing the pastor; we’re releasing the whole team to function in their God-given wiring.”
Use sports analogies: “Tom Brady doesn’t play defense. He trusts his teammates to do what they’re designed to do.”
Start with a pilot project. Don’t announce a full restructure. Test it in one area (more on this below).
Challenge #2: “We don’t have an Apostle or Prophet on staff.”
🛑 The Fear: APEST sounds theoretical because they don’t see those roles represented.
🔥 The Truth: You probably do have them, you just haven’t recognized or empowered them. The Apostle might be your church planter or missions director. The Prophet might be that elder who always asks the hard questions and makes everyone uncomfortable.
✔︎ How to Overcome It:
Do an APEST assessment (take mine HERE) with your leadership team.
Observe their behaviors and concerns to identify who naturally operates in each role, even if their title doesn’t reflect it.
If you genuinely don’t have an Apostle or Prophet, partner with someone outside your church who does. This is why movements and networks exist.
Challenge #3: “Our elders will never go for this.”
🛑 The Fear: The elders are traditionalists who see this as trendy consultant nonsense.
🔥 The Truth: Elders fear chaos and loss of control. They don’t fear biblical models; they fear what happens when things go wrong.
✔︎ How to Overcome It:
Teach Ephesians 4:11-16 in a sermon series. Let the Word do the heavy lifting. When it’s framed as “getting back to Scripture,” it’s harder to oppose.
Invite them into the process early. Don’t surprise them with a restructure announcement.
Show them case studies of churches that have successfully transitioned (or bring in a leader from another network to speak to them).
Challenge #4: “This will create competition and division on staff.”
🛑 The Fear: Staff will start jockeying for position, claiming they’re the “Apostle” or “Prophet,” and turf wars will break out.
🟢 The Truth: Undiscipled APEST is dangerous. An Apostle without a Prophet will create chaos. A Prophet without a Shepherd will crush people. That’s why all five have to work together. (see my APEST Series on discipling each function HERE)
✔︎ How to Overcome It:
Emphasize interdependence, not independence. “None of us can do this alone. We need each other.”
Create a culture of humility and service. Model it yourself.
Use the CHAORD pendulum (click HERE to see it): The Scattered (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist) need the Gathered (Shepherd, Teacher) to resource and sustain the movement. The Gathered need the Scattered to keep the church on mission.
It’s a rhythmic dance, not an authoritative hierarchy.
Challenge #5: “We’ve always done it this way.”
🛑 The Fear: Change is threatening. People are comfortable with the current structure, even if it’s broken.
🟢 The Truth: “We’ve always done it this way” is the most dangerous sentence in the church. If we had kept saying that, we’d still be taking mikvah baths before church.
✔︎ How to Overcome It:
Ask diagnostic questions: “Is our current structure producing disciples who make disciples? Or are we just running programs?”
Show them the fruit (or lack of it). If your church isn’t multiplying disciples, something has to change.
Use historical examples: The early church didn’t have senior pastors. They had apostolic teams (book of Acts).
Challenge #6: “This feels too business-y or worldly.”
🛑 The Fear: APEST language sounds like corporate team-building exercises, not spiritual leadership.
🟢 The Truth: Ephesians 4:11 is God’s design, not a business consultant’s framework. But yes, healthy businesses often mirror biblical principles because God’s design works wherever you find it (all truth is God’s truth).
✔︎ How to Overcome It:
Ground everything in Scripture. Always. Don’t let it drift into “leadership guru” territory.
Avoid business jargon. Use biblical language and stories.
Remind people that Jesus Himself operated with a team. He sent out the 12 and then the 72 in pairs. He didn’t do solo ministry.
Challenge #7: “What happens to the staff who don’t fit?”
🛑 The Fear: Some staff members won’t align with an APEST role, and they’ll feel sidelined or let go.
🟢 The Truth: APEST isn’t about firing people. It’s about helping them thrive in their wiring. But yes, some people may need to shift roles, or acknowledge they’re not in the right seat.
✔︎ How to Overcome It:
Frame it as a gift discovery process, not a performance review.
Give people time to adjust. Don’t force immediate changes.
Some people may realize they’re in the wrong role and choose to transition. That’s healthy, not hurtful.
Challenge #8: “The congregation won’t understand this.”
🛑 The Fear: This is too complex for the average church member to grasp.
🟢 The Truth: Your congregation is smarter than you think. They’ve been living in dysfunction long enough to know something’s broken. They’re hungry for a better way.
✔︎ How to Overcome It:
Teach it simply. Use the APEST graphic in your teaching.
Tell stories. Help people see themselves in the five roles: “That friend who’s always starting new things? That’s an Apostle. That person who asks the uncomfortable questions? That’s a Prophet.”
Let them take the Great Team assessment (Click HERE). When people discover their own wiring, buy-in skyrockets.
Challenge #9: “This will take too long.”
🛑 The Fear: Restructuring the staff will derail everything else the church is trying to do.
🟢 The Truth: You can’t afford NOT to do this. If your current structure isn’t producing multiplication, you’re just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
✔︎ How to Overcome It:
Start small. Pick one area to pilot the APEST model (e.g., your discipleship strategy or your outreach team).
Don’t try to restructure everything overnight. This is a 2-3 year process, not a weekend retreat decision.
Celebrate small wins publicly. When people see fruit, momentum builds.
Challenge #10: “What if we fail?”
🛑 The Fear: This might not work, and we’ll have wasted time, money, and relational capital.
🟢 The Truth: You’re already failing if you’re not making disciples who make disciples. The risk isn’t trying APEST. The risk is staying where you are.
✔︎ How to Overcome It:
Reframe failure. The early church didn’t get it right the first time either. They learned, adjusted, and multiplied.
Build in feedback loops. Check in every 90 days to assess what’s working and what’s not.
Trust the Holy Spirit. If God designed the five-fold ministry, He’ll honor your obedience to pursue it.
Your Next Steps: The Stealth Strategy
Here’s how to start without announcing a full-scale restructure:
Step 1: Identify the APEST roles already functioning in your church.
Do the Great Team assessment with your staff and key leaders. Don’t make it about restructuring; frame it as “understanding how God wired us.”
Step 2: Create a pilot team around one initiative.
Pick something missional, like launching a discipleship pathway or starting a new outreach strategy. Staff that team with people who represent all five APEST roles. Let them work together and see what happens.
Step 3: Let the fruit do the talking.
When that pilot team starts producing disciples who make disciples, people will notice. Don’t over-explain it. Just let the results speak.
Step 4: Teach Ephesians 4:11-16 to the whole church.
Once people see the fruit, teach the biblical foundation. Help them see that what’s working isn’t your idea, it’s God’s design.
Step 5: Gradually shift staff roles and titles.
As people embrace their APEST wiring, start adjusting job descriptions.. But do it organically, not through a forced restructure.
The Hard Truth
Here’s what most church leaders won’t tell you: Transitioning to APEST will cost you something.
You’ll lose some people. Some staff members won’t be able to make the shift. Some elders will resist. Some church members will leave because they prefer the old way.
But here’s the harder truth: If you don’t do this, you’ll lose more.
You’ll lose your best leaders to burnout. You’ll lose the next generation who’s hungry for mission, not programs. You’ll lose the opportunity to see real multiplication in your lifetime.
The five-fold ministry isn’t a program. It’s not a model. It’s how Jesus designed His Church to function.
And if you’re not organizing your leadership around it, you’re fighting against the very structure God ordained.
So what’s it going to be?
Are you going to keep propping up a system that’s slowly dying?
Or are you going to step into the tension, lead with courage, and trust that God’s design actually works?
✏️ Drop a comment below
Have you tried implementing APEST in your church? What resistance did you face? Or are you the Prophet on your staff who’s been screaming about this for years and no one’s listening? Let’s talk about it.
For more on building APEST teams and leading multiplication movements, check out the tools at Disciple-Making Collective and Ignite Church Network. You can find resources and a coach at either of those networks.