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"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised," (Luke 4:18) "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28) |
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By-Laws of Revival Ministries AustraliaREVIVAL MINISTRIES AUSTRALIA LTD BY-LAWS AS AT – FEBRUARY 16th 2006 PREAMBLE: The establishment of these by-laws will address and cover issues pertaining to the internal management and operation of Revival Ministries Australia [RMA] which now is outworked through SHILOH Apostolic Company [SAC], and the setting in place of policies and procedures regarding the apostolic company and its mission, ordination and affiliate fellowships and ministries. The Board of Directors may from time to time make, amend or repeal by-laws not inconsistent with the constitutional document, and any By-law may be set aside by a general meeting of the company.
INDEX
What We Believe – Our Statement of Faith: The Authority of Scripture We accept the Bible as the full revelation of Jesus Christ and seek to approve all things according to the Word of God. We are committed to believing God to fulfil every promise contained in Scripture. (2 Timothy 3:16) The Lordship of Jesus Christ We discover our relationship with God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ only and seek to serve Jesus as Lord through the whole of our lives. (Acts 1:36, Phil.2:9-11) The Power of the Holy Spirit We seek the empowering of the Holy Spirit as essential enablement for ministry that bears witness to Jesus. We seek to develop in the operation of all the gifts and graces of the Spirit given by God as supernatural equipment for the on-going ministry of Jesus through us. (Acts 1:8, 1 Cor.12:7-11, 2 Cor.3:2-6) The Command of Jesus to Make Disciples We are committed to fulfil the great commission given by Jesus to the church, to preach the gospel to every person, seeking to draw them to become His disciples. This includes active evangelism and training of others in evangelism and is multiplied through planting churches. (Matthew 28:18-20) The Uniqueness of the Apostolic Ministry We value the ministries of the apostolic church as seen in the book of Acts, and seek the restoration of the five (5) fold ministry gifts. We desire to see the Body of Christ equipped to exercise these ministries through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 2:20, 3:5, 4:11-12) The Unity of the Spirit and Unity of the Faith As part of the Body of Christ we seek the unity of the Spirit with every believer, and unity of the faith with all churches that confess faith in Jesus Christ. We desire to co-operate with the churches in our region, throughout Australia and overseas in order to proclaim the gospel to every person. (John 17:21, Eph. 4:3 and 13) The Centrality of Worship We value worship, as we seek to respond to God’s desire for a people who worship Him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24) The Pursuit of Holiness We are committed to becoming like Jesus. We desire that our personal lives and our relationships generally will reflect more and more of His character. (1 Peter 1:15-16, Rom.8:29-30, 2 Pet.1:4) Concern for All People We are committed to ensuring that the teaching of Scripture is available to all people regardless of status and circumstances – to fulfil the command of Christ to "preach the gospel to all creation" including those special people in God’s sight whom the Bible refers to as "the poor". (Mark 16:15, Matthew 11:5) Marriage and Family We recognise marriage and the family as the fundamental basis for society. We are committed to faithfulness in marriage and biblical training of children in the family. (Heb.13:4, Eph.6:4) The Establishment of Churches and Outreaches: Revival Ministries Australia and our church body are fully constituted in Australia. Apostle Paul Galligan has marriage celebrant status as a minister of SHILOH Christian Fellowship.
Revival Ministries Australia, SHILOH Christian Fellowship and associated fellowships and house churches function together as SHILOH apostolic company. The original ministry team consisted of Paul Galligan, Jean Manning and Janet Barton both of whom have been ordained into ministry and are recognised by Revival Ministries Australia as pastoral ministers. These three persons made up the founding ministry team of Revival Ministries Australia and SHILOH Christian Fellowship. They are also regarded as constituting the leadership of this apostolic ministry. Since then a number of other ministers have been ordained and have joined the ministry team, working in the local church and church plants, with the original ministry team now working in the apostolic ministry to the nation and the nations.
This has taken place in two different ways: one way is for a Pastor to plant the church in a new place under the oversight of the apostolic ministry; the other way is for saints to begin to meet together in the house under the oversight of the apostolic ministry. In the case of saints forming the church, it is the responsibility of the apostle to appoint an elder for that church in due time.
Hebrews 11:6 promises rewards for those who diligently seek the Lord. Matthew 18:18-20 when we agree together concerning the will of the Lord, that is, to preach the gospel to the people that live around us, the Father will act on our behalf. So what are we agreeing to do?
Out of the prayer, God will lead you to invite people to a meal or to coffee or to a home meeting, or there maybe a chance meeting at the shopping centre, or a God ordained conversation with your neighbour. The goal is to share Christ with them. If we are faithful in prayer then this strategy will not fail. God will give "divine appointments" that are exciting, meaningful and fruitful. It is time to witness! The people of this nation are being prepared by God. It is time to win souls! God has released the resources to train the saints in soul winning.
Recognising and releasing the new ministries that the Lord is raising up. As the church functions in New Testament ministries, abiding in first love and doing the first works, the Lord will add to such a church those who are being saved. Every saint, new and old will naturally and supernaturally in the Lord grow and function. Some will emerge as ascension gift ministers (Ephesians 4:11); others in various other gifts and ministries. Guidelines to become a member of SHILOH Apostolic Company: Scripturally there is no particular form of church membership as such. In 1 Cor.12:12-30 Paul is discussing the church which is the body of Christ. We become a member of that body through baptism by one Spirit (v.13) and it is God who in His good pleasure sets each one of us in the body as a member (v.18). For administrative purposes the following guidelines are given.
Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).
Guidelines for the conduct of members:
Oversight and Covering of the Apostolic Company The nature of an apostolic company is as follows: the Lord has raised up the apostolic company, restoring the apostolic ministry and gathering around the apostolic leadership ministers and saints who are becoming of one heart and mind to serve the purposes of God together in this day. 4-0 Paul Galligan is the apostle appointed by the Lord in SHILOH Apostolic Company.
4-03 The leadership ministries that the Lord has given, specifically apostles, prophets and teachers (1 Cor.12:28) but often including pastors and evangelists who are functioning as elders, will exercise oversight according to the appointment of the Holy Spirit (Acts 20:28) 4-04 The Lord Jesus Christ is the only head of the church and He provides a full covering of His anointing by the Spirit and the authority of His word. No man is ever accredited with headship of the church in the Scripture. Therefore the covering does not come through a man but comes directly from the Lord when the church is set in apostolic order. As a result SHILOH Apostolic Company is being set in Biblical order and all the ministries are beginning to operate fully and fruitfully. Ordination is the authorisation of a person to minister.
i A person is commissioned to exercise ministry and/or to take a leadership role by the laying on of hands of the eldership. Such a person is then able to function within SHILOH Apostolic Company or other related church bodies in a designated ministry, or is able to be sent out into the community to function in a designated ministry role. Examples of community ministry include: hospital visitation, both medical and mental health hospitals, work in outreach ministries of a gospel or a social help nature, serve in care houses, to teach religious education in Schools. ii Prior to ordination there is often the commissioning of a person to begin to exercise ministry and/or to take a leadership role. This commissioning is a setting apart on the basis of the recognition of gifting and will often be a step towards ordination, but should not be confused with ordination.
An understanding of this verse: God anoints (2 Corinthians 1:21) The Eldership ordains (1 Timothy 4:14) The person being ordained has consecrated their life to God. The word ordain is a combination of two Hebrew words literally meaning to "fill the hand. Ordination then is the releasing of gifts and ministry. Guidelines for the Affiliation of Fellowships and Ministries: These guidelines apply to functioning fellowships or ministries who wish to become part of the Apostolic Company by affiliating with Revival Ministries Australia Ltd. Note that some fellowships and ministries are part of the Apostolic Company through relationship only as they already have their own official registration or are members of a registered body.
By becoming affiliated with Revival Ministries Australia Ltd, the affiliate fellowship or ministry has a legal and constitutional base through the registered constitution of RMA. The affiliated entity will be recognized officially under these By-laws of Revival Ministries Australia Ltd. A letter of affiliation will be issued.
An apostolic council is being formed here in Australia. Purpose of the council: to provide oversight and leadership for ministers, ministries and fellowships who want to be part of the apostolic church as patterned in the Scripture and that is emerging everywhere today. The council is a place where senior leaders can relate as peers and submit in a mutual relationship and be accountable for their doctrine and practice. Membership of the council: will include leaders of various apostolic companies and leaders of apostolic and prophetic bodies. Members of the council will be in full agreement with and part of the apostolic and prophetic restoration that Christ is bringing to pass in His church. Each member of the council will accept and honour the ministry calling and appointment upon the other members of the council; each member will accept the oversight of the council and be willing to submit and be accountable to other members in issues of faith and practice. The formation of this council is not the beginning of a new movement or denomination or network, but a realistic outworking of Scriptural practice. A FELLOWSHIP FOR MINISTERS: if you are a pastor or a minister moving towards the apostolic/prophetic restoration of the church and you desire to be in fellowship with other ministers and with apostles and prophets, then please make yourself known. There are regular conferences, seminars and schools held in Australia; as well there are gatherings for ministers and leaders to come together in apostolic company for times of refreshing and encouragement.
POLICY FOR RELATIONSHIP WITH OVERSEAS MINISTRIES AND CHURCHES: The apostolic ministry leadership of SAC has made meaningful links with ministry leaders in a number of nations. There has been considerable discussion in the past as to how to adequately and best facilitate the ongoing relationship, as more and more ministries and churches are asking to be involved in the apostolic movement. Some of these ministry leaders are responsible for hundreds of churches. In most cases these ministries and churches have registration with the Authorities in their own nations. It is our policy at this time to not formally affiliate with any church or ministry overseas or to establish official offices or representatives of RMA. It is our policy to relate openly in the Lord to all to whom the Lord joins us, and to provide for them materials and resources as we are able and to visit their nation to conduct seminars, conferences and training schools for the instruction of them and all interested leaders in the apostolic doctrine and practice. This is only possible as the Lord leads and enables. Regular communication is entered into via email, SMS and phone calls. The publication of a monthly newsletter is a major communication link and teaching tool. It is our intention to facilitate the formation of Apostolic Councils [after the Acts 15 model] in nations as apostolic leaders emerge, coming out of denominational and other institutional systems, and needing a place of oversight, accountability and covering. |
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