Five-Fold Ministry in a House of Prayer Context

Living and working at a 24/7 House of Prayer for over five years has made a huge impact on my life. It is remarkable how this place runs and how everyone flips around into different roles multiple times throughout the years.

One of the most remarkable things about the House of Prayer structure is that everyone is in leadership in some capacity at some point. You may be the leader of the entire missions base, but if the usher comes up to you in the prayer room and asks you to stop talking, you are under their authority and need to do what they say.

On worship teams, you may be the most talented worship leader in the nation, but there are times when you have to be silent and let others have their turn to sing. The entire Harp & Bowl model (which is a model for mixing prayer and worship together) is based on allowing every person to have their own expression.

At the House of Prayer, titles are equated with lots of work, and they really do not mean much except for the fact that the “buck stops here” in that specific situation. One person may be in leadership in one department, but then they serve in another department where someone who is under them in one role is over them in another.

In this context, it is absolutely essential that pastoring and discipleship remain confidential, because everyone’s circles overlap in different ways throughout the missions base. It becomes difficult when multiple people come to talk to you about the same issue, and you know all the different facets of it, but you have to remain silent about all of the other sides and pretend that you had no previous knowledge.  

Those who have been here a long time have to practice humility when the rookie comes in and tells them what to do; yet, the oldie could do it ten times better, but they have to honor authority. The rookies have to overcome their insecurities and fear of man to be able to tell the seasoned leader what to do, and they meet God in the process as well.

At the House of Prayer, there are people from every denomination, every nation, and every ethnicity gathered in one room attempting to go somewhere together in prayer. This takes so much humility, integrity, and love between every person to make it work.

This upside-down, turn-it-all-over, constant cycle at the House of Prayer is one of the things that keeps everyone from thinking of themselves more highly than they ought. I believe the five-fold ministry is functioning here to some extent (not the fullness), but that it is not titled, pointed out, or completely identified, because God is creating an atmosphere of submitting to one another and loving one another; He is creating an atmosphere of respecting and honoring authority, so that the value is not placed on role, function, or title, but the value is place on character and love for one another.

Throughout thirteen years of this House of Prayer running 24/7, God has been cultivating a foundation for the five-fold ministry to be built. The foundation of prayer and mutual submission toward one another has developed a greater emphasis on character rather than gifting or function.