Do I need training or anointing to start a Christian Ministry?
What is the required qualification to start a Christian ministry, anointing or training at a seminary or bible school? This debate has been on for quite a while in the Christian community. While some believe all that is needed is the anointing which signifies God’s approval, others are of the notion that anointing without training at a bible college or seminary is a recipe for ministry disaster. Which side do you belong to?
Pastor Bimbo Animashaun, Founder and General Overseer of Feeding Centre Bread of Life Outreach in Ile Ife, Osun State Nigeria lends his voice to the debate with a profound assertion. He says being anointed and being trained for ministry are two extremes that are better handled as two sides of a coin than in a mutually exclusive manner.
In this teaching which he titles – Find out what you are anointed to do, he explains in detail
Being Anointed and being trained for Ministry are mutually inexclusive
It is possible to be TRAINED FOR MINISTRY without being ANOINTED FOR MINISTRY, and it is also possible to be ANOINTED FOR MINISTRY without being TRAINED FOR MINISTRY. Both are two extremes that need to be handled with BALANCE. Why?
(1) TRAINING is key to ministry.
(2) ANOINTING is also key to ministry.
Till forever, I will always be a stickler for TRAINING IN MINISTRY. If you’re not TRAINED, there’s going to be a limit to the expression of God’s calling upon your life and if you are not also ANOINTED FOR MINISTRY, the devil will make a mess and mockery of your TRAINING.
So, the two are important. You see, it is possible to attend a Bible School without being CALLED INTO AND ANOINTED FOR MINISTRY (and by ministry I mean ministry at the level of the five-fold governmental offices of APOSTLE, PROPHET, EVANGELIST, PASTOR and TEACHER – Eph.4:11).
However, a sound Bible School training will be good for a believer in Christ even if such is not called into any of the five-fold ministry offices because it will thoroughly prepare him for the believer’s ministry of RECONCILIATION and EDIFICATION – 2 Cor.5:18-20, Rm.12:6-8, 1Cor.14:12. Eph 4:12-15.
MINISTRY IS NOT A RETIREMENT HOME
Sometimes you see retired school principals or retired government workers take up an ordination into the office of a Pastor and what have you. While in a few cases, some might indeed have a call into ministry but coming into the awareness of that calling at the latter stage of their lives, it’s however instructive to note that MINISTRY IS NOT A RETIREMENT HOME FOR GOVERNMENT RETIREES.
It is best to discover the call of God early in life and to pursue it with gusto, vigour and determination.
TRAINING AND ANOINTING REPRESENT DIFFERENT LEVELS IN MINISTRY
There is a level that TRAINING will take you in ministry and there’s a level that ANOINTING will take you in ministry. The reason you must be TRAINED FOR MINISTRY is that TRAINING FINE-TUNES THE EXPRESSION AND MANIFESTATION OF YOUR ANOINTING, and I can say that a million times. You will struggle in ministry if you don’t find out WHAT YOU’RE ANOINTED TO DO.
You see, EVERY “ANOINTING” HAS A CORRESPONDING “ASSIGNMENT”, and the moment you find out THE ASSIGNMENT OF YOUR ANOINTING, you will minister with greater ease and fluidity and people will think that you’re a superstar. You’re really not a superstar in that sense; you have only found out THE AREA(S) OF YOUR ANOINTING.
The specifics of your anointing
What the Spirit of God laid on my heart this afternoon are THE SPECIFICS OF YOUR ANOINTING. We don’t really talk much about this in the Body of Christ. At best, what we do is to talk IN GENERAL TERMS. In other words, we say that every minister in the realm of the five-fold is ANOINTED TO PREACH OR TEACH OR DO BOTH, and you see friend; that’s 100% correct because these offices are ORACLUAR OFFICES – you will always have something to do with SPEAKING.
However, looking at the Scriptures especially the ministry of Jesus, we realize THE SPECIFICS OF THE ANOINTING. We realize that in PREACHING AND TEACHING, one can also be SPECIFICALLY ANOINTED to preach and teach on CERTAIN SUBJECTS and to also FLOW IN SPECIFIC AREAS that will meet the needs of the people.
This is something that you will need to understand early in life and ministry.
There’s no doubt that ALL OF US ARE CALLED AND ANOINTED TO PREACH AND TEACH THE GOSPEL (in the general sense), but as you grow in the things of the Spirit, you will begin to realize SPECIFIC AREAS where you flow in the things of ministry WITH GREATER EASE.
Now you will need to pay attention to those and stay stick to them no matter the perception of anyone about it.
The specifics of the anointing of the Lord Jesus Christ
Look at what our Lord Jesus said in the synagogue at the start of His ministry:
LUKE 4:18-19
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath ANOINTED ME TO preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
According to this passage of Scripture, EVERY ANOINTING HAS ITS SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENT and sometimes DEMOGRAPHY and JESUS WAS ANOINTED TO DO THE FOLLOWING SIX ASSIGNMENTS:
(1) He was ANOINTED to preach the Gospel to the poor: Whether spiritually, materially or financially poor, Jesus was ANOINTED to minister to the poor – Matt.11:5.
(2) He was ANOINTED TO HEAL the broken-hearted: So, He had THE HEALING ANOINTING, and this also was designed to minister to those whose hearts were broken. Jesus was always wiping away people’s tears and HEALING the sick – Acts 10:38.
(3) He was ANOINTED FOR THE DELIVERANCE MINISTRY. So, Jesus was a DELIVERANCE MINISTER. The mad man of Gadara WASN’T HEALED BUT DELIVERED under His ministry – it wasn’t HEALING that he needed but DELIVERANCE and he got it – Mk.5:1-20.
(4) He was ANOINTED TO OPEN THE EYES OF THE BLIND: Whether SPIRITUALLY BLIND or PHYSICALLY BLIND, Jesus was SPECIFICALLY ANOINTED TO HEAL THE BLIND.
He healed the blind man in John 9:1-7 and He also opened the eyes of understanding of two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus – Lk.24:30-32, 45.
Paul also had THE ANOINTING TO OPEN THE EYES OF THE SPIRITUALLY BLIND – Eph. 3:9, Acts 26:18.
(5) He was ANOINTED TO SET THE BRUISED AT LIBERTY: These are emotionally bruised and psychologically battered people, yet He ministered to them by THE ANOINTING. Virtue went out of Him and HEALED multitudes – Lk.6:19.
(6) He was ANOINTED to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord i.e. the year of Jubilee. This means Jesus had A SPECIAL ANOINTING to pronounce NEW SEASONS OF RESTORATION on people who needed them.
He announced A NEW SEASON OF RESTORATION to the widow of Nain who had her dead son raised to life – Lk.7:11-16. Now this is deep. We cannot really exhaust ALL THE SCRIPTURES on this.
WHAT ARE YOU ANOINTED TO DO?
The question above is a vital one to be answered by all ministers. Find out THOSE ASSIGNMENTS and you will notice that you always minister with GREATER EASE along those areas. Once again, to remind us all that there’s A GENERAL ASSIGNMENT we’re all ANOINTED FOR i.e. to preach or teach the Gospel or do both.
However, there are SPECIFIC AREAS OF ANOINTING in ministry designed for you and you tend to command greater results in those areas.
For instance, you can be ANOINTED to:
* Raise ministers.
* Minister Holy Baptism specially (like Peter was – Acts 8:14-17, Acts 19:44-46).
* Plant churches.
* Write books.
* Prophesy future events.
* Teach on a certain subject with greater authority.
* Heal a specific kind of sickness or disease.
* Sing and compose songs.
* Open up territories.
* Serve under another man.
* Pioneer new works.
* Counsel people pastorally or prophetically.
* Have an itinerant ministry.
* Raise many sons and daughters in ministry.
* Minister to a specific demography – youth, young adults, children, married, professionals, etc.
* Preach or teach on Radio, Television, etc.
* Do online ministry.
* Hold crusades and evangelize nations and different territories.
* Help and raise struggling ministries.
* Be a prophetic voice to the nation or nations.
* Mobilize ministers for networking and “Body-of-Christ meetings”.
* Serve as a bridge between the older generation and the younger generation.
* Power a prayer ministry or movement.
* PLUS MUCH MORE!!!
You will understand this teaching better when you realize that to be ANOINTED simply means TO BE DIVINELY-ENABLED AND EMPOWERED TO DO…
There are MANY OTHER SPECIFIC AREAS OF ANOINTING. Find out yours today and stay there and grow there.
Truth is that it’s not every minister that is ANOINTED to organize Ministers’ Conferences – they will end up confusing everyone.
It’s not every minister that is ANOINTED to start A HEALING SCHOOL – they may be the first set of patients that need to be ministered to there, even though ALL OF US ARE COMMANDED to go heal the sick – Mk.16:18, but there are SPECIAL HEALING MINISTRIES in the Body of Christ – 1 Cor.12:30.
It’s not every minister who has light and insight along the line of relationship/marriage matters and not everyone is ANOINTED for it.
Find out YOUR SPECIFIC AREA OF ANOINTING and grow there.
Dad Hagin had the specific anointing to minister to people with rapturous growths; Benny Hinn to those on wheelchairs and Reinhard Bonnke to the blind.
Dr Myles Munroe had a special anointing to teach KINGDOM PRINCIPLES, Dr David Yonngi Cho on Church Growth and Dr E. W. Kenyon on New Creation Realities.
Dr D. K. Olukoya is specially anointed for the deliverance ministry; Rev. (Dr.) Chris Oyakhilome is specially anointed for the healing ministry and Pastor Poju Oyemade is specially anointed to teach the practicality and applicability of Faith.
By God’s Grace, among a couple of assignments that I do in ministry, especially in the area of TEACHING, I am specifically anointed to teach on MINISTRY MATTERS, and when I was to start teaching same online, the Lord gave me the tag name, #MINISTRYMATTERS on Facebook.
No stress. No struggle. And no competition with anyone. It’s FUN all the way because the Grace of God is at work in me.
Dear Friend, you will never know the true meaning of FULFILMENT until you begin to operate in YOUR SPECIFIC AREAS OF ANOINTING.
Knowing THE SPECIFICS OF THE OIL OF GOD UPON YOUR LIFE makes ministry work seamlessly, and if currently, it appears as if nothing is working, stay put and stay committed, because indeed, things are working for you in the realm of the Spirit, and in a twinkling of an eye, IT SHALL BE VISIBLE FOR ALL TO SEE.
Written by
Pastor Bimbo Animashaun Feeding Centre Bread of Life Outreach Ile Ife, Osun State, Nigeria