4 Signs You're Called To Be Apostolic Type #1 - Spiritual Parent
“Love, do we have to go?”
Apostle Colette complained to her husband, though she knew the answer.
“Yes, we do.”
Their suitcases were still half unpacked from their last ministry trip. Yet, already they were preparing for the next one. Two weeks prior Nate and I picked them up from the San Diego airport, after their mission trip to Switzerland.
Today, they would fly 23 hours to South Africa, for a 3-month stay. This year was a particularly tough one for the family. They missed celebrating Thanksgiving with us. For half the year, the team at TMI headquarters, which included 3 of their natural children, survived on face-time and iMessage. Though we missed them on this side of the world, we also knew the South African team needed them.
The biggest price you’ll pay as an Abraham and Sarah apostolic type is that you’ll always be a nomad - a tent-dweller.
You’ll have one foot in one country and the other in another, yet no country to call home. There will always be a child, a parent, a team member, or a spouse to be missed. Your loved ones will never be in one place, at the same time, for too long.
Welcome to apostolic type #1 - Abraham and Sarah. You’re called to start a new nation.
You’re called to spiritual parenting. You’re to create a new tribe of believers. One with a new spiritual DNA that advances His Kingdom. Like the father of our faith, you’ll inherit many sons and daughters.
This is what the cost looks like:
#1 God Takes You Out of Your Country, to Get Your Country Out of You
“Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.” Genesis 12: 1-2
To start a new nation, God stripped Abraham of his cultural identity. He was not allowed to impart his archetype into this new nation. So too, God will strip you of your country’s mindset and preferences. Your spiritual children will come from afar. And, they will recognize you by your spiritual DNA. Not your color, your country, or musical preference.
Tribe is not blood. It’s not racial color. It’s not by country. Tribe is spiritual.
Die to your cultural identity. There is neither rugby nor football, rich nor poor, country music nor hip hop. There is only Christ. The purpose of your journey is to lose your country to become a citizen of the world.
#2 Say Good-Bye to the White Picket Fence
“By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Hebrews 9:10
Abraham and Sarah’s biggest price was to be tent-dwellers. You’ll never settle down because the world is your home. And earth is your footstool. Abraham left his country as a nomad, and he died a foreigner. Yet, he gained an inheritance that was too many to count. He became the father of our faith, and his descendants come from all over the world.
You may never settle down, but you'll create a new generation that accelerates God's plan.
#3 Your Private Life Becomes a Glass House
Sex. Money. Porn. Marriage. Children.
Nothing is off-limits, especially when you have people in your home.
Every fire that you go through becomes bread for God’s people. If you don’t show them a reality, how will they navigate their trials? Your life becomes an open book, so that you may raise a strong generation. Everything you go through is for someone else.
Perfection is not required, but the reality of life is.
#4 Others Can Have a Mediocre Marriage, But Yours Must be Amazing.
God requires an incredible marriage for your mandate.
While a spouse who believes in Jesus will do for other mandates - it won't for yours!
Your marriage doesn’t have to be perfect, but it must have grit. One that has weathered life's beatings. One built on perseverance, faith, hope, and love. Which is why it's been under fire.
Satan will attack it because, without a great marriage, you don’t have a mandate.
Why is an incredible marriage required? Because people grow when they feel accepted and safe. And an incredible marriage creates that safe place. It's here that tribe culture flourishes.
Welcome to Apostolic type #1 - the Abraham and Sarah type.
Not every apostle is called to be a spiritual parent. It’s a grace, and if you’re an apostle that doesn't have that grace, don’t feel obligated to be a spiritual parent. You’ve been set free to be the apostle GOD has made you be. And your price to pay is different.
If you identify as an Abraham or Sarah apostolic type, there’s a cheat sheet for you. Apostles Craig and Colette Toach have walked this road for 25 years.
Did you know that not all your spiritual children will drive your vision forward with you? Neither are they all meant to minister on your team. There is a place for each one. Stop pulling your hair and get the quick steps to create your tribe. Establish God’s DNA.
Get your cheat sheet. Grab a seat in the Apostolic Mentorship Program: https://www.myapostolicmentor.com/
Chaifa Berry is a powerful member of the #NextGenProphets team in Toach Ministries International. She is the co-pastor of the Fivefold Ministry Campus and the right hand to Apostles Craig and Colette Toach. She is often found in her prayer closet breaking ground and tearing down every work of the enemy! She serves alongside her husband Nathan, building the Kingdom all over the world.