Faqs

 We fully believe in, embrace and operate in the gifts of the Spirit, as outlined in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Romans 12:6-8 and Ephesians 4:11-13. We recognise these gifts are given by God's grace, empowered by the Spirit and essential for the building up of the church.

• We reject the idea that the gifts ceased with the early church.
• The same Spirit who worked in Acts is still active today.
• Gifts are not limited to leaders but are given to all believers for building up the body.
• We believe in the proper use and order of the gifts within the church.
• All gifts must operate within love and humility as love is our highest calling.

 Our structure is based on the New Testament framework, where leadership is divided into elders and deacons, each with distinct roles and responsibilities.

Elders: Spiritual Oversight

The role of elder is reserved for qualified men, who are responsible for spiritual leadership, doctrinal integrity and pastoral care. While elder is the biblical term, elders at ARC may function in different fivefold ministry capacities:

• Apostolic - Providing vision, strategy and church planting leadership.
• Prophetic - Bringing spiritual discernment, revelation and direction
• Evangelistic - Equipping the church in outreach and soul-winning
• Pastoral - Shepherding, discipling and caring for the flock
• Teaching - Grounding believers in sound doctrine and biblical truth

Deacons: Practical Ministry

Deacons handle physical and administrative matters of the church, ensuring practical needs are met (Acts 6:1-4).

• This includes areas like hospitality, finance, service coordination and logistical support.
• Unlike elders, both men and women can serve as deacons.
• Deacons free up elders to focus on spiritual leadership by managing practical concerns in church.

 We believe God calls, anoints and equips both men and women to proclaim his Gospel and serve in his Kingdom (Acts 2:17). The Holy Spirit does not limit a calling based on gender. Verses like 1 Timothy 2:12 and 1 Corinthians 14:34 were written in specific cultural and situational contexts and do not contradict the overall teaching of Scripture that affirms women in ministry.

• While women can serve in various leadership capacities, the role of elder (overseer) is reserved for qualified men based on 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. 

From natural law we see that when something is healthy, it grows. The same thing applies to God’s Church. However, we believe that this growth needs to be reflected on two levels. Therefore, to say that a church is experiencing healthy growth we must look at the level of spiritual growth in individual members, as well as the growth in numbers of members being added to the body.