Leadership: Life-Net Government

Headship I Leadership I Leadership Affirmation

Headship
1. Life-Net Fellowship Church acknowledges Jesus Christ as the head of all believers and the corporate fellowship. All authority on heaven and earth belong to Him.
“ And Jesus came up and spoke to them saying “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” [Matthew 28:18]

“He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” [Ephesians 1:20b-23]

2. Jesus Christ has instituted an authority structure to lead God’s people, enable them to worship God and fellowship as a body of believers, and to work together in corporate strategy through the “Five-Fold Ministry”.
" It was He (Jesus Christ) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” [Ephesians 4:11-13]

3. Life-Net Christian Fellowship acknowledges that any leadership offices and operations within the Fellowship are not man's idea, but God's for the purpose of Exalting God and Extending God’s kingdom.
“For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works on these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For in one Sprit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves of free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member but many. [1Corinthians 12:4-14]

“ Now there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” [1 Corinthians 12:4-7]

4. And whereas human leaders are imperfect, God has in His Grace, equipped them to implement God’s Kingdom agenda, both in the lives of the believers as well as in all the nations of the world.
“ Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. It is God who appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, ten gifts of healings, helps, administration, various kinds of tongues” [1 Corinthians 12:27-28].

“ Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and authority and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves” [Romans 13:1-2].

5. Therefore, although we each, as believers, have an individual responsibility and an individual faith, we are commanded by the Lord to come under the protective covering umbrella of church authority. When believers are rightly related to both Jesus and His Church, they are enabled to realize and fulfill their own calling and the corporate calling. Thus, we cannot fully embrace our own destinies unless we come under Godly leadership.
" Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men." [1 Peter 2:13a]

6. According to scripture, church leaders must give an account to God for those under their care. It is therefore essential for leaders to know specifically for whom they are responsible. With this truth in mind, we have implemented a Fellowship structure that articulates lines of authority and responsibility based on the New Testament church patterns.
" Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. For they keep watch over your souls those who will give an account. Submit to them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” [Hebrews 13:17]

7. Submitting to leadership within the church does not imply dictatorial l leadership or that we allow ourselves to be manipulated or controlled by anyone or any Fellowship group. God is our ultimate authority, and we can appeal any decision of man to Him. It is also important for leadership to have a built-in "checks and balances." Those safeguards are in place at Life-Net Christian Fellowship. If a situation arises, in which a member feels a leader has made a poor decision, or has treated someone unfairly; others will be brought in to investigate the situation in accordance to scripture.
“ While the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, it is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. Therefore select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task” [Acts 6:1-4]

“ For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us not to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials” [Acts 15:28]

Leadership
1. Team Leaders: Life-Net Christian Fellowship is a congregation led by leadership teams Like the cells in the human body, these teams connect and work together to make up the structural body of Christ at Life-Net [Exodus 18; Acts 6:1-4; Ephesians 5:18].

1. Servant Leaders: Team leaders are servant-hearted mature Christians who have demonstrated strong leadership skills, a walk of integrity, humility, and genuine love. They also possess a pastoral compassion and an anointing of the Holy Spirit for ministry. They work directly with The Senior Pastor and each Leader oversees a specific department, ministry or group [2 Timothy 2:2].
2. Ministry Leaders: In addition to the pastoral leadership provided by those who lead through teal leadership, God has blessed Life-Net with Ministry leaders who have a passion for specific areas of ministry e.g. Outreach, Counseling, Teaching, Youth Ministry, Music Ministry etc. Working with members who volunteer for service in respective ministries, these pastoral leaders work hard to make us successful in ministry. They also perform their services diligently to ensure that each ministry and department reaches its full potential and remains intricately connected to the overall vision of the church.

2. Pastors: New Testament churches were led by servant-leaders seasoned with godly character and ministry experience. [1 Timothy 3; Acts 6:3-4]. Our Pastors are either licensed or ordained ministers who either work with the Senior Pastor as shepherds over specific ministry areas or serve as an advisory board for the Senior Pastor. As Pastors, they are actively involved in planning for the future of the ministry as well as in overseeing what God has entrusted into their hands.

3. Senior Pastor: Every congregation generally has a primary leader traditionally referred to as the "pastor" of the congregation, fellowship, or church. In the Bible, we see that God often raised up a specific person to lead a Kingdom work. And whereas there is an emphasis on leaders working together, we still see in the case of the Jerusalem church, that James functioned as the primary leader, or pastor, of that church [Acts 15; Galatians 2:9].
Likewise, in Life-Net, we have a Senior Pastor who is the general overseer of the church. In this capacity, the Senior Pastor becomes the primary "under shepherd" of the spiritual flock - working under the "good shepherd" Jesus Christ. The Senior Pastor is not the only leader, but serves as the "leader among leaders" working with and equipping the other Pastors, Team Leaders as well as other Ministry leaders in the Fellowship.

4. Apostolic Network: In the New Testament, there were no independent churches per say. Instead, churches networked together through the ministries of "spiritual fathers" called Apostles. The Apostle Paul served as a key apostolic leader for many different churches. He was not necessarily the local pastor of all those churches, but the local church leadership was accountable to him. In this way, Paul advised and supervised, to some extent, the church leadership in the cities that were under his apostolic care. Likewise, Life-Net Christian Fellowship seeks to become an apostolic cover for its various pastors, missionaries, ministries, and churches. As the ministry grows Life-Net as a church ministry will formulate and constitute an apostolic council to oversee the apostolic networks. [Acts 15; 2 Corinthians 10:8, Titus 1:5; 1 Corinthians 16:1; 2 Thessalonians 3:14; 1 Timothy 4:11-12; 5:8;]

Leadership Affirmation:
1. We affirm that the leadership of Christ for the church and the kingdom of God is theocratic. We further affirm that even today, God is the head of the church which God leads through God’s word and the Holy Spirit. For this reason, the gates of hell cannot and shall not overcome the church [Matthew 16:18].

2. We affirm that each believer is to be connected and submitted to a local fellowship. The local fellowship is led by a pastor and its members submit to the God-appointed authority of their pastor, recognizing him or her as their "head" [under Christ] responsible for guiding, directing, feeding the body, and leading them in spiritual growth. The Pastor [along with his/her leadership team] will prioritize discipleship of the people, equipping, challenging and releasing them into their destinies. Each fellowship will also have a "leadership team" of elders, or leaders in training who assist the Pastor and keep him or her accountable.

3. We affirm that Jesus has commissioned apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to be involved in equipping His church. [Eph. 4:13]. We also affirm that all these offices are functional in the fellowship today and necessary for her maturity and equipping of the saints for the works of God.

4. We affirm that every repentant believer is to be welcomed into the family of God and fully accepted without discrimination.

5. We affirm one of the cardinal responsibilities of the Pastor and the church leaders to intercede and stand in the gap for the sheep that he or she oversees. We also affirm that the church members are mandated to pray, intercede and support their Pastor and other church leaders.

6. We affirm that the Church of Jesus Christ is on the verge of an end time revival! We also affirm that the Church will become more glorious, victorious and anointed as we continue to subject ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, we will continue to grow in the grace and power of God’s kingdom under the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

7. We also affirm that Life-Net Fellowship church exists to Exalt God through Prayer, Praise, Worship and Service; Equip Believers through Preaching, Teaching & Study of God’s Word; Extend God’s Kingdom through Witness, Fellowship, Giving & Missions; and to Edify One Another through Fellowship, Faith Celebrations & Godly Living.

Exalting God and Extending God's Kingdom