Qualifications and Code of Conduct for Workers
Workers Training Manual
Closer to Jesus Ministries
34 Seychelles Street, Cosmo City Extension 6
Corner Seychelles and Eritrea Streets,
Cosmo City, Randburg
South Africa
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Definition
I. Prayer
II. Financial
III. Propagation of the Gospel
3. Qualifications of a Worker
4. Code of Conduct for a Worker
5. Discipline among Workers
6. Promotion among Workers
I. Sunday activities
II. Church Hierarchy
III. Spiritual Appointment
7. Conclusion
Introduction
Beloved, we believe that you know that it is the Almighty God Himself who has called us into this work and given us this name, “Closer to Jesus Ministries” and given us a revelation and message through our Pastors Godson and Blessing Jonathan. We did not just choose a name, but God gave it to us.
This fact alone makes this church a very unique one as God has said that He wants to use this ministry as a “trumpet” blower and also to awaken the church in these last days. The Lord also said to us that His message of righteousness and holiness will proceed through this ministry – that means the Lord wants to use us as individuals and as a corporate body to set the standard again. This requires a lot from us and we have to thank God who has found us faithful, calling us into the work of the ministry – 1 Tim 1:12.
Please bear in mind that whom God calls, He qualifies and equips. He does not look at your background. He is only looking at your willingness to follow and obey Him.
By the special grace of God, this ministry will grow very fast and we believe that God will complete what He has started to do through this ministry – Amen.
These therefore are some of the reasons why we feel that the qualifications and code of conduct for workers in this ministry out to be spelt out in writing for the information and guidance of all concerned.
Definition
a. Who is a worker?
Every worker is a Steward and according to 1 Corinthians 4:2 “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”
A worker in Closer to Jesus Ministries is any child of God who, on the recommendation of the Pastors has been set aside for special services in the house of God.
Included in this category are members of the choir, ushers, children teachers, Sunday school teachers, security people (holy police), leaders / members of various groups including but not limited to prayer team, evangelism, communication and publicity, hospitality team etc.
b. For whom is he / she working?
Primarily and ultimately, the worker is working for God Almighty Himself. It follows immediately that he / she will get his / her reward from the Almighty too.
Secondarily however, the worker is working for Closer to Jesus Ministries as part of the visible body of Christ on earth. The Pastor always presents the workers before God in prayer.
c. What are the duties of the worker?
I. Prayers:
Intensive prayers for:
? The progress and expansion of the Ministry – Spiritual, Numerical, Financial etc.
? The Pastors and their families
? The righteousness and Kingdom of God to come upon every member of the church.
? New converts
? The workers themselves for steady spiritual growth, progress and all round prosperity.
? The sick, jobless and needy for recovery of health, job and prosperity.
II. Financial:
? Financial contributions to all the church projects.
? Generosity towards members of the church and Pastors.
? Assisting the needy in the church in any way possible
? Contributing actively to ease the burdens of those bereaved or who have been blessed with a new child.
? Contributing actively to the maintenance of the church property, building and its surroundings to maintain a good atmosphere for worship.
III. Propagation of the Gospel:
? Every worker is expected to be an active soul winner and an incurable witness for Christ – Proverbs 11:30. That means that every worker has to embark on personal evangelism and also be available for church evangelism and outreach programs. He / she should be involved in the propagation of the Gospel by means of word of mouth, tracts distribution, letter writing, crusades, prison and hospital evangelism etc.
? Every worker is expected to be very active in follow-up programs.
Qualifications of a Worker
The one who would qualify as a worker must satisfy the following conditions:
a. Born again – John 3:3, 5
b. Sanctified (separated for the Masters use) – John 17:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:23 & 2 Tim 2:20-21.
c. Filled with the Holy Spirit – Acts 1:8 & 6:3
d. Baptized by immersion in water – Matt 3:13-15; Acts 10:47-48 &16:15-16
e. A tithe payer – Mal 3:10
f. A cheerful giver – 2 Corinthians 9:7
g. A zealous and committed soul winner – Mark 16:15-16
h. Humble – Luke 22:26
i. Prayer warrior – Luke 18:1 & 1 Thessalonians 5:17
j. Well behaved – 1 Corinthians 13:5
k. Given to Fasting – Matt 17:21; Luke 4:2 & Acts 13:2-3
l. Trustworthy – Jeremiah 35:1-8
m. Blameless and without blemish in the congregation – Phil 2:14-16
n. Faithful – 1 Corinthians 4:2
o. Any other qualifications that the Ministry may deem necessary from time to time.
Code of Conduct for a Worker
The Lord Jesus Christ calls us to be the light of the world – Matt 5:14-16, the salt of the earth – Matt 5:13 and the ambassadors of Christ – John 20:21.
These imply that we are very important to God and our responsibilities are heavy. In order to effectively and correctly discharge our responsibilities to God and His Church without failing and disappointing God, every worker should observe the following code of conduct.
He / she must be:
a. Totally submissive to constituted authorities of the Ministry – Heb 13:17.
? When travelling, he / she should inform the Pastor
? Should be ready to attend all meetings – Sundays and mid week.
? Be absolutely obedient to Pastors and leadership when they give orders that do not contradict the bible.
? Be an example to the congregation in submitting to the beliefs and doctrines of the Ministry. Titus 2:7; 1 Tim 4:12; 4:6. Please request a copy to familiarize yourself with this.
? Be an example to the congregation in spending and be spent for God – 2 Corinthians 12:15 & Gal 2:20
b. Hygienic in all dispositions – cleanliness
c. Well dressed in accordance with the scriptures. Where there is doubt, must be willing to give the benefits of doubt to the Lord. 1 Pet 3:1-4; 1 Tim 2:9
d. Someone who will be a worthy ambassador of both Christ and His Church.
e. Willing to attend all night and even organize that in his / her own home – Luke 6:12 & Acts 16:15
f. Punctual at meetings
g. Walking, worshipping and growing in the Spirit constantly – Gal 5:16; John 4:23-24; Psalm 117:12 & Col 3:16
h. Someone who enjoys a life of Holiness and sanctification, living right both in the secret and open and dwelling in love – 2 Pet 3:18; Heb 13:1; 2 Tim 3:14-17; Eph 5:25-27; Matt 5:13-16; Heb 12:14 & 1 Tim 3:2
i. Ready always to do good works – Titus 2:14 & Gal 6:10
j. Ever ready to protect the good name of the Church – 1 Tim 3:7 & Titus 1:10-13
Discipline among Workers
Wherever there is love, there must be discipline. Heb 12:6 & Rev. 3:19
Consequently, in this mission, if any sins or does things his / her Pastor considers unwelcoming to the progress or good image of this Church will receive instant and adequate punishment. Such punishments, which will be proportional to the offence, range from an open rebuke, suspension / stopping the person from attending workers meetings for a period of time, to total dismissal from workers cadre.
During period of discipline or suspension from workers meeting, the worker under discipline must attend all the Church Services regularly, sitting wherever the Pastor shall appoint, Heb 12:5-8, Prov 3:11-12
If a worker is not satisfied with the discipline imposed on him / her, he / she have the right to appeal to the pastor.
If a worker shows genuine repentance, he / she may be pardoned before the period specified for the suspension.
If a worker shows no genuine repentance, his / her period of suspension must be automatically extended. If after an extension of the suspension period there is still no repentance, such a worker may be recommended, for dismissal from workers’ cadre.
Promotion among workers
Workers of Exceptional character, spiritual endowments and evangelical abilities may be promoted in due course to the level of a deacons / deaconess.
Worker’s Sunday Activities
The workers are the people who are the first to come to the Church on Sunday morning. For example they would have been there at least an hour before others come. During the mid-week, they also come early before the congregation. They must wake up early on Sunday morning in order to see that they are there early. As far as workers are concerned, the whole Sunday belongs to Jesus Christ. It is compulsory they attend evening service or house fellowship.
CHURCH HIERARCHY
There is order in heaven. We have God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, followed by the four living beings, Twenty four elders, the Arch Angels, The Cherubim and Seraphim and then the ordinary angels. As it is in heaven so also is here on earth 1 Cor .15:41. In Closer to Jesus Ministries, we have hierarchy for the sake of orderliness; for example, we have the Pastor(s) who is the spiritual head, followed by the assistant pastors, deacons / deaconesses, un-ordained ministers, workers, workers –in-training, baptized members, saved unbaptized members, new comers, yet to be saved.
SPIRITUAL APPOINTMENT AND PROMOTION
Strangers in the church are regarded as new comers. As they develop spiritually, they begin to climb the hierarchical ladder, from the bottom, that is new comers to move to unbaptized members, to baptized members who become workers in training, then full-fledged workers. It is among the workers that Deacons, Deaconesses and Assistant Pastors are chosen; from Assistant Pastors to Pastors and so on and so forth. This is in line with scriptures when Jesus Christ chose seventy disciples from five hundred brethren; Twelve apostles from seventy disciples, three – (Peter, James and John) from Twelve and one (John) from three. There is a difference between the Seventy and the Twelve, between the Twelve and Three and between the Three and One.
Five hundred is represented with the biggest circle; inside it is the circle of seventy, inside this is the circle of twelve, then three and lastly circle of one.
THE FIVE HUNDRED BRETHREN
1 Corinthians 15:6
This category of people represents the Church members. They are brethren, born again but follow Christ from afar off. They go to Church when it is convenient for them; and so close to the world that they can easily backslide because the part of the world is still attracting them. In an unfavorable situation they can easily deny Christ, John 18:18, 25-27.
As Peter followed Jesus Christ from afar off, he denied Him when there was sudden danger. This is the spiritual standard of these five hundred believers. If you remain in that group, you are not sure you can stay to the end. Proverbs 9:16-18. Sin may appear attractive but the end is death. But those who are still afar off from Jesus Christ, occasionally they still go to the world and taste the world; and they run back again to Jesus Christ. Often they are up today and down tomorrow. Most of the time they fall and never return; and you know yourself that it is easier to fall than to stand.
To have tasted God and then fall back again is a very unpleasant thing indeed because all the joy that they have will be gone forever.11 Peter 2:20-22.
The five hundred brethren are just like people coming to the church and going back to their houses.
THE SEVENTY
Luke 10: 1-11
The second group of people are the seventy. They were fully instructed about what to do on their journey;how to begin ,how to behave and what to say. The first thing we learn about the seventy is that they were fixed for service.they were not just bench –warmers. God looked at them and saw that there was something special that these seventy could do; so the He set them apart. They found that they would be useful ; they would be obedient and they would be able to take instructions . If you want to move out of the entire congregation ,you must obey instructions (i.e be obedient).
For example, if after this training you are found fit, you will be asked to join the Workers. Then suddenly you discover that you have to obey the Pastor more than before. You have to make up your mind whether to obey the Pastor and remain with the Worker or to disobey and join again the ordinary members who are represented by the five hundred.
When you are just in the congregation (Five hundred) you can travel anytime you like,go anywhere you like. You don’t need to tell the Pastor ,but the moment you join the workers (Seventy) even if you are going to see any one over the week –end you have to inform the Pastor.
Even if there is work to be done by workers that requires the presence of every worker and you have your own programme, you have to choose either what others are doing or you choose your own programme and go back to the congregation (Five hundred). It is a question of choice.
To be in the workers, you must be there forever. You may decide voluntarily not to be a member anymore but once God has made you head,may you not become tail again. If you cannot do what the seventy did today,you cannot go further than than the Five hundred. Gideon’s army were chosen because they were disciplined.
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SEVENTY
Those who will be among the Seventy must learn to serve continuously. When Jesus sent them out, He did not follow them Himself, which means anyone who belongs to the Seventy must learn to serve without supervision, Philippians 2:12.
Wherever he is, he will perform well as if Jesus is there. Whether the Pastor is there or not, he will still be working for God because he knows he is not working for man and it is only Gog who will reward him, Colossians 3:22-24.
He asked them not to take any money with them because he was trying to teach them how to endure hardship. When you are sent to somewhere you do not know and you are asked not to take any money with you; you know you have to endure. Nobody can join the workers unless he can fast because occasionally you will come to the church and after service you will eat but you discover that there is no time for eating till the evening. Fasting is one of the responsibilities of workers. Fasting helps you to grow spiritually. If you want to join the group of the Seventy, you must be ready to endure hardship and be ready to fast.
Anybody who wants to join the workers must be ready to serve God with all ability, Matthew 5:20-23. You cannot do more than your best but God expects you to do your best. If you do your best, He knows you cannot deceive God. They were asked to go without taking anything with them. It means they are supposed to use whatever they have for God. Anything you have, you must be willing to use it for God, but make sure you take the best for God. Mark 14:3-9.
Also He sent them without supervision so that they might serve Him without seeking recognition; they worked for God without eye-service (1 Peter 4:11). In other words when you belong to the circle of seventy, you must be doing things only to glorify God, not seeking the praise of anybody; not that anybody may see you. You must learn to serve with humility (John 13:14). It is one of God’s ways of teaching humility. You cannot be in the group of the Seventy without the teaching of humbleness. If you still consider yourself as someone indispensable, God cannot use you.
Those that God will use must be ready to serve Him joyfully (Psalm 100:2). If you want to be in the group of the seventy you must learn to serve God with JOY. When you are asked to do something you must do it joyfully.
Finally, you must remember that their efforts were not in vain. They run up and down for God ; they pray and fast; they must remember 1 Corinthians 15:58. When God asks you to go out and work you can be sure He is going to reward you in the end. Whatever you do for him you can be sure that the reward is on the way.
SUMMARY
Those who are in the group of Seventy must :
Serve continuously
Learn to serve without supervision
Be ready to endure hardship
Be willing to work to the best of their ability
Be willing to use whatever they have and their best for God
Learn to serve without seeking the praise of anybody because all glory must belong to God(i.e avoid eye –service)
Learn to serve with humility
Be willing to serve him with joy
Constantly remember that their efforts will not be in vain
Know that they need prayer to make all the above possible. John 15:5. Christ says “……without me you can do nothing.”
THE TWELVE
Mark 3: 13 -15
He chose the Twelve to live with Him; to send them out to preach, to have power to heal, to have power to cast out evil spirits. These are the four things that Jesus said the Twelve should do.
Anybody who thinks ahead of the present, who thinks who thinks what will happen tomorrow will not have a friend .This is because the worldly people believe on the food that is ready i.e. they prefer to enjoy now and later face hardship. Jesus Christ preferred to endure hardship and later enjoy the rewards. He knew that a day is coming when he would be crowned, when he would be glorified .That was why he had no friends; that was why he arranged to select the Twelve that would move together, come in and go out, with Him. Sometimes he was home-sick. He was constantly talking to the Father, “that glory we have together, I don’t forget; don’t let this glory pass me by.” Occasionally, he sneaked out to pray alone to the Father .Those who want to deal with Jesus must have a lot of sanctification.
THE AMBASSADORS
He chose the Twelve because they had something special. They deserved being his ambassadors.
THEIR CHARACTERISTICS
They were of humble character (gentle) very truthful, prayer warriors, and holy within and out.
Their only ambition was to make their Captain Happy, to please him joyfully (11 Timothy 2:4). Our ambition too is to please Him.
Whatever they did, they did it like their Captain. The African adage says if a leaf stays so long with soap, it automatically becomes soap. Because they lived with Christ ,their action was like Christ’s (John 2:6)
Anyone who saw them knew that they had been with Jesus for long (Acts 4:13). If someone sees you in a market place, will such one say you are a child of God?
THE THREE
Mark 9:2-9; 5 37, Matthew 17:1-9; 26:36-38
CONCLUSION
Since no one ever becomes a Pastor in this mission without having first been an Assistant Pastor, it follows therefore that becoming a worker is the first step in the line of spiritual promotions in this mission. It is therefore a great honour and privilege to be invited to join the workers cadre.
If you are willing to abide by all that had been written above ,kindly sign two copies of this pamphlet, affixing your passport photographs in the appropriate places and submit them through your Pastor to your Area Pastor.
May the Almighty uphold you to the end in Jesus’ Name . Amen