The Church of Christ organized according to the pattern of the Church in the New Testament. Christ is the Head of the Church (Colossians 1:18). In Ephesians 4:11-12 we’re told that, “It was He (Jesus) 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.” Jesus is the Head of the Church, and under Him are the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor/teachers. These different positions serve different purposes in the Church.

The apostles and prophets were temporary positions that were eliminated after the Church was well established and the Scriptures were completed. The apostles and prophets served as God’s mouthpieces to His people. God spoke through them (Hebrews 1:1; Acts 2:42), and we now have their teaching compiled for us in the Bible.

An evangelist is a preacher of the Gospel. In 2 Timothy 2:4 Paul told Timothy to, “do the work of an evangelist.” Back in verse 2 of the same chapter Paul told him to, “preach the Word.”

In Ephesians 4, the terms “pastors” and “teachers” are linked together. These are the same position. The term “pastors” is interchangeable with the term “elders,” “shepherds,” or “bishops.” The qualifications for this position are found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. The elders are the spiritual leaders of the Church, and must be able to teach sound doctrine (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:9).  Another position in the Church, that isn’t mentioned in Ephesians 4, is that of a deacon. The qualifications for deacons are found in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. Deacons are to look after the physical matters of the Church (Acts 6:1-6).

In Ephesians 4:12, we’re told that these different positions all serve different purposes in the Church, “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the Body of Christ may be built up.”