The Apostolic Church of Queensland’s beginning is rooted in the wider nineteenth‑century movement that sought the restoration of the apostolic ministry and the renewal of the Church’s original order. Emerging from the same spiritual currents that shaped the Catholic Apostolic Church in Britain and Europe, the Queensland community

developed out of a conviction that God was

once again calling and commissioning Apostles

for the edification and preparation of the whole

Church. Central to this conviction was the

belief that the ministries described in

Ephesians 4:11-16, Apostles, Prophets,

Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers, were not temporary offices but enduring gifts and ministries intended to remain active until the Church reached full maturity.

 

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This restoration of the Apostle ministry, supported by prophets, was interpreted through the prophetic lens of the “latter rain,” a theological expectation drawn from Joel 2:23 and widely embraced within the apostolic revival. The “former rain” was understood as the outpouring of the Spirit and the apostolic ministry in the early Church, while the “latter rain” signified a renewed outpouring in the last days to prepare the Church for the return of Christ.

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​​In this framework, the rise of the Apostolic Church in Queensland and those that emerged from their missionary work, was seen not merely as an organisational development but as a sign of God’s eschatological purpose, restoring the fullness of the Apostle ministry, gathering the faithful into unity, and readying the Church to meet the Lord at His return.

 

Ephesians 2 v 19-22

 

"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints (the Christian faithfull), and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone in whom all the building
fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."

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The role of the Apostle Ministry in the Christian Church

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The Apostle Peter in Acts 1: 22 led the election of the Matthias as Apostle as recorded:  

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 “Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

23 And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen 25 to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” 26 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

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This statement indicates that the proclamation of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ belonged, from the very beginning of the Christian dispensation, to the distinctive and divinely appointed work of the Apostles. It is a ministry called to continue. 

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One of the greater early documents authored by the Apostles was the "Great Testimony," which was distributed by the Apostles to various dignitaries such as the Pope and the Austrian Emperor (Apostolic History Network, 2026).  In this writing, they sharply criticize the state or decline of the church and state, and they show how the church should be structured according to the model of the early Christian church. Below is a Translation of the opening preamble transcribed by Roßteuscher in 1886 as provided by the Apostolic History Network.  

 

To the patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, and other leaders of the Church of Christ in all lands, and to the emperors, kings, princes, and other rulers of the baptized nations. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, the One God. Amen. The Church of Christ is the community of all, without distinction of time or country, who are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and are set apart from all other people by their baptism. One body (Eph. 4:4), one pillar and foundation of truth (1Tim. 3:15), the dwelling place of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 6:16). It is she who declares the will of God to all people and teaches His ways...
                                                                   (Roßteuscher's translation, 1886.)

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The first Christian churches "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers" (Acts 2:42). A community of Christians is not a gathering of like minded people linked solely by common beliefs, but rather a living body with common purpose (1 Corinthians 12:12-28).

With the founders of the re-established Apostolic church, the Apostles of the Catholic Apostolic Church in England, we profess "The church of Christ is the fellowship of all people, irrespective of time and nation, who are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and are separated from all other people through baptism". ("The Apostolic Witness", 1836).

 

 

 

 

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​​​To preach the resurrection of the church, and to press the church into it, will be the work and mark of Apostles in end times. One ministry of God laid the foundation of teaching, that ministry raised up again by God must also witness of the coming resurrection of the church, to be in the Kingdom of God.

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The ministry of the New Testament, founded by our Lord Jesus Christ for His flock, the apostolic ministry, was adopted by the young community which was able to develop a beneficial apostolic service, which persisted and even today is of profound significance for the spiritual life of an Apostolic Church. It must remain the sacred and responsible duty of the apostles to measure their service for God and man by the service of the holy Apostle of our profession, namely Jesus Christ, and to be guided by Him alone.

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Thus the Apostles, as indeed the church itself, see their Apostolic task as a selfless, nonpartisan service to their fellow men, their fellow Christians and unbelievers, based on the principles of the gospel and the gospel call of their master (Matthew 28: 18-20; John 20:19-23) and on the purity of the gospel.

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Only the image of Jesus Christ and the fruits of the Holy Spirit should be allowed to develop through apostolic service in the church. It follows that as the world wide Church has not yet obtained “the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13), that all ministries are still needed within the Church.