Itinerant Ministry: The Perfect Class at the Perfect Time

Itinerant Ministry

I am Rev. J. Patrick Bowman from the U.S.A. My calling in the Body of Christ has grown into that of an apostolic teacher in itinerant ministry. Over the past ten years, my wife, Janice, and I have been involved in planting a number of ministries within and outside the church. This included a college/career ministry, a mobile prayer chapel, a home church, as well as me writing several books. We have ministered in both mainline denominational churches and Pentecostal/charismatic churches as well as para-church groups. My wife spends a lot of her time counseling women in ministry and interceding for the church and world.

Currently, we are waiting on the Lord for further direction. He is refining our vision for an itinerant ministry. We have gone through an intense year of spiritual warfare and are taking some time to regroup. We want to prepare for whatever God has for us in the years to come. We are spending time praying for the vision and exercising faith in what we need to do on our end to see it happen.

Ministry Challenges

The greatest ministry challenge I currently face is developing ways to repackage a fairly conservative message of personal holiness for a generation that seems increasingly feelings based rather than Word based. Although my wife and I are charismatic, we reject the “charismaniac” within the Charismatic Movement. We also reject the legalism inherent within much of the holiness teaching. This leaves us in a position where we are too much for some groups and not enough for others. So our niche seems to be getting smaller as time goes on.

I am 65 this year and my wife is 61. We sometimes wonder if it’s too late for “Late Harvest Ministries.” But then we remember Abraham and Sarah and the doubts they had before their promised child came along. Our goal is not to birth an Ishmael while waiting for our Isaac. God help us.

Ministry Training at CLI

This class at Christian Leaders Institute came at a God-ordained time for me. It gave me the motivation and skills to be able to craft a personal values statement and vision statement for our ministry. I was surprised that of the nine items in my personal values statement, the ministry came in last in the ranking. That is a real change in my thinking and shows me that I am maturing in the Lord. Without the foundational values I placed before it, the ministry would not be possible in an engaging way. The class helped me in clarifying and expressing my values in a more balanced way.

We believe God is calling us to develop an apostolic, prophetic, itinerant ministry. It will encourage, challenge, and direct groups of believers toward a deeper commitment to Jesus Christ and His working in their lives.

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