From Label to Lens: One Man's Journey Through APEST

In the Kansas City Underground, we have tried to order our lives around the life of Jesus, learning from the patterns that surface again and again in the movement of the church. Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus gives language to this way of life, describing how the life of Jesus continues to take shape within His people.

In Ephesians 4, Paul describes a church formed into maturity through shared participation in the ministry of Christ. What we have come to call APEST is a way of naming how the life of Jesus is expressed across the body.

Jesus Himself is the origin of these expressions. His life embodies the apostolic impulse that pioneers and sends, the prophetic impulse that calls people back to the heart of God, the evangelistic impulse that announces good news, the shepherding impulse that nurtures and restores, and the teaching impulse that reveals truth and forms understanding. As Christ dwells within His people, these expressions begin to mature across the life of the community, drawing the body toward unity and growth.

Let me tell you a story about my friend Chris, who entered into a committed disciple-making relationship with Jesus at forty.

Early in that journey, Chris stepped into an environment that helped him begin to name how he was wired. Through a simple assessment and ongoing conversation, it became clear that evangelistic, shepherding, and teaching expressions were already present in his life, though he would not have described them that way at the time.

That recognition was not immediately good news.

Chris carried a history that shaped his understanding of evangelism. In his younger years, he had encountered expressions of the gospel that were primarily framed around what happens after death, often delivered in ways that felt detached from the texture of everyday life. When he first saw “evangelist” reflected back to him, it felt constraining. He described an initial sense of frustration, even anger, as though he were being placed back into a framework that had never brought him life.

What changed for Chris was not the assessment itself, but the environment that surrounded it. He was invited into an ongoing conversation, where his assumptions could be surfaced, his experiences taken seriously, and his understanding gradually reshaped.

In his words, “Once I got past preconceived hierarchical structures, I started to see them as inclusion. It became a question of what everyone brings to the table. I know I’m an evangelist at heart. I love sharing new ideas and information with people. If I’ve been listening to a new album or reading a book, you’re going to hear about it.”

What had once felt like a label began to feel like recognition. He started to see that the instinct to share, to invite, and to connect people to something meaningful had always been present in him. APEST gave him language for it and helped him understand how it could serve others.

“It gave me a lens,” he told me, “for how I look at the world, how I interpret what’s happening around me, and how that perspective might actually be beneficial to the body.”

Chris did not step into a role or receive a title. What changed was his awareness of the life of Jesus already at work within him, and his growing confidence that this life was meant to be shared.

Today, Chris spends much of his time with a local mission serving men who are working to leave behind lives shaped by addiction. In that context, the clarity he has gained around his wiring takes shape as a steady, relational presence among the men he serves. He teaches regularly, often in ways that connect deeply with their lived experience. He shares his faith naturally, allowing conversations about Jesus to emerge within real relationships. He pays attention to people, noticing where they are, what they carry, and how they are responding.

What stands out is the way he understands these gifts in practice. He sees the men around him as people already on a journey, and he has embraced a role of walking alongside them as they move toward freedom. The evangelistic impulse to share good news and the shepherding impulse to care for people have become intertwined in his life, shaping the way he communicates, listens, and responds.

As he reflected on this, he said, “Part of that is my shepherd and evangelist working together. I’m always thinking about how people are going to receive this, how they’re going to feel about it. If I had to put it in one word, it’s inclusion. I don’t want anyone left out or left behind. I want people to recognize this is a body worth being a part of.”

What Chris has come to understand is that this awareness does more than clarify personal wiring. It restores a sense of belonging. He described how easy it is for people to feel disconnected from the life of the body, even while remaining present within it, especially when they cannot name what they carry or how they contribute. APEST gave him a way to make sense of that experience, not by assigning him a role, but by helping him recognize how his life could strengthen others.

This is what begins to emerge when a disciple recognizes how the life of Jesus is being expressed through them. The question shifts from where do I fit to how do I contribute. The focus moves toward participation in a shared life.

APEST becomes a way of recognizing how Christ continues to give Himself to His people through His people. As these expressions mature across the body, the church grows through the increasing participation of ordinary disciples who understand what they carry and offer it for the sake of others.

This is how unity takes shape and how maturity develops. The body is built up in love as each person brings what they have received and shares it with others.