Apostolic Mandate 1: The Call of Abraham and Sarah
There’s a fresh wind blowing in the Church. It’s the cry of sons and daughters (broken, orphaned, and hungry) for the love and guidance of true spiritual parents. In response, God is reviving one of the most foundational apostolic mandates of all time: Spiritual Parenting
If you’ve found yourself asking, “Am I called to be a spiritual parent?” you might be stepping into a role that goes back to the times of Paul, Peter, and even further to Abraham and Sarah. But let’s break down what that means, and more importantly, whether that’s your calling.
What Is a Spiritual Parent?
Spiritual parenting isn’t a trend. It’s a mandate. In today’s Church, we have a generation of orphans. Believers who’ve been hurt, abandoned, or never fathered in their call. Many enter the body of Christ with baggage and no place to unpack it.
Enter the spiritual father or mother.
A spiritual parent doesn’t just teach. They raise, equip, and send. They nurture growth, walk through wounds, and mentor to maturity. It’s a high calling and one not every apostle is called to.
Not Every Apostle Is a Spiritual Father
Let’s set the record straight: Not every apostle is called to be an Abraham
We often get this wrong. When someone arises in apostolic authority, we expect them to parent us. And if they don’t, if they aren’t nurturing, available, or relational, we feel disappointed, confused, even hurt. But here’s the truth: you may be putting expectations on someone that were never part of their mandate.
Paul was a spiritual father. So was Peter. Paul especially raised sons like Timothy, Silas, and Titus (1 Tim. 1:2, Titus 1:4). He didn’t just teach and move on, he left behind a lineage. A legacy. Others, like James, remained pillars but didn’t walk in this same mandate.
So ask yourself this: Am I trying to mother or father someone who was never meant to parent? Or am I the one feeling the pull to become a spiritual parent myself?
The Price of Becoming an Abraham
Just like all the apostolic mandates, the mandate of spiritual parenting comes with a price. A very high one.
When God called Abraham, He said:
"Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you." (Gen. 12:1)
Becoming a spiritual parent means pioneering a new spiritual DNA. You leave behind all that’s familiar, your old ways of thinking, leading, and relating. Your patterns, your culture, your comfort zones.
You don’t get to stay home. You don’t get to cling to your "father’s house", spiritually, emotionally, or relationally. You become the new model, the one who sets the tone for the next generation.
This is what makes the parenting mandate so intense. It’s not just about raising up others. It’s about being reborn yourself so that what flows through you to them is pure, from God, and transformative.
What If I’m Not Called to This?
That’s okay. Not every apostle is.
Maybe your calling is to establish doctrine. Maybe it's to bring order or to launch a movement. Perhaps your mandate is more administrative or prophetic. Not every leader has to be a father or mother.
But if you’re called to be an Abraham or Sarah, then get ready. You’ll be broken. Rebuilt. Changed. You’ll have to love when it’s hard, nurture when it’s inconvenient, and invest when there’s no guarantee of return.
And yet the reward is unmatched. To raise up sons and daughters who outgrow you, outshine you, and carry your DNA long after you’re gone... there’s nothing like it.
Are You One of Them?
- Do you find yourself naturally drawn to nurture, equip, and release others?
- Are you willing to be reshaped by God to raise a generation?
- Can you love beyond your own pain?
- Do you feel like you're leaving behind everything to walk into something new?
Then God may be calling you to be a spiritual parent.
I highly recommend getting Apostle Colette Toach's The Apostolic Mandate, as she dives deeper into this topic. There, she explains how to function in this mandate:
