ABOUT US

The Why
&
the what

From our Mission and Vision, to Ethics and Protocols for New Testament Ministry,
on to Doctrinal Statements, these are the foundations of
Streams Church and Streams Ministries International.
WHY WE EXIST

THE MISSION

We empower people and communities to hear God better!

Streams Ministries exists to reveal God’s will to a world longing for hope by equipping believers to hear and understand God, fostering healthy prophetic ministry in local churches, and helping mature prophetic ministry into its potential.
 Streams Church is the local expression of Streams Ministries, a community of people that gather around the presence of God, expecting Him to speak and move as He empowers us to know Him better and make Him known.

LOCAL CONNECTION

GLOBAL REACH

We believe the best way to reach the cultures of the world is to engage them locally, so toward that end, we’re helping to develop and mature prophetic communities around the globe.
Streams courses and other resources are being translated into key local languages, and we’re equipping and raising up local ministers and leaders to teach others to hear God, understand what He is saying, and respond to Him. (2 Timothy 2:2).

Streams Ministries has training centers and relationships in a variety of countries. Click the link below to visit Streams' website and learn more. 
Learn More

Ethics & Protocols

Biblical principles concerning ethics and protocols relating to New Testament prophetic ministry
originally compiled by John Paul Jackson and Marc Dupont.
Editing Team: John Paul Jackson, Marc Dupont, Loren Sandford, John Sandford, James Goll and Bobby Connor.
THE PREAMBLE
Within the contemporary church the term, “prophetic ministry,” can mean a great many things. Therefore we have attempted to outline a brief description of biblically based values and practices for New Testament prophetic ministers and prophets. The following are intended primarily for those called to trans-local ministries to the church at large. However, we also acknowledge many of these principles can be applied to individuals whose prophetic work does not extend beyond their local church.

Some persons labeled as “prophets” may be more accurately categorized as “prophetic ministries.” While they may minister to the church at large, they primarily operate within the occasional “charisma” gift of prophecy. Others are called to bear the ministry of a prophet consistently as a primary calling.

An established prophet will not only operate in the gift of prophecy, but will carry seasonal prophetic burdens and messages from God the Father to the wider church, and sometimes even to nations. His or her emphasis may be much more “the word of the Lord,” as opposed to “words from the Lord.” They may, at times, even give a prophetic rebuke or warning to the church, which should always be a message of grace, postured within the Father heart of God.

Our heart in preparing and submitting these values is neither to police, nor to correct any known individuals or situations. Rather, we are simply endeavoring to articulate biblical standards that can help ensure long-term fruitfulness both for prophetic ministries and the recipients of those ministries.

Revelation 19:10 states: “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Therefore, we wholeheartedly believe that the overriding theme, goal and vision of any biblically based New Testament prophetic ministry should be to make known the Person and ways of Christ Jesus. And while a prophetic ministry may often be accompanied by revelatory words, signs and wonders, healings and miracles, a true prophet will always seek to champion the Person of Christ, the gift-giver, more than the gifts. Because God’s will is for each disciple of Christ to be conformed to the image of Christ, we believe, as well, that God calls those who represent His will, voice, and ways to be living testimonies of Christ-like integrity, lived out within the context of healthy relationships that provide accountability.

The goal of our presentation is Christ-like love and service from a pure heart. We do not present these principles and protocols from an assumed posture of authority or elitism. The spirit in which we present them is two-fold; Firstly, we desire to offer this as an appeal for Christ-centered unity of purpose among current prophetic ministries. Secondly, we wholeheartedly desire to see our co-laborers bear witness to who Jesus is in every facet of ministry as they seek to prophetically serve the Body of Christ. 
I. CONCERNING BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
  1. The Bible, as the perfect revelation of Jesus and the infallible word of God, is the absolute standard for weighing and assessing all revelation (2Timothy 3:16, Col 2:18-19, John 1:14).
    • a. While I treasure spiritual experiences from the Holy Spirit, I will not place subjective experiences and discernment above the Bible (Rev 19:10; Col 2:18-19).
    • b. I will not allow my emotions or pride to rob me of utilizing the Bible as my standard for weighing a revelation and any interpretation I may attach to a revelation.
    • c. I will always speak a Bible-centric message.
    • d. I will seek to draw all who hear me toward a greater relationship with the Father through Jesus, and to make the name of Jesus known in a biblical way.
  2. God values His Word as the expression of His name and nature (Psalms 138:2). Therefore, we hold truth as a necessity in prophecy.
    • a. I will always try not only to speak truth, but to speak prophetic words in a way that reflects the loving heart of God.
    • b. I will determine to always lovingly speak prophetic correction in such a way as to avoid condemnation toward those who receive the prophetic word.
    • c. I will intend to always communicate hope for change through the transforming power of Jesus.
    • d. I commit to reflect the nature of my God by loving people more than my gift.
    • e. Prophecy is a word from God. I will try to speak it with both humility and confidence.
    • f. While fearing God, I will not fear man. Whenever God directs me to release revelation I will not hold back through fear of man, fear of offending those with whom I am in relationship, or fear of losing popularity and/or opportunities to minister (Galatians 1:10, Proverbs 29:5).
    • g. I commit to God’s call on my life to proclaim the ways and will of God ahead of the “success” of my ministry in the eyes of man or the church.
  3. I believe that prophetic accuracy is essential. I believe that the method and manner of delivery (the heart) of a prophecy is also important.
    • a. I understand that voicing words from God is a responsibility not to be taken lightly. I aspire to have 100% accuracy in all I say.
    • b. I will admit when I am wrong and take steps to acknowledge, repent and make restitution for my error in a prophecy or its delivery, in a manner appropriate to correct the error and the reason for the error.
    • c. Repentance and restitution must also be appropriate to my sphere of influence and the scope of the prophetic word (Psalms 138:2).
  4. If I do give an errant prophecy, I commit to full repentance. This will include:
    • a. An apology. If I gave the prophecy to a private party, my apology must be to that party. If the prophecy was given to a group such as a church or the public, the apology must be given to that group.
    • b. Biblical repentance does not mean saying, “I’m sorry” only to God, but also to those I have hurt. Most importantly, I must communicate that I am deeply concerned about the harm I have done or the hurt I have inflicted, and I will do whatever else is needed to help heal the wounds I have caused.
    • c. With the help of wise counsel, I will seek to find if there is anything in my heart that caused this error, and deal with it through confession, repentance and action.
    • d. I commit to continuing in accountability to a safe and loving authority whom I believe will support me and help me walk in integrity. I will not remove myself from this process even if painful to me and/or it seems that those to whom I am accountable are not treating me fairly.
    • e. I believe there are consequences to all actions. If my error is particularly serious or repeated, I will be willing to take time off from prophetic ministry until I and those in authority over me have discerned that I am ready to resume ministry.
  5. Concerning supernatural manifestations, I will not substitute the seeking of angels, angelic activity, or other supernatural manifestations, over the seeking of God, His presence, and the truths contained in Scripture. The source of all truth is the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 11:14; Col 2:18-19).
    • a. I believe that the character of Christ in me is more important to the Kingdom than my gift. It is the application and manifestation of God’s Word in my life.
    • b. I will not fall prey to idolatry by seeking to generate, initiate or exaggerate supernatural manifestations, no matter what may be expected by the church culture in which I speak.
    • c. Likewise, I endeavor to allow the Holy Spirit to initiate how and when He releases supernatural manifestations and/or ministry through me.
    • d. If God does speak to me through angels, or causes certain manifestations, or gives particular types of revelation, I will communicate what I hear and see only as God directs. I will do so without elevating myself, my experience or revelation in any way that might detract from the Person of God Himself.
  6. Understanding a prophetic word is vital to its implementation. Therefore, I commit to being open to discuss, with appropriate leaders within the Body of Christ, the prophetic words I receive and interpretations of those words. I will endeavor to do so because prophetic gifts are given to serve the people, not to promote the one who prophesies.
  7. Words from God should encourage, train and equip the Body of Christ to conform to the image of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16). I will endeavor to always help the Body of Christ perceive the Person of Christ more clearly and to hunger for Him and His ways (Col. 1: 8-10, Eph. 1:17-18).
  8. Ephesians 4 ministries are to equip the Body of Christ to receive, develop and mature, rather than to cultivate an audience of spectators for our gifting. Thus, we hold in high regard the priesthood of each believer in Christ (1 Peter 2:5; Romans 8:14; Isaiah 61:6).
    • a. I commit to preaching sound doctrine rather than dividing the Body of Christ through non-scriptural doctrines designed to amaze my audience and develop a following (2Tim 4:3-4).
    • b. I will not use the gift God has given me in a reckless manner that might cause others to stumble or misunderstand God and His ways (Jer. 23:32).
    • c. I commit to help Christian leaders and trainers discern between the operation of God-given spiritual gifts and human psychic abilities (Daniel 2:27-28; 4:8-9).
    • d. I commit to help train the Body of Christ to discern between true, Holy Spiritinspired revelation and mere human intuition, New Age pseudo-spirituality or psychic abilities (1John 4:1).
    • e. I will intentionally try to communicate revelation and the interpretation of revelation in ways that encourage, strengthen, and comfort the recipient(s) of the word (1 Corinthians 14:3).
    • f. I will seek to avoid prophesying anything that controls or manipulates the lives of others.
    • g. When giving a prophetic word, I will seek to always encourage hearers to biblically and prayerfully weigh it rather than to take it without consideration (1 Corinthians 14:29).
  9. I commit to help train the Body of Christ to discern between genuine encounters with God and other pseudo-spiritual experiences, as well as to help the Body of Christ understand the various degrees of revelation and their relative levels of importance.
  10. I commit to refusing to prostitute the revelatory gifting God has given me by attaching a fee to a prophetic word* (Micah 3:11).
    • a. I will not use a prophetic word or prophetic ministry to manipulate people to give financially to me, and or the ministry I lead (2 Peter 2:15).
    • b. I will not lead people to believe that the prophetic word will be triggered or influenced by a gift. * Accepting honorariums, gifts or travel remuneration is acceptable. This is different than prophesying for an agreed amount of money, and is equivalent to a pastor receiving a salary.
II. CONCERNING MY LIFE IN REPRESENTING CHRIST JESUS PROPHETICALLY
  1. I commit to living, modeling and championing the character of Christ. I believe Christ-like character to be more important than operating out of gifting (2 Cor. 7:1).
    • a. I choose to consistently promote and model the ways of Christ more than simply communicate revelation.
    • b. When it comes to representing Christ Jesus, I believe that I not only have a message, but that I am the message.
  2. I believe that wisdom from above is “reasonable and peaceable.” I will place high value on Christ-like humility, and shun prophetic arrogance (James 3:17).
  3. I commit to having an accountability group in place to whom I will hold my lifestyle, marriage and ministry accountable.
    • a. I commit to living a life free of substance abuse, love of money, extra-marital sex, pornography, pride and unforgiveness/bitterness.
    • b. I commit to living out God’s high value of love and covenant emotionally, spiritually and physically with the “spouse of my youth,” to the best of my ability.
    • c. I will guard my heart and make a covenant with my eyes not to look upon another in a lustful manner.
  4. I commit to being free from both the love of money and the love of appearing successful in the eyes of man. I commit to choosing venues to host my ministry, based on the leading of the Holy Spirit as opposed to the size of the crowd or financial remuneration.
  5. I commit to being not only a person of prayer and worship but a continual student of the Bible and the ways of God.
  6. I commit to honor the Lord by honoring and strengthening His delegated authority in the Body of Christ.
    • a. I will honor and strengthen local pastors and church leaders as God’s-appointed shepherds and gatekeepers for their local congregations.
    • b. I will not usurp the authority of the local leadership in the Body where I am called to speak.
  7. I commit to perceiving myself as a servant to both the church at large and the local church as God gives me opportunity.
    • a. I will not view congregations and other ministries as mere platforms, or tools to facilitate my vision and calling.
    • b. I will not steal another leader’s people or leadership in order to build my ministry.
  8. I commit to financial, ethical and moral purity, and will not use the Body of Christ to advance my ministry nor build my own empire. My endeavor is to imitate Jesus’ example of servanthood, and only do as I see the Father doing.
III. THE NATURE OF AUTHENTIC PROPHETIC MINISTRY
  • Bible-centric —Bear/bare witness, expose, declare and establish the truth of Scripture.
  • Salvation-centric – Declare, teach and demonstrate the gospel of the Kingdom of God with signs and wonders following (Mark 16:20).
  • Jesus-centric – Edify, comfort, encourage and exhort believers and the church in the way to Jesus as well as the way of Jesus.
  • God-centric – Demonstrate in word, deed and manner the character of the Father: love, righteousness, justice, compassion, mercy, majesty and holiness.
  • Sovereignty-centric – Bring glory to God alone. His name, His acts, and His Glory are inseparable. He exercises His will through His Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, Immutability and Eternality, as He chooses.

Doctrinal Statements

ON GOD
We believe in one God, creator and sustainer or all things, infinitely perfect, holy, and eternally co-existing in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - who are omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. 
ON THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE
We believe that the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, are the Word of God. We believe that the original manuscripts are the inspired, inerrant, and trustworthy Word of God, and the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of human beings, and the final authority for all matters about which it speaks. We believe that God still does everything today that He did in Scripture. 
ON GOD THE FATHER
We believe in God the Father, who is an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love; that He mercifully concerns Himself in the affairs of mankind; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. 
ON JESUS CHRIST
We believe that Jesus Christ is God and He is God's only begotten Son, conceived by the seed of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles and was infallibly taught, lived and is the Word of God from the beginning. He pre-existed with God in the form of God. He freely gave up His position, humbled Himself, and became incarnated as a man. We believe Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and mankind. 
ON THE ATONEMENT
We believe the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ for the atonement of our sings and His bodily resurrection provide the only ground for justification, forgiveness, and salvation for all who believe that He is the Son of God. Through the atonement, and therefore as the "last Adam" Jesus came to return all who believe in Him to the original mandate that the first Adam failed to accomplish. 
ON SALVATION
We believe that accepting and confessing Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God and asking Him to forgive our sins result in a re-conception and regeneration of our lives, as the seed of God's light enters our spirit (Galatians 3:19; 1 John 3:9). This results in new birth as we become new creations in Him. This new birth or being "born again" does not make our decisions and actions immediately perfect; it is the beginning of a new way of life that allows God, in His faithfulness, to conform us to His nature (Romans 5:10; Philippians 1:6). 
ON THE RESURRECTION
We believe that Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father, forever making intercession for His people. Just as He resurrected from the dead, His resurrection is the first-fruits promise of the resurrection into eternity for all who believe in Him.

We believe that when Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, He gave five ministry gifts to mankind: the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher. These ministry gifts are to mature and unify His people, help His people grow in intimacy with the Father, and advance His Kingdom. 
ON THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe the Holy Spirit is God. He came forth from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement. The Holy Spirit is the agent of regeneration and sanctification for believers in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit makes the presence of Jesus Christ real in believers. He teaches, comforts, guides, convicts, and enables believers to live in ways that honor God. He empowers believers for ministry. He indwells everyone who believes in Jesus Christ. We believe in the present and interactive ministry of the Holy Spirit and in all the biblical gifts which He continues to give today. 
ON ORIGINAL SIN
We believe that human nature derives from two historic persons, male and female, who were created in God's image from the dust of the earth, without the knowledge of good and evil. They were created perfect, but they sinned, thus plunging themselves and all humanity into sin, guilt, suffering, and death. Therefore all human beings are sinners by nature and by choice. We believe that God, through Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit, regenerates those who repent of their sins and confess Jesus Christ as Lord. 
ON THE LORD'S SUPPER
We believe and acknowledge the ordinance of the Lord's Supper in remembrance of Jesus and His crucifixion for the atonement for our sins. He was the Passover Lamb and fulfilled the Feast of Passover. We believe the Lord's Supper is a holy ordinance and that it testifies of our union with Him and the remission of our sins through His sacrifice on the Cross. Partaking in the Lord's Supper in a corporate or church setting also testifies of our relationship with each other as the Body of Christ. 
ON WATER BAPTISM
We believe that water baptism should be by immersion and consummated immediately after committing to the Lordship of Jesus and His atoning sacrifice for our sin. This ordinance is a personal and public statement of our faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ on our behalf. It is also a commitment to follow His example and lay down our lives for the sake of His Kingdom. 
ON THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is an additional impartation that empowers, strengthens, comforts, and is usually accompanied by the manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life. These gifts are available to all who believe. Baptism in the Holy Spirit endues and transforms the believer to increasingly take on more of the nature of Christ. We accept, acknowledge, encourage, and seek all gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit. They are present, active, and vital in aiding the Church and the advancement of the glorious Kingdom of God. 
ON THE SECOND COMING
We believe in the literal, physical, personal, and visible return of Jesus Christ to the earth and the establishment of His Kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, and the eternal blessing of the righteous, as well as endless suffering for the wicked. Only those who have made Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior and are born of the Holy Spirit are members of the Body of Christ and will spend eternity with Christ. 
ON THE PURPOSE OF FAITH
We believe true faith is born in a believer's heart and not just in his or her mind. God requires us to exercise faith for our salvation as well as for all other issues in His Kingdom. In exercising our faith, we lift our focus above the temporal terrestrial realm to the eternal celestial realm. We focus on God's infinite nature; His desire for our good. We grow to see that all things eternal happen through faith in God.

Our faith activates the movement of the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit of God can reveal the Son of God, and only the Son can reveal the Father. This is the Kingdom process. Eternal change can only happen as the Spirit of God initiates the Kingdom processes; thus the Holy Spirit moves and convicts the heart of mankind. Neither eloquence of speech nor the passionate presentation of the Gospel can activate the Kingdom process and eternally change the hearts of men and women. It is God who draws to Himself.