Were There People in the New Testament Who Did Not Have a Formal Church Ordination, Yet Preached the Gospel?
Yes. The New Testament shows many who preached by the call and anointing of the Holy Ghost without a formal church ordination.
Scriptural Explanation
- The man casting out devils in Jesus’ Name who didn’t follow the apostles (Mark 9:38–40; Luke 9:49–50). Jesus said, “Forbid him not.”
- The seventy were sent by the Lord Himself, not by a council (Luke 10:1, 9).
- The delivered man of Gadara was told, “Go home…and tell,” and he published Christ in Decapolis (Mark 5:19–20).
- Persecuted believers “went everywhere preaching the word,” not just ordained officers (Acts 8:1, 4).
- Philip, originally chosen as a deacon, preached Christ in Samaria with signs following (Acts 6:5; 8:5–8, 12).
- Stephen, full of the Holy Ghost, preached with wisdom and power (Acts 6:8–10; ch. 7).
- Apollos preached Christ powerfully before any recorded formal ordination; Aquila and Priscilla instructed him more perfectly (Acts 18:24–28).
- Saul/Paul preached Christ “straightway” after his conversion, before consulting men (Acts 9:20; Galatians 1:15–17, 23).
- Men of Cyprus and Cyrene preached the Lord Jesus at Antioch, and “a great number believed” (Acts 11:19–21).
- The promise is broad: “Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy” (Acts 2:17–18). The Great Commission is to all believers (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19–20).
Simple Clarifying Logic
Now notice, the Bible shows a clear pattern: God calls and fills; the Church recognizes and sends. Laying on of hands in Acts 13:2–3 confirmed those whom the Holy Ghost had already separated. Authority to preach the gospel comes from the Word and the Spirit, not from human papers. If God vindicates the message with Scripture and the fruit, that is Heaven’s endorsement.
Final Word
So yes—there were many who preached without formal ordination. The New Testament puts the emphasis on the Holy Ghost calling and the Scriptures being proclaimed.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever
61-0118 §69
He's got ordained men here to do that, but besides that, God put four God-called offices in the church. Apostles, which is actually missionary. Missionary means one sent. Apostle means one sent. All right. A missionary is an apostle. All right. Apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists, and pastors. I mean five instead of the four. It's five offices God ordained and put into the church. Do you believe that? All right. Then if we believe there's apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors, evangelists, there are four offi...
What house will you build me?
65-1121 §8
Then I find that in the book of the New Testament, where Paul, which is the author (not the author, but the writer) of the New testament. He also was drove out from among his people, and by the Spirit, into the Arabia, where he was three and a half years, to find the inspiration. And Paul is the chief writer of the New Testament. Now there is Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but they were scribes that just wrote what Jesus said, as they followed Him along. But, you take the book to Timothy, and to the Romans, and to...
Hebrews, Chapter 1
57-0821 §28
God would send His prophet like Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah. And if you'll notice, never in all the history of the world, did ever the church produce a prophet. Search it in the Old Testament, New Testament, or in this day---in the latter day. Show me any prophet was ever raised out of the church in the last day. Show me one that ever come up out. And show me one time that a prophet, a real servant of God, that the ecclesiastical system of the world didn't condemn him. Just think of it. Jeremiah, Isaiah, all down thro...
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever
55-0603 §12
Now, we would have to go back then to the beginning of the New Testament. For they were called saints in the New Testament. And the first opening of the New Testament was John the Baptist. And he preached the message saying only this: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." So repentance would be part of the faith that was delivered to the saints. But John spoke, saying that there's coming One who will be the instructor. And when Jesus came to John after His baptism, then the disciples and all began to foll...
The Second Coming
55-0220A §57
Oh my, look on the street, the poor old women, babies, laying there, dying and everything else, a man couldn't even get through it. The next day when we started leaving, there no way of ever ducking, no way around it. They said, "Reverend Branham, the best thing you could do is leave at present time, and we'll straighten up. And New Delhi is where we'll have an amphitheater up there that holds a million people." I'm going back, God willing. Thousands coming to the Lord Jesus. What is it? You could... As good as it...