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.
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 9:E-44
But now He is standing in the midst of the Church. As He stands there revealing Who He is in this last age, He calls Himself the "Author of the creation of God". This is ANOTHER CREATION. This has to do with the church. This is a special designation of Himself. He is the CREATOR of that church. The heavenly Bridegroom created his own bride. As the Spirit of God, He came down and created in the virgin Mary the cells from which His body was born. I want to repeat that. He created the very cells in the womb of Mary fo...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 3:E-47
"Thou hast tried them that say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars." My, that is a blunt statement. "Thou hast tried them who call themselves apostles." Isn't that presumptuous? What right has a people to try those who call themselves apostles? And how do they try them? Oh, I love this. Here it is in Galatians 1:8, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have (already) preached unto you, let him be accursed." It was the apostles who brought...
Looking for Jesus
54-0228E §28
So, you see where the Christianity in its theology, how weak it is? God never intended that in the first place. Jesus never did say, "Build churches, seminaries." He said, "Preach the Gospel into all the world," then He'd return, see. But we've done everything else but do what He told us to do. He can't return till the Gospel's been preached. He said, "You'll hear of signs and wars and rumors of wars, (Not yet) parents against children, children..." (That's not yet.) But said "When this Gospel has been preached to...
About Jesus
55-0612 §44
And in them days, John the Baptist came from the wilderness of Judea, preaching, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." And he stirred all the regions around about Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria. Great throngs of people come out. My! We wonder, that's the kind of Baptist we need today, my Baptist brethren. We need a Baptist like that. Why, old Herod come up, and I can hear somebody say, "Now, don't you preach on marriage and divorce, tonight." Could you imagine a man full of the Holy Ghost, holding back any...
Dedication
62-1111M §4
We see in the Bible, in the 19th chapter of Acts, where Paul, passing through the upper coast, came to Ephesus. And there he found a church. That was the Ephesian church, which was the first in the church age considered in the Revelation of Christ. And in this church here there was twelve people, as recorded. Twelve people was the number. But if this church only had twelve, or like that church did, and completely surrendered to God, He can do more with that twelve than He could with the rest of the world. It's the...