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.
Church Ages, part 2: The Patmos Vision
60-1204E §122
Now watch. Not just teach the Word. He never said go teach the Word. He said, "Go preach the gospel." Not teach the Word; preach the gospel. And these signs shall follow them that believe this gospel; In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; If they would take up a serpent; or drink a deadly thing, it wouldn't harm them; if they ... lay hands on the sick, ... they shall recover. ...and they went forth, [said the scripture] preaching everywhere, the Lord working with them, ... confir...
A Missionary Talk
58-0330A §10
...son that the Word and missions is always right... I want to read it here, out of the Bible, the last commission that our Lord gave to His church, Mark, the 16th chapter, beginning at the 15th verse: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; If they shall ta...
The Queen of Sheba
60-0401E §1
[Pastor introduces Brother Lamsa.] ... he speaks the language and can read the language and read the original documents in which the New Testament was written. So with him, it is so wonderful that he can read directly from the original script the very words that Jesus and the disciples spoke and wrote. He felt that these translations that we have are not always correct and true. And that's where the criticism comes in, because he criticizes the King James version, and some people think that St. Paul preached from t...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 9:E-28
...ion on the messenger of the Laodicean Age, we must seriously consider these two thoughts. First, this age will have ONE Prophet-Messenger. Revelation 10:7, says, "When he (singular) shall begin to sound." There has never been an age where God gave His people two major prophets at one time. He gave Enoch (alone); He gave Noah (alone); He gave Moses (he alone had the Word though others prophesied); John the Baptist came ALONE. Now in this last day there is to be a PROPHET (not a prophetess--though in this age there a...
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...