Crossing Over: Ryan LeStrange

Ryan LeStrange was raised in the Catholic church, got born again in the Word of Faith church and today is planting apostolic churches.

He received his ministry calling at age 16 and didn’t know quite what that would mean, other than preaching God’s Word. But as LeStrange began exploring biblical texts and studying the lives of preachers that had gone before him, it was the healing Scriptures and ministries of pioneers like Smith Wigglesworth, Kathryn Kuhlman and John G. Lake that inspired him most. There was good reason for that – LeStrange would one day flow in a strong healing anointing himself.

“I’ve had a passion for healing ministry since the very beginning,” says LeStrange, a young apostle who oversees three churches in Virginia and one in Central America. “Every apostle should have a realm of God’s power flowing to confirm the Word. God’s healing power has flowed through me more intensely since I embraced the apostolic.”

LeStrange “embraced” the apostolic about four years ago. That’s when the Lord began stirring his heart. That’s when he began to desire something more for the Body of Christ. That’s when he made a decision to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading into unknown territory. And then it happened…

The Lord sent a prophetic messenger to announce his apostleship and God soon thereafter began to change the course of his ministry. It wouldn’t be the first time he would enter something a bit unfamiliar. LeStrange initially did the work of an evangelist, later began to flow more prophetically and suddenly had an unction to build the local church. But this transition into the apostolic was a little more difficult for LeStrange to grasp.

“Apostles are often much older than me, so the apostolic calling brought a lot of fear with it,” admits LeStrange, founder of Impact International Ministries in Bristol, Va. “But when we began to see the fruit of that calling and God sent people to confirm it, I began to get more comfortable walking in the apostolic and greater levels of effectiveness followed.”

Of course, the transition did not take place overnight. The Lord had to break through some established mindsets and build new truth into the young apostle. LeStrange says he began to see the church differently. “I have a greater understanding that not only does God have a place for everybody in the Body, but that it is OK for each individual gift to perceive ministry and methodology differently,” he explains. “You can’t make a prophetic person into a pastoral person. It’s a big mistake to try.”

LeStrange's crossover from the Word of Faith Movement to the Apostolic Movement also ushered in a greater revelation of how vital is the teambuilding concept to accomplishing Jesus’ will for His Church. This revelation admittedly challenged his notion of local church government and he confesses it was a “hard jump” to move from a one-man-only paradigm to a team ministry model.

There's no turning back now. Impact International Ministries launched a television program via satellite in June that is reaching 30 nations and LeStrange has a vision to raise up strong local apostolic churches in every state in the United States. For now, he is busy building a prototype church and his leadership team is still “learning the ropes” so they can one day teach others what works and what doesn’t.

“There must be strong local churches that function as hubs,” LeStrange asserts. “There are certainly different jurisdictions and callings and assignments, but I believe church building must accompany the apostolic calling. That doesn’t mean apostolic churches in Africa will look just like apostolic churches in the U.S. The principles will be the same, but the apostolic church also has to be culturally relevant.”

LeStrange says most of his churches’ attendants support the vision wholeheartedly. He understands that people will not believe something that they don’t understand – and may even be afraid of it – so his staff continually casts the vision before the people. LeStrange has an axiom in his churches: “Turning members into ministers.” He wants to see every member reach their destiny and has five-fold ministry gifts in place to do the equipping.

What about the warfare? “We’ve seen a new level of spiritual warfare in our churches that has knocked some people out of position and even knocked some out of the church. The enemy begins to plant seeds of doubt in the minds of the people. If someone accepts an evil thought, then they will immediately begin to search out the congregation for the weakest link and try to influence them to cause a demonic revolt against the ministry. I’ve seen it time and time again.”

LeStrange has a theory about that. He says the spiritual attacks are not so much about where you are now, but where you are going, and the devil knows that apostolic churches are going to change the spiritual climate in their territories and win thousands of souls for Jesus Christ.

LeStrange offers some Holy Ghost wisdom for others crossing over to the apostolic: “Be led by the Holy Spirit. Pray out the strategy for your area. The way you apply and administer the revelation in your territory will depend on the needs of the people there. Get all the information you can on the apostolic through books and tapes. Hook up with people of like precious faith who you can identify with and receive an impartation from them. Allow them to speak into your life and help you transition into everything God has for you.”

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