In | Workbook: Vertical and Horizontal Ministry, Part 2

In the Gospels, especially in Luke, we’re given the sense that Jesus is reaching out to every layer of society. He reaches out to Samaritans, women, the poor, tax collectors, the unclean—and even the demon-possessed who are forced to live outside the city. We might think of His reaching out to each rung on the social ladder as a vertical ministry. He brings honor and freedom to those on the lower levels of society who were subjected to shame and alienation. 

The apostles and other disciples take this ministry on the road. They go out into the world in all directions. We can think of their ministry in Acts, and beyond, as a horizontal expansion that spreads the vertical breakthrough of Jesus in the Gospels across the globe.