In the Christian faith, apostles were those entrusted by Jesus to help organize the church and spread the message of His teachings. The word "apostle" comes from the Greek word "apostelló," meaning a messenger or one sent on a mission. Although the term is not used much in common language today except when speaking of Christian principles, in ancient times, the word was used to describe someone who was commissioned by another person to represent him in some way.

There are two kinds of apostles: apostles of Christ, who had the right to launch the New Testament church, and apostles of the church, missionaries sent out from the local church. An apostle of Christ had the right to write Scripture, and one of the standards for the right to write Scripture is that a person had to be an apostle who saw Jesus personally or an associate of an apostle. No one in our day can be an apostle in that sense today. However, the New Testament uses the term apostle in a wider sense as a missionary and church planter.

In modern-day usage, an apostle is one who is "called and sent by Christ to have the spiritual authority, character, gifts, and abilities to successfully reach and establish people in Kingdom truth and order, especially through founding and overseeing local churches". An apostle creates an apostolic culture, which reveals itself through a church and the believers who are part of it. These believers are equipped to be missionaries to the aspects of society they interact with, bringing a reforming mindset with them that longs to see transformation. Apostles motivate for kingdom impact.

Therefore, an apostle today is someone who is called and sent by Christ to have the spiritual authority, character, gifts, and abilities to successfully reach and establish people in Kingdom truth and order, especially through founding and overseeing local churches.