Yet we believe that there is a force depicted  in the New Testament that is yet  to be completely unleashed in this cause.  When local churches, networked together through apostolic ministries, begin to accept responsibility for the multitudes of unreached souls, we may begin to see the fulfillment of the Great  Commission before the end of the century.

ATM's approach involves a healthy, symbiotic relationship between local congregations and apostolic teams. It is therefore both centralized and decentralized.Great Commission through commitment of human and financial assets, provision of spiritual under girding (i.e. prayer and fasting), and maintaining a realistic base of accountability and care, ATM functions in a de-centralized fashion that does not usurp the individual integrity of local congregations.

These are not just principles of governance. In fact, t  hese concepts can be extended, both scripturally and logically, to embody the following axioms, which express ATM's approach to world outreach:

1. The primary focus of World Outreach is the planting of viable, local New Testament churches. The mandate of world outreach does not only involve the proclamation of the gospel, but includes discipleship as well. We define discipleship in a broad sense to be the process that brings people along the path of conversion to Jesus Christ, through water and Spirit baptism, and onward to integration into a local congregation where they become functioning, mature members of that church body. Generally speaking, the normative, biblical expectation is that churches should help birth other churches, not just disconnected converts. This is what we see as ATM's visionary approach to world outreach.
   Note: Normally church-planting efforts would be under the oversight of an apostolic company, although some churches with a resident apostolic minister might birth daughter congregations on their own.

2. Local churches bear equal responsibility with extra-local ministries in the task of world outreach. Accepting this responsibility will help a local congregation to have a broader vision, set constructive local priorities, and avoid the pitfall of local church myopia. It can provide vision, hope, and involvement for uniquely gifted members of local churches to discover areas of service that were previously unknown or even closed to them. Embracing this concept is to accept Jesus' Great Commission in a fresh way. It focuses great responsibility on the local level, rather than on a distant, centralized agent. World outreach calls church members to more than merely putting money in a collection plate. We are lovingly committed to support and pray for people from our own midst (or those with whom we have a relationship through the network) in the labor of reaching the lost. Furthermore, spiritual, moral, and financial accountability is most realistic in this setting.

3. Extra-local ministries have two primary responsibilities toward the local churches in the task of world outreach.
   a. Impartation: In addition to providing care as needed to the congregations they serve, extra-local ministries, by virtue of their calling, gifting, and practical field experience, are specially graced to impart a vision for world outreach to the local church.
   b. Implementation: Extra-local ministries wish to serve as facilitators to help implement the vision in each local church. In other words, we wish to help by providing information, ideas, examples, and other resources that will enable a local church to participate in or launch a viable effort in the area of world outreach (e.g. host or participate in a mission conference, organize or participate in a short-term missions outreach team, launch or participate in a church-planting endeavor, etc.)