Our History
1980’s - Apostolic Revelation
Apostolic Teams International (ATI) was formed from the revelation of the scriptures on the need for God's government in the local church. In the mid-1980s, the revelation came to Glenn Shaffer concerning the New Testament order and the five-fold ministry governing as a team of elders in the local church. There was a significant amount of interest in the subject in the Body of Christ.
1986 - Team Ministry Established
ATI's early beginnings came from divine providential connections of leaders coming together to walk out God's will in their lives. Six pastors and their families moved into Claremore between October 1986 and January 1987 with the call to serve alongside Glenn and Ami Shaffer as they pastored a local congregation. Others, who were not called to move to Claremore also recognized a providential connection.
1987 - Relational Revelation
In 1987, the summer conference focused on the Apostolic Order of the Church. Hundreds of people attended from a three-state region, with more than half from out of state. After the summer conference, it was clear to Glenn Shaffer that relationships were needed to build in the kingdom. Many leaders came to that summer conference to learn "how," and they needed to know "the why." The key was to be relational. Relationships were necessary to prevent the work from being organizational and built on methods. Out of that revelation, we met together for more than a decade, mainly building relationships as we grew in the maturity of understanding. After a while, it became clear that our relationship needed a purpose. We were to be relational with a purpose: building together in the kingdom. We saw that we could do more together than alone.
In 1993, Lattie McDonough, a prophetic father in the faith, sat Glenn Shaffer down and said, "The principalities are waiting for you to publish what you are about." ATI's leadership did not understand that word's full meaning for a long time.
2003 - A Name, a Vision,
& a Mission
In 2003, we officially convened in Claremore, Oklahoma, to form what is ATI (Apostolic Teams International). Our focus was that we would come alongside other apostolic leaders to help them build teams. We do not see ourselves as "the team" but as one of the many teams that God was raising up in the church. The founding leaders served as a council and have continued serving leaders and churches over the past two decades.
2021 - A Generational Shift
Longevity has brought forth a new generation of leaders. The summer conference of 2021, brought a generational shift. The theme was "A Resounding Yes for the Next 40 Years." Now ATI leadership is multi-generational and multi-ethnic expanding through spiritual fathers and sons, as we move into the next decade.
ATI serves a number of leaders, churches, and ministries internationally and in the United States.