Elder Ministry

Our church is “elder ruled” which means the burden of shepherding the congregation ultimately rests on the shoulders of the elders. We believe that Christ has delegated His authority over the church to the elders in such a way that it is their responsibility to make sure the congregation is faithfully shepherded. For that to happen, there are several principles that must be upheld by the ministry of elders.

First, elder ministry requires male leadership. God has not called or gifted women to serve in this capacity, which is why one of the requirements for being an elder is that they be “the husband of one wife” (1 Tim 3:2; literally “a one woman man”). Paul’s expectation is clearly that elders will be men. Additionally, elders must be men because the NT doesn’t permit women to do the necessary teaching for elder ministry (1 Tim 2:12). These are not culturally obsolete statements since they are rooted in God’s creational design (1 Tim 2:13).

Second, elder ministry requires shared leadership. The New Testament presents a consistent pattern of plurality of elders leading local churches (Acts 14:23). The biblical pattern of leadership requires the elders to collectively shepherd the church (Act 15:6). This means that God intends for each local church to have a unified team of qualified shepherds to lead that congregation (Tit 1:5). Among elders there will be gifted pastors with unique effectiveness in preaching and teaching (Eph 4:12; 1 Tim 5:17), who will exert an enhanced influence over the congregation by virtue of their gifting. However, the variety in the giftedness of the elders does not remove the equality of the office of an elder.

Third, elder ministry rests on biblical authority. God has ordained that the local church be ruled by elders, who exercise spiritual oversight over the church (Acts 20:28) and preside over the church (1 Thess 5:12). Elders are the leaders that the congregation is instructed to respect, consider, and obey:

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (Hebrews 13:17)

Fourth, elder ministry enlists congregational involvement in ministry. The work of the ministry is for all the saints (Eph 4:12), not just the elders. Each believer has been gifted by the Spirit, which means that the elders every gift that the church needs in order to fulfill its mission. Elders lead the church, but they cannot be the church, they are only one part of a healthy church.

Finally, elder ministry is a grace from God.  Elders that function as godly shepherds for the church are a grace from God (Jer 3:15). At the same time, elders that function as godly shepherds for the church need constant grace from God (Rom 12:6). The only way to be a faithful shepherd in the church is to be a good steward of the grace that God has given (1 Pt 4:10).